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Style Sessions: Everyday Casual

Be a Salon Diva

By B. Lee Cash for Style Sessions

Nothing, not even getting dumped by a guy, is worse than a bad haircut. It takes much longer to grow out a hideous haircut than it does to get over some jerk who doesn't know a good thing when he sees it.

But bad haircuts happen. Every girl has a story of when she decided to try a new stylist or new look, and ended up crying on the phone to her friends. "She cut it all off!" or "The color was supposed to be copper penny and it's more like...electric pumpkin!" That could make anyone skittish to branch out of her tried-and-true 'do.

The problem with staying with the same stylist -- playing it safe -- is you could be missing out on your hottest, possibly best look. Trying a new stylist at a new salon is an adventure, a way to break out of a style rut, to see what you're made of. Don't believe that logic? Dig up a photo from a few years ago, the one with those ridiculous micro bangs or whatever else you had goin' on. See? Talk to us.

We asked a Style Sessions favorite expert, Francesca Windsor of the Lloyd Windsor Salon in Los Angeles, to give a few fast tips for being in control of your hair destiny. Here's how to be a salon diva!

Picture It
"Always bring in pictures of hair color and cuts you like from magazines," says Francesca. "It helps your stylist to know your taste, expectations, and lifestyle." While any stylist should be able to get a feel for the look you want from a magazine photo, Francesca recommends that you bring more than one so the stylist can see different angles. Plus, your hair texture and density won't be exactly like the models' in the photos, so being able to see different ways a desired cut is styled is a terrific help in recreating the look on you.

Style Sessions Tip: Models are professionally styled for magazine spreads (duh), but this is important to remember if you're choosing a look that takes 20 minutes of blow-drying and another 20 in barrel curling or other heat styling. If you're a wash-and-go girl, you should find pictures of models with hair textures as close to yours as possible, and let the less-busy girls go for the high-styled geometric 'dos.

Speak Up
"I want my clients to be happy, so I encourage them to just stop me if I'm doing something that's making them nervous," says Francesca. It's funny how a girl might tell a sales associate at a department store exactly why a pair of shoes won't ever work with her new dress, but when a stylist is creating a semi-permanent look she'll be stuck with for at least a few months, she won't so much as squeak because...why? The stylist knows best? Hardly!

When you first sit in the stylist's chair and begin to look through the photos, be specific about everything you want; and better, be specific about what you don't want. Say directly what is just too short, too severe, too dark or too light, etc. Says Francesca: "You and your stylist should both feel confident about the service she's about to do for you."

Style Sessions Tip: There you are, mid-cut, and suddenly you feel like too much is coming off. Now what? Interrupt her. Tell her you know she's got a plan, but you're suddenly worried. Let her explain what's happening to you. If she is offended that you need to know what's up with your own hair, she's not the stylist for you.

Wig Out, Why Not?
Ready for a big change? You know, like cutting off super long hair or finally going for red? "Go into a wig store and try on different hair and colors you are thinking about," says Francesca. "Wigs will give you an idea if the style and tone of color will wear well on your skin tone." Wigs will also show you how a cut works with your face shape, which can make or break a great cut.

Style Sessions Tip: Wigs aren't inexpensive, and most wig merchants don't allow walk-in customers to just cruise in and try on wigs. You will need to make an appointment and, if need be, tell a little fib that you're actually planning to buy a wig and not simply there to sample the goods in order to find your best look. And please, don't forget your digital camera!