How to find a hairstylist

I’m sure you can understand why I’m picky about my hair. If you are new around here, my background is in doing hair, and the blog really started as a place for me to share video hair tutorials. So a lot of the last 10 or so years of my career life has been centered around hair.

And good hair days are kind of the best accessory, wouldn’t you agree?

For a long time I’ve been able to get by coloring and cutting my hair myself. I wouldn’t recommend this, but I did it for years anyway. But in the last year or so I decided to try and find someone to pass the torch onto. I tried a few different people, but it wasn’t until my last experience that I felt really sure about the fact that I had finally found someone.

I thought I’d share my experience in finding Jordan, and offer some tips if you are on the hunt as well.

I discovered him through Instagram. Either I found him first or my friend did, but at some point last year we began discussing this guy who does hair here that worked with Anh Co Tran out in LA. I had been following Anh on Instagram for awhile before this, and was always admiring his perfectly “lived in” haircuts.

So my friend Jordan, the photographer, decided to go check him out after I basically begged her to. I knew he would do a great job on her hair, and was excited to see the result. He did, she was so happy, and that was a big push forward in booking an appointment. In the meantime another friend had gone to him as well, through coincidence, and was very pleased with the result!

So I called and set up an appointment for the end of December, and I’m so glad I did. The salon was clean and professional and cool, and you could really tell that the stylists cared about the quality of work done at the salon. I’ve been to so many salons in the past that looked really run down and dated from the floor, and that affected what I thought of the quality of the work coming from the stylists.

I felt like every step of my service, from consult to blow out, was carefully paid attention to.

I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my point.

So, if you are looking for a hairstylist, here are a few tips to consider!

1. Search particular hashtags on Instagram. Things like [your city] + hair or hairstylist. For example: #austinhairstylist #austinsalon #austintexashair #austinhairartist etc. Likely if there is a salon in your area that is up on the trends, which should be what you want, they’ll have an active Instagram account. Or at the very least, their clients will tag them in things to help organically spread the word.
2. Word of mouth is the best starting point. Ask around. Stop people on the street and ask who does their hair. That’s not only a great compliment for that person, but that gives you a perfect opportunity to talk to someone else about the experience at the salon, versus just walking in somewhere.
3. Set up a consult before you commit to an appointment. If you are nervous about trying someone new, call the salon and see if you can set up a time to come in for a 10 minute consultation with the stylist. That gives you an opportunity to meet the person, talk about your hair goals, and then decide whether or not you want to return with zero pressure.

Finally, be honest about what sort of time and financial investment you are willing to give your hair. There’s nothing worse than walking out of a salon with a beautiful hairstyle that you know you’ll never be able to recreate.

Best of luck on your search!

• Tags:
• Hairstyles