How to Tell Your Stylist What You Want
A stylist can only cut what they understand. Four things settle most of it: the length you want to keep, the shape (one length, or layers and where they start), the fringe, and how you dry your hair on a normal day. Bring photos and say all four.
Say the length to keep, using a landmark
"Just a trim" means a centimetre to one person and five to another. Name a landmark instead: the jaw, the collarbone or the shoulders. A classic bob ends at the jaw; long layers keep the length below the collarbone.
Say where the layers start, or ask for none
Layers change the shape more than the length does. Say where the shortest layer should fall, such as the cheekbone for face-framing pieces, or say "no layers" if the length is the shape, as it is in a bob.
Talk about the fringe on its own
Curtain bangs, a full fringe or none: say which, and where it should land, such as cheekbone length. A fringe needs a trim sooner than the rest; a curly shag's bangs usually need one at around six weeks.
Tell them how you dry it
Air drying and blow-drying need different cuts. If you have curls, ask for a dry cut on your curl pattern and no thinning shears, so each curl lands where it will sit.
Bring more than one angle
A front photo hides the back and the layering. Show the side and the back too, and point at the part you like most.
