My clients and members of our forum often seek advice on three slightly uncomfortable hair salon situations: First, how do you tell your current hair stylist, with whom you have developed a relationship, that you want to have your hair done by someone else. Second, what do you do after a hair cut or colour when you aren’t satisfied with the results. And third, what is considered an appropriate tip. 

It’s Not You, It’s Me

The first situation is tricky when you feel a sense of loyalty towards the hair stylist who has been doing your hair for years. Leaving them to go somewhere else would probably hurt their feelings and make you feel bad.  But unfortunately they don’t do the best job on your hair, and you want a change.

Well, in my book, you have two choices here. You either politely and diplomatically level with your stylist, or just move on without explaining why you won’t be visiting their salon in future. Your hair is your crown and it deserves the very best style. You shouldn’t feel bad or disloyal about trying to find a better hair stylist because it’s your right to be completely satisfied with a service. Hair appointments are also expensive so you must get value for your money. 

Fortunately so far, I’ve been spared of this particular scenario. I’ve had extremely bad haircuts, but they were  by hair stylists who had not gained my trust and loyalty. I’d seen them once or twice and just moved on no questions asked. Now, I have a brilliant hair stylist who has been doing my hair for 8 years. We get on really well and I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else unless we left Seattle.

Unsatisfied Customer 

Onto situation number two, which I think we’ve all experienced at some point. My hair stylist, Teresa, as incredible as she is, sometimes misses an area that needs a little more texturizing. I only notice this is the case when I’ve done my hair myself a few times after the cut. Once, we also tried a new colour and I was unhappy with the result.

Theresa always wants to know when we need to tweak her work. We arrange a follow up appointment as soon as possible and she fixes the problem to my satisfaction, free of charge. I don’t know if all hair stylists offer this level of service, but I’m spoiled by Teresa’s professional and customer-centric approach. 

If you’re unhappy with the result directly after a hair appointment, I think you should be able to go back to the stylist and have them fix their mistake free of charge. Of course, things get harder when you’ve lost confidence in your stylist’s ability to repair the job. In that case you probably have to live with a not-so-fab hairdo while you find a new stylist. 

The Tip

Tipping customs will differ across countries and cultures. In the US, customers usually tip hair stylists between 10% and 20%. I tend to tip closer to 10% and that works for me. I don’t think that you should feel obliged to leave a huge tip if you’re uncomfortable doing so. After all, a tip is an act of goodwill, a pat on the back and a little extra for a job well done. It is not mandatory. 

This is my take on how to handle these situations, but I’d love to know your thoughts too. How do you leave a hair stylist who you like, but isn’t giving you the best results? How do you cope with unsatisfactory results directly after an appointment? And what is an appropriate hair salon tip?