Hair Salon Blog: Essential Hair Care Tips and Insights

Your hair plays a massive role in your appearance and your confidence too! You deserve to feel comfortable and confident in your appearance, so working with a professional hairstylist who truly understands your needs is critical. With this said, finding the hair stylist that is right for you can be easier said than done. 

While choosing the best professional hair stylist for you might be tricky, with some research, you can find “the one” without the agony of needing to grow your hair every time the cut does not meet your expectations. Whether you need a haircut or are interested in exploring a new style, color or treatment, look to these steps to help you navigate your search for the best stylist for your hair. 

1. Understand Your Options

Before narrowing down your options, you need to know what they are. You may turn to Google Maps, word of mouth, or social media to learn about the stylists in your area. Most businesses are registered on Google Maps, so searching “hair salons in Houston” or “hair stylists near me” will likely show you many options. It’s essential to take your time learning about a salon, their methods, training, and the products they use to help you find a stylist that is right for you. 

2. Look at Specializations and Reviews

If you’re looking to receive a specialty service, a Brazilian blowout, or hair extensions, you must find a hair specialist with expertise in these services. Narrow down your results to stylists licensed to provide the services and who have experience doing these services on clients. In most cases, stylists will have photos of recent client work to share with you as well. 

3. Go to Consultations

Once you’ve found someone in your area that is licensed to provide the service you’re seeking and has good reviews online, it’s time to book a consultation.

These are not a waste of time. In fact, this is easily one of the most critical steps to ensuring that you find a stylist that understands you and the vision you have for your hair. It’s an opportunity for you to build rapport with the stylist and see that you’re on the same page about the perfect color and cut for your hair. 

These consultations are also important for discussing the products needed for the desired hair services. If you’re looking to get hair coloring or a special treatment done, the stylist can ensure that the products required don’t trigger any reactions on your hair or scalp by performing a patch test. If your hair stylist brushes over this topic, it might be a sign that they are rushing their services and not prioritizing the health of your scalp and hair. Learning about this during a consultation is always better than finding out at an appointment.

4. Bring Pictures for Reference

One of the most efficient ways to ensure you and your stylist have the same vision in mind for your hair is to bring inspiration pictures of the style or color you’re looking for. Leading up to your consultation or appointment, gather a few photos of what you have in mind for your hair. A visual sample is always considered helpful to a stylist, whether they characterize the shape of bangs you desire, the length, the layering, the color, or a combination of it all. Having them on hand will ensure your desires are expressed efficiently to the stylist. What you consider light blonde may not be what the stylist understands as that shade, so bringing pictures can help to seal any communication gap between you and the stylist.

5. Follow Your Instincts

Finally, you need to trust your gut. Handing the fate of your hair over to a stylist can be nerve-racking, but when you find someone you align with, your nerves will be alleviated. Once you’ve met with your stylist and feel ready to move forward, take that next step and book your appointment! If you feel like it’s not the right fit after your consultation, know that there is another professional stylist out there ready to turn your vision into a reality! 

If you’re located in Houston and on the search for the right stylist, give us a call here at Therapy Hair Studio. Our hand-selected team of skilled stylists would love to connect with you and bring your dream cut, color or style to life. We understand the challenges of finding the right stylist, especially if you’ve had a disappointing experience in the past. Our team of seasoned professionals can walk with you through an expert color correction or help you to freshen up your look for the season! At Therapy Hair Studio we strive to consistently exceed the expectations of every client that comes through our door.

Are you ready to fall in love with your reflection? Contact us today.

It’s a common misconception that short hair can’t be as versatile as long hair. Short hairstyles can be extremely multifaceted, and what’s even better, it takes no time at all to accomplish some stunning looks. Need to be out the door in 5? The team at Therapy Hair Studio in Houston have you covered. These short hair tips will have you glowing before you can even find your car keys:   

Accessorize! 

Hair accessories are one of the quickest and easiest ways to add glamour or whimsy to your short hairstyle. Sweep back longer sections of hair and pin them to the side of your head with rhinestone or pearl studded barrettes or pins. These accessories can add a touch of sophistication in no time at all. For a bit of whimsy, try barrettes in fun colors or designs or add a playful headband. Tying a scarf around your head like a headband can also add a bit of bohemian flair, while doing the same with a bandana can give you a fun and sporty look.

Slick it Back 

It’s the ultimate summer look, short and slicked-back hair. Pair the look with sunglasses, and you are officially too cool for school and look like you are perpetually on vacation. For a wet look use a gel or water or oil-based pomade or styling cream. These products add a sheer sheen to the style. For a matte look, opt for a clay-based pomade.

Do the Twist 

For a quick and easy change to your routine, take a small section of hair from the side of your head and twist it. Make another twist on the opposite side of your head. Bring the twists together at the back of your head and secure them with a pin, barrette, or small hair tie. In five minutes, you have a half up, half down elegant twist.

Line Them Up

Don’t have a lot of time or money? Sweep a section of hair from the front of your head, and secure it along the side of your head with a row of bobby pins. This technique also works well for people trying to grow out a short haircut of those who are growing out bangs and don’t know what to do with them. It’s easy, simple, and creates a fun and breezy look. 

Spritz and Spray

Not sure how to change up your short hairstyle? Experiment with products. Texturizing sprays can add volume and change the shape of your style. Pomades and styling creams and give you a sleeker and straighter look. Changing up your products can change up your look. Whether you are new to short hair or have rocked a short style for years, experimenting with new products can add a new dimension to your hair routine.

Leave it to the Professionals 

Interested in going short? Love your short hair but want a new style? Talk to an experienced stylist at Therapy Hair Studio in Houston today. Give us a rundown of what you are looking for and what type of maintenance routine you are comfortable with, and we can give you haircut and style ideas that will achieve your hairstyle goals.

Ready to make an appointment with the best in Houston? Contact us today at (713) 355-HAIR.

Balayage. Just the word sounds so sophisticated, probably because it is French. In French, it means “sweeping,” and essentially, that is what you get when you ask for balayage, a gentle sweeping of color that creates a natural, almost “lived-in” look. Yet, that description still doesn’t quite capture the beauty of this coloring technique. Think of tresses that have turned just oh-so sun-kissed as you’ve laid out on a golden sandy beach all summer long. Or the ever-elusive ideal where your roots are just perfectly grown out and your ends are gorgeously glowing with a subtly lighter shade. (Yeah, like that ever happens in real life!)

What is balayage? The team at Therapy Hair Studio demystifies the term and helps you decide if the technique is right for you.

What Is Balayage?

Balayage isn’t just a hair-industry buzzword to get you to spend more at the salon. It is a technique where a colorist will free-hand paint soft and flowing highlights onto the hair. By painting the hair with a lighter shade, a colorist can achieve a subtler and more graduated highlighting effect. Think soft ribbons as opposed to stripy highlights.

What’s the Difference?

Balayage is sometimes hijacked as an umbrella term for color. It isn’t. Asking for a balayage will give you very different results than highlights or even ombre. Ombre is a similar technique, but the results are much starker and more dramatic between the colors instead of the natural transition created by balayage. Highlights and lowlights also employ a different technique where stripes of color are placed closer to the scalp. Most colorists will use foils to create highlights and lowlights.

The Benefits of Balayage  

Since the technique creates a more natural, softer, highlighting effect, it is much easier to maintain. The technique is meant to give the appearance of “grown out” roots but in the most beautiful and flattering way possible. Opting for a balayage can mean fewer trips to the salon. It can also mean much less work to maintain than other types of coloring processes. This technique also tends to be less damaging.

Another benefit of balayage is that because it can be more of a sweeping, free-hand technique, your results can be different than anyone else’s. You will have a unique and gorgeous look all to yourself.

Who Can Get Balayage? 

Balayage isn’t just for blondes. The technique can create beautiful results on a variety of different hair colors. Balayage can brighten blondes but also add dimension to brunettes. Talk to a colorist about your hair color goal and the amount of maintenance you want to put into your color. From there, an experienced colorist can determine which shades will give you the optimum color result. Caramel, golden, ash, and chocolate colors can all create beautiful results depending on your base color.

Balayage is a beautiful color technique that can add a subtle and natural brilliance to your hair color.

Ready to take the plunge? Contact the experienced coloring team at Therapy Hair Salon in Houston today for an appointment by calling (713) 355-HAIR. We want to help give you the hair color of your dreams. Bring us your dreams today.