How To Use Photos To Ensure A Great Client Consultation

One of the most important steps in any successful haircolor service is a very thorough consultation. And when it comes to successful consultations, photos can be an extremely powerful tool that can help ensure clear communication with clients. Here, Redken Professional Celebrity Hair Stylist Cassandra McGlaughlin shares three common consultation challenges and discusses how pictures can be used to overcome them.

The Solution:

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! It is so important to make sure that you and your client are on the same page before starting a color service. For these situations, pictures can be your best friend. After all, pictures can help ensure that you and your client are visualizing the same end result. Unfortunately, we can’t always go by the words our clients are using. For example, if a client uses descriptive words like “ashy,” “platinum,” “caramel,” etc., chances are they have a very different idea of what this end result will look like than you do.

One of the best ways to get on the same page as your client is to pull out some specific examples of what you would consider ashy (or caramel, platinum, etc.) and ask them what they see. If they respond positively to your color choices, then you know that you are on the same wave length. If they don’t like your choices, ask the client to provide some image examples depicting the color they are looking for. This also helps to bridge the communication gap when deciding the desired level and tone of the end result. During a consultation, I routinely show multiple pictures and ask the client if they think the photos are too light or too dark or too warm or too cool. With this strategy, you can be sure that you and your client are on the same page (and also make sure that the client isn't asking for a brown shadow root when they really want a soft level 7!).

The Solution: 

Questions! Very rarely does a client bring in just one inspiration picture. Most of the time, clients will bring in a few different pictures to help communicate their desired end result. The most important thing to ask is, “What is it that you like about this picture?”.

Often when a client brings in a variety of inspiration pictures, he or she may like the placement of the color in one image, the root color in another, the highlight color in another and so on. Making sure to ask the client what she loves about each picture will give you a comprehensive understanding of the overall look she is striving for.

The Solution: 

Occasionally, a client will bring in a picture depicting an end result that is just not reasonable to achieve in one standard salon visit, no matter what your skill level is as a colorist.  In instances such as this, it’s important to have other options and recommendations ready as an alternative. The old adage, “under promise and over deliver” comes into play here. If the color is possible but it falls into a color corrective situation, it's important to have a clear conversation with your client about the pricing and timing of the service. There are many colorists on social media (myself included) that are willing to share timing and pricing info about the end results they post. These colorists are great resources to use as a back up to your recommendation if you feel a longer color service or even multiple salon visits are required to achieve the client's desired end result.

How have pictures helped you to have great consultations with your clients? Tell us in the comments section below!

Cassandra McGlaughlin is a Redken Professional Celebrity Hair Stylist and haircolor expert. Follow her on social media @CassandraPlatinum and check back on The Redken Break Room for more of Cassandra's haircolor tips and advice!