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How to Tell Which Short Hair Will Look Good on Your Client

Tips from the Austin Beauty School

From shoulder-length cuts, long bobs, to pixie cuts, almost all Hollywood celebrities, models, and music artists have already tried cutting their hair short. If you’re a stylist and you have such a client who would like to chop off most or even all of her hair, how can you tell which cut will look good on her? You might want to go back to the techniques taught when you were still going at a cosmetology school in Austin, TX, for example – or you can try an entirely different style. It’s all about working with your client and deciding which cut and style will look the best on her.

Factors to Consider before Making the Cut

So a client walks in the salon, announcing that she wants to cut her hair really short. What are the things that you need to remember before making the cut? Take a look:

  • Prepare for the waterworks.

This is something that may not be taught at cosmetology school near Austin, TX – but you really should prepare for the waterworks. This may be a cliché but a woman who’s planning such a drastic change in her crowning glory is most probably suffering from a major heartbreak. On the other hand, it could be a positive thing – she might be a harassed working mom who just wants a wash-and-wear hairstyle, or a young professional who would like to celebrate getting a new job with a major hair change. No matter what the reason is behind the drastic cut, you need to be honest with your client and tell her what the options are, which leads us to the next factor: the cut you’re going to make.

  • Use the client’s face shape as a guide when suggesting short cuts and styles.

If a client is requesting for a short haircut, it does not necessarily mean that you have to go with pixie. It just has to be something shorter than what she’s currently sporting, and you can actually use the shape of her face as a guide.

  • For oval face shapes, almost all styles actually look good because of the way that the hair can frame the head, however which way it’s cut
  • For clients with a round face shape, the most flattering cuts are bob cuts which are side swept, or shoulder-length hair with blunt ends.
  • Those with a heart or triangle-shaped face with a pixie cut. Make sure that the volume is at the chin point, and there’s little or almost no volume at the top.
  • Women with a square-shaped face would look good in short hairstyles that elongate the face. Instead of a pixie cut, go for a shorter cut with curls and wisps on the side of the face.
  • Those who have a diamond-shaped faces will look great with short bobs.
  • Warn your client that maintaining short hair requires a lot of work.

If a client who previously had long hair went for a pixie cut, warn her that short hair actually requires a lot of work. If she wants to maintain that elegant pixie, she has to go back to the stylist to maintain the cut, otherwise, it will grow back more difficult to style, and unruly. For other short hair styles, finish the cut off with tips on how the client can maintain the short hairstyle.

Whether you went to a school of cosmetology in Austin, TX or any other state, it is important to determine which short style will look great on different face shapes – it’s bound to be one of the most common requests that you will get when working at a salon.

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