Top 5 Considerations When Assessing a Curly Client

by Ivan Zoot/The Clipper Guy on Monday, August 16, 2010

Ivan Zoot is the director of education and customer engagement for the Andis Company and the founder of Zoot! Hair professional hair care products. Ivan identifies, recruits, trains and manages Andis’ team of professional beauty industry educators. Ivan continues to be a featured presenter at industry shows and events, sharing his unique blend of information, education and enthusiasm for clipper cutting and the entire professional beauty industry. Ivan’s background includes experiences ranging from salon ownership to achieving 3 Guinness World Haircutting records.

I watched a haircutting webinar last week. When a viewer asked the guest artist how the featured technique could be used on curly hair the silence was deafening. Then the babbling, stammering and creative fill-in was comical. He had no answer. What spoke louder was the reality that the shared concept just was not adaptable to the curly client.

It got me thinking. Following are my top five considerations when assessing a curly client and the appropriateness of a given haircut or look.

1. Silhouette: Curly hair gets longer, but it also gets wider and higher. It is important to assess how a given cut, especially one with layers, will fill out and shape up as the impact of length, texture, density and curl effect the overall shape.

2. Surface activation: The degree of wave or curl the client’s hair will display at the target length will impact the overall look. What you see is what you get. You need to be able to see it before you get it.

3. Color: Smooth, straight hair reflects light. Curly hair absorbs light. How will the lengths of the finished look and the degree of surface activation described above impact the overall color of the finished design? Thought should be given to a highlighting/lowlighting plan as a part of the finished look.

4. Hair health: Old hair can be dry and dull. New hair can be shiny and slick. A single strand of hair is older at the ends and newer at the scalp (duh?). How will the client’s overall hair healthy impact your intended look?

5. Home care expectations: Will the client follow your recommendations for the use of home care products? What are the odds that she will be able to recreate the look on a daily basis if she does or does not use proper styling aids and conditioning treatments? Proper home care is vital to the success of whatever plan you hatch.

How are you considering these factors in your design decisions? Share your success and failure stories. We can all learn from them.

Happy cutting.