The ceiling has been reached (not broken) on high-maintenance salon hair color

The ceiling has been reached (not broken) on high-maintenance salon hair color

As creative hair color, platinum blondes and blonde bombshell colors have been dominating the fashion and style set for the last decade a new, underground trend has been forming.

Similar to the sizzling sensation of Ombre in 2008, a decade later new things are brewing for women who want to look fantastic and fabulous all the time. Women are growing weary of spending too much time and money in hair salons that upsell unnecessary treatments, charge premium prices for lofty locations and enforce strict regimens for the promise of omnipresent beauty.

Well, times are changing. Women are increasingly aware of dubious salon practices that want to rope them into paying for products, tools and techniques no modern or working woman has the time to employ. That’s why more and more salon’s are charging by time increments rather than flat rates for services.

So your salon charges $200 for a “half head” of highlight to $400 for a “full head”? Who is in charge of these delineations and what about if you don’t have super thick hair? What about the time NOT spent giving you all those precious whispy ribbons of blonde highlights?

We asked Shaun Surething of Seagull Hair Salon in the West Village of New York City what he thought of this new emerging desire for streamline spending.

“In my opinion” Shaun Surething a stylist with over twenty-five years of experience cutting and coloring on both coasts said, “Time is money and money is time, that said, of COURSE, a great salon experience is a MUST… For me, that means breaking away from a one size fits all model of hair color. I mean, If I can do a lovely head of highlights or a few foils of grey blending on a guest in 15 or 30 minutes while they relax with some herbal tea, why would I force women into a rigid format of one hour application time when it’s totally unnecessary? I just don’t see the point.” Shaun said. “I would rather customize my services for the individual woman. As I grow with my clients I find we are increasingly on the same page. We want quality service in a timely manner at a fair price. Something that works for everyone. Especially with women looking for grey-blending and annunciating, fifteen minutes is all that is really needed to turn dull grey into sparkling sparkle silver. I believe a woman should be able to get a dozen or so strategically placed swaths of color and walk out of the salon not paying more than $150… But that’s just me.”

And It’s not just a few women who are fed up with “quarter heads”, “half heads” or salons that literally charge by the foil full of highlights:

“Honestly it’s ridiculous” Says one Manhattan stylist who asked to go unnamed. “My salon will charge $300 for 10-15 foils for just ten minutes of work while distracting clients with “pampering” like complimentary wine, scalp massages, deluxe robes and over-styling. It’s actually just ridiculous but some women love it.”

In the end though, we believe the future of the beauty industry lies in the customization of services for the individual. Shaun Surething says, “If you want to know what you can expect, schedule a free consultation with your local hair salon to determine what your hair color needs truly are. That’s what I do at my salon.”

Good advice indeed.

Happy hair hunting!!!