How to brief a stylist so you get what you wanted

The single most useful thing you can do is bring a photograph. Not because we will copy it, but because "shorter at the back" means eleven different things and a picture means one.

Bring one you hate, too

Knowing what you do not want narrows things faster than any amount of describing what you do. A stylist who knows you hate a blunt line will not give you one by accident.

Say what your mornings are like

Tell us how long you will actually spend on it. A cut that needs fifteen minutes of drying is a bad cut for someone who has four. That is a design constraint, not a confession.

Say if you have coloured it at home

Nobody minds. Box dye behaves differently under lightener, and we would rather know before than find out during.