For many women, paying regular visits to a beauty salon is an essential part of their regimen for taking care of themselves. Different women will have different routines. Some will head out to their trusted salon every week or several times a month (trying out every available beauty service or treatment or requesting their favourite ones regularly), while others will only step into the salon once every two or three months.
Regardless of these differences, the desired result is the same: Women want to spend some time in a comfortable environment where they can be pampered and cared for, from which they can walk out feeling refreshed, looking their best, and becoming more confident.
Of course, it would be rare for a woman to visit a particular beauty salon and decide right then and there that it would be the only salon she'll ever visit for the rest of her life. Sometimes, it takes a few (or many) tries before you can find a salon that delivers what you need and satisfies all your requirements every single time.
If you still haven't found a beauty salon that you would be happy to entrust all your beauty and styling needs to, there's no need to fret — if you pay close attention to your surroundings and your experience in every salon you visit, you'll soon be able to determine which one suits you best and makes you feel happiest and the most comfortable. Here are five simple tips to help you successfully accomplish that.
1. Observe how the salon's staff members accommodate their customers. If your time or budget will allow it, make a plan to visit each salon at least twice so you can gauge how its staff members accommodates their customers — both first-time and previous ones. If it's your first time, see if the receptionist welcomes you warmly, asks about your desired services, makes recommendations, explains procedures, and clearly walks you through every process you would be going through. Observe if the beauty technicians are careful, thorough and prompt with their services and mindful of your comfort and protection all throughout the appointment. Observe their demeanour with you when you pay a second visit — see if they remember your name or your preferred services, if they know which stylist worked on you last time, and whether they provide the same level of attention as they did before.
2. Take note of the level of professionalism that the salon team demonstrates. Some salons will have a dignified atmosphere — the staff are polite and warm and quick about their business, they observe if you need something (a magazine, an extra towel) even if you don't ask, they are strict about the cleanliness and organisation of the space, and they have a prompt and systematic method of getting customers through each phase of their treatment or service. Other salons will have more casual vibes, with staff cracking jokes, engaging customers in lively conversation, and playing loud music. Choose the environment you are more comfortable in.
3. Make a note of the products and brands that the salon makes use of. Different salons will carry their recommended hair products, nail polishes, hair colouring agents, cosmetics, and treatment solutions. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, you may want to pick a salon with products that are safe for you to use. And it's important that the staff members are able to answer any enquiries you may have about the products, their ingredients, and their potential effects on the body so that you can be sure of a safe salon experience.
4. Compare the price of their services with other salons' (as well as the corresponding value received for the said price). Salons will price their services based on a number of factors. The staff may have had extensive and high-level training. The salon may be in a prime location. The treatments they offer may make use of expensive imported beauty products. Choose a salon that caters to your budget and provides services that are worth the full amount that they charge (or even more).
5. Evaluate your satisfaction with the experience of visiting the salon. Finally, your most important consideration should be how a specific salon makes you feel before, during and after your appointment. If you can easily relax around the staff, if you trust that they have performed the treatments thousands of times and will offer a safe and satisfying service every time, if you are always happy with the result, and if your day is made that much brighter after each visit, then you'll know you've found a keeper.