Do You Need To Wash Your Hair Before Going To The Salon

This is a highly debated question. And almost everyone thinks they are right! Lol! Some people’s opinion is that is why they are going there so the stylist can wash it. Others wash it before going because they don’t want their stylist to think they are dirty! But today I am going to answer, do you need to wash your hair before going to the salon.

I am a retired hair stylist, and I always appreciated clients that came prepared! I will say that you should always listen to what your hair stylist recommends to you personally! They know their products and how they react to your hair. But I guarantee you will find yourself having better results after leaving the salon if you follow a few recommendations!

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Haircuts

If you are just going to see your hair stylist for a haircut, then chances are you will not have to shampoo prior. There are exceptions! Are you someone that likes to go a week between shampoos or using a ton of products? It would be helpful to wash the evening before or the morning of just so you get some of the buildup out of there!

Also, I realize not everyone goes to a salon that washes, cuts, and styles hair! If you are going to a salon that just sits you down in the chair and spritzes you with a water bottle, then I highly recommend you go in with clean hair. You will end up getting a much more precise cut. It will be easier for the stylist to comb through your hair, and it will lay better while they are cutting.

So, the general rule of thumb is if you are going to the salon just to get a cut you don’t have to wash your hair prior!

Color or Highlights

We can spend quite a bit of money to color or highlight our hair. I know at least I do! We should try to do everything that we can to achieve and maintain the best color that we can. One way to do this is to come to the salon with prepped hair! I did a post a while back; How to Prepare for Your Salon Color or Highlight. You can read that here.

It is almost always a good idea to wash your hair before going to the salon. If you cannot do it the morning of the appointment, the night before. This will give your hairstylist a clean slate so the color is fully absorbed, and highlights can fully lift. If your hair is dirty or coated with products the chemicals that the stylists are using will have to fight against all those things prior to doing its “job”. It could result in less than optimum results.

Think of it this way, when you go to paint the walls in your house do you wash them first? Do you make sure that you have washed away all the dust from the walls? What happens if you don’t? Your paint job can look awful! The color might not turn out right, you can still see the “spots” underneath. You get the picture, right?!

Important!

Please do not go to the salon on color or highlight days with wet hair! Trust me, you will put a bee in your stylist’s bonnet with this one! If they have to dry your hair prior to coloring or highlighting one of two things will happen. You will either get an extra charge or you will get a cranky stylist!

So, did these tips help you at all? How do you usually arrive at your hair appointments? Freshly washed or do you figure that’s what you are there for?