Why I Choose a Private, One-on-One Salon Experience

When I first moved into a private salon suite, I expected a lot of things to change.

What I didn’t expect was that it would actually make me a better stylist.

I remember one of the first times I noticed it.

I was styling the hair of a longtime client… someone whose hair I had curled more times than I could count… when she asked me:

“Can you show me how to curl my hair like you do?”

Without even thinking, I looked at her and said, “How come you’ve never asked me this before?”

She laughed and said she didn’t know. She felt a little silly admitting that she didn’t really know how to do it and that every time she’d tried at home, she couldn’t get it right.

So I stopped what I was doing, handed her the iron and spent a few minutes showing her a technique she could actually recreate herself.

It was such a small interaction, but it stuck with me.

Because over the next few months, I started noticing the same thing happening with almost everyone.

Clients I’d known for years started asking questions they’d never asked me before. Which products should I actually be using? Which tool should I buy? If I wanted to go lighter, what would you recommend for me? Why can I never get my hair to do this at home?

New clients were opening up more during consultations, too. They were telling me about what hadn’t worked before, what they were frustrated with, and what they actually wanted from their hair.

And yes… sometimes we went from actual hair advice to divulging all the tea about the office romance at work. 😂

The conversations had changed.

And then I realized why that mattered so much.

The more comfortable my clients became talking to me, the more information I had to actually help them.

Sometimes someone sits in my chair with an inspiration photo she’s been carrying around for months. She’s shown it to stylist after stylist and still can’t understand why she’s never gotten the result she’s looking for.

That’s where I don’t necessarily want to say, “Yep, we can do that!” and immediately run to the back to mix a bowl of color.

I want to talk about it.

What do you love about that picture? What have you tried before? What didn’t work? How often do you actually want to maintain this? What are you willing to do at home?

Maybe that color is completely realistic for you… but nobody has explained that you’ll need to come in more often to maintain it.

Maybe the product your friend swears by isn’t working because her hair is completely different from yours.

Maybe that tool isn’t the problem at all… you just need someone to show you a different way to use it.

And sometimes, the picture you’ve been chasing simply isn’t realistic for your hair. I’d rather explain why and come up with a plan that is than promise you something I don’t believe I can deliver.

That’s the part of being a stylist that I’ve really fallen in love with.

Figuring it out together.

Why I Choose to Stay One-on-One

There are so many incredibly talented hairstylists in Rhode Island, and working in a private suite doesn’t automatically make someone a better stylist.

I just discovered that it makes me a better stylist.

In my private salon suite in Warwick, it’s just you and me.

No audience. No worrying that the woman in the next chair is listening. No feeling silly because you think you should already know how to use a curling iron.

Tell me you hate styling your hair.

Tell me you bought the product everyone loves and think it’s terrible.

Tell me you absolutely do not want to come see me every six weeks.

Tell me what happened with your last color.

Tell me what you’re afraid to try.

I want to know.

I’m certainly not perfect, and four walls didn’t magically make me a better stylist.

But those four walls created an environment where my clients felt comfortable enough to give me more information. And the more I learned, the more questions I asked. The more questions I asked, the more customized my recommendations became.

It made the relationship more collaborative.

And it made me better at what I do.

That’s why, all these years later, I continue to choose a private, one-on-one salon experience.

Because privacy changes the conversation.

And the conversation changes everything.

If you’ve been looking for a hairstylist who wants to understand not only what you want your hair to look like, but how you actually want to live with it, I’d love to meet you.

Come exactly as you are… questions, frustrations, inspiration photos and all.

Book your consultation →