Getting To Know The Person

I’ve noticed something after years of cutting hair.

The people who sit down in the chair almost never come in because they simply want shorter hair. Hair is usually just the vehicle for something else. Sometimes they want to look more professional because they just got promoted. Sometimes they’re coming out of a long relationship and want to feel like themselves again. Sometimes they’ve been wearing the same haircut for fifteen years and have simply outgrown it.

Those aren’t things you can figure out by asking, “What are we doing today?”

The conversation matters because the haircut is really the last step in understanding the person. If I know how you spend your weekends, how you dress, the kind of work you do, or even what you care about, I start to get a much clearer picture of what will actually feel authentic on you.

I’ve found that people are often better at telling you who they admire than describing themselves. They’ll show a photo of an actor, an athlete, or someone they saw online. The interesting part isn’t usually the haircut in the picture it’s what they connected with. Maybe it was confidence. Maybe it was simplicity. Maybe it was maturity. Maybe they just liked how comfortable that person looked in their own skin.

That’s where the consultation really begins.

It’s less about collecting information and more about paying attention. You start noticing the way someone carries themselves, whether they’re meticulous or easygoing, whether they enjoy standing out or prefer to blend in. Those things influence a haircut just as much as hair texture or face shape.

I’ve always believed that a good haircut should feel inevitable. It shouldn’t look like a style that was imposed on someone. It should look like the haircut that person was always supposed to have.

To get there, you have to know more than their hair.

You have to know the person.