I’m a hairstylist who tends to read about hair. Keeping up with new styles, techniques and products is a must for stylists and salon owners. And I meet lots of potential customers who have questions about their hair. Believe it or not, some of these are DIY (do-it-yourself) fans. So, in my recent reading, a piece in the Huffington Post caught my eye.

Salon vs. DIY.  These writers report on their attempts to replicate a salon treatment at home. They posed this question: “Are pricey salon treatments better than what we can do ourselves in our own bathrooms?”

A salon blowout by a top hairstylist is definitely worth the splurge.

I started with a Huff Post report on blowouts. Verdict? Pay for it.

Doing it yourself will take too long and come out uneven (or worse, tangled), plus you won’t have all the fancy, expensive products of a “dry bar” sitting in your bathroom. Mine was definitely bouncy, but not slick and glossy like the pro job. This one’s worth the splurge.

A salon blowout has more staying power. That means that it will last longer and look good for more than just a few days. Your professional stylist also has the technique, equipment, and products to make your hair shiny, bouncy and polished looking. Good advice!

What about other at-home haircare options?

Now I’m really curious about the advice available in the DIY world. I Googled DIY vs Salon and here’s a sample of what I found:

Hair Color

For natural-looking hair, stick with salon hair color services. It’s hard to see clearly as you attempt to apply the color evenly to the back and sides of your head. Definitely a challenge for the DIY novice. Moreover, a professional stylist knows how to create the right color for your skin tone and can combine highlights and lowlights to add subtle tones to your hair.

If you need to buy time between salon visits, ask your stylist to recommend touch-up kits that apply color to clearly visible areas — along the hairline and part.

Haircuts

Thanks to my Google search I did discover that the DIY jury is still out on haircuts! Nevertheless, my experience says that DIY is NOT the way to get a great haircut. Over the years I have helped many clients “fix” the results of DIY attempts. It is so not worth it!

My advice? Come to us first. Your hairstyle is an important element in your overall presentation, and you want it to be just right.

Enjoy your hair!
Mickey


Michael Anthony Salon DC is considered by many to be the best in the entire DC metro region. We are passionate about doing hair and work with each and every client to create a look that is right for them. Led by Mickey – aka Michael Anthony – each of our stylists is a highly trained professional. Schedule an appointment and find out for yourself!