The Curly Hair Consultation: What Your Client is Really Saying
Curly color doesn’t start with the lightener; it starts with the consultation. But according to Brendnetta Ashley (@edgybgirl), Schwarzkopf Professional® Digital Artistic Team Member, BTC Team Member and curly hair specialist, it’s not just about asking the right questions. It’s knowing how to interpret the answers.
Press play to watch Brendnetta’s consultation process in action, then keep reading for the five client responses Brendnetta listens for—and how each one influences her color decisions.
1. “I want my color to pop.”
In Brendnetta’s Low and Slow Lightening course on BTC University, the consultation begins with one of the most important questions: What didn’t you like about your last color service?
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When her client explains that her previous highlights felt too blended and that she wanted people to notice her color “from down the street,” Brendnetta doesn’t just hear that the client wants to be brighter. She immediately starts thinking about placement.
“The first thing that comes into my mind is that she’s going to want a bold color placement, meaning that she’s probably going to want a chunky highlight…we’re not going to do anything that’s going to be a fine weave,” Brendnetta explains.
2. “I’m always curly.”
How your client wears their hair should directly influence your color placement. That’s why Brendnetta always asks whether her client wears their hair curly, straight or both.
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“She said that with pure confidence, ‘I’m always curly.’ So now that’s letting me know my color placement has to be in a place where it can make the curls actually stand out and pop,” she says.
“Let’s say, for example, if she says, ‘Well, I’m sometimes curly; I’m sometimes straight,’ I want to make sure that my placement looks good when the hair is both curly and when it’s straight,” Brendnetta explains. “If she says, ‘I never wear my hair curly; I only wear my hair straight,’ I would blow it out so that I could see what her hair looks like straight, so then I [would] know what that placement is going to look like.”
3. “This is the hair I want.”
When clients bring in inspiration photos, Brendnetta avoids generic questions. “I never phrase the question as, ‘What do you like about this picture?’ because the minute you say that, their mind is going to automatically look at the overall image,” she explains.
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Instead, she asks, “What is it about her hair that you like?”
“The more they understand that you’re looking at the hair, the better you’re going to be able to understand what their eye is catching,” Brendnetta says.
4. “I want to be brighter.”
When a client asks to go lighter, Brendnetta doesn’t immediately promise the end result. Instead, she uses the consultation to set realistic expectations based on the hair’s current condition and what’s achievable in that appointment.
“I always say underpromise, overdeliver. So to ensure that we get to the Level that we want and keep [the client’s] curls nice and healthy [and] intact, I’m going to say ‘we can probably get you to a very nice Level 8… and then maybe in our second or third session we can get you a slightly little bit lighter.'”
5. “I only color my hair once a year.”
When a client tells Brendnetta they only come in once a year, she knows the consultation needs to include an honest conversation about maintenance—not just today’s result. That means discussing how long the toner will last, when they’ll need a refresh and what can realistically be achieved while keeping the curls healthy.
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“I’m not going to tell her something like, ‘Oh, this color is going to last you for six months.’ That is not true. And the more you’re upfront and honest with them in the beginning, the easier everything will be.”
These consultation strategies are just one part of Brendnetta Ashley’s Low and Slow Lightening course on BTC University. Throughout the class, she shares her complete approach to lightening curly hair—from consultation and strand testing to color placement, formulation and maintenance planning.
Press play to access the full class and see her complete consultation and lightening process:
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