Beware of Pinterest

I don't know about you all, but I live on Pinterest. Especially when it comes to finding and saving recipes and DIY house decor projects. It's a good and bad thing!

However, when it comes to hair photos, Pinterest drives me nuts. As a professional, my eyes are trained to dissect the true nature of that photo. In this post, I'm going to give you the lowdown on what's great about showing your stylist photos as well as how to set your expectations.

Come to your appointment with an open mind.

Any time you show a photo to your stylist, it's important to vocalize exactly what you like about that person's hair. Is it the bright blonde highlights? Or Is it the tone? Or maybe you like the intense shine?

It's up to your stylist to communicate what to expect in order to get your hair looking close to what you see in a photo. That way, they can use their skills and creative mind to help get you there.

Sure, Pinterest is great for some things...

Like I said earlier, I use Pinterest for inspiration for home decor. Key word: inspiration. I know whatever I create isn't going to be 100% what I see in a project tutorial.

The exact same applies with hair color. Pinterest photos can be a great starting point. They can also be used to set a goal. If you're currently a brunette and want beachy, golden California looking highlights, it probably won't happen in one salon session. But it's something to look forward to.

...But Pinterest isn't so great for setting expectations.

It's a really unfortunate thing nowadays that hair stylists put filters on their photos to appeal to the masses.

photo by Kristen Grip, Modern Salon

You can see a big difference in not only the tone of this woman's hair, but also in her skin tone and her black top.

Again, hair stylists are trained to see details that have been altered.

And this is just one example. I mean, have you seen how often the Kardashians change their hair? Between the wigs and hair extensions, plus personal stylists, they make extreme hair changes look easy and feasible.

So just remember:

Pinterest photos are great for inspiration and picking aspects of the photo you love.

Sure, the hair that gets posted on Pinterest is gorgeous. But it may not be the truest reflection of a stylist's work. As a guest, that's unfair to you by giving you unrealistic expectations.

Most importantly, hair stylists are not a copy machine. We cannot recreate something another stylist did. Similar is usually possible - exact is impossible.