How to tell when a salon client needs a texture service

It's the rare client who will walk in and ask for a perm. Yet today's texture services-which include not only perms but straightening services as well-can solve a lot of client issues with their hair. During the consultation, listen to the way the client describes what she doesn't like about her hair or what she wants her hair to do. Then use your translation skills to put her words into "Salonese"!

You can respond to the frustration she has with her hair asking the client, "How would you like me to put some support into your hair that leaves the memory of what I do in your hair?" suggests Francie Sorum, texture expert with Joico/ISO. According to Sorum, a texture service is a great recommendation when:

1. She says she loves big curl - "but I know my hair won't hold it because my hair's too heavy." Or she tells you that she's tried both a body wave and a perm, and the body wave did not give her enough curl but a perm gave too much curl. You can assure her that you'll give her just the right amount of curl, and her hair will not be too heavy to hold it. How? "Divide the hair into subsections," instructs Sorum. "Take some subsections in a big tool and some in a small tool. Then you'll have really big curl with little training wheels in there holding up the hair.

2. She says, "I want my hair to be curly when I want it curly and straight when I want to blow it out straight." Unless she has that hair naturally, the only way to make that happen is with a chemical texture service.

3. She says, "I want smoother hair." That will probably require a straightening service.

4. She says, "I want more volume in my hair." This very common request is probably the easiest for the client to comprehend the connection to a texture service.

5. She feels that her hair is too fine to hold a style. Says Sorum, "Under the microscope, fine hair does not have as open a cuticle layer as thicker hair, so the hair has no way to grip a finishing product like a hair spray and hold it in place. By introducing some curl, you'll create the textural feel and allow the hair to perform as if it had porosity." Sorum advises wrapping a very tight curl and large curl together. "The large will pull down the tight, and the tight will pull up the large," she says. Explain to the client with fine hair that a texture service will give her movement and enable her hair to hold a style, but she probably will have to get the service done more frequently than people with thicker hair.

Don't be afraid to suggest an extra service like texture. Your client will love you and be loyal when you offer solutions to her hair issues instead of giving her one more bob that she get get to hold its shape or change from day to day.