Salon and Hair Glossary
Hairstylists at the salon have their own language when it comes to hair. Do you ever wonder what some of these common phrases mean? If so, here is a guide to all of the terms you are likely to hear at the salon.
A
A-Line Bob – A type of bob that is longer in the front then it is in the back, resembling a capital “A.”
B
Balayage – Involves hand-painting color or lightener on to the hair for a natural look. This method has grown in popularity over traditional foil highlights.
Bleach – A method used to lighten hair color.
Blowout– A service performed at the salon where the hair is washed, blow-dried and styled with hot tools. It goes beyond just blow-drying your hair; there is much more attention to detail and the style should last longer.
Bob – A bob haircut is hair terminology for when the weight line of the haircut falls around your chin or ears.
Body – The volume or bounciness of hair.
Brassy – In hair terminology this refers to unwanted golden or orange tones in the hair.
C
Chunking – A method of highlighting the hair in which the highlights are very thick and unblended.
Clarifying Shampoo – Shampoo that is stronger than normal shampoo, designed to remove buildup from hair products, hard water, etc. It has a strong pH level and should not be used more than once or twice per week.
Coarse – A classification for stronger, thicker types of hair.
Conditioner– Silky hair product used after shampoo to soften and detangle hair.
Cortex – The thickest part of your hair is known as the cortex, and it’s what gives your hair its color.
Crown – Area at the top of the head.
Cuticles – The cuticle is the outside layer of the hair shaft that protects hair from damage.
D
Deep Conditioning Treatment – This type of treatment offers moisture and vitamins in order to restore weakened strands and improve shine. It is performed at your salon by your stylist Bee Sam.
Dusting – Cutting technique that cuts the bare minimum off the tips of the hair to clean up the haircut, without making it look newly cut.
E
Elasticity– When hair has elasticity this means it has the ability to stretch and then return to its natural shape without breaking.
Extensions– Hair extensions are pieces of hair that are attached close to the scalp to make hair appear longer and/or more voluminous.
F
Finishing Spray – A medium-hold hairspray used to keep a hair in place after it has been styled while also used to maintain body and bounce.
Fluid Hair Painting – This hair coloring method has the colorist paint the hair while the client is reclined and their hair is fanned out on a table. This is also referred to as layage (as in a laying down balayage).
Foiling– A method of highlighting hair in which parts of the hair are sectioned into foils and color is applied. The foil allows the stylist/colorist to only color certain pieces of the hair.
G
Gel – Hair styling substance that is jelly like formed by the coagulation of a liquid. Emulsifies when applied to skin. Holds hair when styled.
H
Highlights – Highlights involve lightened strands of hair by using colors that are lighter than your natural hair.
To learn more about this technique visit the hair highlights Vancouver, WA page.
L
Layage – A layage is a hair coloring or lightening technique that is a balayage laying down. With a layage the hair is fanned out on a table and the colorist hand paints the lightener or color on to the hair with a brush much a like an artist paints on a flat canvas. This salon technique gives a natural sun-kissed look that can’t be achieved with other coloring or lightening approaches. Only a few select salons and colorists in the country offer and have mastered the layage technique. The layage is sometimes referred to as “fluid hair painting“.
Layered – This mean the hair is cut in such a way that the ends of the individual hairs fall to different points relative to one another. This gives the impression (if not actually being true) that the hairs are cut to different lengths, adding volume and dimension.
Lowlights – The process of darkening some pieces of hair, but not all of it. Like highlights but darker.
P
Partial Highlight – A partial highlight is when the lighter pieces are placed around the face for a framing, along the sides, and a few in the back, excluding the bottom of the hair.
Perm – This hairstyle is produced by setting the hair in waves or curls and then treating it with chemicals so that the style lasts for several months. Perm is short for permanent wave.
Point cutting – A snipping technique that lops the ends at an angle to create a textured or feathered edge. The aim of point cutting is not to remove length, but to texturize the ends of the hair.
R
Remi/Remy Hair – Considered to be the finest quality of human hair which has been harvested from root to end with the entire cuticle going in the same direction. It is generally soft and silky, and is used for making higher quality hair extensions and wigs.
S
Semi-Permanent – A hair color which is intended to last for a long time but not permanent.
Single process – A hair coloring process that only uses one color application.
T
Temporary Color – Hair color that lasts only until you shampoo your hair.
Treatment – A treatment is used in between Shampoo and Conditioner. Sometimes referred to as hair masks. They often contain oils, butters and other hydrating ingredients to supercharge your hair conditioning efforts.