Hairdresser Jargon – What it means

I’ve been there before, where someone uses a technical term that they understand from their field of work. Usually it’s the accountant and I just have no idea what they have actually asked of me!

I understand that sometimes it’s the same for you guys when I talk about hair. So I’ve put together a little list of hairdresser jargon to see what you guys understand, and then you can put them to use when talking to me. I guarantee I’ll be super impressed!

Balayage – A more gradual and natural way to colour the hair. The foils are done by simply freehand painting onto the hair.

Tint – This is just colour. A full head tint for example is a full head colour.

Lowlights – A colour darker than your current colour is finely weaved into the hair via foils.

Highlights – A colour that is lighter than the current colour is weaved into the hair via foils.

Slices – A section of hair coloured in a foil or that isn’t weaved, it’s just a slice of hair.

Ombre – A colour that is gradually blended from one colour into another colour; for example, dark to light or light to dark.

Restyle – A total change of hairstyle than the one you currently have; not a trim but a good chop.

Layers toner –  A product that is applied on top of a colour to tone down the current colour or to enrich the current colour.

Blunt cut – Where the hair is cut in a straight blunt line, no chopping into or thinning out.

Feathering – Gradual shaping around the face this is not a blunt cutting technique.

Depth – How light or dark the base colour is.

Shade/tone – The colour you want to be such as red, copper, ash, mocha.

Natural base – Your natural colour, how light or dark your natural colour is.

Texture – How your hair feels. It can be either fine, medium or coarse.

Density – How thick or thin your hair is.

These are just a few of the terms hairdressers know and use on a daily basis. If I ever say something you don’t understand or you have questions about anything I’ve written about, ask me. I’m always happy to answer anything you guys want to know!