Ever had an experience at the hair salon where what you had in mind isn’t quite what you ended up with? It sounds simple, but one of the best ways to make sure you get what you want from your hair appointment is to make sure what you ask for is actually… what you’re asking for. Ask any hairdresser, though, and they’ll tell you that there’s a lot of confusion around various in-salon services and techniques.
That is why I asked three of them to share the terms they most often hear clients use incorrectly in the salon—versus what they actually mean. From colour to cuts and treatments, consider this your ultimate confusion-busting guide to help you ask for the right thing once you’re in the chair.
9 of the Most Misused Hairdressing Terms—and What They Actually Mean
Toner vs a full colour service
“This is probably the most misunderstood word in the salon,” says Samantha Cusick, founder of the SCL salons. “Clients come in asking for a toner thinking it's going to transform their colour completely [to] a whole new shade. What a toner actually does is refine and adjust the existing colour. It cancels out unwanted tones, adds depth or shine and makes everything look more polished and intentional. It's the finishing touch, not the main event. Brilliant and often transformative, but not a colour service in its own right.”
Abbie Cirket, Stylist at Blue Tit East Village, agrees that clients will often say something along the liens of, “‘I hate how dark or warm my blonde is, so I need a toner to make it lighter’. A toner changes or refines the tone of existing hair; it doesn’t create significant lift,” she explains. “It can neutralise unwanted yellow or brassy tones or add a different tonal direction, but if the client wants substantially lighter hair, that requires a lightening service first.”
2. A trim vs a proper haircut
“[Clients will say] ‘I just want a tiny bit off the ends', but they really mean an inch or more,” says Charlotte Mensah, founder of Hairlounge and author of Good Hair: The Essential Guide to Afro, Textured and Curly Hair. "People often ask for the tiniest trim because they want to keep as much length as possible, but when it comes to cutting hair, health has to come first. If the ends are split or damaged, taking off a little more can actually do far more good than harm. There’s no benefit in holding onto length that is compromising the overall health of the hair.”
“A trim is still a haircut, as the stylist is removing length and/or reshaping the hair,” Cirket echoes. “The confusion tends to come when ‘trim’ is used to mean ‘don’t take much off,’ rather than ‘don’t cut it.’”
Mensah stresses the importance of a health-first approach, which she and her team always take in her salon. “We take off what the hair needs, no more and no less. And importantly, less hair to cut doesn’t make the service cheaper, just as taking off more doesn’t make it more expensive. The skill and care involved remain the same.”
3. Balayage vs highlights
Cusick notes that clients frequently ask for balayage when they are actually after highlights. “Sometimes they want full highlights, but have seen a balayage picture they like the colour of, rather than the technique,” she explains. “Balayage is a freehand painting technique where colour is applied directly to the hair without foils, giving a softer, more natural, sun-kissed result with a gradual fade. Traditional highlights use foils and give a more uniform, higher-contrast finish.”
The reverse is also true. “Often, clients will say they want ‘highlights’, but they actually mean they want their hair to be lighter,” says Cirket. “They automatically say highlights when they want a lighter result, but usually they want a more softly-blended and lower maintenance result, which would be a balayage.”
Ultimately, it comes down to the results you’re after. “Neither service is better, they just do completely different things,” says Cusick. “Knowing which one your client actually wants is one of the most important conversations we have at consultation.”
4. Layers vs movement
“Oh, this one causes so much confusion. Clients ask for layers when they mean they want movement and texture, but they often panic when they see hair being cut shorter because they think they're losing length,” says Cusick. “Layers don't have to mean shorter hair, they mean strategically placed cuts through the hair to create movement, remove weight and add shape. The length can stay exactly the same.
“‘I want layers’ often means ‘I want my hair to have more movement, volume and that bouncy, effortless look I’ve seen in a photo’,” Cirket adds. “Layers are created by cutting different sections of hair to different lengths, so the hair doesn’t all sit at one length. But there are lots of different types and placements of layers—long, short, internal, face-framing, crown layers, et cetera—and they can produce very different results.”
Ultimately, it’s about explaining what you want the layering or texture to do for your overall style. “Getting specific about what you want layers to do for you—more volume, less bulk, more texture—is so much more useful than just asking for layers and hoping for the best,” Cusick concludes.
5. Money piece vs face-framing highlights
“The money piece has become one of the most requested things in the salon and I love it, but there is so much confusion around what it actually is,” says Cusick. The term is often confused with face-framing highlights, she explains, but the two are quite different. “A true money piece is a deliberate, quite bold section of lightened hair that sits right at the front of the face, framing it with a noticeable contrast against the rest of the colour,” Cusick explains. “It's a statement. It's meant to be seen.”
On the other hand, “Face-framing highlights are much softer, much more blended and much more subtle. Both are gorgeous, but they create completely different results,” she continues. “If you [want] a money piece and your colourist gives you a soft face frame, or vice versa, nobody is getting what they wanted. Always bring a reference image for this one, as it will save so much confusion on both sides of the chair.”
6. Conditioning treatment vs bond builder
Cusick also notes that clients will ask for a conditioning treatment, thinking that it will repair damage. However, “[this] makes hair feel softer and smoother temporarily by coating the outside of the hair,” she explains. “A bond builder actually works inside the hair shaft to rebuild the broken bonds that cause damage in the first place.” One is about moisture and softness, while the other is about deep structural repair inside the hair. “If your hair is genuinely damaged from colour or heat, a conditioning treatment alone won't fix it,” Cusick stresses. “You need to be rebuilding from the inside out.”
7. Face-framing vs curtain bangs
“This is another term commonly used by clients, when actually they maybe want more of a curtain bang look—they can look similar, but they aren’t necessarily the same cut,” says Cirket.
“Face-framing is a broader cutting technique, where pieces around the front of the hair are cut to different lengths to create shape around the face. It can be very subtle, sometimes starting around the cheekbone or jaw, and can blend into the rest of the haircut. Curtain bangs are more specific. They’re a type of fringe that is generally shorter in the centre and longer towards the sides, creating that parted, curtain-like effect. They can incorporate face-framing pieces, but not every face-framing haircut is a curtain fringe.”
8. Blow dry vs straight hair
Mensah explains that clients will often request a blowout, not straight hair. “When somebody asks for a blowout, they might not necessarily want poker-straight hair, but they usually do want smoothness, polish and movement,” she says. Again, this comes down to the terminology.
“People can sometimes be nervous about words like ‘straightening’ or ‘silk press’ because they associate them with heat, and that concern is understandable,” she continues. “Heat is something we should use thoughtfully, but my approach has always been: start with healthy hair, protect it properly, use the right tools and then the possibilities open up.”
9. Gloss vs shine treatments
“People think a gloss is just a shine treatment, like a finishing spray or something superficial. Actually, a gloss is a semi-permanent colour service that coats the hair shaft, corrects tone, adds incredible shine and improves the overall condition of the hair,” says Cusick.
“It genuinely transforms how colour looks and how hair feels and it's one of the most underrated services we offer. When a client says they just want a bit of shine, nine times out of ten what they actually want is a gloss.”
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