Should You Kick Off 2016 With a New Cut? Don’t Ask Your Boyfriend—Ask Your Hairstylist

Now that 2016 has arrived, it might be time to consider taking a more dramatic risk with your look—you know, the pixie cut you’ve been dying to see if you can pull off. The micro bangs you saw on Kiki Willems in the Saint Laurent ads. Or model Fernanda Ly’s cotton candy pink hair on the Louis Vuitton runway, which somehow looks right with everything.

With the prospect of a life-changing hair transformation (or epic failure) hanging tantalizingly in the air, whom can you trust to tell you if you’re crazy? Significant others have a tendency to sugarcoat an opinion (“Of course you’d look beautiful with bangs!”), while girlfriends often play it safe (“But I love your hair as it is.”) Surely, if no one else will, your hairstylist can be counted on to be honest with you, right? But hair is tricky and personal, and stylists must play the beauty diplomat. After all, it’s not just your look for the next six months that hangs in the balance. “If I do what the client wants and they hate it, it’s my fault,” explains stylist Matt Fugate of New York’s Sally Hershberger salon with a laugh. “If I do what I think is right and they hate it, it’s still my fault!”

So how likely are you to get a straight answer out of your beauty guru? Celebrity stylist Harry Josh, for one, believes that dramatic cuts and color can be adapted to flatter most clients—but that the associated upkeep doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. “Personally, I tell them the truth,” Josh says. “Anybody can have colorful hair, but the maintenance is astronomical!” Fugate agrees with this approach. “We have to be realistic. Bangs are great, but are you really going to blow them dry every day?” Translation: Wash-and-go girls need not apply.

Another thing to remember: Hairstyles are a lot more symbolically loaded than we might like to admit. (Raise your hand if you’ve indulged in a post-trim cry.) “There’s just so much emotion attached to changes,” says Josh. “Most of the time it’s not just boredom that inspires you.” So if your stylist starts playing therapist, it may mean they have reservations about your proposal and want to make sure it’s really what you want. The best thing to do when you want to make a big change? Sleep on it for three whole weeks. “Never go into a salon emotional,” Josh warns. “Trust me, you’ll regret it.”

And if, after mulling it over, you’re still jonesing for a refresh, ask your stylist what he or she really thinks. They’re professionals, and they want you to look good when you step out of their chair. “I’d rather lose a client by saying no than have her hate me for the rest of her life,” Fugate says. “Girls talk!” And after all, wouldn’t you prefer to have your bangs fantasy crushed than move forward into four (or more) months of growing out unruly fringe? A great stylist will gently set you on the right path. “If I genuinely think something is going to look bad,” Josh confides, “I’ll figure out a way to talk them out of it.”

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