25 Years Behind the Chair: Things I’ve Stopped Being Polite About With Our Founder

I’ve been doing this for a quarter of a century now. Long enough to watch trends cycle back twice, long enough to stop taking things personally and long enough to have opinions I used to keep to myself.

Not anymore. Here’s what I’ve actually learned.

“Healthy hair” is mostly a lifestyle question, not a product one

Almost every client who asks for healthy hair is really asking for shine — this week. That’s fair, we can do that. But actual hair health is downstream of sleep, stress, diet and how often you’re putting heat on it. No serum fixes what’s happening at 2am when you can’t switch your brain off.

This is exactly why Enough exists as more than a hair salon. Your hair is one signal among many. If we’re only ever treating the ends, we’re missing the point.

“Low maintenance colour” almost never exists

It’s one of the most requested things and one of the most misunderstood. What you’re usually choosing is where the maintenance shows up — at the root in six weeks, or gradually in the condition of the hair over a year. There’s no version of colour that asks nothing of you. We’d rather tell you that upfront than have you disappointed at week eight.

Blonde is a commitment, not a colour

If you can’t get in for a toner every 4-6 weeks, you didn’t actually want blonde — you wanted a photo of blonde. That’s not a judgement, it’s just honesty about what the maintenance looks like. We’d rather tell you now than watch it go brassy in week five and wonder what happened.

Bring the photo — but let us tell you the truth about it

We love a Pinterest reference. Genuinely, bring it in. But if it’s a photo of someone with completely different density, texture, or hair history than yours, the kindest thing we can do is say so before we cut, not after. A good stylist isn’t the one who says yes to everything. It’s the one who tells you what will actually suit your hair, not the hair in the photo.

A fringe is a relationship, not a haircut

If you’re not coming in every three weeks, don’t get one. A fringe out of shape is one of the fastest ways to make an otherwise great cut look unfinished. It’s a genuine commitment and we’ll always tell you that before we cut it.

Most “bad haircuts” are actually bad blow-dries

The cut is usually fine. What’s missing is five minutes of someone showing you how to actually style it at home. We’d rather spend that time with you than send you out the door with a great cut you can’t replicate.

Dry shampoo is a tool, not a substitute

Most people use it backwards — as a way to avoid washing, rather than as a way to extend a good wash. Your scalp still needs attention. No amount of dry shampoo replaces that.

Consultations matter more than the cut itself

Most damage in this industry happens because someone was rushed through the part that actually counts — the conversation before the scissors come out. We’ll never rush that, even if it means running behind.

Referring you elsewhere is a strength, not a failure

If another stylist or another practitioner in our collective is genuinely better suited to what you need, we’ll say so. Most salons treat referring out as losing a client. We treat it as doing the job properly.

The body and the hair are never separate

Most stress shows up in someone’s body before it ever shows up in their hair. That’s the whole reason Enough works as a collective and not just a salon — treating the hair on its own is only ever half the job.

Twenty-five years in, this is the thing I keep coming back to: good hairdressing isn’t about chasing the result you saw online. It’s about being honest with you, and treating your hair as part of a bigger picture — because it is.

— Lisa