How to Use the Sparkle Sessions Haircut Formula

A simple consultation checklist to help you get closer to the haircut you actually want

Have you ever shown your hairstylist a picture and thought:

“I want exactly this.”

Then you leave the salon and realize the haircut technically looks similar… but it still doesn’t feel quite like what you had in mind?

Sometimes the problem isn’t the haircut.

It’s the communication.

An inspiration picture can tell your stylist a lot, but it doesn’t always tell us which parts of that haircut you actually love.

That’s why I created the Sparkle Sessions Haircut Formula.

It’s a visual consultation checklist designed to help you think through the details of your haircut before your appointment.

And no — you do not need to know professional haircut terminology.

You just need to know what you like.

Here’s how to use it.

Step 1: Choose Your Length

Start with the biggest decision:

How long do you want your hair?

On the Haircut Formula, you can choose:

• Short

• Medium

• Medium-long

• Long

Don’t worry about knowing whether something is technically a bob, lob, bixie, butterfly cut, or shag yet.

First, decide where you want the overall length to sit.

Hair Therapy Tip 💚

If you're cutting off a lot of length, show your stylist exactly where you're comfortable seeing the bottom of the haircut.

Sometimes an inch makes a very big difference.

Step 2: Choose Your Back Shape

Now turn the haircut around.

This is something clients often forget to think about because most inspiration photos are taken from the front.

But the back can completely change the silhouette.

You might choose:

• Straight across

• Round

• V-shape

• Tapered

• Stacked

For longer hair, this usually determines the shape of the perimeter.

For shorter hair, it can determine whether the haircut feels sleek, soft, structured, or full.

Don't just bring me the front.

The back matters too.

Step 3: Decide How Much Layering You Want

This is where two haircuts at the exact same length can suddenly look completely different.

You can choose:

• No layers

• Long layers

• Medium layers

• Short layers

The shorter the layers become, the more movement, volume, and separation you generally create.

But more layering can also remove weight.

If you love thick, full ends, tell your stylist that.

If you want maximum movement, tell us that too.

Instead of saying:

“I want layers.”

Try saying:

“I want the shortest layer to begin around here.”

And point.

That gives us much more useful information.

Step 4: Choose Your Face Frame

Face framing is another phrase that can mean a hundred different things.

Where do you want that first shorter piece to begin?

The checklist gives you starting points like:

• Nose

• Chin

• Mid-neck

• Top of chest

The higher the face frame begins, the more noticeable and dramatic it will be.

The lower it begins, the softer and easier it may be to pull back.

Ask yourself:

Where do I actually want to see that first piece around my face?

Step 5: Decide About Bangs

This deserves its own question because:

“Bangs” is not one haircut.

You might want:

• No bangs

• Curtain bangs

• Wispy bangs

• Blunt bangs

• Side-swept bangs

And even after choosing the type, we still need to talk about:

• length

• fullness

• width

• natural growth patterns

• how much styling you're willing to do

If you have a bang photo you love, bring it separately.

Your bangs do not have to come from the same inspiration photo as the rest of your haircut.

Step 6: Think About the Sides

Now look at the side profile.

Do you want the sides:

• Full

• Tapered

• Angled

• Rounded

• Stacked

This is particularly important for shorter cuts, bobs, lobs, wedges, and A-lines.

Sometimes a client thinks she loves the front of a haircut when the part she's actually reacting to is the side silhouette.

That’s why side-view inspiration photos are so helpful.

Step 7: Choose Your Volume

This is where haircut and styling start working together.

Do you want your finished hair to look:

• Sleek

• Soft

• Bouncy

• Textured

This is important because sometimes the haircut you’re showing me isn't what you're in love with.

You're in love with the blowout.

A layered haircut styled sleek can look completely different from the exact same haircut styled with a large round brush and lots of volume.

So show your stylist the finished feeling you want too.

Step 8: Be Honest About Your Lifestyle

This might be the most important box on the entire page.

How do you really wear your hair?

Not how you'd like to wear it on your best Pinterest day. 😂

How do you actually wear it?

Do you:

• Air-dry?

• Blow-dry?

• Curl it?

• Wear a ponytail?

• Need something low-maintenance?

There are no wrong answers.

But the haircut needs to fit your real life.

If you need to pull your hair back every day, we have to think carefully before putting short layers all around your face.

If you're never going to use a round brush, we shouldn't build the entire haircut around a style that requires one.

The best haircut is the one you can actually live with.

Now Bring Your Inspiration

At the bottom of the Haircut Formula, you’ll see one of my favorite parts:

Bring to your appointment:

☐ Front photo☐ Side photo☐ Back photo☐ What I love☐ What I don’t want

And here’s the important part:

Those photos do NOT have to match.

You may love:

• the front of one haircut

• the side of another

• the back of a third

• the bangs from a fourth

Bring all of them.

Your stylist can help identify what those pictures have in common and create a haircut that makes sense for your hair.

Don't Forget the “What I Don't Want” Box

Clients sometimes feel awkward telling their stylist what they don't like.

Please don't.

That information is incredibly useful.

You can tell me:

“I don't want my ears showing.”

“I don't want short layers on top.”

“I hate when the back gets too round.”

“I need my hair to fit into a ponytail.”

“I don't want bangs in my eyes.”

Those aren't complaints.

Those are consultation clues.

Use the Notes Section

The Therapy Notes version of the Haircut Formula includes a place to write things down.

Use it.

Things you might write:

• “Keep as much length as possible.”

• “I want more volume around my crown.”

• “I don't like hair touching my neck.”

• “I only style my hair for 10 minutes.”

• “I want my shortest face frame at my chin.”

• “I want the back from photo #1 and front from photo #3.”

That gives your stylist a roadmap.

You Don't Need to Know the Haircut Name

This is probably the most important thing about the entire Sparkle Sessions Haircut Formula.

You do not need to walk into the salon knowing:

“I need a medium-length C-Cut with long interior graduation and curtain fringe.”

Please don't stress yourself out. 😂

You can simply say:

“I want this length.”

“I like this back.”

“I want my layers to start here.”

“I like this face frame.”

“I want it bouncy.”

“And I need to be able to put it in a ponytail.”

Now we can build the haircut.

Sparkle's Hair Therapy Take 💚

A great consultation isn't about speaking hairstylist.

It’s about creating a shared picture of what you want.

The Sparkle Sessions Haircut Formula helps you break that picture into pieces:

Length.Back shape.Layers.Face frame.Bangs.Sides.Volume.Lifestyle.

Then your stylist can take those pieces and put them together in a way that works for your face, texture, density, and daily routine.

Because sometimes your perfect haircut isn't sitting in one inspiration photo.

Sometimes we have to build it together.

Healthy Hair. Confidence. You.Sparkle Sessions Hair Therapy