Do I ask for a review at the chair or afterwards?

Afterwards. In the chair they feel obliged and they have not lived with the cut yet. Two weeks later they know whether they can style it themselves, and that is what a new client wants to hear about.

What should a hair stylist's reviews mention?

The hair type, and what happened once it was in your chair. "Fine and straight, wanted a bob, she talked me out of the length I'd asked for and she was right" gives a stranger with fine hair something to act on. "Lovely salon" gives them nothing.

Are reviews on my own site different from the ones on Google?

Yes. Google reviews are shown the way Google chooses and can be filtered or removed by it. The ones on your site are the ones you have approved, and they stay in the order you want. Collecting both is fine.

How do I handle a client who wants a bad experience left out?

Nothing goes on your site until you have read it and approved it, so a lukewarm message stays private and you can reply to that client directly. It is worth calling them. Half the time the problem was a small thing you can still put right.

hair stylists

Reviews for hair stylists

Take the fear out of changing stylists.

Changing stylists is scary. People read everything before they book, especially anyone with hair like theirs.

Right below is the text I would send a client, ready to copy.

Start freeNo card needed. Cancel whenever.

A text you can send

The text I would send after a good job

Two weeks after the appointment, when they have washed and styled it themselves.

Hi Jo, it's Rosa from Halden Street Hair. How is the cut sitting now that you've done it yourself a few times? If you feel like writing a couple of lines for my website, what you were nervous about beforehand is the part people like to read. Nothing to sign up for: [your link]

Swap in your own names. The link comes from your dashboard.

Hair stylist review examples

The kind of thing hair stylists collect with Exalted. Each one is invented and labelled as an example.

Example

I brought a photo and expected to be talked out of it. She asked about my mornings instead and cut something I can actually do myself in five minutes.

Mo T. · Client

Example

My hair is thick and turns into a triangle if anyone cuts it wrong. I was braced for another stylist to say "we'll just thin it out." She cut it wet, left the weight where it belonged, and it dried into a shape on its own.

Adaeze N. · Client, first visit

Example

I had bangs I'd hacked at over the bathroom sink, and I nearly canceled the booking out of embarrassment. She never mentioned it. Six weeks on it sits behind my ear and I keep forgetting it was ever a problem.

Bex L. · Client since March

Example

Moved cities and put off finding someone for a year. I read every review I could find first, looked for people with curls like mine, and booked her. Now I have my next four appointments in the calendar.

Ivana P. · Curly-haired client

The first two are about being afraid, and the third shows what a reader does before booking. People deciding on a new stylist are looking for their own hair in somebody else's story, so a review that names a texture or a bad past cut does more than praise ever will.

How it works

1
Share one link
You get a single link. Send it by text or email to a client whose work went well.
2
They write it, in a minute
No account and no app to download. They rate you and write a couple of lines.
3
You approve what appears
Nothing is public until you say so. Approve the good ones and they appear on your website automatically.

When to ask

Two weeks after the cut, once they know it still looks right when they style it themselves.

The single biggest reason hair stylists have no testimonials is that nobody asks while the work is still fresh, not that clients are unwilling.

Questions that get a real answer

“Please leave a review” produces “great service”, which persuades nobody. Ask something specific instead:

What were you hoping for when you booked?
How well did we listen to what you wanted?
How is it growing out?

Or an email

For clients who booked a color correction and would rather write at a desk.

Subject: How the color has held up

Hi Bex,

It has been about a month since we took the orange out of your ends. I hope it is still the shade we agreed on after the second wash.

I keep the reviews from clients on my own website, next to the booking page, because someone with a correction to book will read those before they read anything I say. Would you tell people what you were worried about and how it turned out?

There's no login. Here is the link: [your link]

Rosa

Swap in your own names and the details of the job. The link comes from your dashboard.

Where people check a hair stylist first

Instagram
Where they scroll your tagged photos and old posts to see whether the hair on the client matches the hair in the caption. Tagged posts from clients count for more than your own.
Google Maps
The salon result with the star average, the opening hours and a row of recent photos. Most first-time bookers open this before your booking page.
Fresha and Booksy
If you are listed there, the reviews sit right beside the price list, and people compare them before choosing who gets the appointment.
TikTok and Reddit
Someone searches "best colorist for curly hair" and reads whatever comes back. A stylist gets named in comments by a customer, not by the salon.
Your own website
Where a nervous client goes to read reviews from people with their kind of hair, without an algorithm deciding which ones to show.

Questions hair stylists ask

Do I ask for a review at the chair or afterwards?: Afterwards. In the chair they feel obliged and they have not lived with the cut yet. Two weeks later they know whether they can style it themselves, and that is what a new client wants to hear about.
What should a hair stylist's reviews mention?: The hair type, and what happened once it was in your chair. "Fine and straight, wanted a bob, she talked me out of the length I'd asked for and she was right" gives a stranger with fine hair something to act on. "Lovely salon" gives them nothing.
Are reviews on my own site different from the ones on Google?: Yes. Google reviews are shown the way Google chooses and can be filtered or removed by it. The ones on your site are the ones you have approved, and they stay in the order you want. Collecting both is fine.
How do I handle a client who wants a bad experience left out?: Nothing goes on your site until you have read it and approved it, so a lukewarm message stays private and you can reply to that client directly. It is worth calling them. Half the time the problem was a small thing you can still put right.

Every testimonial Exalted publishes is written by a real person and approved by the business owner.

Your reputation, as a ladder

Each approved testimonial moves you up a tier, so you have a reason to keep asking. Visitors see the tier and know how established you are.

Friendly1+ approved

Honored5+ approved

Revered15+ approved

Exalted30+ approved

Pricing

Starter is $9 a month or $85 a year. Pro is $19 a month or $180 a year. Both are free until your fifth testimonial, and neither asks for a card to begin.

See what is in each plan

Worth reading before you ask

More on the blog. If you ask for Google reviews too, the free Google review link generator and the review request templates need no account. If you want a client quote as a picture to post, I made a free testimonial image maker.

Start collecting this week

Set up a link in about five minutes and send it to the last client who thanked you.

Start free