Service time for coily hair: why your forty-five minutes are never enough

Forty-five minutes. She sits down, you part a section, and you know in three seconds it will take three times as long. Two outcomes, and they are both bad.

Misjudging the time isn't a scheduling oversight; it's a technical error. With coily and curly hair, time isn't a favor you grant to difficult hair: it's part of the process, because the work is done section by section and no section can be made up later. Here you'll find truly manageable scheduling guidelines, built around the six steps of the Ritual Texture® and everything that comes with it.

The duration of a complete Ritual Texture®

This is the baseline, the one from which everything else is calculated. In the chair, a complete Ritual Texture® takes two hours fifteen to three hours fifteen. The difference is not random: it depends on the styling done at the end of the session and whether or not a cut is included. Loose flat twists on medium-length hair will bring you toward the lower end of the range; tight flat twists on dense hair, with a cut, will take you toward the top.

Stick to the high end of the range for a first visit and for any hair you don't know yet. A time slot that is too short pays immediately on the two steps that are sacrificed first, detangling and drying, that is to say precisely those that determine the result and the breakage in the following weeks.

Where the time goes, step by step

The Ritual Texture® consists of six steps, always in the same order. Knowing them by name isn't just for speaking the same language in training: it's what allows you to price an appointment post by post instead of blocking a time at your best guess.

1. 01
   Detangling with a Chadian combWith fingers, on dry hair, six sections at minimum, eight in case of high density or very tangled hair. This is the most underestimated part of the entire session, and the one that should never be cut short: what is not detangled here will pay off with a comb and drying.
2. 02
   Hydrating DetoxTwo successive washes, a gentle clarifying one then The Repair Shampoo. We don't work the lather like on straight hair: we wash by section and by zone, and we press the flat twists during rinsing without ever rubbing them.
3. 03
   Length & ends massageThe Repair Mask, heated between the hands, applied section by section from the ends toward the roots. Ten minutes of processing time, under a cap. This is a fixed duration: it is scheduled, it is not negotiated when the schedule runs over.
4. 04
   Detangling with the Man Dol' CombOn hair coated with mask, from the ends toward the roots, return to fingers as soon as resistance appears, then rinse. Mandatory step, never presented as an option to the client.
5. 05
   Protective dryingThe Styling Cream on damp hair, then the hair dryer by small sections, from the roots toward the ends, always in motion. This is the most variable part of the session: density and length can double it.
6. 06
   Seal the hydrationGenerous final application of The Styling Cream, last pass of the Man Dol' Comb, then protective braid or flat twist before undoing and styling.

Two parts command the whole: the first and the fifth. Detangling done too quickly lengthens the comb, the drying, and the styling; drying handled hastily leaves the client with hair that is not ready and prepares a difficult appointment for you next time. If you have to arbitrate, it's on the final styling that you gain minutes, never on steps 01 and 05.

What is added to the Ritual Texture®

Everything that follows is added to the Ritual Texture®, it does not replace it. It's a vocabulary distinction, and it's also a billing distinction: a protective hairstyle done after the complete routine is a separate service. We then write "Ritual Texture® + Flat Twists", and we add the two durations to the schedule.

The cut is decided and performed after step 05, on hair stretched by the protective drying. Count it as an independent part in the time slot, and warn the client that the length is decided together: if she is not sure about wanting to cut, we don't cut, and the appointment ends earlier than expected rather than in regret. Our article on cutting coily hair details the method.

Elaborate hairstyles form the last category: flat braids, braids with or without extensions, long twists. Depending on the number of braids, the length worked, and the presence of extensions, they take two to four hours, preparation included. Beyond three hours, the reception becomes a technical variable as much as a comfort: a break, water, a seat in which you can really stay seated change the way the client experiences the session, and therefore her desire to return. See our protective hairstyles in the salon.

A shorter maintenance also exists, and it has its place on the schedule: refresh a hairstyle, redo edges, redo a styling. From thirty minutes to one hour depending on the hair, without a full wash. It's the time slot that allows you to keep the connection between two routines without mobilizing half a day, and it's also the one you need to know how to offer the same day when a client comes back because her style is pulling.

What lengthens a session

Density and length come far ahead of everything else. They don't lengthen a step, they lengthen them all, because they increase the number of sections to treat from beginning to end. This is the reason why an estimate based on visible length alone is so often wrong: on coily hair, shrinkage hides half of the hair you will have to work.

The condition of the fiber comes next. Very tangled hair, weakened by a color or in transition imposes a slower and more fragmented detangling. In case of significant breakage, we reduce the size of the sections even further, and detangling goes back to the trained hairstylist rather than the assistant. See detangling in the salon without damaging.

The first visit, finally, requires the time for a diagnosis. Count about twenty minutes of observation and exchange before touching anything: this is what prevents you from discovering an irritated scalp or a demarcation line once the client is at the sink. See the salon diagnosis.

The schedule and client card

Three questions at the time of booking are enough to frame a time slot: what length, what density, and what was the last chemical service. A fourth, useful one, is about the hairstyle currently worn: undoing braids that have been in for several weeks is not a formality and must be scheduled.

This last point is the most profitable of all. Note in the client card the time actually spent, part by part if you can. After two or three appointments, you no longer guess: you know. You can then offer fixed time slots every six to eight weeks, which stabilize your schedule as much as they build loyalty. Between these salon visits, it's the client who leads her Ritual Texture® at home, every seven to ten days.

For the longest sessions, a maintenance appointment a few days before lightens the main one: the hair arrives prepared.

Charging for time, not texture

The rule holds in one sentence: we charge the time spent and the length worked, as for any long or dense hair, never the texture itself. A surcharge attached to the word "coily" is not defensible in front of a client, and it is no more defensible in front of you: what you charge is a number of hours of skilled work.

So announce the duration at the same time as the price, right at the time of booking, and stick to it. A client who knows how long she will stay and how much she will pay comes back; it's also what allows you to handle a long session without apologizing for it. See attracting a clientele with coily hair.

Frequently Asked Questions

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