19 Mag

Italian Vocabulary at the Hairdresser

 

Going to the hairdresser can be a stressful time for both men and women. How to make yourself understood by the hairdresser and walk out with a satisfactory result?

Before seeing the useful phrases in Italian to go to the hairdresser in Italy, let’s see the practical terms that you need to use.

Il/La  Parrucchiere/a o Il Barbiere

The first useful thing to learn is the difference between parrucchiere/ hairdresser and barbiere/ barber to know where to go. The hairdresser takes care of the hair of men and women; the barber, on the other hand, also takes care of shaving and beard care, which is why his clients are only men.

Il Salone

It is the place where a hairdresser works or where beauty treatments are carried out, eg: salone del parrucchiere/hairdressing salon or o salone di bellezza/beauty salon. Ex: Dove si trova il vostro salone? Siamo in via De Marchi 5, Milano./ Where is your salon located? We are in via De Marchi 5, Milan.

Il Taglio di capelli

The haircut, the look you want to give your hair after the hairdresser’s cut. It can be scalato/scaled, pari/even or solo una spuntatina/just a trim.

Fare la tinta/ fare il colore

Change your hair color with natural tinta/dyes or products.

Fare la piega

The hairstyle, the effect your hair will have after being dried and combed by the hairdresser.

With these first useful sentences in Italian you can make an appointment without getting confused.

Making an appointment

You can call or ask directly at the salon how to make an appointment. The useful phrases in Italian to use are:

“Buongiorno, vorrei prendere un appuntamento per un taglio di capelli/fare il colore, etc.”/”Hello, I would like to make an appointment for a haircut / color, etc.”

The hairdresser will answer “Per quando/ When?” and you will be able to reply on the days and times you are free.

If you want to know the prices, you can ask “quanto costa la piega/il taglio/fare il colore?”/”How much does the blowout/ cut / color do?”.

At the hairdresser

When you enter the salon, say your name and explain that you have an appointment “Buongiorno, sono Matilde Rossi e ho un appuntamento alle 15.00”/”Hello, I’m Matilde Rossi and I have an appointment at 15.00″.

The Italian Haircut Vocabulary you need to know

 

When you sit in front of the mirror it is essential to communicate effectively what you want to the hairdresser and understand what she/he means to avoid nasty surprises.

Come li facciamo?/ How do we make them?

The hairdresser’s question starts it all. You will need to explain what kind of cut you want if you want to make a dye and how you want the final fold.

Vorrei dare una spuntatina. Può tagliarmi solo le punte?/ I’d like a haircut/ Can you just trim the ends?

If you want to eliminate split ends while maintaining as much length as possible, show the stylist how much you want to cut while your hair is still dry.

Che colore hai in mente? –  Vorrei fare una tinta/colore.  What colour do you have in mind? – I would like to make a tint/colour.

To ask for a tint you must indicate the color which can be biondo/blond, rosso/red, castano/brown, cioccolato/chocolate … For a more specific effect, it is better to indicate the type of tone you would like: cenere/ash, dorato/golden or with riflessi viola/violet reflections.

Vorrei schiarire i capelli. /I would like some highlights.

Specify if you want to schiarire i capelli lasciando le radici al naturale /lighten the hair leaving the roots natural and scendere mano mano verso le punte/go down gradually towards the tips or if you prefer to sfumare tutta la lunghezza/ blend the entire length.

Vorrei tagliare più o meno 5 centimetri./I would like to cut about 5 centimeters.

By indicating a precise measure, you cannot go wrong.

Vorrei i capelli scalati./I would like a layered haircut.

The hairdresser makes strands of different lengths.

Vorrei un taglio sfilato/I would like a cut out.

More aggressive than the layered haircut, the sfilato is used to thin out the hair in some areas with special scissors.

Vorrei tagliare i capelli corti/ non troppo corti./I would like a short haircut/ not too short haircut.

To shorten the length of the hair.

Vorrei cambiare pettinatura. Cosa mi consiglia?/ I would like to change my style. What do you suggest?

A courageous request, to change the look.

Come li asciughiamo? Lisci o mossi? Mettiamo un po’ di lacca/olio sulle punte?/ How shall we dry it? Straight or wavy? Shall we put a little hairspray / oil on the tips?

It’s the final moment, you can choose how to dry them. Lisci/smooth is the simplest option to explain. If you want them wavy you will have to go into more details, it can be useful to bring a photo with you to help you with the descriptions.

 

Italian Grammar Exercises