On some level, if you want your hair to look good it’s going to take some work. Unless you have perfect hair, with great body, beautiful thickness, and absolutely no issues whatsoever, you will need to do something with your hair to make it look like that photo you brought in. By the way, I’m pretty sure that the aforementioned perfect hair doesn’t really exist.

Celebrities are born just as human as you and me, with one exception when it comes to hair. Celebrities hire teams of stylists, use extensions, wigs, top of the line hair products and processes that cost a fortune. Unless you’re willing to pay those kind of prices, it’s probably not realistic to have celebrity perfect hair everyday.

The truth is, very few people on this planet have wash and go hair. Many people look like they do (like the girl you work with whose hair is perfect all day long), but they have to work at it. They experiment with the right shampoo, get regular haircuts, try out new styling techniques, and they probably use product in their hair. By the way, we all secretly hate the girl with the perfect all day hair. It’s okay.

If you don’t want to use product in your hair, don’t expect your hair to look like you did. Have you ever noticed how many products your stylist uses during your haircut/blowout? Bottom line: new products are awesome and could give you a brand new appreciation for your hair.

Just because you’re using product, doesn’t mean you’re using it right. If you’re one of those girls that have been using the same product you used 10 years ago (it’s okay, you don’t have to admit it out loud), it is time for a change. Ask for advice on your hair products, and implement that advice at home. If your product isn’t working out, ask to exchange your product for something that will work for you.

If you ask for a new look, but style your hair the same way you always have, you will likely not be happy with your hair’s result. In fact, it will probably look like it always did. A haircut is simply the foundation to a great look. Styling is key. Ask your stylist for advice on properly styling your new cut.

Practice makes perfect. Try new things with your hair and re-try them when you don’t get it right the first time. Trust me, even hairstylist have a hard time blowing out their own hair, and it takes some skill to learn to curl your hair with a flat iron. Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither is great hair.

Have real expectations with your hair. If you’re only willing to put 5 minutes of styling into a hair style that should require 30 minutes, expect your hair to look that way. Ask your stylist to help you choose a look that matches the level of effort that you’re willing to put in and that matches your hair’s texture.

The more hair you have, the more time it will take to style. Which is a real drag if you were “blessed” with ridiculously thick hair, but it’s just a truth that you have to accept.

A salon chair is not a time machine. Hair changes over time as we age, just like our skin and our rear ends. It sucks, but we can only realistically work with the present condition of your hair. As much as you’d love to have your hair look the way it did 15 or 20 years ago, you will be much happier if you work with what you have, at the present moment, instead of focusing on what you once had.