Our Best Tips For Politely Breaking Up With Your Beauty Professionals

Trust us, we totally get it. Ending a professional relationship with a beauty expert you've potentially spent hours on end with and put your trust in more than once is never exactly a nice conversation to have. From nail techs to makeup artists, to hairdressers, that once somewhat awkward small talk can turn into deeper, more serious conversations when you're in the beauty chair, so breaking the news that you're not planning to use their services anymore can be brutal.

There can be a bunch of reasons why you decide not to go to them anymore. You may have found someone who does a better job for a better price, you may feel they just don't seem to be communicating with you very well, or maybe you have found yourself with a bad haircut or poor manicure one too many times. But, no matter what the reason, it doesn't really make the conversation of leaving any less awkward. That's why Women.com is here to give you a hand with some useful tips to free yourself from that beauty pro in the most polite way possible.

Much like how you should dish out a rejection quickly, cleanly, and confidently when you don't want to date someone anymore, being honest about why you've decided to go your own way (as long as it's not done maliciously!) is usually the best policy. At the end of the day, they're not doing your hair, nails, tan, waxing, makeup, or anything else for free, so you need to be happy when parting with your cash. "You're paying them, and if you're not happy with their services, let them know you want to try something new," Sue Fox, author of "Etiquette for Dummies," told The Mercury News.

By being honest, you're also avoiding an even more awkward situation down the line. For example, if you lied about moving away, things could get uncomfortable if you saw them locally a few weeks later. If you tell them it was about cost, you risk word getting back to them that you treated yourself to a swanky manicure at another salon.

If you're just not feeling up to telling your beauty professional face to face that you don't want to use them anymore, then you don't necessarily have to. Though we'd always recommend doing something like this in person to give it that more personal and sincere touch, particularly if this is someone you've been using for a long time and have built a strong rapport with, it is acceptable to write it all down. Opting for something like a direct message, an email, or a text will always be better than totally ghosting them — which is never acceptable if you've known this person for a while, by the way.

"Just getting a note in the mail saying here is why this doesn't work for me anymore is a great thing to do. Do the courtesy of letting them know if there was something you were unhappy about," Karie Bennett, stylist and owner of Atelier Salon Spa and Atelier Studio told The Mercury News. "It's a chance for us to learn as well," she added.

It goes without saying that rudeness is never acceptable in a professional environment, so just keep in mind that you want to treat your beauty professional the way you would like to be treated if the dumping was on the other foot. That means presenting your honest take on why you're leaving with some tact. "Be nice. You don't have to say 'I hate the way you do my hair!' It's perfectly fine to tell me that you want to try that new salon across town," hairstylist Ashley Trimnal told An Alli Event. Keeping it kind will also help you be able to return to the place or person you're moving on from if things don't work out, too.

Part of being polite can also involve sticking to the professional points you want to get across without getting too personal or unnecessarily bringing in reasons for leaving that aren't constructive. "There are usually one or two reasons why we are not happy. Stick to those, pepper it with kindness and do not confuse things by bringing other issues into the equation," Jodyne Speyer, author of "Dump 'Em: How to Break Up With Anyone From Your Best Friend to Your Hairdresser," told HuffPost.

There's no way around it, having the conversation with your beauty professional to let them know you're leaving is absolutely going to be awkward. One of the things you can do though to make it all feel a little easier is to just be open and point out the elephant in the room. Acknowledge right off the bat that it's an awkward conversation to have, and try the tactic of a compliment sandwich, where you bookend the conversation with praise and gratitude, while also being direct about the fact that you're moving on.

In the same vein, try to keep things more casual so the whole thing doesn't feel quite so extreme as that will hopefully take a little bit of the sting out of the fact you're leaving. Keep things casual, as if you're talking to a friend, and try not to make too big of a deal about it. Even though this is technically a breakup, it doesn't have to be a drawn-out, intense conversation.

If you're super worried about things getting too heavy though, you can always give yourself a get-out clause as to why you might need to leave. As Neathery Falchuk, a licensed social worker, told The Washington Post, "Keep it brief, direct, compassionate and give yourself a time boundary where you can say: I've got to go to another meeting."

Just because the beauty pro you're stepping away from won't be your go-to anymore, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to cut all ties with them — especially if you get along with them as a person. If you're severing professional ties with someone because they just don't fit your style anymore and not because of their skills (or lack thereof) as a makeup artist, hairdresser, nail tech etc. then continuing to support them and their business could soften the blow of no longer being a client. Devin Toth, a stylist, told PopSugar, "You can still follow them on social media, and the relationship can endure. Anything you want to do to keep the relationship going is very sweet and will be appreciated."

Maintaining a relationship with the person could even involve recommending their services to others, especially if they're a sole trader or part of a small company. After all, just because someone isn't a fit for you, it doesn't always mean they won't be for someone else. Just remember though that you shouldn't feel obligated to continue supporting them if you're leaving because they repeatedly did a bad job for you.