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How Stylists Edit Captions and Use Before/After Posts
After texting a photo, you have full control over the caption before anything goes to your manager or gets published. Here's how to use APPROVE, EDIT, and REDO — and how to submit before/after transformation posts.
Your Three Choices After Sending a Photo
After you text a photo to your salon's MostlyPostly number, you'll receive an AI-generated caption preview within about 30 seconds. From there, you have three options — all via text reply:
APPROVE
Send the word APPROVE to accept the caption as written. The post goes to your manager for review (if approval is required) or directly into the publishing queue if your salon has auto-publish on.
Example reply: APPROVE
EDIT [your text]
Replace the AI caption entirely with your own words. Type EDIT followed by the caption you want to use. Your text becomes the final caption — the AI version is discarded.
Example reply: EDIT Just finished this gorgeous balayage on my client Sarah — summer ready!
REDO [direction]
Ask the AI to rewrite the caption with your specific feedback. Type REDO followed by what you want changed. The AI will generate a new draft and send it back to you for another review.
Example reply: REDO make it more playful and mention it's a color correction
Using REDO Effectively
REDO is one of the most powerful tools in the workflow. The more specific your direction, the better the result. You can REDO as many times as you need until the caption feels right.
Good REDO directions include:
- Changing the tone: "make it more professional" or "make it more fun and casual"
- Adding a specific detail: "mention it's a silk press" or "include that she came in for a full transformation"
- Trimming length: "shorter — two sentences max"
- Adjusting the focus: "focus more on the color, less on the cut"
- Removing something: "remove the hashtags" or "don't mention the booking link"
Every REDO stays within your salon's brand guidelines and tone of voice as configured by your manager — so results will still sound like your salon, just refined based on your direction.
💡 Pro Tip
Don't stress about getting the caption perfect on the first try. REDO is fast — it only takes about 20–30 seconds for the AI to generate a new draft. Use it freely.
Before & After Posts
Before/after posts are consistently among the highest-performing content types for salons. Guests love seeing transformations — and these posts tend to earn the most saves and shares.
To create a before/after post: attach both photos in the same text message. Send the before photo and the after photo together as a multi-photo MMS.
MostlyPostly will detect that it's a before/after pair and generate a caption specifically written for transformation content — highlighting the change, the result, and the stylist's skill rather than a standard service post.
- →Attach both photos in a single text (not two separate messages)
- →The order matters: send before first, then after — or add a note in the message like "left is before, right is after"
- →You can still APPROVE, EDIT, or REDO the before/after caption just like any other post
Checking Your Post Status in the Stylist Portal
You can view the status of all your submitted posts at your salon's stylist portal URL. Ask your manager for the exact link — it will look something like app.mostlypostly.com/[salon-name]/stylist.
Log in with the phone number you use to text your photos. From the portal you can see:
- Posts awaiting manager approval
- Approved posts that are scheduled to publish
- Published posts and the captions that went live on Facebook and Instagram
After Manager Approval
Once your manager approves your post, it joins the publishing queue and will go live according to your salon's posting schedule — automatically timed to avoid back-to-back posts and to publish during your salon's active window (e.g., 9 AM to 8 PM).
You'll receive a confirmation text when your post is successfully published to Facebook and Instagram. No action is needed from you after you've approved and your manager has signed off.
What Makes a Great Salon Photo
The AI caption is only as good as what it has to work with. High-quality photos produce noticeably better captions and dramatically better engagement on social media.
- →Lighting — natural window light or a ring light. Avoid overhead salon lighting that creates shadows or yellow tones.
- →Background — clean or salon-appropriate. A busy or cluttered background distracts from the hair.
- →Focus — the hair should be clearly in focus. If using a phone, tap the screen on the hair to lock focus before shooting.
- →Client's face — optional. If you include your client's face, make sure you have their permission. Many clients are happy to be featured when asked.
- →Before/after consistency — for transformation posts, try to shoot both photos in similar lighting and from the same angle. The comparison is more dramatic and easier for the AI to describe.