It seems like I go from good to bad to worse with hairdressers. I yearn for the days when I was young and wore my hair all one length and halfway down my back. The "usual" cut was two inches off the ends and I was good to go.
Now that I'm older and can't get away with wearing my hair like a sixteen-year-old and finding a hairdresser who "gets" my hair is next to impossible. I've got a ton of hair—yeah, it's great that I'll never have to worry about being a bald granny some day, but my hair is slightly wavy and coarse. (I compare it to a horse's mane) This means if I want to wear the sleek look I have to spend way too much time with a round brush and a blower dryer to tame it. If I put curl gel in my hair and let it air dry it's not quite the "cute" curly look I'm trying to achieve so I'm forced to use a curling iron. I really envy women who have hairstyles that wash and wear without a lot of fuss. And the older I get the less time I want to spend fussing over hair and makeup in front of the mirror.
A few months ago I bit the bullet and tried a new stylist recommended by a friend. Afraid of being butchered, I said "nothing drastic, just a trim please." She looked at my hair, ran her fingers through it and said "whoever cut your layers last time did it all wrong. It will take two haircuts to get your hair where it should be." Oh, boy did that make me nervous. But she reassured me she wouldn’t cut too much hair off and she didn't.
Two days ago I went back for the second cut and the stylist announced that my hair was now "fixed". And she was right. The curl held better and it was it looked better. Then she announced her husband was getting a new job and they'd be moving out of the area. Just great.
She recommended one of the other women in the salon to me and brought her over to the chair to explain to the lady how she cut my hair. I appreciated that but I kept thinking—I'm back to square one. Oh, well, in eight weeks I'll return to the salon, give the new stylist a try and see what happens.
Anyone else struggle to find a hairdresser who understands their hair?
Marin
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9 comments:
All I can say is, "Don't get me started." My longtime hairdresser got angry and walked out about 6 months ago and it's been downhill ever since.
A good hair stylist is worth their weight in gold. My all time fav was Andrew, who moved from Florida to NC last year, much to my extreme sorrow. He suggested I fly up and have him do my hair and, I tell ya, there are months that I walk out of my new hair salon thinking I might follow through on that idea.
I have the same trouble. But I even still have the "16-year old cut" where my hair is all one length (long, and straight, and also thick). I might do something different but 1) I have no clue what and 2) every hair dresser is scared to cut more than 1/8" at a time. Even when I explain that it grows back fast. And unless they pull out a razor blade, its hard to cut too much off.
I finally found someone who at least does a good job (you'd be surprised how hard some people find it to cut hair all one length!), and has ventured into doing the tiniest bit of shaping on the front.
But I still miss the lady from my hometown who cut my hair for 20 years. She refused to perm it when I was in high school (even though it meant she only got paid for a trim instead of a perm that day), and always had a (correct) opinion on what would look good. Alas, I cannot afford to re-locate her just to work on my hair :)
Pam--there were days in the past when I was so disgusted with my hair I was tempted to walk into Great Clips and tell the young stylist just out of school "go ahead and practice on my hair".
Marin
Leigh--I've never had a man cut my hair, but a fiend in California swears by male stylists and has had a guy cut her hair for years. Her hair looks great on her Christmas card every year so I guess the guy knows his stuff :-)
Marin
Kristi
If I could get away with wearing my hair all one length I would, but I have a long face and a long neck and it just doesn't look good. Maybe with time your new stylist will create something unique for your face and hair texture--never hurts to dream :-)
Marin
I am so lucky. I have a friend who is a hairdresser. She even comes to my house and cuts my hair.
I am having a crisis with my hair, not my hair dresser. I can't get it to do what I want. But think the main issue is that I am turning fifty and don't want to admit it. My cousins saw me on FB and even though my hair looked great, they said I looked like my mom...which I did not want to hear.
Fortunately my hairdresser is also my therapist :-)
Peace, Julie
Estella--I would love to have a friend who cuts hair--lucky you!
Julie, LOL on your hairdresser being a therapist :-) Wouldn't it be great if all hairdressers made you feel like a million bucks when you leave the salon even if you don't look it!
Marin
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