new thread
Hi everyone, well I'm glad I stumbled across this little obscure community and just at the right time too!
My dilemma is that I am contemplating getting my hair trimmed to straighten the ends up a bit but I'm a little nervous that the hairdresser is going to go ballistic and do more styling then I want her to do. I've never been to the place before but it is a professional place that looks after womens longhair mostly, I'm not exactly sure what I'll get in regards to a hairdresser when I go there though.
I've been growing my hair now for about 20 months and it is currently shoulder length. I've finally got it to a stage where it is manageable and pleasing to my eye and I'm only about 9 months away until my hair will be at my hairlength goal (the base of my shoulderblades). My hair doesn't have any split-ends what-so-ever (well none that I've seen) and is fairly strong with no breakage occuring, but the underlayer of bottom part of my hair at the back of my neck seems to get a little frizzy and I was thinking it might be damaged. My hair is naturally wavey with the top of my hair and the top layer growing a lot straighter the the bottom part/layer of my hair which becomes a lot curlier. I've been occaisionally getting some tangling as well as little knots occuring at the end of single strands of hair.
What I'm trying to decide is whether my hair is actually damaged and needing a bit of a rescue or more of a bad brushing/care technique on my part? I have been brushing my hair when it is wet and usually shampoo/condition every night but I don't do much brushing during the day or at night. Do you think I should just tough it out and resort to better hair-care techniques then go through the trauma of getting it trimmed? My ultimate hairstyle goal is for it to be the same length right the way around, without it looking frizzy or damaged, more like a well kept womens hairstyle I guess. Perhaps if tough it out, once I get to my hair length goal I can then do a trim to straighten it up a bit?
Thanks is advance,
Gordo
Gordo:
You say you're going to a salon that specializes in caring for long hair. If you've made an appointment, even if you don't know the stylist, call the salon and ask if you could book a few minutes in advance of your appointment to talk with your stylist. When you meet, hand your stylist a copy of your post and let him/her read it. Then, ask the stylist if she understands what you have in mind as your goal, and what she would do to help you get there. If you'll communicate clearly what you want, you and your stylist can proceed with confidence and I'd be really surprised if you didn't come very close to your objective. On the other hand, if you're not satisfied with the answers you get or the attitudinal vibes you pick up from your brief chat, then thank the stylist, give her a generous tip, and run like hell. Talk first, but trust your instincts. Best of luck.
. . . JP in san diego.
Thanks for the reply JP, the advice helped heaps!
I took your advice and went through with the appointment, let me tell you though that mentally I was kicking and screaming the whole time and if I had gone to the salon with anyone else they would've had to drag me inside!
Lucky for me my random pick in a suitable salon was spot on and I ended up getting a haridresser who knew exactly what I wanted. It turned out to be a guy with long hair just like mine and I explained to him rather pointedly what I wished to accomplish today and for the future in regards to me hairstyle. He knew exactly what to do because he styled his hair precisely how I want mine to end up, so I had a sigh of relief. I ended up getting about 1" (perhaps slightly less) taken off the bottom to straighten it up a little and remove the damaged ends, my fringe and sides didn't get touched at all much to my relief.
Over the next several months he said he will work with me in achieving my desired goal at a slow pace. Perhaps this is salon speak for getting more money out of me but I would rather take it slowly then let someone start hacking away to reach my 'same-length-all-over' goal with my hair about half as long as it is now.
Thanks again!
Gordo
Gordo -
Brushing hair when it's wet stretches the hair and makes it more brittle. You should always use a comb when it's wet.
Also, you might try skipping a day between washings, to let the natural scalp oils absorb into your hair.
Regarding the trim, I'm not sure - actually I'm in the same boat. My only advice would be to make sure the stylist understands exactly what you want. Don't let them assume anything.
Gordo,
Suggestion: Before you turn your hair over to someone who weilds scissors for a living get out a good magnifying glass and take a look at the ends of your hair yourself. Chances are they are fine.
Don't buy into the split end myth without checking your hair for yourself.