I have shoulder length hair. I have new clients coming into town from S.America and I know they do not like long hair and especially men with ponytails. Besides cutting my hair or wearing a stupid hat is there any tricks that I can do to make the hair length appear shorter ?
Thanks,
Robert
HOW DO YOU KNOW? Perhaps you are assuming that they would have difficulty with long hair. My experience is that if you are unapologetic about your self presentation, neat and professional in whatever your clothing choices, and do not call attention to yourself that others assume that you have good reason to present yourself as you do.
Short of a short wig, I don't think you can hide long hair. A bun will be even more unconventional than a pony tail.
Take a deep breath, make sure your hair is clean and shiny, and forget it while taking care of business.
James
i agree with James. how do you know they won't like it?
a wig would look stupid. i' found that rolling my hair on medium rollers give me enough curl under to shorten my hair allt least an inch.the important thing is to look good with clean and well groomed hair. keep it out of you eyes.
t
i think any attempt to hide your hair will backfire unless it's done extremely well. your best bet is simply to tie it back- but don't hide it. otherwise, dress conservatively, be pleasant-- don't take offense if your hair is brought up... allow them to not like it.
hiding part of your appearance is dishonest to an extent. the impression will be that you're trying to misrepresent yourself... that is not likely to inspire trust... so unless you are actually going to cut it short, don't hide it.
What John is getting to is that "being discovered" will put you in a weak bargaining position: If you are caught trying to hide it you have in a way admitted you feel it is "wrong" somehow. Cowering and dishonesty neither one garner respect, and that approach may leave you no salvageable option but cutting it. You will be treated with a lot more respect, on the other hand, if you go in with your long hair neat, but showing.
you are correct... if you're trying to hide your hair, you are also worried that your ruse will be discovered. this can reflect itself in your behavior. it is best to assume the client will pick up on this. if it is kept visible the worry of being found out is gone.
Of course, this whole thing sucks and just underscores the damn inequality of this whole hair thing.
Consider the case of a woman with a long, voluptous mane. She wears it down and free for parties and dates, but may wish to have a more professional image in the office. So she puts it up in a French braid and tucks the length under.
Would anyone, anywhere, any time, call this dishonest? Hell no. She would be admired for her creativity, for her sense of appropriate fashion.
I'm a middle aged mostly bald guy. My remaining hair is at its 18" terminal length. I wear it "up" for work, all brushed forward and to the side. The extra length disappears into what they used to call an "omlete fold" above my right ear. I keep it there with spray and bobby pins.
It is no secret that I have long hair, women seem to be able to spot it. Men just think it is a standard male vanity combover. I just don't try to push the envelope by being the only VP level engineer in this very conservative shop to show up with a ponytail.
I've gone on interviews like this, just to see what's out there, and have gotten 6 figure offers. I think I'll do a couple of interviews with my hair down, just for comparison.
Man am I pissed, 4 days ago I foolishly went and got a 'small trim' to my hair. I've had 4 days since that time of internal torture and anquish all because some idiot has no concept of following a simple request or instruction.
I specifically told them I only wanted a trim of only 1/2" at the most. They demonstrated to me with their fingers how much they were going to cut off, it was exactly what I specified. They then asked if I wanted to get it layered and I said no.
What did I get instead? About 2" off my hair all over with a massive layered effect at the back. I can't understand what went wrong, I watched them the whole time like a hawk and they seemed to be cutting the precise amount requested off the whole time. The sickening part is, is that I didn't realise the mistake until the next day when I washed my hair again (they had straighted my hair so it looked longer). The only thing I can think of is that they sneakingly cut the same places a couple of times taking off the same amount each time.
Why can't hairdressers understand simple instructions? Are they that braindead that they can't understand when someone only wants a certain amount done to their hair and no more? Perhaps they think they are above everyone else and can do what they damn well please to your hair regardless of your own requests? Do they think they are doing their customers a favour by ignoring what we want and caring out their own desires?
So much for going to a Professional Salon and paying good money to get a 'proper' haircut. >-(
Gordo
now you know why i havent gone to a stylist in years... my experience with stylists over a 10 year period was that all but one was scissor-happy-- and the ONE that actually DID what i asked didn't stay on the job very long. most weren't even apologetic when i said something.
Do you have a URL for the LA Times article? A search of their archives costs money, and while the article sounds interesting, I don't think it will be *that* interesting.
No, a search of their archives is FREE! (You only pay to READ the article!)