new thread
Hi, I have mid-back lenght hair and I'm plannning to go to a hair salon to get a professional 1-2" trim. The thing is that I've never been to a barber or hair salon before in my life. Do any of you have any advice, procedures and what I should expect? For instance, I heard that you're supposed to tip. That would have never even entered my mind if I didn't know about it. Thanks.
No, you do not have to tip. But you may.
The most important thing is that you must be clear. Do not put yourself in to the hands of the stylist because he/she knows exactly what to do. Rather be clear about what you intended outcome is. I would try out a salon by having them take one half inch off and remove the split ends. Remind them that they can take more off next week, but that they cannot put it back. Make it clear that you have and intend to keep long hair.
James
If you are satisfied with the result, you definitely should tip you cheap schmuck :-)! Most stylists don't make much money for all their training and experience. You tip a waitperson 15-20% just to bring your pizza from the kitchen to your table (don't you?). If you value your look as you obviously do to visit this board, then you should think of developing an ongoing relationship with a good stylist. This person will get to know your hair and your personality and will get better and better as you keep returning. Talk to some women friends- many of them have a stylist that they often travel at some inconvenience to patron for this reason. This will not work without some tangible show of appreciation from you in the form of a nice tip. Think of it as an inexpensive investment that will come back to you in making you look your best.
If you want to save some money, consider going to a salon school for your cut. There is a local Gramm Webb Academy that I have gone to many times (with short hair and long) and I always get a great cut by the students. They are supervised by instructors with lots of experience in high priced salons (that I would never want to pay for). I always explain what I want to the instructor and they carefully go over exactly how to do this with the student stylist. The students ask lots of questions from me too as they are in the spotlight to do a good job. I think there is more communication back and forth than there is in a regular busy salon, and the students are not time-pressed as a stylist often is. The flip side to this is that a cut can take awhile- I was in the chair once for well over an hour for a simple trim (no layers for me!). I save about half the price or more for going to a school, and I always give the student a good tip for a cut that is often superior to a regular salon. They have to pay the school to practise on your head, so they can use the money! Just go when youre not in a hurry and the school (or salon for that matter) is not likely to be crazed. If you decide to try a school, just make sure it is a good one. Ask around a few high priced salons in your area to find out where they trained.
PS I am not a stylist and I am not wealthy. Good service is rare these days anywhere- it should be rewarded.
Good luck-
James, usually they ask what to do, how much should be cut off and how it should be cut ... It may happen that they try to convince you to allow something. They may argue that the hair isn't in good condition and should be cut off (independent if it is true or not). I also have heard from other messageboards and from individual talks that some hairdressers cut off what they want, sometimes against the wishes of their clients. So be a little bit carefully and look what they do. I would make clear that I only want a trim with a maximum of 1 inch and if they don't agree or have other opinions change the saloon.
Wolfgang, I have enjoyed your responses on this board...you seem to have good advice. I wanted to ask...when you go to a salon to have a trim for long hair...do they comb it down and just cut the ends or do they "layer cut" so all the hair is the same length. I am wondering about having the back of my hair cut but just want to even it up...I want to keep the hair on the top and sides the same length. I hope this isn't too confusing. Any ideas will be welcome.
Todd, from my own experiences I can say that they always asked me what to do, even what style I want and how to do it. But the question was always from short to short or from long to short.
Before knowing the long hair community I had several cuts from long to short, after growing it for several years.
From trims I heard nothing. This comes to me during the last 8 months (through different message boards and personally talks). Recently I hope my hair will grow fast enough that I can cut off the split ends myself, but if the split ends will come too quick I will need a trim. In this case I would ask only for cuts of the split ends, for all of the hair, if they come from the top, the sites or the back. No layer cuts.
From a woman I know that only cutting the split ends makes too much work for some hairdresser and often they are not able to make micro trims. So 1 or 2 inches are chopped off quickly. They cut her 1 inch off although she told precisely that she wanted only 1 cm (1/2 inch). She also complained that hairdressers often have problems to comb her long hair correctly. She doesn't told anything about layer cuts (but I think her hair has always the same length).
I think you should be know what you want before entering the saloon and tell this to the hairdresser and look at the reactions. If they would be confused or have other ideas I would first visite different saloons before getting a wrong hair cut. If you ask for their opinions you can get surprises.
With very long hair be carefully. I guess that most of the hairdressers don't have the expertise to handle it correctly. This is the reason why many longhairs do it theirself.
wolfgang
If you have any reason to believe you're not going to get the minor trim you are looking for, do not hesitate to politely thank the person and head for the exit. You don't have to justify or defend your actions, just leave. Once they've taken off more hair than you want them to, it's too late.