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It seems hairdressers always cut off more than you tell them to. This seems true among both females and males with long hair. How many times have I heard "I told them to cut off an inch, and they cut off 6 inches!" Could they really be that stupid? How can you interpret "cut off 1 inch" to mean "cut off 6 inches?" Don't these people go to school to learn their trade, do they teach them to cut off more than what is asked for?
All I can say is, if you're not happy with your haircut, complain to the manager and DON'T PAY. Maybe if enough people complain these stupid hairdressers will learn a lesson.
Amen to that. I have a friend who started growing his hair about 5 months before I started to grow mine, and he went in for a bit of a fixer-upper a few weeks back. His hair was amazing, even through the awkward stages, and I could only wish that my hair was as nice as his. He told the lady to even up the back without taking off anymore than preferably one or one and half inches. Lone behold, the kid might as well have asked for a buzz cut. I could literally see all his skin through the back of his hair, which was previously thick and curly. The management got an earful, and he has never gone back. I'm going on my 6th month of growth and I am literally haunted with the thought of what a trip to the ol' scissor house would do to me. Therefore I am just letting my curly locks grow, and not giving any second thoughts otherwise.
I agree...I cant count the number of times I've had a haircut im not happy with, and when they say "hows that?" i've replied "its fine!".
I've only had one really bad experience at a salon once with highlights (id never get them again). I went in asking for like streaks in places - you know like "highlights" (at this time my hair was only like 2" long if that)...anyways he starts applying this bleaching solution ALL over my head then walk away and leaves me thinking "hhmmm whats this all over my hair?...!" then he comes back and gets someone to wash it off and I nearly died - I went from very dark hair to pure unnatural golden hair...but the lights in the salon where wierd so it sorta looked ok...so foolishly I paid then I got outside and caught my reflection in a shop window and nearly died - it was like pure luminous orangy gold..I felt ashamed going home...then next day I phoned the salon and told them they did it wrong so they said come in and we can put a toner on it and tone it down...... so I went in an they'd only booked me with the same idiot who did it so I had to sit there and tell him that I didnt like it at all...so in the end the manager of this place had to apply more "highlights" to blend in this wierd colour which they said couldnt be toned down...so i went away with even lighter hair... it was all a disaster...i actually let it grow out.. should have just shaved it off!!!
now im more weary (and educated) if they seem to do something I dont like i'd tell them right away, only its all been good so far. My
bad experience cost me about £30 which I never got back..I guess the moral is make sure your happy before you leave...ideally before you hand over your money!
It is a service industry comparable to other service industries where you need to do a little homework before selecting one. References is a key. I'm no salon professional, but I have learned to take some responsibility in the area of choosing someone to provide their professional service. Most of the time you can find a good stylist through conversations with others. A good thing to remember is one who akes the time to explain ahead of time that you may need more taken off for, off the top og my head, fried ends, or other forms of damages. These professionals will look see this and consult with you first. A stylist who doesn't seem to paying attention, or consult with you, is someone you should question. You also have a mirror there, so watch them carefully from the start. Fortunately for me, my wife is a salon professional. She may not like my hair long at times, but she agrees to please me, not her.
In the past I have actually done that. You look them in the I and say
something like: "I want a very slight trim. And I absolutely do NOT want
any more than 1 inch cut off."
And if you do not have the guts to open your mouth to say this,
be prepared to have more hair cut off than you bargained for.
In fact, I used to ask the stylist to see the first few pieces she cut off to be sure
she understood.
A few years back when I had cut my hair short I went into a mall salon for a trim and the stylist (I use the term loosely) started off doing exactly what I didn't want her to do. I told her to stop and that I was sorry but I wanted someone else to cut my hair. She was not too happy. The stylist who took over gave me a really great haircut - the one from which I grew out to my current below shoulder length. :)
Moral of the story: You have to say STOP and demand someone else who will listen and do what you ask.
Of course, this is practical only with 3 (or more) feet of hair.
Ed
Ultimately it is called arrogance, I want long hair, the stylist
appoints themesleves as guardians of good taste and decide otherwise.
It took me alot of years to find a good stylist, and it was this
arrogance that finally prompted me to give up on my
Mullet years ago. That was back many years ago and
I finally gave up trying to get the hairstylist to grasp
the concept that I just went back to having at long all over.
When hairstylists go to school do they have classes in
Arrogance 101 Screw the customer 201 and kick the customer in
the teeth 301? Do hairstylists learn how to do the
exact opposite of what the customer wants?
My Experience is that MOST stylists are prepared to listen to you, but again there are always the few that still consider your hair to be their creative playground. These are the stylist you want to avoid!
I've gotten burned in the past myself, mostly for not saying NO or STOP when I wasn't happy with the way things were going.
The key to the whole hairdresser scenario is communication - you need to be clear about what you want and judge accurately if the stylist understands what you mean. If they are giving you 'wide-eyed' looks get up and leave. If they don't think what you are asking for will 'work for your hair' ask them to explain why not?
I always ask to see how much they are planning to cut before they make the first cut, and I'm normally very explicit about how much I want taken off. To be honest if anything I usually end up will less cut than I expected. I've actually found a stylist who works on the principal - You can always cut it shorter!
To be honest - if you think about it, cutting 'too little' rather than 'too much' is an excellent business ploy for stylists - You could easily get your "short hair" customers in for 1 trim every 5-6 weeks rather than 1 trim every 6-8 weeks by not trimming as much.
I wonder why so many fail to see the merit in that?
It's all about communication. I tend to leave it a little longer, cause it does guarantee a sooner return. You can always take more off, it's harder to put it back once it's cut.
Ck
PS, not all stylist/barbers are crazed cutting fiends. You just have to find the right one for you and stick with them. After a while it becomes like magic, because you definitely understand each other.
Another topic for the FAQ
I once had a really bad experience while growing my hair out.. I went in at the 8 month mark to get a clean up and told the stylist I'm growing my hair long clean it up but don't take too much length off..
I guess I wasn't specific enough and she started cleaning up the back.. even took out the straight razor and was doing a good job layering it.. then she went to the sides and proceeded to give me a mullet.. so in the end I had her chop it all off.. the final haircut was nice but dissappointing in the loss of 8 months of growth..
Now I'm searching for a good place to get my hair cut cause its been 18 months and I just keep it pulled up and keep it as tidy as possible myself..
If anyone has a reccomendation for a good place in the North Dallas - Plano area I'd appreciate it.
" I once had a really bad experience while growing my hair out.. I went in at the 8 month mark to get a clean up" - You got to be kidding me? 8 month mark? Hair will only keep its integrity for about 4 months.
"Now I'm searching for a good place to get my hair cut cause its been 18 months" - Get ready to have another 6 inches cut off 'cause you'll need it.
"How many times have I heard "I told them to cut off an inch, and they cut off 6 inches!" Could they really be that stupid? How can you interpret "cut off 1 inch" to mean "cut off 6 inches?" Don't these people go to school to learn their trade, do they teach them to cut off more than what is asked for?" - Give me a break. What's stupid is people who walk around with crappy, damaged hair and think they look great just because it's long.
"All I can say is, if you're not happy with your haircut, complain to the manager and DON'T PAY. Maybe if enough people complain these stupid hairdressers will learn a lesson." - I think the lesson to learn here is to have your neighbor, Molly or Buck or whoever, to cut your hair out on their porch (next to the circa 1973 couch. That way you wont waste the time of a trained professional.