Anyone afraid of going to salons?

Nappychild

Im not sure if this is in the right place but. I was taken to the salon a while ago to get my hair "treated". Instead I got a terrible haircut. The stylist insisted to trim my ends, but I told her I already had gotten them trimmed about 2 months ago. But she did it anyway I wonder what her definition of trim was because she cut a TON of my hair off, not only did she do that but it was extremely uneven. Like some sections are on my shoulder and some near armpit length. Wtf was she doing???? Looking back I've decided to never go to a salon and take care of my hair because its in better care than any stylist. Does anyone relate?

sixelamy

I can definitely relate. The thing is though, we have the power to stop the scissors, but we don't out of fear of hurting their feelings or stepping up and creating a scene. I had a stylist tell me she could do what I was asking for, and I drove an hour to go to her per a friend's recommendation. She didn't tell me she was going to razor my hair, she just started doing it. I did tell her I wanted a scissor cut only, but apparently she ignored it. I could've gotten up at the first cut and just left, but I kept my mouth shut and got the worst uneven horrifying hair cut of my life.

You have to be ultra specific to a stylist and not be afraid to speak up. She didn't force you to sit in her chair and take 2" off. If they "insist" on a trim and you don't want it, just say no. If you agree, you have to specify that you only want a certain amount taken off. People on the board here have said that stylists are trained to take off a certain amount when they hear the word "trim". It's a vague word, trim to me could mean 1" while a trim to you could mean 1/4". I told another stylist once that I wanted a trim, and she gave me a stacked bob that I didn't want. Go figure.

I don't mean this to sound harsh, but you have to be proactive for yourself. It's awful when we get a bad haircut, because the stylist understands something different than we feel we are telling them. And I feel for you, because hair has an impact on our self esteems. If we don't feel pretty, it makes us feel like crap.

Don't be afriad to go to a salon. Go and be ultra specific with what you want and communicate well. Bring pictures. Do whatever you need to do.

rbb

sixelamy is right -- we give our power over to them.
now i don't (altho i love my stylist i've been seeing for years so not an issue) and i have in the past actually gotten out of the chair, nicely said i changed my mind and left. smile but be firm, "i don't want it cut/trimmed/dusted right now. when i'm ready i'll come back," so you are letting her know if she can follow what you want she has a chance of having you as a repeat customer. either way, do not let them do what you do not want. they are working for us, we are paying them for the service. think about it -- if you were hiring a painter and he said he wanted to rip out the walls instead, we'd say, absolutely not.
their job is to listen to what we ask for and then do their best to fill that. it's our hair, they can't just do whatever they like, it's part of our body, we have to wear it.

Morgan_Adcock

I think it's an ownership problem more than a missed communication on the OP's part. I can't begin to count the number of times hair stylists have totally ignored what I told them, despite having talked it out before they started to cut. It doesn't help that before refractory surgery I couldn't see past the end of my nose with my good eye, or past the end of my eyelashes with the other; but that doesn't change the fact that they thought that my sitting in their chair gave them ownership of my hair, and carte blanche to do what they wanted; nor that they lied to me about what they were doing when they realized that I couldn't see. They also think they know our hair better than we do, even though they have no experience with our particular head of hair.

I was usually trying to grow my hair out of wretched haircuts, and one time I went in with hair below my shoulders, and asked to have it trimmed only enough to removed the split ends. The stylist asked how much I thought that would be. Thinking ¼" and knowing how scissors happy they get, I said ⅛", the stylist very clearly said ¼", I agreed, stating ¼", and left with a pixie because the stylist disregarded everything I'd said about how my hair behaves, then wouldn't stop because of being unable to "get it even" until it was terminally short, and there was almost nothing left to cut.

Then there was the guy who, when I was talking to him about what I wanted and didn't want, picked up his scissors, grabbed a section of hair on my crown and quickly cut it very short, then told me that my hair would "look stupid" if I didn't allow him to cut the rest to go with it. I was young, far less assertive in those days, and thought he was right that it would look stupid, so I let him cut my hair anyway. It looked even more stupid when he was done.

I have had none of those problems with Deva stylists.

sixelamy

True, but I think these are also really crappy stylists. My Deva stylist was amazing as well. I go to one right now (non-Deva) that straightens my hair and then cuts it. I don't like her process, but she's the only person that gives me the exact cut that I ask for. I figure it's give and take if you can find someone that really listens. It's a process to go through though and you will get some bad haircuts along the way. A good stylist will ask questions to make sure she/he understands. Mine won't let me get by with "I want a trim". She asks specifics. You could always get up and leave if the stylist has no questions.

stephanielynn

I'm terrified. I haven't been to a salon in 18 months because I'm desperately trying to grow it longer and I just don't trust anyone. I've had too many bad experiences. I've attempted to dust my own ends on a few occasions but I honestly really need an actual trim. I just don't know what to do…

BotticelliBrit

I definitely related! I dread having to go to the hairdressers in case they chop off too much or make it crooked. I'm self-trimming right now, but I will be getting my hair trimmed professionally soon and I'm so nervous. I always so I'm going to do it and then I put it off!

fonki

I've had too many bad experiences to count. There's only one hairdresser I can trust and she lives in another state.

I had bn to get my haircut recently and am paying the price with a terribly uneven, stringy and bulky in the wrong places cut! I could cry!