Getting my first Deva cut! Advice on which stylist to choose?

kddub

I am getting my first deva cut after struggling with my hair all the time!! I'm very excited but I have to choose between two stylists. One is brand new, she just became deva certified level 1- only 2 months ago. The other is a more experienced Deva stylist and is older. Which would you choose? Is a new stylist good because she is up to date on latest trends and fresh out of school? Or is the more experienced better since my hair is difficult and I've never had this kind of haircut before?

bomega

I would try to go to someone whom you know who can recommend their hair dresser. But short of that, I would go with the more experienced one.

rbb

it's a toss up. more experienced doesn't always mean good.
can you find reviews on either of them? will you have the time to go a different day to see how their clients look after a cut?

kddub

Thank you for the input!! I was leaning toward the more experienced one. The salon is the one in the area with Deva stylists, and they post the before and after photos of their clients online. Both of these stylists seem good but from what I can tell the new one has only done 3 Deva cuts, and the other a whole lot more and they are all really pretty.

WavyKfromNJ

Can you post your options, so if someone here has experience with either one they can let you know?

kddub

They are in a franklin, TN at Juel salon. One is named Amber Gale, the other is Katie Andrews.

kddub

Doing more research both of those stylists are level 1. But there are other stylists there who are higher level. Do you think for a first time Deva cut a more advanced person would be better?

bomega

My personal opinion is that total years experience would be more important than levels. However, really even that isn't a guarantee. There is so much more to giving a good haircut than years or levels. Aside from personal talent, there is also aesthetic. Honestly, I don't think that certs or years or Instagram or even referral mean anything in determining in advance if a hairdresser can give a good haircut. You just have to try and see.

I went to an experienced (years) Level 1 Deva-trained stylist, and she was too into her ego to let go of her ideas about hair and my hair cut looked like something from 20 years ago. I went to an inexperienced Level 1 Deva stylist, and she didn't have the ego problem (she could recognize my hair for itself), but her aesthetic was "younger" and also the cut only looked good when I left he salon (styled with their products). It still looked ok without the styling (I usually only shampoo/condition) but not what I expect. In both cases, I wouldn't say I got a bad haircut. Just not what I wanted. In the past (before Devacurl was a thing), I have called a salon wanting to see a particular stylist, based on referral, and due to scheduling I ended up just with the new girl, and got a great haircut. I ended up going to her for years until she moved.

The best hair dresser I ever had (my current hair dresser) isn't a Deva stylist (although she cuts hair dry) but she is experienced (years). She has some haircuts on social media, but based on those, I would never have thought I could get as great of haircuts as I do from her. I was referred to her, but not by a curly-girl. To further contradict myself, I kind of still don't get what I want from her - I really want more volume but for years I can't talk her into it. So strangely even though its not quite what I want, I still feel great about my haircuts...enough to drive 3.5 hours to get it.

I think you might just have to take a chance on someone and see.