Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Hair Confrontation...er, Consultation

For the second time in three months, I've been to a new hairdresser. I mentioned a while back that I am very particular about my hair - call me shameful, but I'm vain about it. My hair is thick & heavy & makes me feel beautiful.

I went to a new hairdresser in February and I was happy with the color. She was uber chatty, however, when all I wanted was to sit in peace. She also "thinned" my hair. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I have a specific idea of what thinning out is & it isn't to give me a jagged layer on top that flips out & a layer on the bottom that flips in. I could deal with it - it involved wearing my hair curly & bouncy. Which is pretty, but there are times when I'd like to wear it straight.

I made another appointment and went back this past Saturday. I told her I was happy with the highlights, so she proceeded to foil me up. Now, I only do partial foils, but have to book the time for a full foil appointment. After she completed my foils, she sent me to sit on a couch while it finished processing. So I sat...and sat...and sat....for almost an hour. By this time I was antsy and irritated. She had been scheduled for a cut and blowdry with another client.

She finally pulled the foils out, roughly washed my hair (which was a HUGE disappointment - I mean, who doesn't love a good head massage?) and sat me back down in the chair. Sitting there as she combed my hair, I told her what I didn't like and what I wanted.

Me: I don't want you to thin it this time.
HD: No?
Me: No. I don't like the obvious layer that was left. Where I had one layer on top and one layer on bottom. The top layer flipped out and the bottom layer curled under.
HD: Ok, so no thinning.
Me: Right. I want my hair closer to one length with some fine, invisible layering. Really light, so it doesn't show, but enough to give me movement. I really don't like that really obvious top & bottom layer. Especially since I'm growing my hair out so it is a bit longer.
Thinking we were on the same page, I envisioned my hair like this since it was getting longer What did I walk out with? 2 layers. One on top, one on bottom. Yep, she did exactly what I told her I didn't want. So I called back on Monday - I gave myself a time to wash, dry & style it to see if I could "make it work". Not a chance.

So last night I went back. To a different stylist. Who immediately saw the problem and really worked with me to get it back in order. I walked away last night with hair looking more like this. See the difference in length? Now, I'm happy with it, don't read that I'm not, but the original cut was not what I asked for.

Since Saturday I have lost about 3 inches of hair, gained 2 definite layers, gotten another cut to even it out some, had a little texturizing done to lift some of the weight so I wouldn't have to go an inch above my shoulders and learned a valuable lesson.
Lesson learned: A great hairdresser is sometimes harder to find & hold onto than a good man.

10 comments:

Jennifer said...

Amen! I may have to pay big bucks for a hair cut, but I have never walked away unhappy with it (or crying...never go to great clips even if you just need a trim and you're a desperate college study). I will keep my Stevie forever and ever!

Anonymous said...

I feel you. There's nothing like a hairdresser to make you feel good or someone who knows how to give you an amazing eyebrow wax!

littlesack said...

totally, totally true! I'm still shopping around for a good one. Why is it so difficult to communicate clearly with a hairdresser?

Ashley said...

That is such a shame! I am a hairdresser and.... first she shouldn't have left your foils in for an hour. That's really hard on your hair! Sounds like she should just be a color specialist and not do cuts. Sounds like your communication was good with her and she just couldn't figure it out. Plus... ugh don't you hate it when you're growing your hair out and you get 3 inches chopped off and you're set back another 6 months on the growing out process! :(

Amber said...

Ugh, I totally agree with that last statement. Someone who knows someone who knows my hair dresser (you know how that goes) told me recently that she's a "pot head" and I wanted to put my hands over my ears and holler, "Lalalala I can't hear you!" because it took me FOREVER to find someone I'm happy with.

Whitney said...

For real! I don't trust my hair to anyone but the lady I've been going to since I was like 10!

Jennifer said...

Thanks for skipping on over to my little blog and checking it out! My nephew is my new favorite subject for my photography. I have been teaching myself photography since I was a high school yearbook photographer (I love the art of it). But that was when I shot entirely in black and white. This color thing is new to me and I'm learning it all over again!

I hope you enjoy my ramblings! I know I enjoy your's already!

Colby said...

Hey girl! I am soooo crazy about finding a good stylist too. I think I finally found someone in Charlotte who is great with blonde hair and gives a great cut- her name is Amanda at Varji and Varji near Southpark. Costs me a nice chunk, but well worth it:)

Brittany Ann said...

True story, sister. A good hairdresser is like the perfect pair of jeans for me. Almost impossible to track down.

Anonymous said...

OMG, I am soooo with you on this one. I'm still in search of my dream hairdresser:(