KidsHappen Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I think I have Harry Potter hair. Now matter how I tell a hairdresser to cut my hair, no matter which hairdresser I use, not matter what picture I show them, when they get done my hair always looks exectly the same as when I came in. Sure sometimes it is a little shorter or a little curlier but otherwise it is the same. I haven't been happy with my hair in ten years. Today I spent $50 on a hair cut. I took in picture that looked radically different than my hair. When I got home my hubby asked me if I had even got my hair cut. Sure it was two or three inches shorter but otherwise it was exactly the same style. Sometimes after it has been cut or curled or whatever and I point out that it doesn't look like the picture they say, "Oh well, your hair won't do that." It is too fine or too thin or whatever. How do I find a style that will work for my hair before I spent a ridiculous amount of money trying to get it to do something it will not? Sometimes I pick hair styles that I have had in the past, that looked good and that I liked and then they tell me that they can't get my hair to do that even though I know it has done it in the past. I know that it is possible to get a good hair style. I see people walking around with them all the time. I have tried asking people who they use and going to those people and saying do my hair exactly like so and so. I have even tried asking hairdresser what they think would look good and work with my hair. I don't have any better results. As far as I can tell, my hair has a mind of it's own and will only do what it wants to do. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I'm beginning to think they mess up my hair on purpose. My hair always looks worse after a cut. You should have seen what the last lady did to my hair. Holy cats. Right now it's a haystack. I hate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I am going through the same. exact. thing. I have lots of hair. Lot and lots. So much that I can't use clips, bobby pins, or claws. I can *only* use the fat pony tail holders and can only wrap them around my pony tail twice. I have gone to place after place to get my hair cut. I told them, don't be afriad to go short in front (I like my length in the back). My hair is still hanging in my face and I still put it up in a pony tail. They say... you don't want your bangs short, you have a small forehead. :001_huh: So? Yes I do want my bangs short and I want my bangs to blend into the sides and I want the sides to frame my face. I *never* get this. Even when I am very particular. I think it is a lack of listening skills. They are taught technique and color and chemical in cosmo school but not how to listen to the client. One day I shall get what I want. Maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 My hair is soooo very difficult to cut. It is fine and very straight....except for a few spots. My left side is thicker than the right. But I don't look very good with a right side part (to even things out). My face is not symmetrical at. all. so it is hard to make it look even. I have a few spots were my hair flips out after it reaches about 4 inches long, so it won't lay flat right there. I get hormonal based hair loss, on either side of my forehead (like a man's receding hair line). Due to all of this.....I have my hair cut dry. I won't even let them spritz my hair with water (hairspray is okay but not water) when it is getting cut. This way the stylist can work around how my hair lays and flips, as she is choosing to cut it. I have one person cut my hair, and she does a good job. Over the years, I have gone to many, many hairdressers at many different price points and the expensive ones, aren't always the best. It takes someone who can look at my hair dry, and cut it dry into a style I want. I go in to the hairdresser with completely clean, dry hair. I don't let her wash it or add products (only a bit of hairspray to control a bit of static/fly away hairs). That way it is completely dried, like I dry it and isn't still damp/dry when she is cutting it. The biggest thing I have to remember is to remind the hairdresser each time of the unique properties of my hair. She probably rolls her eyes each time thinking 'I know all of this', but I do find it helps. The first time she cut my hair, it wasn't great (better than who I went to before that though), but over time, I have been able to 'train' her to cut it. We talk a lot about my hair when she is cutting it. Since she doesn't have to wash/dry my hair, she has extra time to cut it. She gives me a bit of a discount due to this also. She still spends 30-45 minutes on just the cut each time and only charges me $25. I get complements often on my hair and really like the cut so the partnership is working great. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 My hair is soooo very difficult to cut. It is fine and very straight....except for a few spots. My left side is thicker than the right. But I don't look very good with a right side part (to even things out). My face is not symmetrical at. all. so it is hard to make it look even. I have a few spots were my hair flips out after it reaches about 4 inches long, so it won't lay flat right there. I get hormonal based hair loss, on either side of my forehead (like a man's receding hair line). Due to all of this.....I have my hair cut dry. I won't even let them spritz my hair with water (hairspray is okay but not water) when it is getting cut. This way the stylist can work around how my hair lays and flips, as she is choosing to cut it. I have one person cut my hair, and she does a good job. Over the years, I have gone to many, many hairdressers at many different price points and the expensive ones, aren't always the best. It takes someone who can look at my hair dry, and cut it dry into a style I want. I go in to the hairdresser with completely clean, dry hair. I don't let her wash it or add products (only a bit of hairspray to control a bit of static/fly away hairs). That way it is completely dried, like I dry it and isn't still damp/dry when she is cutting it. The biggest thing I have to remember is to remind the hairdresser each time of the unique properties of my hair. She probably rolls her eyes each time thinking 'I know all of this', but I do find it helps. The first time she cut my hair, it wasn't great (better than who I went to before that though), but over time, I have been able to 'train' her to cut it. We talk a lot about my hair when she is cutting it. Since she doesn't have to wash/dry my hair, she has extra time to cut it. She gives me a bit of a discount due to this also. She still spends 30-45 minutes on just the cut each time and only charges me $25. I get complements often on my hair and really like the cut so the partnership is working great. :D Maybe that it. Maybe I just need to groom someone to do it correctly. I keep hoping that I am just going to either luck into someone who can do it right or a cut that will just work with my hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I keep trying to get someone to cut my hair so that I look like a woman in her 40's and not a teenager. So far, no luck. I've been carded more often than I care to admit. I feel like I'm not taken seriously because I look 20 years younger than I actually am. I feel your pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kebo Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Maybe you could take in a photo of yourself with an old cut that you liked. That way (s)he couldn't tell you your hair won't "do that". Or search for styles that match your hair type. I like the idea of grooming someone to cut it the way you want. A friend of mine had a haircut she loved that she had been working on with a stylist for a while. When she got a trim from someone else, it undid a lot of the work they were doing and she was very regretful that she let someone else cut it. The first stylist had spent time understanding how her hair worked. I gave up on any complicated cuts because I'm not willing to take the time styling it or put a lot of products in my hair. So I've compromised with something simple that looks OK with 5 minutes of work with a blow dryer. Every once in a while, though, I get wishful of something more.....dramatic. Unique. Pretty. Oh, well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I think you have to have somebody that really understands your hair. Maybe it takes time? I had the same hair stylist for years and she was great about saying "that won't work with your hair". I moved, though, and one of the saddest things was leaving her. It took me a long time, but I finally found someone who can give me a good haircut. I currently have the best haircut I've had in years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I am going through the same. exact. thing. I have lots of hair. Lot and lots. So much that I can't use clips, bobby pins, or claws. I can *only* use the fat pony tail holders and can only wrap them around my pony tail twice. I have gone to place after place to get my hair cut. I told them, don't be afriad to go short in front (I like my length in the back). My hair is still hanging in my face and I still put it up in a pony tail. They say... you don't want your bangs short, you have a small forehead. :001_huh: So? Yes I do want my bangs short and I want my bangs to blend into the sides and I want the sides to frame my face. I *never* get this. Even when I am very particular. I think it is a lack of listening skills. They are taught technique and color and chemical in cosmo school but not how to listen to the client. One day I shall get what I want. Maybe. I really have more luck with hairdressers that turn me around to the mirror and ask me things like you want me to cut this here or here? And I've had great luck at Great Clips of all places. MAybe the stylists there have had less experience and just want to make the customer happy, but seriously, they listen to me there for less than 15 dollars. Perhaps you could ask the stylist to do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) I have found exactly two hairstylist I've liked. Both of them were men. A theory I've heard before is that men want women to look good and other women see you as competition, even if unconsciously. Whether that is true or not, I've never had a good haircut from a woman. I always gave these two men (and still give the current one) free reign to cut it any length and any style they wish. I've never been disappointed. Of course, you have to be open to whatever you end up with. I'm fine with it because I know it will always grown back. Once I had an asymmetrical cut which I would have never asked for but ended up loving. Edited February 5, 2011 by joannqn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Best place ever to get haircuts is at your local beauty college. The students are supervised by veteran stylists who have seen it all. While you won't always get the same stylist, they are the most current on what works with different types of hair, etc. We have been going every 4 weeks for the past 4 years and I have never gotten a bad cut. DS got one bad cut from an arrogant student who was ready to go to lunch and instead of cutting his hair with shears, she buzz cut him :w00t:. Otherwise, we have been very pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 So what would be a good hairbut for me? I have extremely fine, thin straight hair. It is almost impossible to get it to hold any shape at all. This last time all I asked them to do was to cut layers around my face so that it wasn't just straight. One side turned out ok as my hair naturally turns in towards my face on that side but the other side looks very choppy like they just randomly picked up pieces and hacked them off. My hair naturally turn away from my face on that side and it looks absolutely horrible unless I use a curling iron to turn it in towards my face. That wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that my hair only holds a curl for about two hours so I would have to do it a few times day. When I was younger I used to get perms so that my hair would have enough body to hold a style but either perms are less effective than they used to be or my hair simply doesn't hold one as well as it used to because the last few times I got a perm it just turned out poofy instead of having any curl or even wave. My hubby prefers my hair short and curly but I am finding it almost impossible to get it to do that. Really the only style that I can get my hair to hold is if it is cut all one length and slightly on the longish side which isn't really becoming to me and is getting ever harder to care for. I will try to post some pictures later of previous haircuts that I had and liked, what I asked for this last time and what I actually got and some pictures that I am considering for the future and maybe you guys can help figure out what would work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 We have moved around a lot, and stylists regularly jump ship, so I often seem to be looking for someone new. I have found new good ones at a variety of places from Great Clips to high end salons. When I have to go $$$, I go inexpensively for the next cut. If the cheaper stylist can follow the lines and give me an equally good cut, I stick with her. And when I get a great cut, I give a BIG tip. I mean a BIG one, relative to the cost of an inexpensive cut. That way the stylist stays ready to please you and, if she moves to a new salon, the chances are greater she'll let you know where she can be found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Look around at women you know. Notice which ones also have fine, thin, straight hair, and then notice which ones have hair cuts you like. Then find out who does their hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendi Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 You've gotten some good advice. My two cents: It is best to develop a relationship with your hairdresser. Always get your hair cut by the same person. Hairstyling magazines often have articles that recommend styles for different types of hair; that may help you figure out what will work, and also give you the right vocabulary for explaining it to your hairdresser. As someone else said, having the person turn you towards the mirror, and discuss together what you have in mind might be better than just handing them a picture. I've also found it important to be clear about what kind of styling you will do every day. I don't want a haircut that requires a lot of styling time to make it look good. Good luck! I know how awful it is to get a bad haircut. Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) I either ask the ladies at an expensive department store or ask people with good haircuts where to go. I call and explain my haircutophobia and that I have extension-->(that was supposed to be extremely, crazy auto-correct) curly hair. It has always worked out. I learned my lesson about cheap places the hard way. They generally just don't have enough curly hair experience. Edited February 6, 2011 by Mrs Mungo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) Have you tried just doing it yourself. I had one wonderful hair dresser years ago, but lost her when she moved. I tried different ones, but could never find one I was happy with. Before I got married went to a boutique salon and had an appointment with 'the man' but he wasn't available to cut my hair, just do a consult. So I got one of the other male hairdressers to do my hair. I like bangs. 'the man' said, oh no, you won't look good with bangs. The other guy agreed with me and cut my hair great, including the bangs which he said I looked adorable with. I called to have him do my hair for the wedding and found out he'd been fired. Guess 'the man' didn't like that he agreed with me instead of him. Anyhow - when I couldn't find anyone good after that, I started doing it myself. I haven't been to a hairdresser in years. I had to learn the hard way and cut it too short a few times, but I know do a pretty darn good job if I say so myself. Which reminds me, time for a trim. Edited February 6, 2011 by Mytwoblessings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I think one of the best tips I have ever heard is to be completely honest about your lifestyle. The best thing I ever did was tell the stylist that I wash and wear my hair. I don't have time to dry, straighten, and then curl my hair with product. I have 5 kids, and feel lucky when I get the time to shave my legs. BUT I want to look as good as I can at the same time which means I need a really good haircut. I also don't let her style it, I want to see how it looks when I just brush it and then sit under the dryer to make sure it will look good when it dried naturally instead of being tamed by a hairbrush and her dryer or curling iron. Knowing that I am going to do what I normally do at home and then actually see it before I pay and tip seems to mean that she takes her time and gives a really good cut instead of relying on the tricks of the trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Look around at women you know. Notice which ones also have fine, thin, straight hair, and then notice which ones have hair cuts you like. Then find out who does their hair. this is my advice too. and expect to pay a lot... I have a good stylist. She is pricey but worth it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarfoot Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I have absolutely crazy hair. It's super, super, super fine, but not necessarily thin. Underneath, there are areas that curl in tight spirals, yet the top is completely straight all over. It's usually fairly frizzy. My forehead is high, and my hair line forms sort of a peak. With all of that going on, you can bet I'm willing to pay a premium for my hair to be cared for decently, but FINDING someone who can do it right can be one of the most frustrating things in the world! My stylist takes A LOT of time with my hair. The last time I had it cut, he was training someone else, and he told her that it was very important to allow enough time with fine hair. It takes a lot more precision to make it look neat, and if there are areas where the hair is thinner, then it's important not to layer much. I think that it's important to remember that styles that looked good in the past are a good starting point, but hair changes and thins as we age, so it's not a guarantee that the exact same look will work years later. Also, highlights add some definition to super-fine hair and give it some texture that helps with styling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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