I got a haircut I don't like -- next step?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This Saturday I got a haircut, and I’m not happy with it.

I had unruly shoulder-length layered hair that hadn’t been cut in 6 months, and I asked for a lightly layered bob with side-swept bangs. I also said, “no shorter than my chin.” I was given a blunt-cut, no-layered bob, with no bangs, that is slightly shorter than my chin. :mad: (The first cut my stylist made was to take a big chunk of hair cut at chin-length! I was aghast!) This is like the worst possible cut for the shape of my face – I have a square face with a square jaw that I’m self-conscious of, and my hair hits right at my jaw and emphasizes how square it is. I must have told my stylist 5-6 times that I wanted layers around my face to soften the look of the jaw, but she insisted that that would ruin the cut and that this looks really cute. I disagree. She’s also kind of a domineering personality, and I’m shamefully non-confrontational; hence…here we are!

She also wanted me to buy a flat-iron to style it with, as that’s how she styled it after she cut it, but a) I do my best to avoid heat-styling my hair as it is; no way am I willing to take a 400-degree iron to my hair every day (and no way does heat protecting spray protect every strand of hair – you’d have to soak your hair to ensure that it was protected all throughout); and b) the good flat-irons I looked at are $100 on sale, and that’s too much money for a product I don’t even want to buy in the first place. Plus, I couldn’t stand how flat it made my hair! I don’t want to look like that! Gah!

Plus PLUS, I’m 33 years old, and this cut makes me look like I’m 12. It’s too short to pull back, pulling back the sides in a clip or barrettes makes me look like I’m 10, so I’ve been wearing it with a scarf tied around it like a headband. I don’t want to do that every day, though.

On the other hand, it is pretty much a classic 1930s bob, and my stylist knows I’m into vintage fashion and hair, so I could try to psych myself into liking it more from that angle. But, honestly, it doesn’t suit me and it’s not what I asked for and I’m unhappy with my appearance now.

So, thank you for letting me vent, and here’s my question! Is it Done (like, do people do this?) for me to go to another stylist just for a consultation? I’m afraid to have layers put in because then I’ll lose even more length, but maybe someone could teach me alternate ways of styling it until it grows out? Would I have to pay if they don’t cut my hair?

2

I’ll just leave this right here: http://kushsmoke.com/2012/02/sinead-oconnor-sneaks-into-her-garden-to-blaze/

3

May I interest you in a nice hat?

4

If you want someone’s time, energy, attention, and experience, I think you should be prepared to pay for it.

Maybe not as much as you would for a haircut (and then again, maybe more), but something.

5

The only way to find out is to call the salon and ask if they charge for consultations.

6

Don’t ever go back to her. You can’t maintain a positive relationship with a stylist that completely ignores your input. What a bitchy thing to do.

But, it’s hair. It’ll grow back. Within a month or 2, you can get layers added in without sacrificing a whole lot of length. You could also go and get a bang trim pretty much anywhere before then. Just make sure to get a new stylist when you’re ready for a new cut, and be frank that you fired your last stylist for not listening to your wishes.

7

I would write a letter to the salon owner. You have a right to express your concerns and she may benefit from the feedback. If you simply ignore the issue you are reinacting the problem.

8

Shoulda gone here.

9

All of this. That stylist acted extremely unprofessionally. Even if adding layers would have “ruined the cut,” she could have at least explained what, exactly, it would have looked like, and if you were sure you wanted it that way. And, y’know, actually cut it the way you wanted.

Before you do anything, find a better stylist.

10

If you asked for sideswept bangs but she didn’t give you any - so you have no bangs at all right now? If so, there should be plenty to work with for a new stylist to give you some layers around your face. It sounds like the pieces that would be cut shorter to make bangs and layers are the ones you’re trying to pull back right now, anyway, so if you prefer those away from your face, you won’t miss them.

If you have a cut you like, and can work with, you shouldn’t want/need to pull it back or put it up. If it’s unruly, but you like to wash and go - those don’t go together unless you just prefer it to look a bit shaggy and let it do it’s thing. If you have a classic one-length bob right now, layers without taking any length will be easy, and will go with your wash-and-go style much better.

Googling “layered bob” returns a lot of different looks, and bangs with layers around the face seems pretty much part of the cut. Not sure why the confusion on her part. Maybe find some images that might work with what you’ve got now, and take those to the next stylist - sometimes I save images to my phone for ease of carrying and just show those to my stylist. Or go early and search through the style books they have at the salon.

It WILL grow out! Maybe get some cheap headbands in the meantime if you don’t want to deal with another haircut for a while.

11

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I think I would rather not lose more hair at this point, so I’ll just suck it up for a couple of months and then go to a new stylist the next time (and bring pictures, and drum up the gumption to be firm with what I want). I don’t feel like starting anything by contacting her or her supervisor. It’s just hair, anyway, and I’m getting used to it by now.

Also, it’s actually a well-executed cut, it just isn’t what I wanted. To be honest, I think I’m more upset that the one person I could trust to tell me if it looks bad or not – my mom – passed away a few months ago, and now I have no one to go to for that advice. I might take a picture of it and post it here to see what you think, if I can get over my horror of putting my face on the internet.

12

Do so. If it looks good, we’ll tell you. If we don’t reply, it either looks scary, or we can say we never got a chance to look at it!

13

I realize you don’t like confrontation, so I understand if you don’t want to do this, but personally, I would go back to the salon and speak with the manager. Tell her/him exactly what you said in the OP; you asked for a specific cut and got something completely different and you are dissatisfied. Don’t be mean, but do be honest. I would be stunned if you weren’t offered either a refund on the first haircut, a second haircut to fix it, or both. You paid for a service you didn’t receive. I don’t mind when a stylist discusses a haircut with me or is blunt in saying it wont work for me or doesn’t look good. That’s part of the job. But if I say I want something, I better damn well get it.

I would go back and complain.

14

Most salons I’ve been to would want to make things right in this situation. I never did take advantage of it, but it’s quite acceptable to call the salon and tell the receptionist that the cut isn’t what you asked for and now that it’s had a couple days to settle in you really don’t like it, and could they give you a free or reduced price cut with someone else? They would prefer that over losing you as a customer.

Admittedly, the one time I got a really horrific cut I went somewhere else to get it fixed the next day, so I fail at taking my own advice here. The salon where I got the bad cut called me a few days later to see if I was satisfied - I’m pretty sure the receptionist went ‘OMG’ as I was walking out and put a big red circle around my name in the appointment book. It really was that bad. I went to my mom’s house and washed the styling junk out of my hair before I could get the nerve to go home and face my husband. Of course she took a picture, so it got preserved for posterity anyway. I’ll have to see if I have it somewhere.