I hate this haircut!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I went in to get a trim the other day. My real problem is that I’m a slut when it comes to stylists. I decide to get a haircut about half an hour before I get it, so I’m at the mercy of the chair I sit in. Planning ahead and finding a stylist I liked would help, but when I do strike up a relationship with a stylist, it always ends badly - they move on and leave me, or they end up doing something so terrible that my hopes of a long term relationship are dashed, so I seem to be better off with one haircut stands. At least then when my hair gets hacked, my heart isn’t invested in the stylist.

I wear my hair short, and I prefer it all one length (the hairstylist who did it right last said “oh, like Dorothy Hamill” I said “well, so I don’t show my age, I’d prefer to think it was like Kiera Knightley, but yes.”). This time, I got layers. The stylist was so proud of herself for fixing my former “bad” haircut. I now have three inches to grow out to get it back to where its supposed to be - three inches of goddamn layers that I hate. And a pixie cut, which Brainiac4 tells me is cute, but which is not the haircut I want and makes me look five years older than the other cut and shows off every wrinkle around my eyes that I’ve gotten in 40 years of life.

My own damn fault, I didn’t explain that she was to FOLLOW THE EXISTING LINES. That a TRIM does not involve CUTTING FOUR INCHES OF HAIR OFF, and that I LIKED MY HAIRSTYLE AND SHE SHOULDN’T TAKE IT UPON HERSELF TO CHANGE IT WITHOUT TELLING ME! I didn’t bring a photo - or find one in the books, because I made the assumption that TRIM was understood to mean “follow existing lines.” And because I wasn’t paying attention or I could have screamed NO!!!before the first snip of four inches instead of realizing after the first cut (and you can’t have HALF a layered head, once the first cut was made, I simply had to sit and wait it out).

She did a good job. Its a nice cut - its even and she worked my cowlicks. Its just wrong.

So I’ve spent the past two days looking in the mirror saying “I hate this haircut.” Thankfully, it will grow out, but I’m going to hate this for about four months.

The last time this happened was twenty years ago when I was in high school. I’m still holding that grudge. Then I was wearing my hair long, so it was worse, a few snips took me from “one length able to pull it back into a ponytail” to “Look, now its layered, its going to have so much body and be so much easier to work with!” Not.

2

Ah, the memories this brings back. I too lost about four inches of hair to a “long layer” cut. I actually wanted and asked for a long layer cut, but the lady cutting my hair (and I’ll be brutally frank with you - there was a language barrier) thought that meant end the layers four inches up, so basically cut four inches off all of my hair when what I wanted was a trim on the longest layer and other layers cut in.

My latest haircutting adventure (and I look at stylists the same way, dangerosa - I’d love to have a regular stylist, but it doesn’t seem meant to be) involved getting my hair cut way short, which I thought I wanted, but it turns out I didn’t after the cut was done. Sigh.

In recent years I’ve done quite long, and I’ve done quite short, and I think I will have it shoulder-length from now on. When it grows out, that is. :slight_smile:

3

I feel your pain. I recently learned how to trim my own hair, because I’ve heard too many horror stories about people going in wanting a half inch taken off and coming out scalped. I’m working on growing my hair as long as it wants to go; if someone were to chop it off I would be superpissed.

4

I’m glad I’m a guy. All my haircuts are always great.

I look in the mirror and say “well, it’s out of my eyes!” and I’m happy.

5

I hope you stiffed her on the tip. Nothin’ worse than a scissor-happy stylist. I’ve been going to the same girl for years, but I’ve come to the conclusion that although my highlights always look great, she doesn’t have a clue on cutting thin, fine hair. And I seriously don’t think she takes classes to stay up on the latest styles or techniques. I’m looking for a new girl.

I’d like to see a picture of your “hideous” haircut. I’ll bet it only sucks to you. Sometimes an objective opinion (or 100) will make you feel better.

6

Ohhhh, the memories of my hideous mushroom page-boy haircut in Grade 5… :smiley:

(Although this long look I’ve got going on right now isn’t much better. I need to get something done real soon.)

Dangerosa, could we convince you to post pictures?

7

I can see what I can do. You are right in that I’m not hideous - I don’t need to wear a bag over my head when I go out to avoid scaring small children or anything. Its a good cut, just not the one I wanted. And if there is one nice thing about a haircut I don’t like its that I tend to bother with mascara and lipstick.

8

One thing I’ve learned is that your definition of terms may not be the same as the stylist’s, especially when you don’t know one another.

It sound as if you did well when you used the “celebrity example” technique with the previous stylist. That worked for me as well - I told her I wanted something similar to Sharon Stone’s recent short crop, and I got what I expected.

Maybe it would be a good idea to get someone, next time you get your hair cut just the way you want it, to take your digital camera or cell phone and take front, side and back shots of your head, and show them to the next stylist.

9

I’m a one-haircut-stand kinda girl, too–I think about haircuts for weeks, and then finally one day I wander into a place that looks decent and ask if they have anybody available, so it’s really my own damn fault. I haven’t had my hair cut in almost two years because I went in looking like me, asked for a trim, and came out looking like my mother–only with shorter hair. The place I went to was a salon I’d been to before–in fact, I’d been a regular there once upon a time. But there was a language barrier, and even though I did have a picture, I still came out looking like a soccer mom who hadn’t paid attention when the lady told her how to do her hair herself. I distinctly remember going home, washing my hair, and crying a lot. One of my friends happened to come over that night and, bless his little gay heart, took one look at my hair and just hugged me and told me he still loved me anyway.

10

Obviously, they weren’t in this case, but trim should be pretty universal. So should “follow the lines, its been about eight weeks since I’ve gotten it cut, so probably about 3/4” inch all over." Frankly, anyone who thinks “trim” and “eight weeks” involves cutting off four inches, shouldn’t be cutting hair.

When I go for a new haircut, I look through photos and find what I want. When I go in for a trim, I don’t expect to need to do that.

Actually, the previous stylist I said - “its a short wedge, all one length, cut over the ears, weight line in back about here” and she did the “Dorothy Hamill!” (She really didn’t look old enough to know who Dorothy Hamill is). Celebrities change their hair so often, and have the ability to do funky things with extensions and such that normal people don’t - that the celebrity thing can backfire - unless you bring a picture.

11

I used to be a one haircut stand girl too, until I found the last stylist. I love the cut. I even love it more as it grows out. It just keeps getting better.

The best part, she’s cheap. It’s only fourteen bucks for a cut. I love her. If you lived close by I would send you to her.

12

My mother arrived back in town and I called her and told her about my haircut. We wear nearly the same cut (is that embarrassing? - my mother is a good looking woman for being 63.) I said “I got a haircut and I hate it.” And she said “they put the layers back in, didn’t they! I’ve been known to cover the top of my head with my hands so no one puts in the damn layers.” My mother started her adult life as a hairstylist, so she probably shouldn’t have communication problems.

13

reason number 6554357985 why it’s good to be a guy: haircuts are 7 bucks (not including tip) and hair just SEEMS to grow back quicker in event of wretched cut.

14

I remember years ago reading an article in a magazine in which they asked famous women if they had ever had a truly disasterous haircut. All of them had. What made some of the stories funnier was that since the women were mostly wealthy (or media stars) many of the disasters cost a fortune. Several reported being reduced to tears by bad hairdos.

15

You say it’s a short cut. Think products and outside of the box. It’s quite possible to wear it differently or even those $5.00 places (maybe just in my area) might have some great ideas. Go to another beauty salon, look at the books, ask their opinion if there’s other ways to style the same cut. Doesn’t mean you have to get a cut there.

16

I’m not a product girl - don’t like crap in my hair. I’m a “wash and go” girl. And its honestly so short (about an inch on top) that there isn’t a lot you could do with it - I couldn’t get a curling iron or straight iron around it (I wear it so short, I can’t get a straight iron around it when its “long” - but layered, there just isn’t enough hair. The one easy alternate style I like when its layered and short (brushed forward to my face), Brainiac4 doesn’t like - he spends more time looking at me than I spend looking in a mirror. I thought briefly about getting it highlighted - but I really don’t want to go from bad to worse. So I think I’m trapped until June.
worm it mostly short since then.

17

Another thing - stylists hate it when you say something like “I really don’t want to have to style it”.

Everytime I have ever said this to a stylist it’s a mistake, they always screw it up and I have to spend a ton of time styling it before I can go anywhere.

Why is that one phrase so hard to get?

18

That is hilarious! When I get a bad 'do, my husband just looks straight ahead and says, “It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.” Then I know I’m screwed.

19

A co-worker of mine had the worst experience I’ve ever heard of. She went to her regular girl of 15 years to get her ultra-conservative middle-aged haircut. Her girl had a young rebellious guy in the chair just prior to her. THAT dude was sporting a mohawk. So when she gets to the part where she trims my friend’s sideburns down to about a 1/2 inch with the blade thingy, she forgets to take Mohawk-boy’s blade out and shaved my girlfriend’s head on one side. :eek: She had to use a hair crayon for a month until her own hair grew back. She was absolutely horrified. I caught her crying in her cube a couple times that week.

Anyhoo, Dangerosa…I have a feeling that once the ultra-shortness grows out a couple inches, you might find those layers look really cute! Not that you wanted to adjust to a completely new 'do, but there could be light at the end of the tunnel. Those first three weeks are the toughest. Be strong!! :wink:

20

Bus Guy: Hi Alice!

Alice: Hey Bus Guy, same as always?

BG: Yes thanks.

Stray bits of conversation while I get trimmed, neck shaved and finished with a nice relaxing shampoo…

Alice: That’ll be $14.

BG: Here’s $20, keep it, and I’ll see you in a few weeks, thanks!

Hair is so simple when you’re a guy with short hair.