Finding a hairdresser – It shouldn’t be this hard

A hair stylist cutting a clients hair

Finding a Hairdresser That You Love

Here is a discussion board message a student posted in my online Finding the Right Hairstyle for You! class this month. I think she needs to get a new strategy for her next trip to the hair care salon. What do you think?

Message:

Almost every time I go to get my hair cut it is a bad experience or I come home and no one noticed I got my hair cut.

I have fine, but lots of it, wavy hair. I have decided to grow it out to one length. My husband hates it. To me I love the feeling of having a lot of hair. I have had perms with very little upkeep-mousse and blow-dry the top in layers. Every time I get a perm I swear I’ll never get another one. It probably has been about 5 years.

I think I get so frustrated going to get my haircut because there are no pictures to choose from. The hairdresser I go to now, which is about every 4-6 months, tries to cut it however I ask. I really don’t have any new ideas to ask my hairdresser to do. I have gone to a big hair care salon chain for several years. Never have I been satisfied. Once again no pictures to choose from and the hairdresser says,”What do you want me to do?” I have also gone to a man dresser that everyone said was fantastic. He gave me no ideas and ended up cutting it very short. It was awful. I hate going to get my haircut. I dread it. It ranks right up there with going to the dentist. YUCK!

How about this for a new strategy:

Solicit referrals. Stop women with great hair styles and get hairdressers name. (You may need to kiss a few frogs – but it will pay off)
Do your homework before going to the hairdressers. Find pictures (more than one) of hair styles that you like, i.e.: “Color & Style,” Hairdo Ideas,” “Haircut & Style,” all published by Harris Publications (watch for my articles). A picture tells a thousand words. Also, having a few hairstyles to talk about with your hairdresser will give your hairdresser an idea of what appeals to you. You may not know if a particular hairstyle will work for you, having more than one will elicit great discussion about what can be done.
Good hairdressers should have suggestions for you. If yours doesn’t, it’s time to take a hike. Communication is key here. If you want a suggestion ask for it. You don’t need to take the suggestion, but then you need to be clear what you would like and are willing to do.
One more suggestion for this particular student, shorten time between haircuts. It’s the only way to keep your locks looking their best.

For further discussion about finding the best hair salons checkout these other articles:

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