A Haven for Vee

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A Bad, Very Bad, Haircut

In light of the morning's news and all that nasty weather in the Southeast United States, a bad haircut doesn't amount to much. I must keep things in perspective.

Women seem to fall into two camps with regard to a bad haircut. The first is a nonchalant whatever approach with a good old philosophical it'll grow tossed in. The second is What in the world? This is NOT what I requested.

My reaction is the second. I have been growing my hair out from very short a year ago to what I had hoped to keep at a medium length. That's because my husband does not like my hair short and I don't like my hair long so I was looking for a happy compromise.

I walked in with plenty of hair and another photo. This one gleaned after an internet search.


Yes, I took in just what you see above and the hairdresser and I discussed all these notes and she had the picture right there on her counter. I knew that it was going horribly awry even as she hacked away. We discussed it again. It made little difference. I walked out with very short hair and irregular choppy bits sticking up all over the place.

It's so bad that everyone who has seen me has commented, including my neighbor who recommended his own hairdresser. Ha! John thinks that a roving herd of squirrels attacked me. Whatever, I must call as soon as the shop opens and make a new appointment. The thing is, my hair will be even shorter when it is fixed. Believe me, there is precious little length left at all. This is so disappointing after one has been growing her hair out for this long.

Still, in the great scheme of things, it's a minor issue and it will grow again.

Now, do you have a hair cut story you'd like to share? Believe me, I'm all ears. No, really, all ears.

35 comments:

  1. A little over 30 years ago, I was working as an auto mechanic. My hair was waist length. During a brake job, my co-worker disconnected a brake line that hadn't been emptied and my braid got soaked. My employer paid for a trip to his wife's hairdresser to try to fix my hair. I left with my hair about 1 1/2" long all over my head. My hair is naturally curly, so I looked like I had a poodle on top of my head. It did grow out, but I was VERY unhappy during the interim!

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  2. I said I am in the "It Will Grow" camp, because I have NEVER (in my 74 years) had a hairdresser disregard what I requested of her.

    There have been times, when What I Wanted did not Turn Out as Planned, on my hair. But that was not the fault of the hairdresser.

    My hair simply would not "DO" what I hoped it would "DO."

    But certainly Vee, if this hairdresser never said a word about "are you sure we can do this "look" with your hair?????"... Well then, she is NOT to be returned to.

    This can not be the ONLY hair place, within your driving distance. Find another place!!! Please.

    Goooooooooooooood Luck!!!!!!!!

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  3. I am so sorry!
    I had that happen once. I think the lady must have just graduated from her hair cutting school. It was dreadful. She would cut on one side and then go to the other....higher and higher she went. It was the shortest haircut I have ever had....aw.ful!

    At least you know that most people have experienced what you are going through. You have lots of empathetic ladies who care and understand.

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  4. My hair is very thin...I have been losing my hair since I was 13 and am now 58. I use to hate going to a new hair dresser, because they all seems to make it even look thinner. Then I found a great hair dresser. I have used her for years. I don't even request anything special anymore...I trust her to do the best for me and my hair.

    I agree with Auntie above...if your hair dresser does not listen to you - or explain why something won't work for your hair type you need to find a new one...
    Hugs,
    Penny

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  5. I was six years old....
    I had waist lenght hair, a beautiful light brown with blond highlights. I was GORGEOUS!!.
    Then, my Mother heard that lice was in the school-she panicked.
    I came out of the hair dressers with dull/dark brown hair and looking like a little boy.
    I was devestated and have yet to forgive her.

    I'm so sorry that you got a bad cut. I agree with the others, find someone else. Ask a friend who's got hair that always looks good and ask her who she goes to.
    Praying that it grows out fast for you!

    ((Hugs))
    Laura

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  6. Oh, yes..I could tell you some stories. However, I won't bore you. I lost my hair due to cancer 5 yrs ago, and it is still thin,luckly, someone from church is a hairdresser and she has worked wonders. I don't have long hair,I have shoulder length and she really has worked wonders for my thin,fine hair. I gladly fork over the $25 and will no longer just attend/or allow any joe to cut my hair. I will gladly drive the 30 miles after we move. So sorry about your hair.

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  7. Oh no Vee! I am so sorry, maybe you need to change stylist and find one that gets your vision. After about a year of looking I have finally found a stylist that I love the cut she gives me, been to her twice now and happily tip her well for not making me look like a bad version of the 80's (you know, higher the hair closer to God kind of big hair) or not trimming the top enough so I have to come back sooner since it grows out faster than the rest of my hair.

    It will indeed grow back, maybe you will love the new shorter version after you have it fixed. Fingers crossed!

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  8. I didn't realize we were going together! I got my hair cut yesterday, too! I have letting mine grow out since I got it cut too short at the beginning of the summer. So I told her just shape it up and keep my usual short bob. I go to the same lady every time...that helps. I hope you have better luck today! Do I need to go with you again? heehee! ♥

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  9. I have had hairdressers in the past that no matter what you tell them they do what they want to instead... needless to say, I did not stick around. Finally found one who was honest with me when I made a request "your hair is really too fine for that cut to look like that" etc. But now days my hair is long and straight. I only go about every 2 months to get a trim. I don't even color my hair anymore because I am more aware what the chemicals might be doing to my body.
    Sorry about your experience. Hope you find a good hairdresser that you will be happy with.

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  10. Good morning! I bet all us ladies have at least one or two horror stories on our hair! haha...I would definitely be in the boat of "OH no whatever will I do!" A good hairdresser is as critical as a good doctor (practically, lol) in my book. Everyone's hair is sooo different. Some simply can't do, what others can...My niece has been doing my hair for 5 years now and is a little wonder. My hair was sooooo short for years and years and years that I had given up hope of EVER being able to grow it out again. But she has accomplished it! It is actually to my shoulders and the PERFECT color too...(left to it's natural state, I'd be totally grey) I am VERY grateful, AND we get the family discount too. It has been a "win win" situation. Looks like you have already planned what I would have told which is to go back and make SOMEONE ELSE fix it! Good luck! Hope you have a good day!

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  11. Sorry about that!

    My worst hair cut was when I went to my regular hairstylist the day of a wedding I was attending, to get a trim. She had been cutting my hair in this style for a year. Short, layered cute for this 16 year old. Part way through the cut her niece came in they chatted then she excused herself to go outside to speak to her sister. Came back in and when she was done it was nearly a man's cut. I was devastated.

    I know how hard it is to grow hair out...it takes me forever to do that.

    At least it will grow...eventually.

    Deanna

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  12. I could tell from your post yesterday you had a bit of concern going into this appointment. You may need to change salons.

    My mother and many of my friends and family spend a small fortune on a HAIR CUT!! I go to an inexpensive Pro Cuts and I tip them really well. I have been going there for over 15 years and have been happy every single time.

    That being said.....I am now trying to let my hair grow for the same reason YOU are. Let's hope you get YOURS fixed.....

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  13. Are you going back to the same hairdresser? With the picture and details of what you wanted drawn on the picture, I don't know how she couldn't "get it".

    When we first moved here, I went to a hairdresser because I saw some of the haircuts she gave other people. I loved them. I took pictures to her and explained what I wanted and she never did what I wanted. I changed hairdressers (different business, too) and this lady gets it.

    More than once I've decided to wait that extra day before washing my hair. Then I have to go somewhere and my hair is awful and a few curls here and there don't help. It's funny how a bad hair day can make you feel bad all over.

    I think we girls all need backup wigs for those days!

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  14. Oh Vee...I'm rolling on the floor hysterical!!! It's the squirrel comment that put me over! LOL

    I know exactly what you went through with the picture!! You would think that a picture is the perfect "visual" for these hair cutters to use, but most of them (I KNOW from experience) get so annoyed with a picture. I'm now on my THIRD gal since I've moved here. I was so spoiled in CA with my gal I had over 15 years, she was the BEST in cutting and color. She took photos of every angle of my hair cut before I moved. And I have a my colors w/volumes etc. all written down for a reference. But no ... every gal even my current one rolls her eyes when I bring out my pictures. What the Heck!!!!!! This recent gal is doing the best cut so far, but I'm still working with her...she's slowly catching on, we're not completely there YET...and I don't care if she gets annoyed with my picture...I'm still using it until she gets the back cut correctly. LOL!!!!!

    Thanks for the post this morning and starting my day out with laughter, even though you're dealing with a roving herd of squirrels messing with your hair!

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  15. Sorry you have to go back, Vee. Are you going back to the same gal that gave you a too short haircut in the first place? I'd try another salon!

    I used to have problems with my hairdresser cutting my bangs too short. I like them just to my eyebrows and she would cut them where they would just be a little fringe across my forehead! NOT what I wanted. Finally, I started trimming my own and when I went in to get the rest cut, I'd tell her to leave the bangs alone that they were the length I wanted. We've been on the same page since.

    Good luck with the hair-do today!

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  16. I am soooooooo sorry. I am one of those who falls into the category of "it is only hair"...maybe because I have my hands so full with other issues.

    Oh I have shared my hair story in my post "Why I Hate Salons"...I am the one with the "wicked gray" hair as she said.

    Best of luck in getting it fixed...I am sure it will look great soon.

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  17. Hi Vee!

    I sooooo sympathize with you!! One time, I went to the hairdresser - one I had been going to for a while. When I got done, it looked so bad that I would not even drive home, for fear someone would see me! My daughter lived very close, so I went to her house to see if I could possible do some damage control! Her son, who was about 3 at the time, opened the door - took one look at me and then slammed the door shut!! I could hear him say to his mother, "I think it's gramma, something bad happened to her!!". It was so funny, and I still tease him about it today! It did grow back, and I was able to make it look . . . okay until the next haircut . . . with a different lady!!

    I would suggest going somewhere else next time.... :0(

    Gentle Hugs,
    Barb

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  18. Oh no Vee! I'm so sorry. I hope the repair is good...

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  19. On a good hair day, the world is a brighter place. On a bad hair day, I just don't feel very capable or lovable. Is that shallow?

    Several years ago when we were traveling a lot (furlough) I needed a haircut. Our hostess, a dear lady, but not very fashionable, said she knew of just the place - the hairdresser spoke Spanish and maybe I could connect with her. Not having any other options, I went.

    Oh. my. goodness. My hair is pretty forgiving but that cut - horrendous. Yuk!

    I'm so sorry you've had this bad experience. I think your picture and description are so clear and from the few photos (ahem) that I've seen of you, very suitable for your hair. It is discouraging because it takes so long to grow out. But it will grow.

    In an hour, my own hair will be cut. By a hairdresser I trust. I hope she's having a good day.

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  20. When my daughter Sarah was only 3 years old, my mother-in-law decided that she needed a haircut while she was watching her...no, she did not ask me first!
    When I came home, my little girl's beautiful blond hair was all hacked-up! She tried using clippers to cut her hair and it scared Sarah, so she moved around several times. I ended up taking her to a local salon, but the damage was already done and she looked like she had a mullet haircut! :O
    Needless to say, I was very upset with my mother-in-law for a long time...all is better now though! :)

    Hope it all turns out well for you Vee!

    Blessings!
    ~Nadine

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  21. I'm sorry you got a bad haircut Vee. That's so disappointing, especially with the price one has to pay! I had to change hairdressers a few years ago and the new one kept cutting my hair shorter and shorter from it's original bob length. She'd show up at her station in the nick of time without her hair products and would be running all over the shop borrowing from other stalls! I got so fed up I found another wonderful hairdresser at a different salon. The only problem is she charges twice as much! Yikes! I'm salt and pepper, mostly salt, so no colouring or highlights (just the natural silver ones) and it's still too much. It's so hard to start over again but if the hairdresser doesn't listen and doesn't work with what you have and doesn't remember what she did last time, then I think it's time for a change. Best of luck Vee!

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  22. Oh i've had some bad haircuts. Some of them i've come home and cried. But then moved into the it will grow out camp.
    Sorry yours didn't turn out yesterday.
    I like the picture of the cut though.
    Maybe I'll have Cheryl try that do on me one of these days! : )

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  23. Hair does grow back, but the stress!!! Just before my daughter's wedding this summer, I had by hair cut by a stylist that she recommended, I told her what I wanted, which wasn't anything like what I got. I was so upset, I wanted to wear a bag over my head at the wedding. In another couple of months it may be back to a good length. Sorry that you had a bad experience.

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  24. Don't worry it will grow. I had chemo ten years ago and lost all my hair so I would not get upset if a haircut went a bit awry. Change your hairdresser though! We have a family joke here - if anyone has just had their hair cut we say 'Who cut your hair?, We'll get 'em for you.........

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  25. So sad, Vee! I never realy on photos for haircuts as the models in most of them have glossy straight hair. Their cuts will not work with women with curly, wavy, or fine hair..ot in my case thick and frizzy hair. I would be kidding myself that anyone could cut my hair to look like a magazine photo. My best cut is one in layers that allows my hair to have a mind of its own as I know I can't tame it.

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  26. Oh, Vee. You may be crying...but you sure know how to make us laugh! And I'm wondering if your hair stylist knows that you have a blog...and that her attempts at giving you the perfect cut are an open book for the world to see. Free advertising...one way or the other!

    I'm on to a new stylist again...since my last one closed shop. I like my new guy just fine!

    My worst hair days were the 'morning-after-the-home-perm' when I was a kid. Yes...I still had to go to school no matter how bad it looked.

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  27. I'm so sorry to hear that your haircut turned out to be such a bad experience. It seems like you were so well prepared with the picture that it should have worked out better.
    I'm rarely satisfied with my hair as it is very fine, but the worst experience was on my wedding day. I came out with a 1960s bouffant and it was 1981. I remember arriving home and my dad looked a bit surprised, but told me it looked nice. The floodgates opened at that point as I fled for my bedroom to throw myself on the bed and have a good cry. I thought for a minute I might have to call off the wedding. LOL.
    In an effort to make you feel better I'll also tell you about the time I got a perm and came home to see my 8 year old son's eyes get huge as he proclaimed that I looked just like Bart Simpson's mom. Aargh!!!! Not the look I was after.

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  28. Oh no, I'm sorry, and I can totally relate...my hair is way toooo short right now. It's shorter than david's...I'm not a happy camper.

    I must admit....I'm wanting to see your hair...I'm thinking .....i bet it looks better than you think."
    Hugs.
    D

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  29. Sorry Vee, about the bad cut.
    With thin hair I rarely come away with happy results after any cut I get. But I've learned to live with it.
    My most resent hair flob was when I ask for two-tone highlights. I
    distintly said I wanted copper and golden highlights. Instead I got
    almost white ones. I am still putting a rinse on my hair because the contrast with my roots is so glaring that I have a horrible line
    now if I don't.
    Will we be seeing this new do?

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  30. I am so sorry Vee. That is so terrible. I am trying to remember my worst experience. Nothing terrible comes to mind aside from when I have snipped it myself.
    I did just get my hair cut. .my bangs are too short and I am scheduled to be on TV next saturday. Does that help? (thinking here I see no photo of you and I have no choice)

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  31. A bad haircut is such a disappointment - especially after you've paid good money for it. The "It'll grow back" response is no help at all!

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  32. I totally relate, I had my hair fried 2 years ago by a young stylist and it is just growing back. I decided to go gray, and return to a stylist who had moved further away. I like the old/new stylist because she is blunt ( kindly ) with me. She is firm in telling me to keep my white/gray, and work at keeping it healthy. I like that and it is well worth the extra miles to avoid the stress of bad hair cuts and dye jobs !

    I am so sorry about your very short hair, but you made me laugh anyway. I hope you're smiling (ear to ear :)) when you get your repair job done.

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  33. So sorry to hear about your bad haircut. Been there!!! My stylist just retired, and someone else cut it this time. It looked great when she styled it, but now,I can't get it to do a thing...she used a TON of "product" on my hair and I'm finding I have to do the same which I don't particularly like to do.
    Are you wanting a straighter look? I have naturally curly hair and find I DO have to use a bit of hair product if I want it straighter. I'm and old dog learning new hair styling tricks. Good luck and happy Friday.
    Oh, I've never had any luck showing stylists photos. I even showed a photo of ME with a haircut I used to wear.. guess what?..you got it.. nowhere near the look. Go figure.

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  34. I don't think it'll help you any to hear my horror story, but just know that I DO have one. Yes, there were tears.

    If you have a friend with a great hairdo, ask who her stylist is and go there. Or spend an hour in the salon, just watching the "afters" as they leave, and then ask questions.

    Other tips - dig out your old hot rollers; buy a straightener or a curling iron with a larger barrel (inch-and-a-half or two-inch); try a different brand of hair products.

    Hopefully you can make this 'do work until it grows out a little bit. So sorry!

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