No More Cheap Haircuts (Rant)

[nazstar]

I read this whole post and had to laugh. I started going grey at 20 so I got highlights. I spent about $350 every 3 months to get it done with another $100 in between at the 6 weeks mark to touch up. (my hair grows like a weed!). It got WAY too expensive and then I moved across the country. Decided to go to Supercuts...yeah, I know. She butchered my hair and then styled it to hide it. When I went home and washed it, I realized there were hunks of hair missing and had to tie it back for 2 months.

My other horror story is going to tha salon, my colorist was out, so I used another colorist - I was going to a wedding 2 days later and wanted to freshen the color. I told her to match the color - don't do anything creative. She applies the dye all over my head (no foil and comb technique) and then wraps my head in plastic wrap (which I've never seen done). Afterwards, she rinses it out, wraps it up in a towel, plops me in a chair with my back to the mirror and starts drying. When she was done, I looked at myself and I was a redhead! A REDHEAD! I don't mean Julia Roberts red, I mean I looked like a damn Irish Setter. And I have darker olive skin and dark brown eyes. I looked ridiculous!

March of last year I had a little money so I went to the Aveda salon and got it all chopped off and highlighted. LOVED IT! But then I had my baby, got busy, etc. Needless to say, I've been coloring it myself the same color as my natural color and just been pulling it back in a ponytail. I love short hair, as does my husband, but it grows way too fast to maintain and the only stylist I trust is like $75 just for a wash, cut and dry!

[HeatherB]

I read this whole post and had to laugh. I started going grey at 20 so I got highlights. I spent about $350 every 3 months to get it done with another $100 in between at the 6 weeks mark to touch up. (my hair grows like a weed!). It got WAY too expensive and then I moved across the country. Decided to go to Supercuts...

On the subject of prices.... my best friend informed me that she has been spending $2000 every 3 months for hair extensions. She's done this for the last 4 years. I almost shat myself when she said that.

[JollyGG]

I seem to have the opposite problem of most people on here. I have the problem that the stylist will never cut my hair short enough! I have medium length hair, maybe about 10 inches long or so. It is baby fine, so breaks very easily. I hate going to the salon, don't like strangers touching my head, so usually put off going to once or twice a year at most. By the time I do give up and go to the salon, the split ends and damage is terrible, despite my efforts to deep condition it. So I tell them to cut off all the damaged parts, usually ask for 4-5 inches chopped off. They cut off maybe 1 inch. I say "no, I was wanting it shorter, could you please cut off more, another few inches?" They cut off maybe a quarter inch to half an inch, ask me if that's the length I wanted. I am freaked out by having this person touching my hair so much already that I rarely ask to make it even shorter, so at best I get 1 1/2 inches cut off, when I really wanted to get about half of it cut off, 4-5 inches. I wait 8 or 9 months, and repeat the process. But so far, no stylist, ever, has been willing to cut more than 2 inches off of my hair!!! What is up with that??? Maybe I only get ones that are previously too tramatized by all the crying episodes like you've reported here so won't cut length off of hair anymore? And the last time I went in and asked for a perm since my hair is so fine that I wanted some body to it, she wouldn't do that either!!! Suggested I get it cut in layers (umm, maybe I'm dumb, but how is cutting my thin hair into thinner layers going to make it look thicker?) and add highlights and lowlights instead. I did the color suggestion, and loved it (was way too expensive to do often but really did add some illusion of thickness and lasted forever because the roots weren't noticible the way they usually are 4 weeks later since it was multi-tonal to start with.) So my question is, why can't I ever get one of those scizzor happy stylists?

I also have supper fine hair and other than my SIL (who always does my hair now) I couldn't get them to actually cut it short enough to get all the damage either. To add to the super fine hair I also swim and that just damages my hair more. About the third time I have asked them to cut it still shorter I just give up and call it good enough. I also don't get why they won't cut it as short as I like due to my face shape. I have a long narrow face so long hair just makes me look like a horse.
I also don't get how layers are going to make my hair look thicker. I hate layers in my hair and they take forever to grow out. I do have my SIL color my hair and it does seem thicker and I do love it. She highlighted and cut it over christmas. However the hightlights were a little to subtle so she will be doing more when she comes to visit me over my brothers navy reserves weekend.

[nazstar]

On the subject of prices.... my best friend informed me that she has been spending $2000 every 3 months for hair extensions. She's done this for the last 4 years. I almost shat myself when she said that.

HOLY CRAP! $2000 every three months? That's a payment on a Range Rover every month!

[AMISLANDER]

On the subject of prices.... my best friend informed me that she has been spending $2000 every 3 months for hair extensions. She's done this for the last 4 years. I almost shat myself when she said that.

OH MY GAWD!!!

[isitreal]

On the subject of prices.... my best friend informed me that she has been spending $2000 every 3 months for hair extensions. She's done this for the last 4 years. I almost shat myself when she said that.

You should invite her to join this forum. With spending habits like that, she'll be here eventually anyway.

[chpxiii]

HOLY CRAP! $2000 every three months? That's a payment on a Range Rover every month!

I can't even fathom a $2k/month car payment.

[HeatherB]

You should invite her to join this forum. With spending habits like that, she'll be here eventually anyway.

In her defense she has no kids to worry about or husband to deal with. She has worked her @ss off to get what she wants. (sometimes working 2 jobs and attending college.) I do worry about her alot, though. She very much has the mentality of "I don't want to wait until I can afford it - if I did that I would never have anything".

Her latest spendature is a nose job and new boobs.

[FLBK7]

Success!!!

Okay, today was my appointment with the new hairstylist - the one recommended by the lady with a gorgeous haircut that I approached at the public library. And I'm so pleased with what she did to my hair!

She most definitely *fixed* the other hairstylist's chop job, and suggested a brand-new hairstyle that would work with my thick, slightly wavy hair and face shape. SHE showed me pictures of what she thought I would look best in, and I could see right away that she had an excellent eye. My hair is now chin-length, with just a couple long layers for the slightly "messy" look I favor (no polished styles for me!), and the bangs are mostly side-swept blending in nicely into the sides. I love the look! And the upkeep is a breeze: Shampoo and condition hair, towel dry, comb through, turn head upside down and blow dry on low using hands and fingers to bring out the waves; then blow-dry the bangs with a round-brush and presto - it's done!

I was charged $65 and I consider it a bargain. This lady co-owns the salon, so chances are she won't disappear overnight like my old hairstylist did. What I liked the most is that she took the time to examine my hair, my face shape, and my preferences ("no polished styles, easy upkeep") before she did anything. I think I've found a keeper!

[HeatherB]

I think I've found a keeper!

SWEET! Can you send her my way?

[BKcrazy]

On the subject of prices.... my best friend informed me that she has been spending $2000 every 3 months for hair extensions. She's done this for the last 4 years. I almost shat myself when she said that.

Hrm....Hope she doesn't wind up where in the same boat we've been rowing.

I know how to make clip in extensions with real hair for a very very small fraction of that cost. I just could not ever spend that much on my hair.