AMA: I'm a Hairstylist

[thefirstcut]

There seems to be so much love and hate for people in my profession- have you anything you've always wanted to ask?

@tabulahrasa luckily in my salon my team are good in the sense that we recommend each other for certain things. We could have a client who comes in each week for a blow dry but if wants her hair put up for a wedding would be recommended to someone else. Of course not all salons are like this and would rather do a sub standard job just to have that client on their books. Sad really.

Glad to see you've found a stylist who can cut your curls! 🙌🏼

Well, I don’t now because I’ve found someone who can do curls

Are they in London by any chance?

I've been cutting my own hair since I was 13 as no stylist has seemed to be able to do a better job than me just hacking the ends off at home.

I now have to do my kids as well!

And my husband

The trick is to find a curly hairdresser.

@GorgonLondon where do you live?

Unfortunately so many hairdressers insist they can cut curly hair then make an absolute mess of it. I’d much rather they said they don’t do curly hair!
I’ve had so many BAD haircuts from people who say they can treat curls that I’ve actually given up and cut it myself.

“Are they in London by any chance?”

Sorry no, Glasgow... I’m not, I’m near Edinburgh, but it’s worth the travel for a decent cut, lol.

“I’d much rather they said they don’t do curly hair!”

That’s why I asked if they do train in curls, because they all act like you’re being ridiculous even asking and then do it badly.

Are you very adventurous with your own hair? (Cut & colour) do you change it often?

I get some bleach blonde highlights (with caramel lowlights) every few months.
Is the bleach really bad for my hair?

@GorgonLondon where do you live?

The clue's in my username and also in my previous post

How popular is it for professional women to get their hair styled (wash and blow dry) every morning. What would be a reasonable cost?

@Annabelle4 Hi Annabelle, I'm not actually a hairstylist who is mega creative and always wanting change. My hair is a classic long layered hair cut, with a bit of a tweak with the layers and bangs at the front. I would definitely love some colour soon.

It sounds fine, a lot of people are fearful of 'bleach' but if a pre-lightener is used correctly there is no reason for it to damage the hair. Sometimes there are no other ways to lighten the hair without using bleach. Also high-lift tints require a higher peroxide so sometimes they can do more 'damage' to the hair. Bleach must never be overlapped as this is when breakage will occur.

@tabulahrasa my curly dd would be forever grateful for the details your hairdresser please

@blueshoes the most regular clients I have are twice-weekly blow dries; I have never come across someone who needs their hair styled every day (outside of people in the spot light, tv presenters for example)

I have a lot of clients too that come in every Friday/Saturday for their weekly blow dry and don't even own any hair products of their own! I wish I could get away with shampooing my hair weekly!

The cost of a blow dry varies greatly from the North to the South of England, my salon doesn't offer any extra discount for regular clients.

Does it annoy you if someone asks what you think they should have/What would suit them? Do you actually suggest diff styles for diff people? I once went to T&G and asked for something 'a little bit different ' and ended up with a layered bob!

Also, is it possible to perm your hair into beachy waves?

I have long, curly hair. My kids have given me headlice. All the combing is really damaging my hair. It has gone dry and frizzy despite using a tonne of conditioner. What can I do?

Please could you answer this questions about the wonky haircuts I keep getting? I have a short bob hairstyle (which makes the difference more noticeable!) My hair is fairly straight on one side, yet on the other side of the parting, it has a slight kink/wave to it. It's thick hair. However, every time I get it cut (bear in mind I am paying £65 per cut), they cut it wonky! I have tried different hairdressers and warned them about it, yet I still get a wonky bob! It looks ridiculous! Is this just a case of going to loads of hairdressers and finding the right one?.for info, when the haircut is finished, the hair does not look wonky, otherwise I would make them correct it there and then.

On a separate note, my hair is getting very greasy, very quickly. I used to be able to only wash my hair twice a week, as it didn't get greasy quickly. However, sometimes I have to wash it everyday now! Why could this change have happened? Is there anything you recommend for this? Ideally, I would like to wash my hair less, as it gets so knotty and loads falls out every time I wash it, so I'd be very grateful if you had any tips.

Many thanks if you take the time to answer my questions!

@CremeDeSudo absolutely! I walk down the street and look at people and tell myself what I would do with their hair if they asked my opinion. I love it when a client sits in my chair and says, if you could do anything, what would it be? Of course it helps to know about them, their lifestyle, how much time they can spend each morning on it, their budget when it comes to products for home, etc. All of this should be covered in a standard consultation because how else can I tailor a haircut or colour to suit.

@CremeDeSudo absolutely! I walk down the street and look at people and tell myself what I would do with their hair if they asked my opinion. I love it when a client sits in my chair and says, if you could do anything, what would it be? Of course it helps to know about them, their lifestyle, how much time they can spend each morning on it, their budget when it comes to products for home, etc. All of this should be covered in a standard consultation because how else can I tailor a haircut or colour to suit.

@CremeDeSudo Not in my experience. Clients have often brought pictures in of models with freshly blow dried hair and ask for a perm to come out looking like this! Even if you had a perm, it still requires some form of styling.

You can create a looser perm, off set from the root but in experience of other stylists it always ends up over drying the hair and client wanting to grow it out. I'm sure another stylist would have a different opinion.

@SnugglySnerd sorry to hear this! I'm afraid the head lice treatments are the best option to remove them from your hair. In between comb through with a great quality conditioner and the comb. Invest in a hair mask or moisturising treatment to sleep in to add moisture and strength back into the hair. Kerastase Elixir I would recommend.

Also using natural tea tree oil behind ears.

@WatercolourFlower hi! Is there any chance you can send me a photo of your hair so I can get a better idea?
I would suggest your first port of call would be to wash and blow dry your own hair and return to the salon and explain your problem.

If your hair is curlier on the one side, or depending which hand is your weaker you may get different tension when blow drying giving the illusion that it is cut unevenly. I would give the stylist the opportunity to explain and correct and then if not I'm afraid it's time to try someone else.

It bugs me when stylists do not listen to their clients. My clients have known their own hair all their lives so if they say they have X problem, listen! Of course whilst using ones professional judgment.

In terms of the oiliness at the root it could be due to a multitude of reasons. First of all has there been any change in medication, diet, stress levels, lifestyle? What shampoo and conditioner do you use? How frequently do you shampoo? Do you have oily skin generally?

The average human loses 100 hairs per day- this will happen regardless of how many times you brush or shampoo your hair (within reason!)

Are invisible layers really a thing or just something I keep reading about in magazines and on Instagram? I want 'natural' looking hair that I can pretty much just leave to its own devices and not look too styled. Like bedhead hair but not literally like I've just rolled out of bed....

@hurrythefuckupgeorge

Scott at Belle and blackley on hope street... they have a website and what have you, but I’m just on my way to bed

Thank you. Does that mean I should also use head lice treatment on the dcs? I don't really want to as 2 of them are only one and don't sit still. I'd worry about getting it in their eyes.
Also do I put the tea tree straight onto my skin neat?

Hello, many thanks for your reply ! I have had oily skin for ages, but my hair wasn't oily as well, now they are both oily. No changes in my lifestyle. I used to use head and shoulders classic clean shampoo, shampooing twice, and then I used to condition my hair with the Aussie Miracle Moist. I can't even use conditioner anymore, otherwise it's really greasy, so I just use the head and shoulder classic clean shampoo. When my hair began to get oily, I used the Elvive shampoo, the shampoo in the turquoise bottle especially for oily hair. It didn't really do anything so I switched back to my head and shoulders classic clean.

I can try and find a photo showing the wonky hair , however I don't take many photos, so I might not have one showing it after the salon visit, and then after a hair wash. I'll have a look !