To be irritated by hairdresser asking 'how much do you want cut off'?

[wol1968]

The hairdressers at the place I take my 10 year old DS always seem to want numbers when they ask this question. My DS has a shaggy mop of wavy hair that sticks out in all sorts of absurd directions when badly cut which is most of the time and it doesn't end up the same length dry as it was when it was sprayed wet. I can't deal with whether it should be two inches or 5 cm or 27.27592 mm or whatever. I just want it (a) long enough to keep the wave and (b) short enough to be tidied up a bit. But when I say this they look at me with a bovine stare that tells me they really don't know what I mean. They're supposed to be the hairdressers. I don't do hair. Ever. I'm hopeless at it.

I suppose I am being unreasonable. This is what you get for keeping the price down to under £10 a cut. But would a slightly better service at a slightly worse price be too much to ask?

If it's ever exactly how you like it, take a photo so you can show them in the future.

They really can't just guess what you mean!

Highland cows have lovely fringes.

Not liking the 'bovine look' you attribute to the hairdresser OP. Do you also give them a 'bovine look' when you are asked how much off? Worra's suggestion of a photo is a good one.

Be.more.specific. Not difficult. Either that or keep quiet when it isn't as you would wish. Also, at 10, isn't your son old enough to speak to the hairdresser himself?

Sorry, but you sound like a nightmare client and, if you mouthed off at my hairdresser when you didn't like the results when they'd asked you specifically, I'd be right on their side.

Find one who can tolerate difficult clients and curly hair and PAY FOR IT.

Wow. Harsh.
Dealing with curly haired boys is a nightmare, especially when they get to the age that they want to look cool.

We have the same problem with ds's hair (which is the same as mine - I also have trouble explaining to hairdressers how I want curly hair to be cut)

Largely, everything just looks like a mullet. I would love hairdressers to understand that curly haired boys need decent haircuts too - and you just can't give them a specific grade or length to work with - they have to work with the wave and curl as they go. I'm assuming it's beyond them, and they are only capable of picking up the right size clipper or ruler.

Heaven forbid a hairdresser actually listened to someone with curly hair and understood their inability to give a precise inch or clipper definition. You just end up with a 70's bad hair cut and expected to fork out for the privilege if you do it this way.

I feel your pain, op. I have a terrible mono wave at the front. Some cuts actually exacerbate it and I look like I have had a forties permanent wave with a big roller. This is despite saying 'I really hate this big curl right here'.

Well why did the OP not ask the hairdresser for advice then? Explain that you like to have the wave left and ask what would be the right length for that. Not talking about a hairdresser giving a 'bovine' look, so rude!

YANBU. I recently started taking DS to my hairdresser and I didn't know how to describe what he wanted at all so ended up saying, "normal boy haircut, nothing trendy." She did exactly that and it was perfect. I take him back when it starts to stick up all over the place and he asks her to make it not stick up.

Er, she did, witch.

The bovine look was because the hairdresser didn't understand what 'long enough to keep the wave, but short enough tidy it up a bit' meant, and could only work in '5 on top and 3 on the side, please'....

The clue was when the op said 'when I say this, they look at me with a bovine stare'.

I've had the same. 'Whatever you do, get rid of this big fat curl'. They look at me. I say 'I hate it, it drives me mad'. An hour later I am walking out of the salon with the big fat curl practically set in resin. Nothing short of shaving me bald will get rid of it for another six weeks.

Perhaps if the hairdresser was bold enough to say 'actually, I'm not very good at this, and I haven't really had much experience with curly hair, but shelley over there has. Let me ask her advice, or maybe you would prefer to make an appointment with her?' Instead of adopting the blank look and asking again about clippers and inches which are utterly irrelevant in terms of curls, the op might not be quite so fed up....

Or, if the extent of your skill is to make every hair on every head the exact same length, regardless of head shape, face shape, style, hair type, cow-licks, double crowns, or whatever else goes on, maybe go and find a less skilled job?

"bovine stare"? wow, you're pleasant.

You just need to find the right stylist, ask around for someone who specialises in curly hair or at least knows how to do it nicely.
I'm a stylist, a curly girl myself and my mum and sister have those waves that grow outward instead of down and I've been cutting DPs hair which is thick and wavy and double crowned since we met at 15 and I was training as a hairdresser and needed clients years ago.

If you find someone who has a similar hair type to DS they'll know how to handle it, sometimes even taking photos won't help if you get a hairdresser who can't handle such specific hair. If you're in Yorkshire, you should come to our place.
Try the more 'alternative' salons too as they're trained in creative hairdressing which requires a tad more than just lopping the ends off and hoping for the best. Plus all the 'hipsters' go there with their fluffy, wavy hair and get uber cool styles. I think that puts people off as those salons seem a bit niche but it's worth a shot.

I have this with ds1, his hair is so thick and wavy. He doesn't like to do anything with it, so no gel etc. It just grows out not down.. It ends up looking like an Afro! I've tried two barbers who just cannot deal with it, so recently tried a third. The man was brilliant. Thinned it out and cut it into a style that looks as if he's styled it but as DS doesn't care about it he doesn't have to do anything.. I'm longing for the days when he will want to "do" his hair.. He's 15! Ds2 at 8 is obsessed with gelling his quiff in his hair and smelling good..