Getting a good haircut.... please tell me how this is done

[RainbowBob]

I know this sounds like a ridiculous question... just walk in a hairdressers and ask for one, would be the obvious answer. But I have been doing this for the whole of my adult life and have only everhad one decent haircut.... and the hairdresser very inconsiderately moved to Australia!

My problem is that my hair is fine with a horrible kink and I have the mother of all cowslicks, which makes hairdressers recoil in horror when I suggest a much-longed-for fringe! Whenever I ask them to transform me with a stylish, edgy cut they end up giving me a 1990s style "Rachel" and if I am too specific they usually tell me the style I have suggested won't suit.

Don't think it's the hairdressers' fault.... I think it's me. I think I am quite frumpy looking and they are trying to style what they think suits me!

Anyone know what styles suit fine, slightly wavy cowslicked hair? I have an oval face. My ears stick out a bit, and I don't have very good bone structure, so pixie crops most definitely out.... Oh and I am 35.

... maybe a paper bag is my only hope?

Firstly, ask around amongst your friends (particularly those whose hairstyles you like) and get some recommendations for a good hairdresser. Then sit down with some books/magazines to find some haircuts that you like the idea of, which you can talk through with the hairdresser. A good hairdresser will tell you what they can/can't achieve with your hair type. If you aren't confident about them, say thanks but I'll think about it, and go elsewhere, don't be railroaded into accepting a cut that you don't want.

I've got similar hair - very fine, two cow licks, slightly wavy. A sort of bob with a very few layers seems to suit me best. Basically I've had good haircuts by going places that are modern looking and pretty expensive (so the hairdressers have lots of training and experience and will take time with me), telling them about my lifestyle and asking them what haircut they think would be best for me.

And no, sorry, neither you nor I get to have fringes best to just accept it.

Me again, I have something very similar to this, I'm not edgy though, but maybe it would suit you? www.besthairstyles2013.com/bob-haircuts-2013.html/bob-haircuts-2013-1

Note that its sort of like a false fringe as part of it gets kind of pushed/swept over the forehead.

My hair is similar to yours. I think the thing with slighty wavy hair is that hairdressers often come at you with the thinning scissors hoping to smooth it out. This does not work IME, it just ends up going frizzy and frumpy and awful.
Too many layers is also bad (ie. The Rachel!) because you end up with what my friend and I used to refer to as 'lion hair' where it looks like a mane because the ends all stick out at different levels/angles.

I went to a new hairdresser the other day, which is a big thing for me. She was great. We discussed what I wanted, talked about my hair and how it behaves - I showed her where the weird kink comes in one side if it is cut wrong.

She cut the length wet, then dried it and then shaped it and gave it a long layer through the bottom which is just a cm shorter at the very front to shape my face.

I wasn't happy with how one side fell, so she did something that made it better!
If they say 'are you happy with that?' and you aren't then FGS say so!

Honestly it was great, and I've booked to go back and see her in 7 weeks time.

I feel your pain Rainbow, I usually need to go home and fiddle about with my hair before I know if the cut is right, I've always found hair cuts to be hit and miss:(
I've had long stretches where my hair was long and so only needed an occasional and simple trim, interspersed with long stretches of short hair and frustration over hair cuts.

I'm currently transitioning back to long hair, cant take any more bad hair cut stress!

My current hairdressor suggested making a appointment to get your hair blown dry by someone first. You'll get to see if they listen to you, understand your type of hair and the amount of time you have to do your hair normally, without having to make the leap of faith that is the first time you get your hair cut.

I knew you guys would come up trumps!

Cointreau: I have taken the plunge and booked a haircut this weekend with a hairdresser recommended to me by a friend who has a superb cut. So all I need to do now is look for some cuts I like.

House: I used to have a bob and although I really liked it (it was cut by my Australia-bound hairdresser) it did involve a lot of upkeep and even after hours of blow-drying and styling I ended up looking like the nursery teacher in Balamory! Is yours quite a long bob? I do like the idea of the false fringe, however.

Alibaba: How long is your hair? I think the one layer will probably work better, but how do I give it that edge? Perhaps it's all in the styling?

Lazy: That's me, you just described there. I always come home from the hairdressers and spend ages playing around with my hair trying different styles in a desperate bid to make it look more how I imagined in my head! Oh the stress!

I spent ages looking at hair styles on Pinterest before my big chop last week!
Then I put the ones I liked best on my phone to show the hairdresser exactly what I wanted. I also have a cowslick and have grown my fringe into a sort of side fringe not-quite-grown-out look because a standard fringe just wouldn't stay put!
I also discovered that the more layers I have, the more my hair goes fuzzy.. so this time I had a blunt bob with just a tiny bit of layering and so far it is easy to style.

Have a look on pinterest..you can type some very specific ideas into the search box:)

thanks for the pinterest haircut inspiration idea Medusa, I just signed up:o