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Original poster

Do you find that the first few cuts with a new hairdresser are great, but at some point they stop taking as much care?

42 replies

malalam · 28/03/2014 20:21

I've found this a few times. I find a new hairdresser, during the first few cuts they take ages cutting and checking and I have a cut that is both flattering and technically great, but at some point (usually in the first year) they start taking a bit less care... I've longish wavy hair that is layered and the difference between a great cut and a not great cut is apparent after the first wash. It's not the easiest hair and I get the owner or someone at a similar hair to cut my hair, so am paying the top level for that particular salon. Does anyone else find this too? I've returned to a few hairdressers after duff cuts (including once when it was obvious they'd missed layering one side, it was laughably uneven) and they're always helpful.

OP posts:
Lighthousekeeping · 28/03/2014 20:26

My cousin finds this at Vidal Sasoon. The stylist was amazing the first couple of years and as he got promoted he list focus. Now she tries to find days he's not there.

It's the little things that annoy me, the lack of head massage, offer of drinks/magazines and pushing products that occur when they become too familiar.

My absolute biggest one though is not getting a broken down receipt. So you can't see whether you really did get a 25% nhs discount or whether those products you got talked into buying really were three for two. So annoying.

UncrushedParsley · 28/03/2014 20:29

I agree. I also have thick wavy hair, that takes a while to cut, and after a while they lose interest. It is sad, they obviously CAN do it, just lose interest in actually doing it!

Original poster
malalam · 28/03/2014 20:36

UncrushedParsley your hair type sounds like mine, and what you say about them losing interest struck a chord. Maybe it's time for me to think about moving hairdressers...

OP posts:
TheCrackFox · 28/03/2014 20:43

Never thought about it before but you have a point.

biscuitdunkerette · 28/03/2014 20:52

Another thick wavy! I have a good hairdresser but what I find is she alternates between a good cut then a rubbish cut next time. I sometimes wonder if its actually fluctuations in my hair.

AmethystMoon · 28/03/2014 21:00

I've had the same hairdresser since I was 19, I am about to turn 39! He was the 17 year old junior and all I could afford at the time. I have stayed with him and now he owns his own salon and is very expensive but I trust him totally with my hair.
He blends custom colours for me and the result is always different but fabulous. I've had nearly every hairstyle going from cropped, to bobs, to long, to funky choppy spikes!
He is awesome and I currently travel over 100 miles to visit him.
Maybe he is of a rare breed. He's as attentive (drinks, food, magazines etc.) as ever and he is interesting to chat to, not all boring holiday chat!

spookyskeleton · 28/03/2014 21:05

I have just noticed this with my hairdresser Shock she used to cut it carefully but I went on Saturday and I wasin and out in half an hour which included wash, dry, straightening and then cutting Shock Shock

She literally did the cut in less than 10 minutes and I noticed the layers were shorter than usual Hmm it doesn't look too bad now but last time she cut my fringe too far back one side.

But I can't be bothered finding a new hairdresser as it is a local salon and my hair is such that
the cut isn't too vital.

UncrushedParsley · 28/03/2014 21:13

Ok. Going out on a limb here, but IN MY EXPERIENCE...the male hairdressers have been more serious about it....maybe they have seen it more as a career? The women have often been juggling families etc, and maybe haven't the same 'energy/focus'. This is my experience The men were usually more expensive also.

Original poster
malalam · 28/03/2014 21:22

Ha ha! I've been happier with male hairdressers for the past few years! I still got a cba cut today though.

OP posts:
TheJumped · 28/03/2014 21:58

UncrushedParsley - wtaf are you on about? Hmm

TheCowThatLaughs · 28/03/2014 22:04

Yes this always happens to me! I'm constantly changing hairdresser, so annoying!

Coumarin · 28/03/2014 23:59

Yes! I thought it was just me. It happens everytime and is the reason I'm still on a good hairstylist quest.

I also have thick wavy hair. That can't be a coincidence, can it?

Best stylist I ever had was precise, concentrated so no pointless polite chat, seemed to instinctively know what I wanted and made me look exactly how I'd pictured. He emigrated a week later. Sad

WoweeZowee · 29/03/2014 00:10

YY! I got my barnet done last week and had this very conversation afterwards! Third time with this hairdresser and it's not the same... Sad

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 29/03/2014 00:34

I've got long, thick, wavy layers and a brilliant hairdresser (salon owner) who does just as good a job now as she did when she first cut it 9 years ago, has helped me deal with a bout of alopecia, suggests products and drying techniques but isn't hard sell at all.

BlameItOnTheBogey · 29/03/2014 02:27

I have found this but reckon one of the ways around it is to avoid getting your hair cut on Friday or Saturday when things are rushed and busy. I take time off e.g. on Tuesday when it is quiet in the salon and the hairdresser has more time to concentrate and find I get a better cut.

bookishandblondish · 29/03/2014 03:34

I've just moved to Vidal Sassoon for similar reasons ( I went out of desperation as I thought my hair was crap and used to go to their training school as a student)
I was thinking about it though and I don't think hairdressers really cut hair now.

Most women seem to have some layers put in but there aren't "hair styles" in the same way as there used to be - and my old hairdresser used to love me cos she said her normal request was don't change the length - just put a few layers in ( very expensive salon in london - I just couldn't afford to keep going)
My hair is wavy, loads of it but fine. Hairdressers rave about it but don't seem to realise that it actually needs a sharp shape cut into it ( it's in a bob) So I think the first cut, they do it properly - after that, they seem to rely on the existing shape.

YoDiggity · 29/03/2014 04:04

Yes. Completely. Every hairdresser I have ever had is like this. I despair.

Chottie · 29/03/2014 06:04

I travel 77 miles each way to my hairdresser - I know it sounds extreme but if my hair looks good, I feel good.

I have soft, silky, baby fine hair which needs to be cut properly.

p.s. I would love thick, wavy hair - anyone do a swop? :)

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 29/03/2014 07:06

Maybe that's it, I nearly always ask for it slightly different to the previous time (longer, shorter, fuller fringe, shorter fringe, straight across the back or shaped etc), or she suggests tweaks, I never just go in and ask for the same as before. I should say that's not because I haven't liked the previous cut, just that I get bored and want to vary it a bit.

BornOfFrustration · 29/03/2014 07:20

Another thick wavy here. I have found the same in the past but for the last couple of years I've been going to a guy that owns his own salon and he's great. He's just slow. He's the only one that cuts so he ends up running late, sometimes by an hour.

I have a graduated bob, but there's 3 or 4 different ways of cutting it so he tends to cut it a different way each time so it's always fresh.

JoStrom · 29/03/2014 07:23

Yes, very common SCL syndrome as I call it. . Stylist Cares Less! Over familiarity. They end up chatting too much and not concentrating!

Original poster
malalam · 29/03/2014 08:27

I agree with the pp about midweek cuts being a better time than going at the weekend. I went on a Saturday recently and left the salon thinking "never again!" I think that gong to the salon owner (as I do) works well for a while.

I don't think I am a difficult client. I tell my hairdresser what I like (e.g. the layers need to be a minimum length around my face or they bounce up too much and it looks like I have 2 haircuts going on) but otherwise I take their advice and give free reign.

After this last cut I was musing that maybe it'd be good to have honest feedback after a cut where the hairdresser could say "look I charge £x but you have difficult hair, I have to spend longer cutting than usual so pay up!" Or "it was an interesting challenge the first few times but I'm fed up of your difficult hair." Or whatever.

OP posts:
AwfulMaureen · 29/03/2014 08:29

I have had this just last week! And I am also the owner of thick hair with a wave. My hd was excellent...lovely cut...this week it was a bit "off" and her finish wasn't nearly as nice.

cosikitty · 29/03/2014 08:37

I think all hairdressers do this. I guess they just get bored, especially if you are just having a trim or a recolour. I find mine pays more attention if I go for a complete restyle and tries hard to get it as I want it, otherwise it's a boring job and she can't be bothered.

TheGruffalo2 · 29/03/2014 08:52

I've also found that after a year or so they've started messing my appointments around. I book an appointment for a specific time only to get a message the day before that they've had to change the time. Initially by half an hour or so earlier or later. Now I have a message to say my 5.30pm appointment has been moved to 3pm... I always state at booking I need an out of school time appointment and my stylist knows I'm a full time teacher.
I was also frustrated at my last appointment by the lack of attention. I went in and was kept waiting in reception while my stylist did a free fringe trim for someone else, then I had the initial consultation. "I'll just pop and mix up your colour, be back in a minute" ... I waited and waited, then popped to the loo to see my stylist bowdrying someone else's hair. They knew I'd seen so a junior was sent over to offer me a coffee. When she reappeared the colour wasn't mixed so off she went again. I could see her chatting to others in the mixing area. Plus on the way back she stopped to advise another stylist on which colour would suit their client and chatted holding up the colour swatches to the client, then stopped to admire some else's finished client. It was over an hour after my appointment time that she actually started colouring my hair. By the time my hair was ready for its trim and blowdry it was really late and I felt she was just in a hurry and careless. I didn't tip!