Why don't hairdressers learn about curly hair? (rant)

[sweetmama11]

Ugh... I'm just so sick of crap hairdressers. I have thick, wavvy hair and I've NEVER found a decent hairdresser in like, nearly 30s years! I always get them to blow dry my hair straight because they never seem to know how to properly style curly hair. It's so frustrating. I never wear my hair straight, as I actually prefer it in it's natural state. But it's always a nightmare when a hairdresser tries to style it naturally. I don't get it. Do they not learn about curly hair? It's not like it's some totally unique, rare condition! Lots of people have curly hair! What is going on?! I've been to high-end, expensive places and those super cheap, no appointment needed places too. Always terrible. Why does no understand curly hair?!

Don't mean to offend any hairdressers out there but I'm just so sick and tired of it. How can you be a professional yet still be so clueless? I've honestly never found a hairdresser in 30 years who knows how to style curly hair properly. The one I usually go to is ok, but I always get it straightened. She did a balayage which is again, ok but not brilliant. It'd be nice to pay for a service and be really happy with the results. Most of the time I just cut my own hair, especially during lockdown. It just seems crazy to me that hairdressers can be so clueless about curly hair. I know that curly hair has its moments and that sometimes it's out of fashion and then it'll come back round again, but it's always the same in the hairdressers. I feel like a burden or an annoyance because of my hair :(

I've spent year having bad haircuts and thinking it was my fault - I didn't explain what I wanted.
I made the mistake of getting my curly wavy hair razor cut last October - never again!!! I'm trying to grow it out now and it's like a mass of rats tails that stick out in all directions. The positive to come out of it is that I won't allow anyone to hack it all off ever again and when I do eventually go to a hairdresser I will do my research and find someone trained to cut wavy curly thick hair

Should have added, in the pre-assessment mine were also advised at what point the hairdresser needed them for the cuts. One has to have it done during days 10-14 post wash, the other is fine to do it a week post wash. So, there’s no ‘I can just pop in somewhere/sometime’. It has to be planned so the hairdresser has it at the best point in cycle for cutting purposes.

For anyone in London, Blooming Curls in Muswell Hill is very good. She’s on FB.

I have curly hair and have been cutting my own hair now for nearly 6 years using unicorn cut and then tidying up the odd curl. I follow curly girl. Honestly best thing I ever did for my curls. It falls so much better now. I wouldn't be able to straighten my hair as if would be uneven if it was straight but curly it looks great. I went to a curly specialist once years ago and it was a great cut but cost an absolute bomb.

Thanks for the tips everyone - booked a hair cut, googled club cut vs point cut, and vaguely confident on what to ask for now.

Great tip about not thinning - this will be my first hair cut as a 'curly' girl, and I have ALWAYS asked for my hair to be thinned in my straightening days, as a way to manage it. I shall make sure to specify not to thin this time.

Any other tips on how to get the best out of your hairdresser?

I have found my people. I have very thick, wavy 2 C hair, not curly. Any reccos for wavy hair salons in East London?

@HoppingPavlova

You mentioned 3b/3c curls - is that some kind of curl grading? I'm white Irish, so not sure if it's just afro or any curls. Would be nice to categorise mine - curls are so hard to describe.

Will preface this by saying I don’t have curly hair but some of my kids do. Yes, there is curl grading, just Google it and it will have pictures you can match with I guess. More importantly though is the assessment by the hairdresser.

Mine couldn’t just book in and have a cut, and for very good reason. They had to have a separate appointment up front with an assessment, which included grading, but more importantly how their hair needed to be dealt with and how long it would take. This determines appointment times for the day.

One of my kids takes around 90mins in the chair getting it cut, then the wash after, whereas the other takes half the time as while both have curly hair their curls are different. They have dry cuts, curl by curl, so no issue about hair springing up too short when it’s dry. It’s about whether you want it dried as well, all of that needs to be determined before the appointment to be factored in for appointment time. It can’t have a hairdryer blasted on it, but needs some weird space age orbiting thing that reproduces natural drying (not a hairdresser so no idea what it’s called), and if electing to dry that adds a good 90mins again. While the hairdresser can cut someone else’s hair while you are drying you are still taking up a seat, and reducing throughput if there’s more than one hair dresser and all that needs to be factored into the day and the way appointments can be booked.

I don’t understand why people are complaining they pop down to a salon that runs on appointment times based on ‘average’ hair and get a rushed cut/dry that fits into that appointment slot. The reality also is that you need to pay for a hairdressers time surely? You can’t expect to pay the same as someone who can get theirs done in 45mins when you are taking up the chair for hours? What about if you have an appointment and you turn up and they say sorry, they are running 2hrs behind as a curly came in and rather than doing what they could in a 45min slot they are doing it properly and you will now have to wait a few hours for yours? So I’m guessing they do what they can in appointment times and also based on the fact there will always be those that protest their haircut that took hours should cost exactly the same as someone else’s whose was simple and took 45 mins.

Well, good for you if you've never had issues getting your kids hair cut. But for the rest if us, it's a rather different story. As I pointed out before, I think you've radically misunderstood what my original post was all about.

I don't believe that us curlies and wavies should HAVE to book a special appointment at a special salon. (But thanks for all the recommendations from all you lovely people!! Very helpful!!)

Curly hair shouldn't be treated as some hideous, difficult, uniquely-weird thing. Which is how I've always felt treated by a variety of different stylists at different salons over the years. My gripe is that hairdressers don't seem to get properly trained in the uttermost basics of how to cut and style curly hair, which yes, is a lot more nuanced and time consuming than straight hair. But, in my opinion, stylists nowadays should be throughly trained in how to deal with a variety of different hair textures not just straight hair.

@ChrissyPlummer

No probs, I know there’s one not far from me in Manchester that gets rave reviews but I guess that’s a bit too far! X

Is this Vicky on Oxford St? She isn't taking new bookings at the moment.

I agree, I'm in Manchester and the closest one I've found is in Bristol.

You can have a "freehand" dry cut as other PP have said but it's very time consuming. Club cutting is much quicker. Then once the hairs dry (curly) the hairdresser can even out any areas where the curl is tighter/looser. This is how I cut my curly children's hair (I have learnt all about it though lockdown!)

I agree Op! I have wavy hair and I've not been to the hairdressers in about 4 years. They're obsessed with layers! Why?! Not every hair suits layers, my ends always looks straggly after a couple of weeks because my hair is so fine. Layers make it look even thinner. And give me a mushroom head! And take forever to grow out. And they always straighten which leaves my hair drier and frizzier after a couple of days, I have to really deep condition after a hairdressers trip. They don't listen to what you want - the number of times I've asked for a one length trim and find I have layers again. They also use thinning scissors or 'razor' the ends 'for texture' which my hair doesn't want or need! I stopped going because I got so sick of it all.

I chopped off all my layers during lockdown last year and my hair is now one length and looks thicker and I love it. I usually leave it to air dry and I get nice beachy waves without much styling. I'll never get layers again!

Hairdressers don't think about the after effects of a hair cut, how you manage it and how it will look a couple of weeks later. They only think about how it looks as you leave the salon.

I'm a thick wavy 2c as well.

Porous, coarse and dense (which probably sums up more than just my hair....)

Would love any recs for South /Southwest London. Doesn't need to be curly specific or a dry cut. Just someone who listens, doesn't tell me my hair can't be styled wavy because it's not wavy (how they said that to my very wavy haired face I'll never know!), and doesn't reach for the straighteners or thinning scissors.

@leekandpotsoup

I've spent year having bad haircuts and thinking it was my fault - I didn't explain what I wanted. I made the mistake of getting my curly wavy hair razor cut last October - never again!!! I'm trying to grow it out now and it's like a mass of rats tails that stick out in all directions. The positive to come out of it is that I won't allow anyone to hack it all off ever again and when I do eventually go to a hairdresser I will do my research and find someone trained to cut wavy curly thick hair

Sympathies Tell me about it! I didn't truly understand my own hair till I stopped going to the hairdressers. You're always kind of stuck in a loop of dealing with what they did last.

I always thought it was my fault too but I couldn't really explain why I didn't want what I didn't want, and vice versa.

The silly thing is my hair is so resistant to straightening and so thick & coarse my appointment always over-runs anyway. I'm sure there must be a wavy friendly process that leaves me happier and takes up less time for the hairdresser.

I feel your pain the hairdresser I trusted has just moved to the USA how dare he

Even he wasn't amazing at styling but his cuts were good. I'm going to try the specialist at Maidenhead or Birmingham next although either are a god hour away from me.

Curly hair shouldn't be treated as some hideous, difficult, uniquely-weird thing. Which is how I've always felt treated by a variety of different stylists at different salons over the years. My gripe is that hairdressers don't seem to get properly trained in the uttermost basics of how to cut and style curly hair, which yes, is a lot more nuanced and time consuming than straight hair. But, in my opinion, stylists nowadays should be throughly trained in how to deal with a variety of different hair textures not just straight hair.

Yup. I can understand the argument for charging more if it's a more time consuming job. Time is money. I don't think there's any excuse for hairdressers not being trained to deal with it, especially not when - as pps have pointed out - we're supposed to be living in a multi cultural country.

My hair is quite curly and unless I'm getting colour, I now only go to hairdressers that do a dry cut. Fed up with wasting hours and £££ while they blow dry it to look rubbish. I can do a much better job of drying and styling it myself with a dyson in a fraction of the time.

Brazillian amd tirksh hairdressers seem to be very good hood with curls- presmably they are taught differently. Maybe see if you can find a stylist who comes from one of those places?

They're not very good at dead straight fine hair either!

I have wavy hair but just before lockdown got a perm for more body. Even after perming it the hairdresser blow dried it straight. I ended up posting a photo on my FB page as the only woman who can have a perm and come out with hair straighter than when I went in! The thing is you rarely see you children with curls nowadays, I think the curly hair gene is being bred out. You look around...

I agree!! I've treated myself to an appointment next week with a curly hair specialist in Northampton.

I'm hoping for great things as it's costing me a bomb and I've waited for ages!!

I started a similar thread a few weeks ago about my dd who is ‘blessed’ with my hair - very thick, and wavy.
I’ve spent my life trying to find a hairdresser who understands and yes I’ve come out of hairdressers sobbing because they basically hack at it and then shrug. It kills me to see dd going through the same thing but we don’t live near a major city nor could we afford a fancy salon. Drives me bananas.

@sweetmama11 I completely agree with your point. Hairdresser training seems to be based on a particular type of hair. Whenever I've gone to hairdressers in the past with my hair which is Afro, they just smile and nod, say they can cut and style it then proceed to make a dogs dinner of it. I've actually had hairdressers say that Afro cutting and styling is actually a a specialist area that needs additional training. I mean come on, why is that not just a standard part of their training.
And yes it only tends to be older hairdressers who have a clue how to deal with curly hair.

@stillcrazyafterall

There is no way they should have blow dried straight a new perm. How is your hair now? Has it held onto the curl?

I also go to Trepadora. They always do such a good job on my hair.

You’re absolutely right OP - hairdressers should be trained to cut all hair types.

I can’t believe there are some people on this thread who think hairdressers should really only know how to cut straight hair.

Why?

Sure - it’s certainly going to take longer to cut some hair types. So don’t price by cut. Price by hair type. And schedule the appointment time accordingly. How hard is it to have a convo over the phone at booking to determine (roughly) the sort of hair the customer has? It’s pretty much their job.

I honestly don’t get it. Any hairdresser trainers out there care to explain why ~90% of hairdressers can only cut bog standard straight hair?