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 :(

@SaturdayRocks I don't agree with price by hair type. So naturally curly and wavy haired people are always going to be charged more? That isn't fair

I don't agree with price by hair type. So naturally curly and wavy haired people are always going to be charged more? That isn't fair

So, how would the hairdresser be compensated for their additional time? As I said above some of mine go to a curly service, and even there one pays a lot more than the other as it takes them double the time for the cut so there’s a substantial price difference even among those with curls. You can’t expect hairdressers to donate time and you can’t expect others to subsidise you.

usually I get them to dry it the fastest way, then go home, rewash and restyle.

I don't believe that us curlies and wavies should HAVE to book a special appointment at a special salon.

No, I haven’t misunderstood. This seems to be the crux. No?

Your original post came across as just wanting to be able to pop in at any old time to any old salon and get a great haircut specific to curls. I’ve pointed out it doesn’t work that way as if you do this you will have a hairdresser forced to give you an unsuitable cut and dry because they have a limited amount of time until the next person is due to sit in their chair. You could have a hairdresser with all the skills in the world specific to curly hair and in this scenario your cut and finish would still be absolutely shit.

If your initial post was that you went to the hairdresser prior to booking, let them assess your hair so they knew what they would be dealing with, the booking and appointment time was based on the time needed for them to give you a proper cut and finish for your hair type AND then you walked out with butchered hair, I would be sympathetic and my responses would have been very different.

@HoppingPavlova I’ve had three hairdressers who could cut my hair well, and many who couldn’t. The three who could were just normal hairdressers (one was at Fish, one was at Aveda, current one is at my local south London salon chain).

I didn’t pay extra, or have a “special” cut. They washed, cut and dried my hair like normal. They just knew what they were doing with thick curly hair, and cut it well. Why on earth can’t other hairdressers do that, and why would I need to pay twice as much as a woman with straight hair for it?

It's about finding someone who has the skill and the understanding - Im not surprised sadly that many hairdressers aren't trained in cutting curly wavy hair but it's like a builder saying he isn't trained in laying bricks - or a nurse only being trained in parts of the job - vital aspects of the job.

I've been to curly a specialist and I resent having to pay so much - it's almost like it's become a highly specialised niche market. Ok I got a good cut but why should we have to search high and low for specialists when it ought to be part of a hairdressers training. Ok some hairdressers will have an interest in curly hair or colour or short hair.

I found a stylist who seemed to have a good sense of my hair once when was hanging around in a town getting my car serviced. She was in her late 50s she'd been trained much more thoroughly in all aspects of cutting and hair types

I didn’t pay extra, or have a “special” cut. They washed, cut and dried my hair like normal. They just knew what they were doing with thick curly hair, and cut it well. Why on earth can’t other hairdressers do that, and why would I need to pay twice as much as a woman with straight hair for it?

Then routine timed cuts work with your particular curly hair so that’s fine and if you can get a great cut with your hair type in a normal appointment time then of course you shouldn’t pay any extra. If this is possible with your hair type then, yes every hairdresser should be up for it. One of mine has never been ‘admitted’ by a regular hairdresser post childhood where they had short cropped hair to solve the problem. They tried it a few times when wondering if there was a more convenient option for them only to be stared at in horror and told it’s not possible or ‘uhhm, can’t you get your regular person, I really think that would be best’. So, while you are lucky your curly hair type CAN be dealt with in usual time by someone with usual universal skills it’s not the case for all curls. My other kid did sometimes go somewhere ‘regular’ for convenience and while they did manage to cut it (and did it wet!) it was ‘acceptable’ but that’s it. That’s what they could get in that amount of time and that’s okay, they got what they paid for essentially. After a few ‘acceptable’ cuts they decided to suck up the inconvenience and went back to the curl service where the outcome changes from acceptable to amazing with a difference of added time and associated cost (and that’s leaving with it wet without the natural drying saga).

The whole argument about paying by the time it takes to do your hair doesn't make sense because I've had people spending ages trying to layer my thick hair or to straighten the unkempt curly/ wav- ness I haven't asked them to do that - it's been their solution to "managing" my hair because they lack the skill to cut curly hair

@HoppingPavlova

I don't agree with price by hair type. So naturally curly and wavy haired people are always going to be charged more? That isn't fair

So, how would the hairdresser be compensated for their additional time? As I said above some of mine go to a curly service, and even there one pays a lot more than the other as it takes them double the time for the cut so there’s a substantial price difference even among those with curls. You can’t expect hairdressers to donate time and you can’t expect others to subsidise you.

Perhaps it should not be considered "additional" time when it's people's natural hair? Just the time it takes to do a trim. Perhaps because hairdressers aren't trained in anything but straight hair it's seen as "extra" when it shouldn't be. It's not the same as doing a perm or a colour.

Maybe hairdressers need to be honest & say they don't cut curly hair?
I doubt it would happen as it would reduce their market but at least it would mean we wouldn't have all this hassle with having rubbish cuts & feeling crap when you walk out.

I've found one who is good. He didn't claim to be, he just understands that curly hair sits differently so he cuts it differently.

I show him a photo of what I want and he cuts a version of it for me that still looks good. He's quite old though. If he retires i'll be doomed to another few decades of hunting for a hairdresser who understands curly hair.

I’m really perplexed that there are people on this thread seemingly arguing that hairdressers shouldn’t be expected to be able to cut a perfectly normal hair type.

Curly and wavy hair is not unusual. I’d even venture to say it’s more common than straight hair, it’s just that many people straighten their wavy / curly / untamed hair. And as such, are OK with many hairdressers having limited skills in their chosen trade.

@QueenPaw we have very similar hair 🙌 I too have been there with getting the complete opposite to what I’ve asked for... 🙄🙄

@Menschenskind - I reckon your comment about not understanding how people would go to the hairdresser before a big night out will resonate with most of us. Between the ages of 15 -35 the first thing I would do after walking out the hairdressers would be to tie it back (sometimes making a detour via public toilets to wet it down first if it was a frizz and cowlick nightmare). I didn’t really stop to think about the fact I’d just given someone £40, £50, £60 to leave feeling I looked better than when I walked in...

Yeah... over the years I’ve gone to Michael Price / Unruly (great but kept moving and jacking up his prices), Matt / Spring in Birmingham (that was a lovely day trip, I live in s London), some random woman in her mum’s garden in Dagenham (ok), some random woman in Crete (great, but in Crete) and just about every hairdresser in Tel Aviv (they can all cut thick curly hair for obvious reasons). Since covid began I’ve been doing my own but I need professional attention now. It may be cheaper and faster to fly to Israel than to bag an appointment with Michael Price .

I have just had a terrible experience in a salon which claimed to be a curly specialist. My hair is probably 2c / 3a, prone to frizz and 'mushrooming' if the layers are too short. It was very long so I asked for about 3 inches off - he took off more than double that, leaving me with a horrible bubble head of hair! And he tried to dry it with a diffuser and just twisting it into ropes. It took ages and it still wasn't dry by the time I left and I had to wash it before going to work the next day. Honestly, I looked horrendous! When I got home my daughter told me that I looked like Dougal (Magic Roundabout). I really wanted to go to Nuala Morey in Bristol but thought it was quite pricey so would try a different, cheaper salon in a nearby city... what a mistake. On the upside, I don't need to think about going near a hair salon for a long time as it is so short.

I agree, finding someone who really understands curls is pretty much impossible and I don't understand why. There are so many curly / wavy haired people around - my whole family, for starters. And so many curly haired people here too!

“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?”

Um... I go to a curl specialist, it’s actually quicker to get my hair cut by them than the terrible cuts I used to get where they straightened it.

Also, when I made appointments, I always told them that my hair is wavy and that I prefer to wear it like that and they set the appointment time, if it wasn’t long enough they should have made it longer.

A lot of the time I find they don't know how to style it either so I would rather leave with it wet. My hair needs more than a bit of serum/leave in, I need strong hold gel and hair that crunches to get good results!
Hoping my curly hair cut at the end of this month is the answer, it's a 45 min drive but rather that than another bad cut

HoppingPavlova my issue is that if three hairdressers can cut my hair well in a normal hour long appointment, the 30 others I’ve been to over the years who butchered it have no excuse.

There is nothing special about my hair. Any hairdresser should be able to cut it. And yet most of them say they can’t, and I need to spend hundreds of pounds going to Birmingham to have it cut by a specialist, when I know that isn’t true. They just need to be better trained at cutting a totally normal hair type.

They just need to be better trained at cutting a totally normal hair type.

Exactly. It’s their job.

I went to a curly hair specialist and asked for a cut I could wear naturally. She advised me to wear it straight and I left the salon with a straightened inverted bob that I didn't ask for.

I went to a new hairdresser last week, my first cut since last year. I painfully explained my hair, and asked for a cut I could wear naturally.

I left with a manually curled inverted bob that I didn't ask for.

I'm sick of it too.

This is why I trust my hairdresser even though she's not a curl specialist and can't really style it. She is a teen of the 80s, like me, though so just gets it. And she listens if something she did didn't work, last time. It's a hour in the bus for me.

I wouldn’t even mind if the other hairdressers said up front that it was beyond them. The issue is that they take your money, give you a terrible haircut, and then you are told it’s your own fault for having horrible curly hair and should just have it straightened.

If I had a bad balayage, I’d expect a refund, not to be told it was my own silly fault for asking for it to be dyed in the first place.

@SaturdayRocks

They just need to be better trained at cutting a totally normal hair type.

Exactly. It’s their job.

Amen to that!!

I've driven 2 hours each way twice now to have my hair cut by Nuala Morey in Bristol. She's amazing and it's like watching an artist.

She's on IG as her name.

I've found it too heartbreaking and anxiety-inducing to go to the hairdresser's. I've genuinely never thought of it as a treat and there's only one place in my northern big city with a huge list of clients. So I've no chance basically.

For the past ten years, I've just asked my Mum to lop a few inches off the ends of my curly hair. I tend to wear it scraped back but it does look fine when I can be bothered to faff enough to have it down. And my Mum knows a couple of inches doesn't mean "I really want a layered bob"!