Do you have regular 'hair regret'?

[Sonolanona]

Every time I get a hair cut I hate it, wish I hadn't had it done.
Then after a few weeks I get used to it, start growing it again..and repeat.

A year ago I had waist length hair (thanks to Covid mostly)..chopped it to my shoulders..which was ok, but I missed how easy it was to tie back.
Then got layers.
Regretted them
Then on a whim a week ago had it cut into a short bob with undercut as my hair is very thick.

I hate it. I feel old, mumsy and just 'whaaa why did I cut off my hair?'
I know it will grow again but it will take years to be long hair. There is nothing wrong with my actual hair cut... it's just short.
But I do this every time,, cut, hate it, feel rubbish about everything for months , then repeat!
Is it just me? I'm not particularly confident about how I look and I guess I always hope a different cut will magically transform me..and it doesn't!

Sounds like you've answered your question right at the end there. You're expecting too much of a haircut, especially when experience tells you it doesn't do what you think it's going to.

I was thinking this the other day when I was looking through old photos.

The perfect haircut only exists in hindsight. I can see now that the cut I had in the summer of 2021 was great and really suited me, but at the time I was impatient to grow it, and had a fringe cut in in the autumn.

I'm now growing out the fringe and thinking about getting it cut short again 🤦‍♀️

Your post made me chuckle as I am exactly the same. My hair is a constant work in progress that has no destination! What I've come to realise is that the styles I yearn for are probably really not suitable for my hair type without a lot of daily styling and product (fine hair but lots of it and wavy in places). And I'm not prepared to dedicate the time to it every day....

I'm also finding it hard to find hairdressers that really understand my hair and what would suit me. When I do, they move away! I'd also like hairdressers to be brutally honest with me and tell me when something is just not going to work that well? But they aren't going to risk upsetting their customers are they?

The only time I was happy with my hair is when I lived in Japan for a year in my twenties. Their hairdressing is first class. I don't know what it was about their hairdressing skills but they just seemed to be able to cut my hair in a way that both suited my face and into a style that worked on a daily basis. They seemed to take hair cutting very very seriously. There was a lot of consultation, discussions and checking in with fellow stylists about what they were doing etc. I can speak Japanese so it wasn't that they were worried about a language barrier. Just technically amazing cutters!

I find hairdressing in this country a bit hit and miss to be honest... Especially for shorter hair.

Good luck with the growing out phase OP! I'm growing out short layers at the back at the moment after a bob disaster. I wanted a 'French' bob with just a bit of a graduation. Nothing too steep. Came out with what my daughter would call a 'Karen' bob. Sigh. And so the next phase begins....

For some unknown reason, I have a cycle of cutting a fringe in, realising that it doesn't work for me (I have fine wavy hair, a cowlick, and a high forehead), and then spending ages growing it out before deciding I'd like a fringe...

I don’t chop but I do change colour frequently. The moment I am blonde I miss red. The moment I’m red I miss blonde. My poor hairdresser.

I find that I am usually disappointed when I leave the hairdressers, and I do tend to go to well regarded / expensive salons.

I never seem to leave with what I actually asked for, so I can only assume that my communication skills are lacking when in a salon.

100% not just you. I am living this right now, having just rewashed my new hair cut (really just a trim!).

I don’t think it’s communication skills. I think it’s hairdressers (sorry to any hairdressers here). Some did their training and never updated anything or go on courses or look at new styles and do what they have always done, they don’t keep up with new techniques or trends or have clients that challenge them to find new styles or ways of working. I went to SO many hairstylists who gave me their interpretation of what I’d asked for, even with a photo. I said to one lady once - I wish you had admitted you weren’t able to do that style instead of having a go and leaving me with this.

my hairdresser now does all the courses she can get her hands on, and is 100% upfront that I may never achieve what have asked for; that’s fine I’ll take it and we find a workaround.

its not always your comms skills. Tip - look for a hairdresser who advertises their latest course certificates.

I've recently paid lots of money for a hair disaster. It's objectively fine - on anyone else but me! It isn't what I wanted or imagined it to be, and because it's ended up so short I can't do anything but wait for it to grow out. I don't even recognise myself in the mirror when I catch my reflection in the corner of my eye. It's made me want to hide for the next six months until it grows out properly. 😔

The communication thing is definitely an issue. I used to think it was me but I have now learned to be ultra clear and many just don't listen properly. I think it's worse after 40 as many younger hairdressers write you off as ancient and give you a style to match.