Crazy to change stylists at this time of year, with spring/summer humidity starting?

Spiralli · 04-24-2010, 10:09 AM

This post is sort of a vent and a "what would naturally curlies do?" post combined....

I have been with my current HD for 20+ years. She knows my hair and knows me well, yet I haven't been thrilled with the cuts I've been getting from her for a year or so. The past few times that I've gotten some "face framing layers" I like it or 1-2 weeks then I feel like my hair looks like a rectangular blob again. She seems hesitant to do anything with more layers because of my hair shrinkage (4-5") and the fact that I like to pull my hair into a bun on bad hair days, rainy/humid days, etc. Most of all, she wants me to be happy, and knows that I don't want to lose much length, since my hair grows slowly and I still want a few more inches of growth. She always says we will start small and can always do more later. Thing is, she cannot give me styling tips. She doesn't know how to style my curly hair. I've been happy enough with the cuts previously so I kept going back forever. She puts on gel of some sort (or even mine when I remember to bring it) and I sit under a hood dryer or she diffuses. After that, we look at my hair (even though it doesn't look anything like it will when I style it myself because of the product/drying method used). Sometimes in the summer I just leave with wet hair and she gets her feelings hurt saying that she only did half her job when I do that.

So once again, I am getting the twitch to try the curly hair stylist near my house. But we are heading into hot/humid months. This is historically the time of year when I want to chop my hair off. And in my shorter hair days, I did usually do a chop of some sort in spring/summer. So putting my hair back in a bun is usually how I cope instead of chopping. Seriously, for most of the spring/summer, it's in a pony or bun.

So am I crazy to want to go to a new stylist who doesn't know me, or my hair (but he must know curly hair in general, since he's got a decent rep for this), to ask for a little more fullness around my face and sides while keeping the length? Is this a good time of year to go for a change?

Thanks for reading all of this. I appreciate any comments/advice.

MirCurls · 04-24-2010, 01:08 PM

It's not crazy if you want it bad. At some point, you have to deal with the weather, so you could make the change of temp/dp part of the experiment.

So much of your history resonates with me. I had a stylist for 22 years, and though she often did stuff I wanted that she thought I might not like (and she was ALWAYS almost right, like when I went really short or when I didn't let her do this or that, that after 10 years I just said, "Do whatever you want, I trust you"). She came to know me better than I did, since I'd want to chop my hair off come May/June cause it got so hot, but she'd remind me how I always regretted getting it chopped. (True.) Or when I was afraid to grow out my layers, she kept saying it would work, and she was right (I ended up with some of the prettiest hair I ever had blown-dried when I let the layers grow much longer).

But if what you really want is to try a change, then take the risk. If you realize it was a mistake, you can always go back to your more reliable cutter or just adjust instructions to whomever does it. Hair does grow back.

Now, before you do that, however, I suggest you do this with your regular hairdresser--tell her exactly what you just told us and have her do your hair USING YOUR DRYING TECHNIQUES, not hers, so she knows what you are dealing with day to day and what she needs to adjust cutwise to give you results you want (if possible, not all our desires for our hair ARE possible).

I only went CG five months ago, so I only got two hair trims with my stylist of 22 years before she retired. But both times, I took my products, took my microfiber/floursack towels, and asked her to diffuse with a bowl. Once, I had her supersoak for clumps.

If you show your stylist what you do at home, she can see how your hair turns out using YOUR methods, and will understand what the base cut needs ot be to give you a better result.

Just be as open with her and clear with her as you ahve been with us. And take a pic of what you want your sides to ultimately look like (the fullness you want). Visuals always help. In the past, when I had heat-styled hairdos, I would draw a pic of the general shape I wanted for my stylist. I can't draw worth a poop, but I'd do the shape of my face using a mirror, then just swoosh in waves, curls, straight parts, bangs in the general look I wanted. That way, I didn't have to use words or hand-gestures. I could show her the drawing and then she'd tell me if it was possible given my hair densitiy/traits.

I was almost always happy with the results in 22 years through bobs, waif cuts, heavy layers, light layers, long and medium curlies, straightened, etc.

Sometimes, our stylists just need a clearer vision and image from us of our ideals...

Granted, this would be hard for me to do with someone new. But with someone who's known me and my head of hair for XX years, that sort of openness and expectation is no unwarranted.

Note: If you air dry at home, this is not feasible in a salon, so that's something I just realized. But you can sort of approximate air-drying with gentle diffusing. If you plop, show her how you do it, etc.