Unpleasant surprise

@_@ OH MY GOD! What an awful story!
Thank goodness I have a hair stylist I can trust.

I hate how some hairstylists, and other people too, think as long as you have some "length"... like an inch past your shoulder... that's all you need. To them, that is long. @_@ How terrible.

I feel really bad for your friend. I had the same thing happen to me about 11 years ago when I was pregnant.

My hair was growing like a weed during my pregnancy (hormones, I would imagine), and really doing well in regard to retaining its' health. I had it down just an inch or so past my waist and everyone commented on how long it had grown in such a short period of time, and how healthy it was. I decided to go to the salon to just get a trim, my normal hair stylist wasn't there (I really liked this girl) so they said "Susie" (names are changed to protect the innocent, or not-so-innocent in this case) could cut my hair if that was allright with me. I said fine, had my hair shampooed and went to sit down in the the stylist's chair.

This girl told me repetitively that I needed at least 10 inches cut off because of the split ends. There were NO split ends, except just an inch at the bottom, which I wanted to have trimmed. She was actually rude as heck, and being that I was incredibly non-confrontational at that time in my life (I've changed a lot since then ;) ) I said she could take off the split ends, but that I didn't want any more than 3 inches off. She turned me around and proceeded to cut (I couldn't see in the mirror), and when she was finished, my hair was above my shoulders! I was so upset, I cried all the way home. Of course, I didn't say anything at the salon until the next time when I saw the regular stylist who did my hair and this girl said that the girl who whacked my hair off actually was let go because of so many customer complaints.

I've had horrendous hair stories from stylists (I'm sure there are some great ones out there, they're just hard to find in my area I guess), so I now actually cut my own hair since I have no bangs and I just trim the ends myself. I know that I need to find a stylist to at least trim the ends, but they are just all so harsh with my hair and pull and tug until my hair breaks off, so I'm really reluctant to go to a salon anymore.

So that's my story. ;)

Kris

I would never go to a salon, not as long as I want to keep my long hair. In this part of the world, my experience is that hairdressers have a very bad attitude towards those with long (low maintenance) hair. It´s easy enough to take care of trims myself, these days!

Although my mom prefers me with short hair I trust her to cut mine. She always cuts to exactly where i ask. So my mom is my stylist. And since we live 14+ hours away from each other my hair grow until I see her again. Other than my mom and my cousin I dont trust hairdressers. Its not that I couldnt find a good one, but I dont want to make the mistake of finding the bad ones first!

My hairdresser cuts a ridiculously tiny bit of hair off whenever I see her. It's enough to get rid of the split ends whilst retaining the length. Even if hair salons scare you, you have to remember to look after your ends. The hard part is finding a hairdresser you trust, but they are out there.

And for the record, if anyone ever hacked off my long hair without my consent, I would throw the biggest tantrum ever, complain to the manager, warn everyone I know and speak to the papers. Overreaction? To many people it may sound stupid, but I think long hair can really define who you are. It represents so many years of your life and affects the way you act. I spend way too much time looking after my long hair and I think I might actually suit short hair as well, but the length really does mean a lot to me, confidence-wise.

Cait x

I don't think that there are any long hair salons within at least 200 miles of where I live, but I wish there were. It'd be nice to be able to trust someone with my hair.

Cait, I would have SUCH a huge tantrum, too. I wouln't let anyone impose that on me without a fight. I have such a fear that some evil minded person will cut my hair off while they sit behind me on the bus or somthing. I've read a lot of stories where that's happened to people, and it's awful. I don't care if they're "mentally unstable", because they're hurtig me more then they're hurting themselves.

Enfys, you are wise beyond your years. It is indeed a conspiracy, but the aim behind the conspiracy is not so much about short hair as it is about "high-maintenance" hair. I don't think most salon operators care if their customers have pixies or BSL hair, as long as they frequent the salon and spend lots of money. What you and I call a conspiracy, others would say is simply a "business plan."

Sorry to hear of your friend's travails. "Posing as a hair model in a competition?" More like she was used and long-since forgotten by the stylist that got their mitts into her hair. (Here's a statement which was never uttered by the stylist because the truth of it would have dissuaded her from agreeing to "pose": "Hey, do you mind if we destroy your hair? We'll give you £20 and it'll be only 3 years before your hair returns to its present healthy state."). Lots of luck to her on the grow-out.

Oh, and by the way, there is a long hair specialist in London. His name is Neil Ward, and I believe he works in the Variations salon at Fortnam & Mason's. Are you within 200 miles of London?

Cait, I completely understand and sympathize with your perspective. All it takes is one encounter with a thoughtless stylist and you're stuck with years of having a hairstyle & length you don't want.

Steen, welcome to the board! Your hair must be around "classic" length, based on your measurement? Very cool. I had the pleasure to meet Dave Barrett once, a couple of years ago, at a long hair seminar.