Hi,

I hope someone anyone can help me.

I went to to the hairstylist yesterday. My hair was shoulder length. I've had some medical problems, and was trying too let it grow to past my shoulder in the past year but it is slow to grow. Two years ago it was mid back length but it was falling out from rapid weight loss that i had. So my hair stylist suggested I cut it collar lenght and i reluctantly agreed. Since that time i managed to let it grow back and avoided the the hair styilst and had a family member trim it an inch ever 6 months. Anyway it had been looking pretty ragged and had split ends so i finally decided I'd go for just a trim. It was just past my shoulders. So i made an appointment. The stylist i had before remembered me and she asked what i wanted done.I carefully and specifically told her i wanted it an inch shorter all one length above my shoulders and a blunt cut. I wear my hair tucked behind my ears in a long shoulder length bob and figured she'd understand what i meant when i said just an inch shorter and off the shoulders.

Then she stated cutting. It seemed ok she did a straight line, and didnt feel high up then the next thing I know she's cutting across again right under my ears!

I was shocked. So i asked her while she was doing it what she was doing.

And she said she was giving me a bob like I had two years ago and thought I wanted it shorter by an inch. First of all my hair was never as short as she was cuttign it, it was 4 inchs past my ear when i had a bob.

So she apologized but the damage was done. She cut it right under my ear lobes pretty much. Then to top matters of because i have a logn neckline she asked me if i wanted it left that way, and gave me a back mirror and i saw the bad job she did. It wasnt even even and was short  hair laying below the cut bob. So then i told her just make it straight She could tell i was unhappy. so then she lifts my hair with pins and takes out clippers. I was dumbfounded. So i told her to stop and leave it the way it was.

When I got home my sister saw what my hair head looked liked and felt bad and asked if she could fix it. Anyway i have pics of how it looked when i got home because i couldnt believe anyone would do such a  bad job and cut it that short when i ddint want it short.

My sister is ok with scissors and fixed it some and used a razor which just irritated my neck even more. I have am inflammatory condition. So it looks pretty blotchy on my neck now.

Is there anything I can do to get my hair to rapidly grow again?

It's not just the length and uneven cut, but the redening on my skin on my neck/nape. I'm so embarrased and upset I dont even want to be seen in public. Is there anything quick groqing regimns? I heard zinc oxide helps hair grow is that true?

I'd take any advice anyone can give.

I know one thing i'm not going back to the stylist again, It looked better with split ends. In fact i called her and told her and she apologized but its too little to late now.

here are the pics when i first got home and then after my sister fixed it. It almost looks like a bowl cut which i dont want.

How long even until the nape hair grows in so i can at least have my sister make it in an even line?

What an awful thing for that stylist to do!    I don't understand how she could've misinterpreted "just cut off an inch," but I guess some people are just... slow?

Anyway, there are positive aspects to what happened to you.  Your split ends are gone, for one thing.  It's always good to start with a "clean slate" when you begin to grow your hair out.  Also, to me it seems that hair grows out faster when it is cut short.  I guess because the growth is more noticeable on short hair.  The nape hair will probably grow in faster than you think.

There is a great article on http://www.longlocks.com/how-to-grow-long-hair.htm - longlocks.com  about the "cardinal rules" of how to grow long hair and there is one http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip914.htm - here on hairboutique  that provides very useful information about vitamins and other things that help maximize hair growth.

You must be so frustrated, and I totally don't blame you for that.  But look at this as a "new beginning" (as corny as it sounds)- a chance to really get on track and focus on your hair growth.  And once your new haircut grows out a little (which shouldn't take long at all) I'm sure it will look fine... and don't forget that even though your goal is long hair, short hair can be fun too!

Wow, sounds like another scissors-happy stylist!  Sorry, that happened to you. How awful!  You may want to try a good hair vitamin and a topical over the counter medication can be applied to help clear up the redness on your neck. Growth usually takes. I suggest you do as much as you can to help speed up growth, but not to focus on it so much and in no time it will be back to the length you desire (my mom always said, " a watched pot never boils") I agree w/ Katja, short hair can be sexy and fun!! Play and experiment w/ it and enjoy....Good luck!

Thank you for the advice and kind words.

I guess it would be one thing to accept I have an extremely short bob now, but it's another thing that i have to accept its not even entirely even. Which makes things worse because i refuse to have it fixed i have no more hair to spare, so i guess it'll have to grow out uneven.

Oooh, this is such a sad story, I am so sorry this happened  I can't imagine a stylist being that, well, unresponsive to your wishes.  You poor thing.

The only things I have to offer for accelerated growth are vitamins and scalp massage, I am not entirely sure that either work as I have only started them, but seems others report good results.

Looking on the bright side, my hair always grows faster in the summer, maybe your bad cut will grow out faster than you think,  I really hope so ~

Good luck, and again, so sorry this happened.

I feel terrible for you! What a terrible thing to happen to anyone! As Bob said, I hope you didn´t pay them anything!

I know it feels awful, but since it is short anyway, you might consider finding a good hairdresser, and let her fix you up so you at least look decent and can start feeling good about yourself again. And then just let your sister do the ends, when it starts getting a little longer. You´re going to have to live with it, so you might as well look good.

The best thing you can do for your hair and yourself is take care of your health. De-stress and try to feel good about where you are and where you´re going. That will help the growth and will help you focus on positive things in the meantime.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks everyone.

It's been nice to hear postive things to lift my spirits up.

Ufortunately I did pay but I called the stylist afterwards when i got home and my sister and family saw the haircut. I dont like painting a bad picture of people but she apologized but seemed rather uneffected or sincere by it. The reason I say that is because she was emphatic that it looked fine and i was being silly when i said it didnt look right. I plan on calling the owner when they are in Monday

All she said when she first cut it too short was she misinterpreted me and thought i wanted it an inch shorter then the last bob i had two years ago. When i really said i wanted it an inch shorter then my then current length of shoulders, just to have it trimmed and the split ends taken care of because i've been trying to let it grow. So she just didnt understand me or took it upon herself to cut it right under my ear lobes thinking it would look better, because she did comment that it looked limp and such at the length it was before she started cutting.

I dont think i'll get it fixed for now though. I can just manage to tuck it behind my ears and cant afford to loose anymore length. It's the shortest a bob can get if it got trimmed any higher it would be going higher then my ear lobes and into the bowl cut realm and I dont want that. It would be nice to feel good about my hair but i'll just have to wait some time now. I definetly wont go back to any salon , i'm pretty much in hair shock right now.

The one postive note, i'm trying to avoid the mirror, but I looked when i got up today and saw te slightest hint ofstubble on my neck, so that's a good sign. I'll have to wait a month and re-evaluate the pattern and the growth to see if it needs to be fixed. My sister did the best she could when she fixed it, i havent posted pics of her fix up. its the same length but she used a razor to clean up the neck because as you saw in the pics was an uneven mess

One side of my hair/bob from the stylist work is slightly longer but i dont want my sister to trim it for now.

anyway thanks for the advice, and here are the few pics after my sister fixed it some. I hate the highness of the hairline but it looks more even now I guess. Here's hoping hair grows an inch a month in the summer.

After fix up side pics

Left side

Right side

Before fix up

After

Ugh.  I've been there.  Back at the beginning of my quest to have long hair (therefore having had to start the quest a second time).  Stylist assuming that you just want the same thing you got last time or have had for a long time... and just turning off their ears when you tell them what you want this time.  Your experience reinforces the value of being very clear in explaining to the stylist what you want.  Instead of "take off an inch," say "I'm growing my hair to my waist, and want a tiny trim (hold fingers up, nearly together, to demonstrate) to even the tips."   After you've explained what you want, ask for confirmation before cutting begins.  Ask them to tell you what they're going to do.  Have them show you with their fingers where the length will be when he/she is done.

What happened to you sucks, definitely.  I have a feeling it won't happen to you again.  Hang in there.  If it's any comfort to you, my hair was shorter than yours is now, when I started growing.  Good luck!

GoldieLocks92 wrote: Ugh, how hard is it for a stylist to simply listen to their customers? Sorry that happened to you. A basic run over of of healthy hair/growth tips: -drink lots of water and stayy away from carbonated drinks -dont stress -use wide toothed combs and try not to comb too much -do not use shampoos with cones or laurel/laureth sulfates -do not use hot water, flat irons, hair dryers, etc. -Take a multi vitamine or a hair growth pill -Stay active and stay healthy! On the bright side of things, you can now REALLY see hair growth and start clean. Good Luck ~A

Thanks Dave and Goldilocks.

I have one question. I've heard it numerous times before, but why is shampoo with laurel/laureth sulfates bad for your hair?

I use Pantene with multivitamin is that bad for your hair, I think it has those ingredients in it.

Hey sweetie, Lauryl sulfates are drying to the hair for the most part. They take away a lot of scalp oil, which makes the scalp compensate to produce more. This results in a need for more frequent washing. They can also cause dry ends for those with fragile hair. Laureth sulfates are on the gentler side, as are TEA sulfates and Cocamides. Hope this helps

Anais

GoldieLocks, your list is awesome, I'm making a note of your good ideas!

Anais, thanks for your comments on lauryl/laureths, you have cleared up my confusion on those ingredients.

And ToBeLong, your second set of pics shows how really shiny, silky and healthy your hair is.  Wear it proudly, it looks like a cute summertime style, and know it is in great shape to grow out! 

(Oh, and I'd *definitely* dump the stylist!)

To add to what Anais has stated, I personally dislike Pantene because of the prominence of silicones (although they may or may not have reduced its presence since I used it about 8 years ago)...

I'm really sorry to hear what happened to you, Raquel.  eKatherine has given you good advice.

Raquel, your experience stinks! Stay away from salons, and just let it grow. Have a friend trim the bottom every several mos. until it grows back. She layered your hair b/c she knows that layers more rapidly fall out of shape than a blunt cut. Brings them more business, you know! I hope you have the courage to tell this hacker why she has lost you as a client forever. She needs to know!

Try to make the best of things now. I'm sure it looks fine. Good luck re-growing, Bob