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Oi! You! Get yer 'air cut!

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18:57 / 22.07.03

So I've booked myself in at the hairdresser's tomorrow and now I;ve got the collywobbles. I haven't had it chopped for about two years (don't scold) and I don't know what to ask for. Do I ask for a timid trim? Should I ask for them to cut off all the damaged bits (actually probably not such a good idea - don't fancy getting a short back and sides really)? Or is there something terribly fashionable/interesting I should ask for?

They will probably tell me that my hair is terribly fine and brittle and that I should get it cut more often and stop twiddling it, but they always say that. The worst time was when they tried to sell me some hair restoring lotion because it was 'thinning at the front'. True, but very depressing when you are twenty.

Advice and amusing stories of hair horrors (to calm my nerves,. obviously) would be most welcome.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

19:02 / 22.07.03

I think my hair was as long as yours when I went in and asked for a grade two and to have it dyed blonde, that was Hairdressing on the Edge! I do mine all the time now, although i consider it more keeping it short and out of the way until I decide what to do with it, last time I cut it I nearly went for the Courtney Taylor-Taylor look but chickened out at the last minute.

You just need someone to hold your hand and hope that the person doing your hair doesn't have the shakes...

19:11 / 22.07.03

it may sound horribly cheesy, but get a picture of a style you liek, and ask the guy/girl how they would try to pull it off for your head shape.

talke a couple to be more certain of the style you are getting at.

pointless and uncalled for

19:11 / 22.07.03

Bite the bullet and get the short hair, its a job done best when you are young and disasters can be attributed to youthful whimsy. You never know, you may like it. My bias for women with short hair ahsould be atken into consideration at this stage.

19:14 / 22.07.03

my suggestion woudl be go skin, if your head could deal with it.

you will get talked to and stared at a lot more, though. be ready for this.

Tryphena Absent

19:15 / 22.07.03

Get them to cut all the splits off. Hair grows, it's worth going for a proper clear out.

19:30 / 22.07.03

I know really - I'm just terrified that if I do that I'll end up with it curling round my ears. I used to have very short hair and my memory says that it looked rotten (I was fourteen though, and the kind of fourteen-year-old on whom any haircut would look pretty dire, so...)

Tryphena Absent

19:31 / 22.07.03

That sounded far ruder than I meant it to.

19:42 / 22.07.03

Well, I am being a bit pathetic, really, aren't I? Didn't think it was rude - just common snese really. But I am used to my hair and rather like it, so the prospect of having someone make an expensive hash of it is not inviting.

20:25 / 22.07.03

I'd go timid, in that case; there's no shame in not having quite enough off - it's better than too much. You probably only want your ends done, and a general tidy; the texture of your hair does lend itself to that length, and as you said, you're used to it. No shame in paying for a tidyup.

I tend to sit having a haircut bricking myself about if it will turn out alright. Weirdly, the ones that seem good in the duration are terrible in the end; the ones that seem all wrong turn out fantastic. The other problem I have is that there's the whole how-to-turn-up thing: do I have it freshly washed, or a day old, with wax, without? In the end, I stopped going au naturel and took my hair just as it was that day. And got a bit more proactive in asking what I wanted for; my haircut is now far better than it's been for a long while. Me likey. (Also: don't let barbers do anything to your facial hair you're not comfortable with, unless you have problems doing it yourself; many a sideburn has been unwantedly removed).

20:42 / 22.07.03

I'd keep it long, KKC. I have nothing against short hair, quite the contrary, but I think your hair really suits you. FWIW. So do the split ends and chill out. Better yet, save the cash and get someone with a reasonably steady hand to do it. I don't believe in hair dressers myself.

21:22 / 22.07.03

Get a haircut you can afford to maintain. I got a very short pixy-ish boy cut, and I couldn't afford to get it trimmed every three weeks, and am now dangerously close to rocking the mullet as it's grown out. That's advice chunk the second: get a haircut that'll grow out nicely. The hairdresser should be able to help with that.

You go girl.

Whisky Priestess

22:37 / 22.07.03

Lurid: "I don't believe in hairdressers myself."

Every time you say that, Lurid, a hairdresser dies.

IMHO get a bob if you reckon it'll suit your face shape. You won't miss the length so much as you would if you got a real short cut and bobs look cute on most people. Low maintenance too.

23:01 / 22.07.03

Always ensure you go to the scuzziest looking male-only barber you can find. That way, you know they are so desperate for custom they will do a superb job.
Either that or they'll kill you and use you for meat pies.

Tryphena Absent

23:28 / 22.07.03

Hey mullets are so in Mazarine!

I think you should keep it as long as possible but try to get as much cut off as you can while doing so. You can certainly get away with getting quite a chunk snipped off the bottom.

Paleface- be brave! Throw caution to the wind! Well it sounds like you don't need to but really I abhore (sp?) this sentence... there's no shame in not having quite enough off - it's better than too much. Come on, we need hair that lends itself to badness.

I love having my haircut and so should the world, don't be scared, pull a Rapunzel.

00:09 / 23.07.03

Hey, get what you like. (And can live with for a while...)

I'm just being smug, you'll have to excuse me. I've got very fine, thin, almost dark hair, and I'm very lucky that the short feathered cap (think pixie gone punk, fringe all around) looks good with my face shape. I can't imagine wearing long hair anymore... and there's no point, in my mind, if the best I can do is a ponytail about the diameter of my thumb.

(And, yes, I just made an appointment today to get mine trimmed a bit...)

I think that if you aim for getting the damage taken care of, and then getting something "stylish" (or liveable) in that order, you'll do fine.

Lilly Nowhere Late

05:55 / 23.07.03

I am going to have to step in here.
1. Everytime you say you don't believe in hairdressers, a crap
hairdresser dies(i hope).
2. Being that I am not a crap hairdresser, but indeed a really good
one, I think my professional opinion is about to flow...
3. Here's the thing: Go to a hairdresser chosen from reputation, word
of mouth, etc. Do not just go to flash salons and think you'll get
what you pay for. Expensive places often pay their staff really badly
and that means everyone working there is probably a new fledgling
chopper just dying to try out their new scissors on people like KKC
who don't know what they want. e.g.- In the UK and most of the world,
Toni&Guy salons are Franchises, meaning someone buys the name but not
the expertise you are paying for. Ask people who's hair you like
where they go and to which specific hairdresser. When you book an
appointment, ask for consultation. It's generally free and lets the
hairdresser know you need some extra time so they don't just hate you
for talking so much while they were trying to speed into your appt. so
they can get their hilites out of ClientX's hair on time. For
hairdressers, time is money. Still remember its your money. As long
as you are paying you should get what you want, help with deciding
that, and a bit of tlc as well. If you are getting free hair work, or
even getting paid for it yourself, the hairdresser then has the right
to experiment.
DO take photos along to show the hairdresser things you like and do
not like. If the hairdresser objects to this, leave immediately. In
fact if the hairdresser unimpresses you in any way, say you feel
uncomfortable and leave right away. Similarly, if you find a
hairdresser who does a good job, remain loyal forever. Then you don't
have to keep going through this crap. And do get your hair
maintenenced more often that every two years if possible.
O I could go
on and on and on.

One day a real rain is gonna come and wash all the scum and bad
hairdressers off the streets.

Until then, remember it doesn't have to be a horror. And yes I do
take new clients by
appt.

Good luck!

06:48 / 23.07.03

I've done all manner of bizarre things to my hair and they've always been disastrous, but that's just me. I'd err on the side of caution if you're really concerned about your appearance. If you're not, then why not have some fun? It'll grow out eventually if it's awful.

Sorry, that wasn't a lot of help, was it?

07:31 / 23.07.03

I got my hair cut last week. Toni and Guy. Thirty two quid. It's a "French Crop", apparently. And I bought some extravagant hair stuff called "Catfight" which is apparently "pliable pudding".

I know, I know. I'm a fop.

07:32 / 23.07.03

Oh, and KCC - why not rough out some Jenny Everywhere thumbnails while you're under the hairdryer?

07:36 / 23.07.03

I had a bad acid-house ponytail for several years after it was fashionable, which I finaly divested myself when really pissed one night. Didn't have the bottle to cut it all off when sober so stumbled in and got housemates to chop it away. They actually had to leave the final trim till the morning because I kep t on falling asleep. But I didn't regret it though. Maybe that's what you need - a couple of cans of Special Brew before the trip into town, might help you take that "radical style decision". Go on, you know it makes sense.

The thing about the ponytail and the style that followed it - pretty much a No. 2 all the time- is that there both incredibly low maintenance. It's getting a bit fluffy on top at the moment but this is largely due to my clippers-owning flatmate moving out. "Lazy?", yup, that's right. Haircuts are just part of the rat race, man.

07:40 / 23.07.03

I got a number 1 all over last weekend in Soho I think the hairdresser might have been one of the people from The Salon but it's a bit hazy - everyone should get a number 1 all over it's the way forward or maybe even a Lex.

Ex

07:53 / 23.07.03

Check that you're not suffering from emotional/hormonal/spiritual upheaval. I find that any of these will raise the chance of shouting "Take it off! Take it all off! Give me - " (looks wildly around and points at nearest punk manga attrocity) "Give me that with a side-order of badger!"
I know that it's almost impossible to avoid upheaval. But it's possible to avoid the hairdressers until it's over.

10:30 / 23.07.03

Oh, Sax, the GUILT. That had slipped my mind. I am sorry. I will be good.

Maybe that's what you need - a couple of cans of Special Brew before the trip into town, might help you take that "radical style decision". Go on, you know it makes sense.

Right, Phil Oakey fringe it is then... or possibly really short layers in the sides, which I can then team with some nice tight stone-washed denim and powder-blue eyeshadow for Anna's party.

I can't actually think of anything interesting you could do with my hair, apart from shave it. It's not very biddable.

10:50 / 23.07.03

In fact, why not get a Jenny Everywhere crop and buy some aviator goggles and a scarf. We need a real-life Shifter to promote the various Jenny projects, a la Nell McAndrew as Lara Croft.

11:20 / 23.07.03

I'm all about the razor-cut: gives you that spikey, possibly-self-cut Wolverine look. But my hair's falling out, so I can afford to be cruel to it.

Tryphena Absent

11:49 / 23.07.03

Dye it so it's a very slightly darker red. Buy some frizz ease relaxing creme to plaster on after you wash it. Then get some curling tongs and make the curls ever so slightly more defined.

12:44 / 23.07.03

No! No dye! The hair of the gods is not to be sullied.

12:47 / 23.07.03

I just get my head shaved every mont h or so.

But I'm a terrible person.

13:58 / 23.07.03

after having long hair absolutely all of my life, and down to my bum and untrimmed by anyone but me for quite a few years, I decided to visit my little cousin's friend. I'd seen what the talented wee girl had done for my cousins and auntie, and thought she might be able to help me make a much needed change. gradually I've cut my boring torso length locks to where it is today - at less than 2 inches at its longest.

even a simply new cut can be surprisingly satisfying. I hope you get yours

Scrubb is on a downward spiral

15:09 / 23.07.03

Earlier this year I discovered the Holy Glory that are ceramic hair-straighteners and would highly recommend those for some easy-action makeovers. I think that they should be fine with your hair (from how I remember it) providing that you've got some kick-ass conditioner to take care of it with.

The ace thing about these is that they seem to make red hair much brighter when it's straightened thus saving cash on aforementioned dye in the long term. And the sheer smuggery of being able to flit between curly and straight without the need for evil perming chemicals is rather good.

15:25 / 23.07.03

i have a friend that goes to cheap places like supercuts, but in boystown (the gay part of town). he makes sure to find some fabulous gay man to cut his hair. kind of a weird stereotype to have, but he swears they always do a good job. cos going to those cheap places can be sketchy.

15:49 / 23.07.03

I used to see a barber in this basement joint in Soho. He did a good job, but as the years went by our appointments became more and more traumatic. I learnt all about his first wife and their child who lived in Japan. He'd always fix me a drink when I arrived - whisky being my tipple of choice, and then talk and talk and talk about how he had to get his life in order.

Then we went through his separation and divorce from his 2nd wife. After this he kind of went wild on cocaine and other assorted substances. I believe his styling ability was at a peak around then, though he was a bit scarey with those scissors. It was all rather frenzied.

My reason for posting though (got there eventually) is this little nugget of hairdresser wisdom.
If you cease hair services with a particular barber then it is possible to come back and be accepted into their bosom even years later, but not if the only reason you left was because your loved one doubled as your coiffeur and now the relationship is over.

A cosmetologist won't take that kind of betrayal.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

16:37 / 23.07.03

I always just get my hair cut by lilly.

Only thing is, she refuses to let me get a proper mullet!

19:19 / 23.07.03

Not too traumatic in the end - though I think I've lost a good five inches. Hard to tell as they have put so much gunk in it that it feels like cardboard. Looks very, er, bouncy - feels as if it's been dipped in egg white and left to set. I'll probably cut myself on it in my sleep.

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