Here's the story . . . . It's been several months since I've had a haircut and my hair was showing it! My ends were frizzy and flying away. It just looked altogether unhealthy. Since we're still fairly new to the area and we don't know all the businesses in town. I had noticed a small shop on a main thoroughfare advertising an $8 haircut special. Sounded perfect!
So this afternoon, I put Chloe down for her nap and jetted out to the $8 hair joint. I should have walked out of the place as soon as I walked in, but I didn't. The tantalizing $8 haircut lured me. How do I aptly depict this place to you? It was empty of customers, tiny, cluttered with stuff and peopled by two workers who looked very different from each other. One was the manager - an overweight middle-aged woman with frizzy obviously-dyed blond hair (note to self: never get your hair cut in a place where you don't like the stylists' hair!). She was looking bored and curling her hair into sausages on her head that she wasn't combing out. The blond sausage curls were just standing atop her head. The other person was an african american fellow in his early 30's with an open shirt and singing along to the loud rap music coming from the nearby radio. He had no hair so I couldn't tell what type of stylist he was.
They were happy to have a customer and served me up some fresh coffee and gave me a chair. So far so good. I told Cedric that I needed a cut badly and that he could cut as much as 6 inches to get it healthy again. I also told him I needed something easy to style since I rarely have time to blowdry my hair in the mornings. He went to work at cutting and an hour later I had something on my head that I HATE. In the cutting process, he had asked me if I'd mind layers around my face. I said, "Sure thing! Just NO BANGS. I've not had bangs since the 6th grade and I don't want them back again." (that's a direct quote) My hair was in my face most of the time, so I wasn't aware of the fact that he was chopping layers like crazy all over my head and I ended up with bangs that are just long enough to be in my face and to not go behind my ear.
I was upset. So much so that I cried all the way home and for a good deal afterwards. I didn't know what to do when it happened - I have such a tendency to be nice that I didn't know what to say when Cedric had finished and revealed something so totally opposite of what I asked for. This is NOT going to be easy to style (he took 25 minutes just blowdrying it and it was all a poof) and it contains BANGS. Because it is so layered all over the top, I have this mullet-thing in the back that I can just barely put into a ponytail. I also feel like I look much older with this new do.
Have you ever had this experience? If you didn't like the end-product, did you tell the hairdresser you didn't like it? Or demand your money back?
Anyways, thanks for listening. Here's a picture of the new do after I smoothed it down tremendously.
17 comments:
I LOVED your story and laughed my head off. (IS that ok?) I actually think it looks very nice. Even the bangs! :) But if you don't like it, you're not going to feel good about yourself. I know how that goes. Honestly, I think you look very pretty! HTH!
I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. It is hard finding someone you like to cut your hair. I'm so lucky that I love the lady who cuts mine, and it's only 12 bucks. I have cried after haircuts though - I had some pretty awful ones when I was younger.
I think your hair looks cute in the pic. It is difficult if it's hard to style though. :)
Your hair doesn't look that bad - I think you have to adjust to how short it is - it took you so long to grow it out. Remind me to show you my worst haircut when you come home for Xmas - I will surely top yours. Also I once had my hair dyed and I swear it turned out the same color as Ronald McDonald - that was my last stop at that salon
Selena: Thanks for taking the time to read my story - there were so many comical details I had to write them all in. What does HTH stand for?
KT: We'll see how this new do of mine styles up tomorrow for church. I'm going to have to set my alarm so that I wake up with enough time to shower and blow dry it before Chloe wakes. Ugh.
Ma: Will do. I don't remember you ever having a horrid haircut.
I think it's cute also, but it doesn't matter what I think if you don't like it. I think that you should've asked for your money back or at least let him konw you didn't like it, but I know that's easier said than done. It's true you get what you pay for and I've had similar experiences at Great Clips. :)
Shannon: I hear you but I think it would have been really hard for me to tell this big black guy that I didn't like the job he did on my hair. He was pretty intimidating. :) Oh well! Now I know not to go back there next time I need a trimming. And wherever I go I'll be VERY CLEAR about how I do or do not want my hair cut!
Alicia,
I laughed and laughed as I read your post. I laughed so hard that Ben came in to read it too! I waited until the end to see your haircut expecting something horrid. Instead - I saw the picture and I don't know what you don't like. I think it looks great!
Kelly: I wish I could say I was exaggerating on my haircutting story! Thanks for the compliment. What I'm worried about it how I'll get it to look good tomorrow morning when it's just me and my hairdryer - no fancy styling products.
Hey Alicia, I think your hair is adorable! I really do like it. (Now, perhaps my opinion doesn't count because I've not seen you in 549 years, but I think it does. I have really good taste--my students occasionally tell me so. Hmm . . . I got my hair cut recently, and upon entering the classroom, one of my students said, "Wow! Your hair is great! You look like you're about 22 or so!" (And I'm thinking--Wow--that's nice.) THEN, she continued, "Before, you looked like, oh, 45 or 50!" WHY DO THEY KEEP TALKING? I'd really like to know. Anyway, you look great. Truly. (Oh, I'd tell you that you shouldn't have paid the guy, but I would have. I just know it.)
Becky: I know, I often wonder why people (myself included) don't just shut their mouths instead of rambling on to say something horribly insensitive. Believe me, I got my share of insensitive and frequent comments during my pregnancy and for several months post-partum since Chloe was such a gi-hugic baby. God sure teaches patience in strange ways!
I like your hair, too...but I know how you feel about a style that looks good (or at least, ok) when you don't have any time to do it. How did it go styling it today?
Jenny: Styling today went ok but I wasn't able to get it to look as smooth and nicely layered as Cedric did. Plus I don't have ANY of the products he used on my hair so that made it difficult. I'm convinced that my hair is too thick for this kind of layered-mom cut. Oh well, it's just hair. It will grow out.
I think your hair looks adorable! I do know how you feel, though. Back when I was still in high school, I splurged and went to Regis to get my haircut. I went home and noticed how uneven it was! I finally went back and had them re-do it! It was hard, but they fixed it. Hopefully you can get used to styling your new hair-do.
I'm with the general consensus--not seein' the awfulness of your new cut! But... if you don't like it, then that's the important thing! I LOVE the stylist I go to, but one time she cut hardly anything off! Granted, I pay only 12 bucks, but sheesh! So I went in the next day, explained, and had them take more off without charging me. Hope you can figure a way to make your morning routine a little quicker!
I too say it looks cute - but if you don't like it, I can just imagine the work it took to make it look good enough to take a picture and post it! I've had some great haircuts in my life - remember how short it was for a while there at NBBC? Can't say too much - a friend cut it. I didn't pay her, so I couldn't refuse to pay her! But I did keep going back to her - it was hair it grew back. Now I think I would if I got a bad haircut - but it takes a lot of guts to do it on the spot. If it was a reputable establishment that I would like to go back to, I would call and ask for a free haircut in the future - but from what it sounds like, this place doesn't need your continued patronage!
Great post!
Esther
I think it looks really cute, too!! :) I am embarrassed to say I have NEVER been to a salon to get my hair cut! I would love to get some long layers sometime (I think) but so far I haven't jumped in and done it. All my life, my mom or friends trimmed my hair, and now Jim does it. So it's always one length, and usually long. I would like to try a shorter style sometime, but any shorter than my shoulders and I don't think Jim would let me in the house till it grew back, LOL!! :D
Anyway, I hope you can get used to styling it soon and as you said, it will grow out--probably before you know it! :)
Alicia - I'll admit that I did kind of smile at your story but I so feel your pain! I've never really had a bad cut but definitely had a bad color. It looked like I had run kool-aid through my hair to turn it burgandy. So awful, but the good news is that it doesn't last forever and I'm sure you look really cute in a baseball cap. Sometimes my frizzy/unmanageable hair calls for that kind of therapy :-)
Thanks for Kathleen's e-mail and I've posted a blog explaining nuc. pharm.
Over and out...
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