Tuesday, February 4, 2014

2 Haircuts in 3 Days

It's no secret that I've been anxious to get my hair cut and struggling to make it happen for months.  Several factors contributed to my troubles: new city and no stylist, finding a time to make an appointment with a baby and making it a priority.  So this past weekend my husband and I crafted a perfect plan for me to get my hair done.  We'd go to the mall, I'd go to the salon and he'd walk around the mall with Olive until I was done.  There were two different salons and the first one had an hour wait and the other was walk in ready.  We went with the walk in ready option and Kevin started touring the mall with the stroller.
Before:

I thought out my game plan in advance and came to my appointment with my hair down styled like I normally wear it and had a picture that I wanted my stylist to replicate.  Perfect plan, right???  My stylist looked over my hair and my picture confirmed what I was wanting her to do to my hair and she got busy.  She washed, conditioned and massaged my head then we headed back to her station.  
Inspiration Picture:

She started combing my hair and sectioning it off for several minutes.  Then she started cutting the bottom and it was taking her forever to cut a straight line.  I mistook her slow pace for a need to achieve perfection but in reality it was probably a lack of confidence in her cutting.  She moved on to do my layers and I could hear her chopping away but couldn't really see due to the angle of my chair to the mirror.  My husband stopped in to say hello and said, "Wow, there's a lot of hair on the floor!"  I couldn't see what he was talking about and she was still cutting.  She cut and cut forever and I was beginning to feel nervous.  I had asked for a good chop but she should have been done already.  

She started drying my hair and used a round brush.  I'm not a fan of that look so I just hoped she'd flat iron it to tame the look.  My husband stopped in again because I'd been sitting in her chair for well over an hour.  I kept saying things to hurry her along but nothing helped at this point.  I assured him we'd be done soon because we were all ready for dinner.  She continued to style my hair and then turned me around for the reveal.  I wasn't thrilled with what I saw because it looked NOTHING like my inspiration picture.  I chalked it up to the fact that the cut would be okay once I got home to style it myself.

We hurried to check out and then got some dinner.  We got home and I started playing around with it and realized she had given me some really short layers and the cut seemed awkward.  I showered and tried to restyle it.  The look got worse and my straightened hair revealed the horrible haircut I'd actually paid for.  A few tears were shed and I was not sure what I could do to fix it.  I was thinking I could do a pony tail for a few months while the layers grew out.  Then I started googling cute bob pictures thinking I'd have to have a major re-cut and my husband even offered to try to trim it up to improve it.  The layers were uneven, it was so choppy and it had a terrible mullet look.  He went on to say it looked a little like Rachael on friends... not music to my ears and I was so bummed.  I put it up in a pony tail and tried to forget I'd just gotten the worst haircut ever.

I woke up on Monday morning and I was determined to get my hair fixed ASAP.  I was getting madder when I thought about paying and tipping for this cut.  I put on my brave face, loaded Olive up in the car and headed back to the salon.  I prayed that Olive would be a dream baby and that I would be able to stand up for myself.  I walked by to see if this girl was working again and I only saw two men.  Perfect!!  I decided to go in and ask them to fix my terrible cut.  When I walked in the same girl who cut my hair came around the corner and seemed surprised to see me.  Darn!  I had hoped to avoid her but I knew I had to be honest and stick with my plan.  I told her that I wasn't happy with my hair and that I was coming back to get it fixed.  She asked what I was unhappy about and I said it was far too choppy, the layers didn't blend well and I didn't like the overall look.  She said she would work on it again, I thanked her and I asked if there was someone else who could help me.  I felt bad but I tried to be really nice to her.  She got her manager and he was happy to help me.  Sidenote: I am not a complainer, I hate to bother people and I want to make peace to avoid any conflict so this whole mission was COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone.
  
Insert John.  I showed him my hair, explained my complaints and asked if he could give me a cute long bob to save my look.  He got to work and asked my original stylist to sit and watch him teach her how to do layers.  Apparently she had no idea and just started chopping.  It took about 45 minutes to fix my jankety mullety bob.  He was teaching her along the way and Olive was a dream baby in the stroller next to me.  He did an AMAZING job at fixing my bad hair, was so kind and I left feeling really great!!  I'll definitely be going back to see JOHN and am SO thankful that I stood up for myself and went back to get my hair fixed.  He didn't charge me a penny and took his time to make sure I was happy.  Win-win for me.
Have you ever had a terrible hair cut??
I'm so happy to have my new and improved cut.
I think it's going to be much easier to do and I'm loving the length.

9 comments:

  1. Oh, I'm so glad you were happy with the end result!! I've fixed a few bad haircuts in my day--the sad fact is that some beauty schools don't teach much about cutting hair, just how to pass the state exam, and students don't get a lot of experience with actual clients, and that leaves them to learn on the job! Which is rather scary, when you think about it.

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  2. I went through the exact same thing a couple years ago! So frustrating when they stylist didn't just ask for help the first time and instead wasted your time! The final look looks great! :)

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  3. I am a big fan of long hair, but I learned that a style is also important (I had super long, one length hair for a long time). And although I like the 1st cut, I like the 2nd better for you. Win!

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  4. Oh Whitney! What a NIGHTMARE. I am so, SO impressed you went back in! It looks amazing now - I LOVE the length - and I've even pinned your hair onto my beauty board :) You look beautiful! Here it is: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/239394536416685308/

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  5. Awwwh! I wanted layers when I was younger & the result was just terrible! Plus I have frizzy hair & back then I could care less what I looked like so imagine a freckle-faced, braces-wearin, frizzy hair tomboy running around! Ugh I just shudder at the thought! Haha

    Luckily I have the best hair stylist now! She was my neighbor growing up & we used to do Barbie's hair all the time. I don't trust anyone else with my hair. She know exactly what to do & always talks me out of my crazy ideas I think I want to do, like chopping my hair off! Glad you found someone who you like & trust & is nice!

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  6. Your second cut looks awesome! A very inspiring story for other peacemakers (like myself). Asking the girl for someone else to help you had to be hard. I probably would have chickened out and had her chop it up some more. I'll have to remember this story next time i get in a situation that like that!

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  7. My worst haircut... I asked for a length around where John ended with yours. Easy enough, right? Then it happened, I heard the worst sound in the world and before I could stop it the electric clippers had hit the back of my head at the hairline and gone up. Yep, the woman shaved the back of my head. She was apparently trying to give me an incredibly short A-line bob that I had not asked for

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  8. That is so hard stepping out of your comfort zone, but it sounds like it couldn't have gone better. The end result was gorgeous, better than Pinterest picture I think! I love when businesses/managers right a wrong, that makes it all so credible!

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  9. Whitney! (it feels so funny typing that since we have the same name...haha) I got a haircut this week - from the stylist I've seen for over a year now - and it is my worst haircut. of. all. time. I have short hair already, and she whacked the back waaaaay up and it's hideous. So I totally feel your pain. Your bob looks so glam though, I'm so happy you were able to get it fixed! =)

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