hair drama

I've had a bad track record with my hair and hair cuts. Throughout my childhood my Mom cut my hair. Then I'd go to Super Cuts with her and get my hair cut and she'd "trim" my bangs in between. When I went to college and (tried to) come into my own I decided I was going to grow my bangs out. I also got tired of dealing with my bangs (that got dirty before the rest of my hair did and always needed trimming to stay out of my eyes). 

via google images

 It wasn't fun (it wasn't horrible either, but then again it was years ago so it's kind of fuzzy) but I did it. And I vowed that I was never getting bangs again. And then every celebrity since then seems to have gone with the long swept bangs that look amazing. I stayed strong and kept my no bangs policy. 

I had a fabulous hair cut shortly after this. I'm not sure why but everything went perfect. It was a new girl, new place for me, got an amazing hair cut, my hair looked amazing for DAYS (I didn't wash it for fear of ruining my new hair beauty), nothing I did affected how great it looked. I went back to her again, each time I asked for the same cut and got different results. Never bad but never "omg that's fabulous!" again. 

So began my hunt to find a new hair dresser. And so also began my hair cut mis-adventures. 

I let my sister-in-law cut my hair. She had graduated from beauty school a few months prior to our visit. It was the first time I'd met her and when she offered I didn't think to say another other than "yes". Of course silly me thought that if she got her beauty license she must know what she's doing. Yeah, no, not at all. She gave me a very long mullet. Seriously, about where my neck is was a straight layer she cut there and then I had the rest of the length of my hair hanging beneath it trying to hide and pretend that wasn't what was going on. 

I felt like this little girl, all day every day, and my hair cut was all done! via here

When it grew out (mostly) from that I decided it was time to try another hair cut. (Not with her, though I'm sure years later she's got to be better.) I tried a new salon my new co-worker raved about. I spent CRAZY money: cut, treatment, products, and had an "eh" cut at best. I found out after the fact that place is only good for color, not cuts! (WTF why didn't she tell me that!?!) Enough time passed and I decided to try another cut. I went back to that first great salon and tried someone else, it was another "eh". 

I never had a cut this bad, but a bad on still makes you feel this way! via here

Then I got engaged. I was so incredibly afraid of another bad hair cut I was  simply too fearful to get another hair cut, from anyone! Over a year later, after the wedding, I decided since no more huge life events that will be documented and photographed for perpetuity would be going on I could risk trying another cut. I googled, I yelped, I tried whatever reviews I could access. A hip looking place downtown had good reviews. I called and asked for one of their best stylists, I had an appointment scheduled right before Christmas and I was excited for this new potential good hair. I went and it was a fabulous experience. The salon looked like something out of a TV show, like what something looks like after Tabitha comes in and takes over. Anyway, the hairdresser said she'd do the cut I wanted and I'd love it and in another visit or two she'd get me comfortable enough to do something different and drastic. Then she styled my hair in curls since my natural hair is straight to give me something different. I LOVED it. My hair looked amazing, I was so happy. 

Not an actual picture of me, I wish! But I totally felt like I was as pretty as her when I left that day! via here

I tried to style it as she showed me to get the same look: total fail. Much of that holiday season I tried and failed. It looked good, sometimes, but nothing like how she did it. Then it as my birthday and I decided I was going to legally to change my name to my married name. I decided my hair had to be just right so I set up an appointment with her and went straight from there to the DMV. My hair looked .... well it was good, but not fabulous and light years from the great first cut from her. My license picture doesn't look that great. She styled my hair in big curls and in the small picture on my license it looks, well it looks like I woke up and didn't brush my hair and rolled into the DMV.

I knew I had to try someone else. No one I knew could recommend anyone. Just so happens a friend of mine had a party and her friend that came (who I'd met once or twice before) is a hair stylist. Well she seemed nice enough, her hair was great, and she was slightly more than I'd paid the previous girls but still not crazy priced enough I wasn't willing to try her out. It was a TOTAL DISASTER. I went in and told her an abbreviated version of my hair history. I did tell her I was kind of getting bored with how I'd had my hair and was interested in maybe eventually something different. I said cutting the dead ends were fine, a few inches would be okay. She suggested a hair treatment, she swore it'd be different than what I'd tried before and it was great. So I went for it. She said it included a complimentary head massage, I was excited. (Even though I realized in the back of my head that was included with my cut in the first place) The "massage" was more like three quick wooshes of her hands in my head, the end. And then she cut my hair and blow dried it. She dried it in what I can only call a lazy manner. No brush, just her hands and the dryer randomly trying to get my hair dry, no technique (I could see) involved. 'Okay, she'll style it after she dries it.' Then she says "My next customer is here but your hair needs more time. I should have washed out that treatment more I guess, I don't want you leaving like this." {My head looked GREASY like I'd literally poured oil in my hair or hadn't washed it in two weeks. Gee thanks for not wanting me to walk out like this.} She informed me another "consultant" would re wash it and dry it for me. I never had any contact with her again, she went on her business (literally) with her next customer (a guy, they don't need much time for a cut and he totally could have waited!) . This new girl, well all I can say is I hope she just got her license because she seemed almost afraid of me and my hair. I was this close to saying "Ok hand me the brush and blower I'll do this myself". I walked out an hour and a half after walking in, with my hair cut, not styled at all, no pampering, and no apologies. I was a cash cow, I was prepared to buy all kinds of products that day and they blew that opportunity.  Around 8 that night the girl called me and checked on my hair and if that last wash fixed it, I told her I think so but I wasn't sure. She offered that if it wasn't okay to come in and they'd do a detox, complimentary of course, to fix it. 

via this

I shouldn't have gone to someone I vaguely knew. I should have complained. I shouldn't have let all of that happen. I don't hate my hair cut. I'm just not in love with it. I'm guessing the experience didn't help anything either. My hair is short (for me), I cut off something around 4+ inches. To me it seems ... so totally different. It's short, it's got layers but some are smooth and great and others seem really chunky. "Is this a whole chunky section of layers/hair here!?!" 

And so now I'm not sure what to do. Try her again? Try someone else? Who!?! Oh and in the coming weeks, what do I do with my hair? I'm having pictures taken with Hubby over Thanksgiving as part of our anniversary celebration. What the heck do I do with my hair then!?!