Do you have thick hair? Does it take a long time to dry and style? Are you tempted to thin your hair to make it more managable??? STOP! READ THIS BEFORE YOU ASK YOUR STYLIST TO THIN YOUR HAIR!
Thinning hair is usually done near to the scalp with thinning shears (the ones with notches cut into the blade). It is done to remove excess weight, and make your hair thinner, and thus easier to manage. It is wonderful! (so they say...)
Lets take a critical look at this... Short hair stands up right? So if you have thick hair, and you put short hairs in your hair, what is going to happen? They are going to puff up and make your long hairs puffy. Think of a chia pet. Its growing, and you pick off every other strand halfway down. Everything seems all right. It grows again, so you do it again. After a few times, you are left with a really dense lower area, and the tips are thin. This is the same concept with your hair. I'm not saying that thinning is not good every now and then, like once every year or two. But if you ask for your hair to be thinned out every time you get a hair cut, very few stylists will stop and explain this to you like I do. They will just pick up and do it since they figure it is your hair and you know what you want. I'm just saying: lets make an educated decision here people.
If you want wispy ENDS, thinning or texturizing at the last 1" of the hair is excellent! If you want VOLUME at the crown of your head, thinning about 2" out from the scalp is great!
Do not fear the thinning shears! They have many purposes, and (I hope) most stylists know how to use them correctly. I know I do.
Here is another way to get your hair to feel lighter without touching the thinning shears: ask your stylist to give you different layers. Some people call these "short layers" (supercuts does) and others call it a "90". The main point you want to get across is that you want to grab a peice of hair at your PART LINE and pull it down and say "I want my layers no shorter than ________" and show them! Then tell them you want Your hair layered all the way down to REMOVE WEIGHT. Hopefully they will know what you are talking about. About 70% of haircut mistakes happen through miscommunication. Either you are not saying enough, or your stylist is not asking enough. Volunteer information! I would rather have a woman come in and tell me too much about exactly how she wants her hair done than have a guy sit down and answer my "how do you want me to cut your hair?" with a "shorter". No duh. I know you are here to get a hair cut. I want to do a good job. I just need to know a general direction on where to go.
Here are some good things to have in mind to tell your stylist:
1. how much you want off the bottom
2. where you want your layers to start (if you have them)
3. how you part your hair
4. how you like your bangs
5. how you style your hair
6. how much time do you put into styling your hair
7. do you need products?
Yes, I ask almost every client "can I wash your hair?" I am supposed to. It is part of my job. I am not trying to take your money, in fact, because I am an employee, I see none of it except a tip and my hourly wage. I do however know that a shampoo, when done well, can relieve stress, and imporve circulation in the scalp, thus encouraging hair growth and general scalp health. Do I make it worth your money? YES. My shampoos change lives.
Do I offer almost every client a product when they are ringing out? Yes. It is also part of my job. However, I will tell you that if you use professional hair care products, not only do they work better, but your hair will be healthier. I use TIGI's "urban antidote #2" it is a moisturizing and reconstructing shampoo and conditioner set for dry and damaged hair due to chemical processing. It is AMAZING. I have herbal essenses reconstructing moisturizing shampoo in my shower. I figured I would give it a chance. The difference is night and day. I will do another post on the comparison soon with ingredient info and other good stuff. Anyway, I know for a fact that my hair is so much easier to manage and healthier with the good stuff. So yes, I will try to tell you about it in a non-pressure kind of way. I always tell my clients that I would rather have them know and not have it than not know and think they are doing great things for their hair.
So please do not get mad at your stylist for offering you shampoos and products it is part of our job, just like the clerks in the fast food restaurants are required to ask if you want fries or a drink. In both cases, if you don't want it, politely decline, please don't make us feel bad for doing our job.
HOWEVER if you have product in your hair and you want a quality hair cut, please accept the wash! I personally do not like cutting through hairspray and gel because it ruins my very expensive tools (which I have to pay for). I also am grossed out on a regular basis by people who come in with greasy hair that hasn't been washed for a few days, and for the sake of saving a few bucks, I have to work with filthy hair. You would not want to work through oily, smelly hair (yes, you may not be able to smell it, but I can) so please do not make me do it.
Just a few words from behind the chair to help your experience in the chair a better one:) I hope I did not offend anyone, I was really just trying to help. My opionions are my own and not those of my co workers or my employer.
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