Community: Real Life

I'm a hairdresser-phobic


Charlotte

Charlotte is a final year student in Cardiff and a self-confessed make-up addict. She loves traveling and gets annoyed if she doesn't get away enough. She dreams of spending her days in an idyllic location tapping away at a best-selling novel.

Some people would rather sit in an electric chair than the dentist chair. However, there's a small group who find going for a trim and blow-dry a highly traumatic event. Charlotte Howells explains.

The customer is always right. Why can't hairdressers grasp this simple rule? For anyone who works in retail, customer service is the mantra. I should know, I worked in a shop for long enough. Hairdressers though, appear to obey an altogether different set of rules, I know you asked for just a trim, but some blonde streaks and six inches off the end will really suit you... plus it's what I want to do, and being a hairdresser, I want to use my creativity".

Of course, they don't actually go as far as to say it, but being a feeble student, I can't help but feel intimidated. As a result of my desire to free myself from their scissors as quickly as possible, I give in to their suggestions and end up with a head of hair I don't want - cue anguished sobbing in front of the mirror, desperately clutching what's left of my hair. OK that's only actually happened once, I'm really not that shallow, but it was a really bad cut.

Even more disconcerting is when your hairdresser agrees with your hair wishes. They repeat your desires reassuringly, and you relax into their chair thinking all is well. Yet you still emerge with a cut that is more toilet brush than Sienna Miller. I remember the time when I asked for a trim and a few layers around my face. As usual the stylist claimed to understand exactly what I wanted, even doing the reassuring nod. When I emerged I was sporting what I like to term a two-layer style, because there were no face-framing layers, instead just one hefty chunk missing from each side of my face. I appeared to have half bob/half shoulder length hair. Yes, this was the one I cried about.

"You relax into the chair then emerge with a cut that's more toilet brush than Sienna Miller."

You may say that it's only hair, but it affects your self-esteem. It's important that you're happy with the results, especially if you're shelling out loads of your hard-earned money for it. I know I'm not alone in my trauma, as I recently listened sympathetically when a fellow hairdresser-phobe returned with a head of dirty brown streaks when she had requested shimmery blonde.

My stream of bad hair experiences has led me to seek out different hairdressers in search of the perfect look. This constant switching has led to a complete lack of hairdresser trust and I constantly handing over my hair to a stylist obsessed with lopping off as many inches as possible. I'm sure a few of you are saying: Why doesn't she complain? Doesn't she know her consumer rights?" Well, yes I do, but there's still no way I'm letting their scissors back near my hair. No, instead I will stand in front of the mirror, desperately trying to find ways of making the cut look less bog brush, and wait, and wait, and wait, until it grows back. At which point I begin the whole sorry process all over again.

Don't get me wrong; I know there are some amazing hairdressers out there. In fact I've had my hair done by a few of them, but in my unlucky twists of hairdresser fate, the good ones always get away, I'm afraid Sarah has moved to a Salon in Scotland, our new trainee Trish is available to do your hair if you'd like?" Er, no thanks.

Despite this I am learning to become more assertive in the hairdresser's hot seat, but I'm sure my relentless questioning, along the lines of, are you sure it won't go ginger?" and,  you're just cutting an inch off, right?" leaves them even more determined to ignore my panicky requests and do it their way.


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