Hair salon: At trim-time, do they wash your hair? Can they avoid snarls?

[darkwaves]

A few weeks ago, I got my hair trimmed -- just a little to even the bottom, exactly what I wanted.

However, the hairdresser also washed my hair, which led to incredible snarls, so the comb-out required lots of time and silicone detangling spray. (She was gentle, and the spray washed out well. This is a question, not rant.)

I'm now wondering if my days of having hairdressers wash my hair are over... Do I just have too much hair to pile into normal wash basins now? (No long hair salons where I live.) Are snarls inevitable if someone does that, especially with fine, curly hair?

If so, no huge loss! Bending back like that always hurts my neck, so I've gone through long periods when I refused the wash even when my hair was much shorter. And if I want my hair cut wet they can spray or quickly rinse it (though that might cause tangles now, too).

But I'm curious, especially as I know we have stylists on this board:

Is there a way to wash (someone else's) long, tangly hair in a normal salon basin that doesn't lead directly to snarls?

Is that even possible? Or would oversized basins be needed, to avoid the piling and tangling? (I know shower washing works just fine -- but that's not an option at the hairdressers.)

Thanks!

[FrannyG]

I've gone into a salon many times having just washed my hair. They will spritz it down with more water, if necessary. It's not a great option during a cold winter, I guess, but it's better than the snarls.

[cindy58]

Even when I'm going to my long time hairdresser whom I trust, I go with freshly washed, detangled hair. It doesn't seem worth the worry not to do it that way.

[Fia]

That's just one of the reasons I prefer to pop by a small, local haircuttery whenevern I need to neaten up the ends a bit. It's mostly populated with Thai/Middle-Eastern hairdressers - some male, some female. No bookings - you go in, sit down and wait for your turn.

They always ask whether hair needs a wash or not - to which I always reply that it's freshly washed the same day. Then they just wet it down a bit with a water sprayer, take off what we've agreed upon - just a very tiny bit at the tips, lightly dry it with a blowdrier if it's cold outside (I don't mind those few times as I don't own or use one myself) - I pay and leave again. Trim over in 10-15 minutes, not more taken off than I want and cheap to boot.

My own experience is actually that the fancier the salon the more likely you are to get a wash forced upon you, suggestions for hairstyling you don't want. the fancy blow-out with products, hairspray and the whole shebang; not to mention all the 'oh, but this years current trend would look sooo marvelous on you'.

[darkwaves]

Thanks!

I'm going back to my old "clean hair, spray it damp" routine, too. My hairdresser is great, no pressure, and she's also trimmed the ends dry -- for free -- in the past. (She says she doesn't charge for trims of bangs/fringe, so why charge for this?)

Still wondering, though, if it's technically possible to wash long hair in the standard hair salon basin without getting a mass of tangles.

[wintersun99]

...............

[Iylivarae]

My hairdresser (I was there about one and a half year ago, so with BSL-hair) uses a bottle with a thin tip, so she just applies the shampoo to the scalp, then she massages the scalp. They only wet the length and don't really rub or massage it, so there aren't that many tangles.

[Forever_Sophie]

She always washes mine, offered to CO before, which was nice of her.

I love my stylist's scalp massages, however I hate that she brushes my wet hair and wish I could get the nerve to ask her just to comb it...she's extremely sweet, not like she isn't approachable, but for a few yrs now, I just sit back and deal...

[Xanthippe]

Still wondering, though, if it's technically possible to wash long hair in the standard hair salon basin without getting a mass of tangles.

Hmm. Well, a couple of inches ago, I tried to wash my hair in the sink (flipped my hair over my head) and I didn't get too many snarls. Mind you, I was very slow about it and I'm used to how my hair needs to move to not get tangled. I could see problems forming and I corrected how my hair was in the sink. So, I think it's possible, but probably only likely if you're used to working with longer hair.

[NurseMama]

When my hair was TB a few years ago and I went to the GM salon in Dallas, the hairdresser did the most incredible thing to avoid tangles. After a thorough detangling he tied a ribbon to my ends and then tied the ribbon to a hook that he had placed just so on the wall next to the sink basin. He then proceeded to do a scalp wash. Once the scalp was clean, he untied the ribbon and wet the ends while holding them so that they would not tangle. Then he had me sit up to apply to deep conditioning treatment. It was really incredible to see someone ELSE take such care of my hair.

[spidermom]

I love the way my stylist gives me a scalp massage when she washes my hair, so I deal. She uses a lot of conditioner, so there usually aren't that many snarls anyway.