Has anyone actually had a good experience with a hair dresser dealing with long hair?

[cryptorchid]

I just went to my hair salon today after not having a trim for a few years and it was horrible. My hair was insanely tangled after the woman washed it. This is very abnormal because usually it only takes a few minutes to untangle after washing. When she tried to untangle it she just took a paddle brush and started focefully ripping through my hair, starting at the top of the strand instead of the bottom. Afterwards my hair was so covered in product it looked like I hadn't washed it in days.
Do other long haired women ever have a good experience at a hair salon? Or is it common for hairdressers not to know how to properly care for long hair?

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think it is fairly common for many hairdressers not to know how to deal with long hair. One hairdresser I went to washed my hair and it became so tangled they couldn't detangle it and told me they would need to cut about 10 inches off - which I refused to allow. So they tortured my poor hair and scalp trying to detangle it, which the managed to do, finally and after pulling and breaking off half of my hair anyway. I left without paying. If I ever went to a hairdresser again I would go with hair I had just washed and detangled myself, beforehand.

There are good hairdressers out there - but in my experience they are few and far between. Even the GM salon staff were not as gentle with my hair as I am. Not that they were rough, not at all....

[Nuala]

I usually wash my hair at home before I go to the hairdressers. I don't like to have my hair washed at the salon; usually the water they use is too hot (I've got a very sensitive scalp) and they massage my scalp too roughly. I also have a problem with the wash basin which always presses in a painful way on the back of my head.

[lapushka]

If you can and you have one around you, just go to a barber, go in and talk to the guy or girl and ask them whether you can come in with wet, washed hair, so they can trim it. Best thing to do.

Hairdressers generally have small sinks, so your hair is bound to get all tangled up in there. And then they have to use "big means" to get through it in a short amount of time (time is money and they have other clients waiting).

So... I would learn to trim my own hair, if I were you, or go to a barber.

[two_wheels]

I've had more good experiences than bad with hairdressers. Only one really bad one. They're definitely out there.

But if you can't find a good one where you are, cutting your own is easy and fine (as long as you have sharp scissors that don't get used for cutting paper and such - otherwise you will get lots of splits!) I found these instructions (http://haselnussblond.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/how-to-trimm-your-own-hair.html) (the English is underneath the German!) helped me to get the shape I wanted :)

[schweedie]

I've never had a bad experience with my current hairdresser, who I've been going to for years. She grins and calls me 'Rapunzel' when I come in, never takes off more length than I ask for (although I usually ask her to take off as much as she thinks is needed to get rid of the splits she's never cut more than an inch), doesn't wet my hair or blowdry it and always comments on how well I seem to take care of it.

Some things may be different here, though - like, washing your client's hair before trimming isn't standard at all.

[Gertrude]

One thing I found out from the GM stylist in London is that you can't see split ends in wet hair. Hence the GM dry trims of S&D and dusting. In the NYC you needed ? don't know if still the case to actually have your hair washed, conditioned and dried under hood before they'd trim it. Not in London. Or I wouldn't be going (-;

Like @ Sarahlabyrinth I have had my hair washed at the GM salon and the stylist definitely isn't rough but also not gentle. And it's gotten worse as my hair got longer ( not long by LHC standards, two inches below BSL) and more tangled after the rinsing out the treatment. He starts from the bottom on sopping wet hair, but goes quickly and more hair sheds than when I do it myself and I heard " snap" once or twice. I dry it in the turbie, then a bit at air temperature, then detangle with fingers and rake comb very slowly.

When I started going five years ago my hair really was dry, now it's not. So the " treatment" doesn't sink in but sits on top of hair. So since last summer I have gone to trims only. It really has not made me popular and I suddenly " needed at least an inch off " but I said dusting or that's it. Dusting it was.

[bunneh.]

I don't want to sound mean or anything, but I think for a hairdresser, most of them are pretty clueless... Now if you live in a big city with tons of hairdressers you might see a decent one, but if you're from a small city (read village if you live in a city with more than 500.000 people) like me, then you can be sure they have no idea what they're doing lol... That's one of the reasons I just don't want to go to a hairdresser. Second one is that I can do anything a hairdresser could do to my hair equally as good if not better and third reason I despise hairdressers with a passion is because they charge a lot of money for doing basically nothing (read: trimming hemline). For a small trim you'd pay around 10 - 15€ which is more than you could make if you give lessons to your classmate (8 - 10€ for 45 minutes... 45 minutes of trying hard to teach someone something compared to simply cutting hemline in 3 minutes, except they say how complicated it is and how oyu need to go to college for 3 years to know how to cut hair "properly" ...BS...).

[gregh]

If you can and you have one around you, just go to a barber, go in and talk to the guy or girl and ask them whether you can come in with wet, washed hair, so they can trim it. Best thing to do.

I can second this from experience. I had my hair trimmed a few months ago by the barber that cut my hair every 2-3 weeks before I started growing it out. He thought I must have moved and chuckled a bit, but did a great job.

[redredrobin]

You brought up tangles and that has always been a big problem for me at the salon. Admittedly my hair has always been naturally tangly, but nothing that I can't deal with with a bit of care. Yet at the salon my hair is a nightmare, and hairdressers always comment on it. It's frustrating because I used to work at a salon and although I can't see what they're doing, I have a pretty good idea why they make it so tangly. As I got older, I stopped letting them comb it after a shampoo and asked to do it myself.

[Groovy Granny]

The salons here are small and not big names, and over the years I have had too many horror stories to tell!
I have trimmed my own hair for the past 3 years and wouldn't trust any of them at all now with almost hip hair :tmi:
Though I must say a couple of local big name salons (Henri's and Rob Roy) did come to my rescue a few times when others messed up, so I will credit them with that!

[cryptorchid]

I was called Rapunzel yesterday too lol!
I've been going to my hair dresser for years and the salon is considered one of the best in town. I've always had good experiences there. But that's the last time I let them wash my hair. It took them approximately two minutes to trim two inches off my ends, which actually look a bit uneven. I still have tons of split ends all throughout my hair anyways. I need to find good quality hair shears because I think mine aren't great quality and cause more breakage.

[Frankenstein]

My hairdresser is great at not cutting off any more than I ask for. I just come in with dry, styled hair and she trims it - no washing or anything.

[littlestarface]

I was called Rapunzel yesterday too lol!
I've been going to my hair dresser for years and the salon is considered one of the best in town. I've always had good experiences there. But that's the last time I let them wash my hair. It took them approximately two minutes to trim two inches off my ends, which actually look a bit uneven. I still have tons of split ends all throughout my hair anyways. I need to find good quality hair shears because I think mine aren't great quality and cause more breakage.

See now that would piss me off cuz we could do it at home for free and end up with uneven hair.

[Nellon]

I went into this small salon, which advertised cheap cuts. The hairdresser seemed really pleased to see me (I guess mostly guys come in there) and did a good job listening to me, doing exactly what I wanted and let me check many times to make sure I was satisfied with the cut. Maybe not the best ladies hairdresser, but I came out of there really pleased and content.

[spidermom]

Most of my experiences have been good. I do not sit and take it if the stylist is doing something I don't like. After being washed, I prefer to comb my hair out myself. The stylists have been more than happy to let me.

[Lauraes]

The last time I went to a salon, they attempted to "detangle" my soaking wet hair with a fine tooth comb. Ouch. After they somehow finished that impossible task, I was told I needed to buy their ridiculously overpriced products to "fix" my hair because it was too tangly. :rolleyes: They didn't even cut my hair like I asked them too, either.

My mom went to cosmetology school (though she ended up dropping out and becoming a RN) so she cuts my hair for me and does a fine job. She's also learned (through trial and error) that it's much easier to cut my hair when it's dry than when it's wet or damp, so that's how we do it. ;)

[chen bao jun]

Most of my experiences have been good. I do not sit and take it if the stylist is doing something I don't like. After being washed, I prefer to comb my hair out myself. The stylists have been more than happy to let me.

I was going to say, some members here always have good experiences and use your name, Spidermom :)
Because of your posts, I know it is possible.

I would say it might be possible to find to find someone who would just dust the ends of your hair (though rare, they usually want to do more) but that it would be hard to find someone to do more for a long haired person, especially if the hair is basically natural. they are trained to do specific things. all of which involve altering the hair (cut into a style, dye, perm). It is really hard for them to do NOTHING.

They don't know how to be gentle enough because you don't need to be that gentle with people with short, dyed hair, frankly.

If you get into the territory of curly hair, you don't even have to have long hair to not be able to find a hairdresser who can deal with you. With the exception of a few I have heard of, but not been to (Devacurl, etc) nobody can do curly hair, and that includes people who HAVE curly hair. Again, they are trained in school on how to straighten.

Don't even start me on most (I'm making an assumption there are some good ones out there though never met one) black hairdressers. I haven't been to the ones who specialize in natural black hair, though, maybe they are different than the old school fry straight or relax straight starting at least two hours after the supposed date of your appointment ones.

I haven't been to one(natural black hairdresser) because they seem to mostly braid (lots of tiny braids) or do twists or start locs--I don't think they would just give a tiny trim or just wash or something like that. I go to a black barber, he is great, actually incredibly gentle and really jsut dusts AND only charges $5.00. And never complains about my hair, but compliments me instead.

That may actually be what I dislike most about hairdressers, the complaining. There is always something wrong with your hair, according to them, too long, too thick, too something or other--that they need to fix for you, for an extremely high price (and then it will need maintenance).

[Hurven]

I go the salon at most twice a year and usually to the same place. When I started telling them that I want to grow my hair they have been very understanding and only cut what they have to, which at most has been two centimetres - unless I have asked them to take more. They have always shown me how much they are going to cut and if I'm okay with that. They also ask me if I want them to put products in my hair, and they respect that I say no. Then again, my hair has never been super long, so maybe they would treat me different if my hair was truly long.

[copperlites]

I visit a local, small organic hair salon every 3 weeks for root touch ups as I'm not ready to embrace my silvers. The second year apprentice has recently taken over doing my hair from the qualified stylist. Despite not being finished her training, she is awesome! She takes a lot of time and care with my hair. I think they seem to be training new stylists to actually respect people's wishes and long hair and treat it carefully. My husband always trims it and they say what a great job he does and that no trims are required at the salon as its in great shape and perfectly trimmed. My hair is almost waist length, so not super long, but they always finger detangle at the basin when the deep conditioner is in, then wide too the comb very carefully. I've been going there 6 months now. It's third time lucky as I went on a hunt for a long hair friendly, chemical reduced salon after joining LHC in February. Hubby is happy to trim my hair, but not colour, and I'm not game to try that myself either, and I'm really happy with this salon. Stylists personal preference and attitude to long hair may have something to do with it too. Some are definitely scissor happy and prefer shorter hair and will do and say anything for the chance to cut off a lot of hair.
When I was in my 20s I had a hairdresser with the most perfect Virgin waist length blunt cut blond hair I've ever seen. She said many salons she had worked in had tried to persuade her to cut, colour or perm her hair, as was the fashion then. She said she loved her hair and always refused, even quitting one salon who were insisting. But she said, she sold a truckload of hair products as everyone wanted to buy what she was using. Perhaps try looking for a salon with a long haired stylist. Oftentimes it will be courtesy of extensions, but at least you know they want long hair themselves and therefore might be more respectful of yours.

[Phanaferous]

My experience was good. Nothing to write home about, but I was satisfied with the results. I went to the closest great clips with hair that had been washed that morning. It was dry and had been in a cinnabun to minimize tangling in the wind. I was getting a larger than normal trim; ended up being 6 inches from the very longest hairs; probably an average of 4 inches from the median of the fairy-tailed ends.

Anyways, I showed her about where tailbone was on my jeans. She had me stand and caped me. The only mishap was she initially started to brush from my part down. Do people really brush their hair this way? After the brush got caught twice in as many attempted passes, she went to the hemline and worked her way up.

I couldn't see how much she was actually cutting, so I was anxious but held still so the hem would be straight. She went around and checked both sides and the front for evenness. After removing the cape I checked the length and it was exactly what I'd requested.

I left it down as I stopped in Target a few doors down. Two random strangers complimented me on my hair (which never happens), so I figured it turned out pretty good.

[MandyBeth]

As long as I don't give them free range, I'm usually fine. But I have shorter hair at 1" past collarbone.

But I love my current stylist, and he takes excellent care of my older minion. She's now got chemically treated hair because it's what she wants, and he's been very careful to not hurt her scalp or hair. He's also trimmed my younger minion once just to reshape her hair and he was fine with cutting her hair dry and then conditioner washing her hair. Older minion has mid back to hip length hair, younger minion has floor + hair that looks hip length from her curls.

[endlessly]

About 99% of the time, my experience is a bad one. I had one stylist I went to for years because she knew how to cut long hair and be very gentle with it since her daughters had very long hair. Once she retired, I just sort of bounced from person to person, but no one ever clicked. One horrible experience after another taught me to just start cutting it at home and so far, that's been the best!

[Zindell]

Or is it common for hairdressers not to know how to properly care for long hair?

I don't think I ever was happy when I left a hairdresser. Ever! Thus I learned Feye's Self Trimming method and I will never visit a hair salon ever again. :p

For the first time in my life my hair is actually getting to the lengths I want, and it's healthy and shiny.

[hufflepug]

I just went to my hair salon today after not having a trim for a few years and it was horrible. My hair was insanely tangled after the woman washed it. This is very abnormal because usually it only takes a few minutes to untangle after washing. When she tried to untangle it she just took a paddle brush and started focefully ripping through my hair, starting at the top of the strand instead of the bottom. Afterwards my hair was so covered in product it looked like I hadn't washed it in days.
Do other long haired women ever have a good experience at a hair salon? Or is it common for hairdressers not to know how to properly care for long hair?

My hair isn't even quite shoulder length and this is really similar to my last hair cutting experience. I told the stylist multiple times that my hair is heavily damaged from bleaching, but she ripped the brush through my hair really hard, it hurt my scalp and my hair was in worse shape than when I got there. Which especially sucks because I was there to try to remove damage! I wound up re-cutting it myself to get rid of the damage she did.

[chen bao jun]

I have got to wonder how long my hair would have been if I'd never been a hairdresser.

Even when they weren't being mean, for years and years I was caught in that cycle, you know the one where they give you a 'trim' after any sort of treatment? Without even asking? I used to get my hair chemically straightened. I went in roughly twice a year, every time I went in they cut roughly two inches off, it seems that my hair grows about 4 inches a year, so there you are....

[czech it out]

I have learned that going to a high end salon (for me at least) always ends in disaster! Now I go to Hair Cuttery and get exactly what I pay for - which is very little haha. I always ask for as light a trim as possible. I let the stylist dampen my hair with water (preferably just a spray bottle) but never get it shampooed or blow dried. I've been doing this for a few years now and it's worked really well for me so far. Nobody has taken any "artistic liberties" with my hair - they just trim it up and send me on my way. It also doesn't hurt to continue requesting the same stylist when you've had a good experience and to tip well. I usually tip about half of the price - not actually that bad considering how cheap their cuts are!

[Anje]

I haven't had a professional trim in ... probably close to a decade now. But I had a salon updo a few years back for a wedding that went just fine. The stylist complimented my hair's quality, pinned it back and forth a few times to eat up some of the length and "create a foundation for the updo", and then covered the back of my head with a pile of pinned rolls. I came out of the whole experience pretty pleased. Yes, I was slathered in hairspray and needed to wash it out before I could comb my hair. Yes, by the end of the day the 60-something bobby pins were getting heavy and uncomfortable. But she didn't use heat except for a few strands near the face, she didn't backcomb it, and she generally respected my wishes.

So yes, it is possible to get your hair "done" in a salon and come away happy. I'd rather avoid the fuss 99.9% of the time, but decent and respectful stylists absolutely do exist.

[rhosyn_du]

I love my current stylist. When I had my side shave with long-ish hair on the other side, she was happy to just touch up my shave and not trim the long side unless I asked her to, and when I do ask for trims, she always starts by taking off a little less than I asked for and then checks in with me before trimming more. I haven't been to her with genuinely long hair yet, but I have a friend with past-waist hair who goes to the same stylist and always comments afterward how pleased she is that our stylist genuinely understands what a half-inch trim means.

[spidermom]

Those of you who are saying that the stylist ripped the comb through your hair - did you say something or grit your teeth and take it? I am thinking that maybe I'm usually satisfied because I'm a good communicator. I tell the stylist what I want, I pay attention, I stop the stylist if there is something I don't like (but respectfully), and I tip well for a job well done then go back to the same person.

[karenpetal]

I work at a salon as a nail specialist and often times help out with preparing the customer before the hair cut - which includes shampooing and brushing. I do have to admit the hairdressers have a varying range of proficiency in handling long hair.
The ones with longer hair are lot more knowledgable - also I had volunteered to host a long hair session with the girls and the team was very happy with it and pull me in when a long haired customer complaints new in.
Also, if you do go to a hairdresser might help if you check if there is a long hair specialist !

[hairpleasegrow]

I agree about how hairdressers don't know how to brush long hair. It drives me crazy when they start brushing from the top and not the bottom. I will take the brush out of their hands and brush it myself or I will do as some suggest and go in with wet hair.

[Wildcat Diva]

The last time I went to my barber she all fast brushed my hair (dry ). I told her to slow down about three times that much and she did. She and I had had a plan for me to come in with dry hair but coconut oiled up to make it combable. However, I didn't use enough oil and it was tangly even after I detangled with a tangle teaser. As soon as my hair moved, it tangled. Next time I will use way more coconut oil.

[Jo Ann]

I shudder to think of going to a *ahem!* stylist again! The last good one I had was almost 30 years ago--she listened and did exactly what I wanted!

It's such a shame that more hairstylists don't listen to the customer! My hair now is an inch or so below BSL, and I'd hate to think of having a wash/cut (and I got into the habit of going to a stylist with my hair wet/damp to save money, because they would always insist on a wash before taking scissors to my hair) with it at that length. :pins:

[catasa]

Sorry about your bad experience :(

I have been going to the same hair dresser for years and am very happy with her. I wash my hair myself before going to the salon and she just sprays it with water or simply cuts it dry, and she has no problems at all with me de-tangling my hair by myself before cutting, uses only water and no other products since she knows that I avoid cones, and doesn't blink when I skip the blow drying/finishing styling and just put my newly cut, frizzy-because-of-the-combing mess up in a bun before paying and leaving :) She never takes off more than we have agreed upon and last time I was in for a trim she said that my hair really wasn´t damaged or in need of a cut at all, and proposed that I could wait a bit longer than usual before trimming again. ETA: I have been trimming with the same regularity for years, first due to old damage which is now gone, then mostly out of habit. My hair has a tendency to get grabby at the ends after a while even if there are no splits, and also since I really don´t want fairy-tale ends and am in no real rush for my hair to get longer, I have kept up the trimming. But it must be fairly unusual for the hair dresser to be the one to recommend less trimming :p

It is not a "low-end" kind of place but not high-end and trendy either, I would never even get close to such a place for fear of what would happen to my hair... I am definitely not trendy and I wouldn't dare let someone loose on my hair that might feel they have an "artistic license" to "improve my look" :rolleyes: (it might need improving, but I would like to choose when and how for myself!)

[lapushka]

I haven't gone since I went "long" (longer than BSL), as that is the length at which you can just as easily maintain at home, layers or no layers - the methods are out there and easy to find at that. I think that is *the* way to go. If you expect good treatment most of the time from a regular hair dresser on hair that long, you are asking for trouble. There are exceptions out there, but that's what they are: exceptions!

[Swan Maiden]

I self trim but I have always had simple tastes. Before, I would always find a barber, not a stylist or salon. I would only ask for a trim and they would mist my hair and comb. I think that since they cater to mostly male clients they were extra gentle combing my hair and only ever trimmed what I asked. Plus they are less expensive. I went to a salon a few months ago to see the prices. It was $20 for just a trim with attitude. That is pricey for something I can do myself or have a barber do for half the price and not be sneered at.

[Ellethwyn]

I just went to my hair salon today after not having a trim for a few years and it was horrible. My hair was insanely tangled after the woman washed it. This is very abnormal because usually it only takes a few minutes to untangle after washing. When she tried to untangle it she just took a paddle brush and started focefully ripping through my hair, starting at the top of the strand instead of the bottom. Afterwards my hair was so covered in product it looked like I hadn't washed it in days.
Do other long haired women ever have a good experience at a hair salon? Or is it common for hairdressers not to know how to properly care for long hair?

I had this same exact experience last year! It was awful! I hadn't been into a salon for years. I finally was ready for a trim. I went to a high end salon and same as you... she washed and tangled my hair, then ripped my hair out with a paddle brush, starting at the top of my head. I regret not asking her to hand over the brush and give me a comb. It seemed like the stylist didn't know how to handle/comb through long hair. She did do a good job trimming. Since that experience, I have watched some youtube videos on how to trim my own hair and have trimmed it once since, it worked out great. In a year or two i'll probably want to take a couple inches off (to even out my hemline) and i will probably go to the barber where my son gets his hair cut. There is a woman there who is really good and charges $10 for a trim. She properly combs hair, too. That's a major plus!

[Shorty89]

I've had two recent experiences with hairstylists, one good and one bad. The good one was when I had my bangs recut. I brought a picture, and went to a stylist who used to cut my hair as a kid. She was very helpful and did what I wanted. I've also gone to a professional so that I could a trim. While she didn't take too much off, she insisted that my hair needed to be flat ironed on low (I convinced her to blow dry instead to straighten my ends) and also used some cone-y spray after I told her that it wasn't good for my hair. Then I was charged $30 since it was a "hair cut" because my hair was so long. *sigh* I wasn't impressed, but at least it didn't do too much damaged.