Demand for long hair friendly hairstylists?

[cm006j]

I am thinking about going to school for hairdressing. I wondered if being passionate and knowledgeable about super long hair might give me an edge, a niche. If you knew there was a long hair friendly hairdresser in your area, would you make an appointment straight away or do you feel like you can get across what you want to any hairdresser or do you do all your hair maintenance yourself?

[AutobotsAttack]

I would definitely book an appointment straight away.

If ever there was a stylist in Texas, most definitely.

[PixieP]

I would absolutley go if I knew of a long hair friendly hairdresser! Maybe not for cuts as I do that myself, but for pampering, deep treatments and such. And to get help getting my hair washed when my health is bad.

[Carolyn]

I would for trims. I'm not sure if I would go for the hair treatments or any styling. I've done the long hair salon thing (Enchantress) and didn't care for having to sit for it to be rolled and then sit more under the dreadful hair dryer. That was hell. I might do a deep treatment and then a blow dry depends on how much it was and how long it took.

[Glitch]

I would definitely book an appointment straight away.

^ :beerchug:

[nycelle]

If I didn't have someone I trusted, then yes, absolutely!!

Also great knowing there's someone local I can go to, if I need to switch for any reason.

[wannabe-rusalka]

Yes I think it would help to be knowledgeable about long hair- I personally would go for deep treatments and maybe yearly for some shaping. I also would be more likely to trust you and its really big for me to trust someone with my hair!

[Aredhel]

If you were near me I would absolutely seek your services! I'm really not very good at caring for my own hair, it would be really nice to be able to trust a hairdresser with it... sadly there aren't any long hair salons near me. :(

[ursaV]

I would definitely go, especially if you maybe had some deep conditioning or signature herbal or hot oil sessions to treat myself. The last time I went to the hair dresser she was confused about why she was cutting out my old bleach if I wanted to grow out my hair. Um, so it would be healthy and not break off in truckloads every time I brush? They also always try to push highlights and short layers on me because I have a "great base color", but I think its just a good color to start off with, nothing added...
All in all, having someone sympathetic and supportive of longhairs of all types would definitely be helpful, a lot of hairdressers don't seem to understand and I miss out on the relaxing salon experience.

[Nightshade]

Totally! And that'd go triple for someone that used natural products rather than the ~salon special~ ones.

ETA: A lot of people are very scared of doing henna / indigo for themselves. If you offered natural hair dying, I bet you'd get customers that way, too!

[Deborah]

I would not. I can take care of my hair myself, so I wouldn't want to spend the time or money on going to a stylist.

[AspenSong]

See, DH has been bugging me to try to go to school and do this, and while I think it's a good idea...I'm afraid of there not being enough interest or long hairs to justify it around us.

[Aredhel]

Totally! And that'd go triple for someone that used natural products rather than the ~salon special~ ones.

ETA: A lot of people are very scared of doing henna / indigo for themselves. If you offered natural hair dying, I bet you'd get customers that way, too!

YES to all of this!!

Plus - sure there aren't very many of us longhairs out there, it's true, but it's not like you'd only accept customers with exceptionally long hair. I'd imagine you'd just be an unconventional and long hair friendly salon... it would be nice to have salons that made a point of taking good care of extra long hair instead of just trying to cut it all off. :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

See, DH has been bugging me to try to go to school and do this, and while I think it's a good idea...I'm afraid of there not being enough interest or long hairs to justify it around us.

But wouldn't there be plenty of bsl - type lengths? That qualifies as "long", generally speaking, even if it's not super-LHC type "long".

[Nightshade]

YES to all of this!!

Plus - sure there aren't very many of us longhairs out there, it's true, but it's not like you'd only accept customers with exceptionally long hair. I'd imagine you'd just be an unconventional and long hair friendly salon... it would be nice to have salons that made a point of taking good care of extra long hair instead of just trying to cut it all off. :)

I think that's a good point, it doesn't have to be an exclusive long hair salon, just one that specializes in it :)

[littlestarface]

It is definitly a good idea, regular hair salon people don't know how to handle deal with longer hair so having some in salons already would be a plus. Its not you have to be long hair only but just be experienced in it when one comes along. I remember a very very long time ago I got a trim from someone who was experienced with longer hair and she cut my hair perfect and told me not alot of hair stylists know how to even comb longer hair or even give them highlights and butchers their hair. So I think its a good idea just to have the knowledge of it

[Soulina]

Yes I would and I kinda do. I found this one hairstylist guy that adores long hair on women and I can trust him not to cut more than absolutely necessary for the hemline to look decent. He does not have to know how of long hair as he considers mine to be really long already (my hair is almost at hip, and in my LHC influenced standards that is average length), but he has mind set rare on hairstylist, that natural super long hair is extremely beautiful. But if there was salon specialized on LHC style long hair I would go there to be pampered (have some treatments, maybe some awesome hair friendly braid or buns that I could not do my self for parties)

[Nightshade]

It is definitly a good idea, regular hair salon people don't know how to handle deal with longer hair so having some in salons already would be a plus. Its not you have to be long hair only but just be experienced in it when one comes along. I remember a very very long time ago I got a trim from someone who was experienced with longer hair and she cut my hair perfect and told me not alot of hair stylists know how to even comb longer hair or even give them highlights and butchers their hair. So I think its a good idea just to have the knowledge of it

The best haircut I ever had in my life was from an Indian woman with hair to her calves. She knew exactly how to give me long layers without impacting my length. I'd give anything to know where she got off to :)

[littlestarface]

The best haircut I ever had in my life was from an Indian woman with hair to her calves. She knew exactly how to give me long layers without impacting my length. I'd give anything to know where she got off to :)

Its such a dam shame we only meet special people like this so rarely in our lives and they just disappear too.

[Milady_DeWinter]

I would definitely go too!! For trims at least :)

[MusicalSpoons]

I'm not one for using a professional if I can do an adequate job of something myself, and before LHC I used yo have my hair cut once a year at most, to get rid of damage. But knowing what I do now, absolutely for sure I would go to a long hair specialist - and if they offered sulphate- and silicone-free treatments, or even natural/herbal treatments like someone mentioned above, I would certainly consider going for more than a trim!

[MusicalSpoons]

YES to all of this!!

Plus - sure there aren't very many of us longhairs out there, it's true, but it's not like you'd only accept customers with exceptionally long hair. I'd imagine you'd just be an unconventional and long hair friendly salon... it would be nice to have salons that made a point of taking good care of extra long hair instead of just trying to cut it all off. :)

Oops, skipped a whole page before my first reply, but this is an excellent point!

[AspenSong]

But wouldn't there be plenty of bsl - type lengths? That qualifies as "long", generally speaking, even if it's not super-LHC type "long".

True. We'll see. He had this great plan that I go to school and we build a tiny home alongside the garage, and Bam...my own salon. lol.

If there was a place like this near me, with someone else long-haired or that I could trust, I'd be all over going for treatments, or whatnot. One thing I miss from having shorter hair, is that I loved getting a shampoo and scalp massage. I just am scared to go with my hair as long as it is now. I'd love a place to go get that done now. Or to have someone familiar with long long hair to style it in ways I can't. Put my Veggie dyes in for me.

[CopperButterfly]

I would definitely give it a try. I love the salon experience, I find it very relaxing. Much better with a stylist I can trust.

[lapushka]

I would go there if you wouldn't price yourself out of the market. You could go through the normal motions for people with short hair, but have a specialty on the side for long hair. That way you are well-rounded and you don't sit there and wait for someone with long hair to come to you (because that's a rarity I have to say). And you have to have business come in too!

[Caraid♫]

I don't go to the salon mostly to save money, but if I knew a place that understood long hair care/ alternative hair care I would probably splurge and go! When I do go to a salon (last time was 2 years ago I think,) I feel awkward when they ask about my hair colour but don't really know much about henna, or they side-eye me for my self-trims haha, or try to heat style it etc. I would love to have a stylist to talk hair à la LHC style with too :D I wouldn't talk about what I do to my hair with a normal hairdresser because they would definitely think I was weird!
I think it's a great idea, and like others have said, no need to necessarily exclusively do long hair because surely there aren't enough customers for that, but to specialize in it would be awesome!

[Trip]

My hair doesnt qualify as long at all but even for me if i knew there was a stylist i can trust with "just a trim" i would pay extra lol i dont want to lose the little length i have to be the stylists art project

[cjk]

I'm going to say interest would be enthusiastic but minimal. We talk often of YEARLY trims, arranging hair for events, and so forth...but is that enough to support a business?

Assuming a yearly trim, you'd need 300 discrete clients to have just ONE a day! And how often do people who trim annually need their hair done, professionally?

I think being an expert with long hair would be desirable. I think it would serve you well. But I think it should be just one part of your total "toolkit" in going into this.

[RedStripe]

I would definitely go -- I've already been thinking about how to find a long-hair specialist for a while now. I've been considering cutting off a bit of my length but still leaving if fairly long, but I don't want to go to a stylist who will cut off way more than I want.

[chomsky]

I would for special treats and "me days", deep treatments, glosses and the like. I make my own money now, I wouldn't mind a splurge once in a while. So long as they weren't afraid of dealing with curly long hairs.

I had a junior stylist once (mix up with stylists but hey I only had to pay £10), she looked so scared up until she cut the last piece. After she looked at my hair and she beamed, she and I were both proud, she'd never dealt with tight curls before!

[Joyful Mystery]

Yes, I would. For trims. :)

[T0n1c]

If I knew of a local person who was long hair friendly, I would definitely go.

The things I would LOVE to see at a salon would be:
Henna (gentle techniques, BAQ henna)
Deep conditioning treatments and oiling
Gentle, hair friendly styling (like some fancy braids for a special occasion)
Trims (done by someone who can/will maintain the most length while maintaining hemline and getting rid of damage)
S&D sessions

I would absolutely splurge ever other month or so to get my hair pampered by someone who knows and appreciates long hair.

Ooh, bonus points if there could be occasional hairstyle classes. How to do cool buns and braids and such.

[cm006j]

Thank you for all the encouraging comments! It's going to be about two years before I can go to cosmetology school, but once my babies are in school I am planning to do this. I appreciate all the suggestions and hey, in a few years I'll have even longer hair to draw in customers ;)

Love the idea of style classes and henna services. I feel pretty comfortable with henna so I could do that!

I definitely plan to do all the normal hair cutting and stuff for "normal" hair lol. But I thought it would be helpful to have a special niche and I think people will see my hair and understand that I will take good care of their long hair.

[ravenskey]

Love it if there was one near me, I'm getting split ends trimmed on Thursday and am so scared the hairdresser will cut too much off.

[hennalove]

Personally I wouldn't go. I prefer to do my own. That being said, I think most of the hairdressers in my area are already long hair friendly. I know a couple have rather long hair themselves so I'm sure they can relate to long hair problems and concerns. I would recommend the extra training just to give you that edge. Plus, word of mouth that there is someone trained in long hair care where you practice would be a positive.

[Wendyp]

Omg what I would do to have a George Michael salon near me! My experience there i think ‘89 ish -90 was unlike any other salon and my hair was like silk.