Giving up color and salon cuts?

[2gaits]

Hi,
I'm on the fence about keeping my next salon appointment. I haven't highlighted my hair since last December. The new unexplored growth feels nice and it has some gray but I think I'm okay with it. Can't decide about a trim.

If you are someone that gave up the salon, how did that go for you? Did you stick with it and find you didn't miss it? Or did you ultimately go back to having your hair done?

I'm about bsl length. It's long for me. Only growing it because my husband likes it. I would be back to an align bob or pixie without his preference for long hair. Part of why I'm thinking of giving up the salon is because well...it's long hair. It doesn't look any different after I go to the salon so why bother and spend the money. Also, the older I get the less I care about stuff and just want simple.

If some of you would share your experiences, I would appreciate it. I don't think this belongs in the ditching the dye thread or going natural because I haven't made a decision.

[embee]

I gave up the salon because I couldn't afford the recurring trims to keep my short hair looking nice. There was a horrid growing out period to get long enough to pull back or for an updo, but once I got there, I was golden. :) And you're well past that point already.

Be aware that giving up trims can mean your ends grow unevenly and may look a bit shaggy. You might find you could stretch out the trims and go less frequently.... especially if you give up coloring. IMHO *that* would be a good choice: grow out natural. That could be a gift for you and the length a gift to DH. :)

[Joules]

My very last salon visit was quite unpleasant, so giving it up was easy. The hairdresser didn't mess my hair up, thankfully, but she just couldn't shut up about how tapered and awful my hair was. I was in the very beginning of the long journey of figuring out hair care and growing my hair, and I think you can imagine how her comments felt. I didn't decide to do my hair myself at that very moment, I discovered that self-trimming was a thing a couple of months after that, but as soon as I did I had zero doubts. My very first trim was a bit uneven, but it didn't take me long to get the hang of it.

I do sometimes want to go to a hairdresser just because I get that tingly feeling in my head when someone brushes my hair, but that's a very small "pro" in comparison with all the "cons" there are to go to salons. I mean, hairdressers have no idea how to brush hair, they just rip through tangles had break hairs. Many of them use nails when they shampoo their clients' hair. Mom's hairdresser (the same who voiced her opinion on my hair almost a decade ago) never properly conditions Mom's hair for some reason, sometimes she just doesn't use any conditioner at all. They blowdry hair on the highest setting because it's faster. And no one can guarantee that their scissors are sharp enough. No, just no. I'm very meticulous with my hair care and there's no place for a hairdresser in it.

I imagined myself going to a hairdresser the other week, like, how I'd handle it and what I'd tell. Basically I'd be the most ridiculous client who brings everything of their own (including scissors), critiques everyone's shampooing technique and obsessively controls how every single hair is cut. I'm pretty sure I'd be secretly filmed and find myself on youtube later.

[CherryFrizz]

I gave up salon cuts almost 4 years ago. I never enjoyed salons. Much like Joules, it was due to the negative comments I'd get on my hair.

I took me more than 2 years to get up the courage to self-trim, but now I love it! It's so much easier than I thought, and so much more convenient than going to a salon.

I also gave up coloring about the same time. I've gotten a lot of compliments on my hair since, and my hair is much healthier and smoother.

[lapushka]

Hi,
I'm on the fence about keeping my next salon appointment. I haven't highlighted my hair since last December. The new unexplored growth feels nice and it has some gray but I think I'm okay with it. Can't decide about a trim.

If you are someone that gave up the salon, how did that go for you? Did you stick with it and find you didn't miss it? Or did you ultimately go back to having your hair done?

I'm about bsl length. It's long for me. Only growing it because my husband likes it. I would be back to an align bob or pixie without his preference for long hair. Part of why I'm thinking of giving up the salon is because well...it's long hair. It doesn't look any different after I go to the salon so why bother and spend the money. Also, the older I get the less I care about stuff and just want simple.

If some of you would share your experiences, I would appreciate it. I don't think this belongs in the ditching the dye thread or going natural because I haven't made a decision.

TBH, my mom started coloring her hair at home when they started selling box dyes, it sort of coincided with our salon closing shop here. She was in need of a new salon but it didn't go so well at the new one (twice the price).

She started coloring her hair in her 30s, I think, mid to late 30s, and that's all I kind of knew. And so I have never had a salon color my hair. If I colored, I always did it myself. And my mom was a pro at sectioning and smoothing it in. I used to watch her do it! So it was a breeze for me.

I gave up a while ago.

I went blonde, I went darker. I went red. I was every natural color you can think of. Nothing suits me as well as my own hair, and I had to find that out while also going gray. Oh well. :shrug:

For cuts ditching the salon was easy. Nothing I couldn't do at home!

Also, please don't grow out your hair to please someone else, it just never works out. Think of yourself and what *you* like. If it is an A-line bob with highlights, I say go for it. If it is BSL uncolored hair, go for it, but: *it's gotta be your choice* or at least be OK with it, don't do it against your own preferences and liking!

[shaluwm_agape]

When I started growing out my hair this was a thing that I contemplated over. I just felt like I needed to keep going back to keep up with style or growing pattern. And that wasn't really going to change my hair situation in any way.
Especially since I had bit the bullet in my decision to grow it.

The money vs cut never matched either. I was never really happy with the results. I just wanted to learn to truly love myself without any outside opinions telling me when it's okay to cut my hair or what the standard is or anything like that.

Plus my last couple visits just weren't pleasant. So I got one last trim to even out layers and that was it.

[Panthera]

I don't feel any need to go to a hair salon anymore. I cut my bangs myself which is actually nice because I can cut it whenever I want and it never gets too long. No more waiting for an appointment with overgrown bangs. I don't trim my ends, I don't mind having fairytale ends. It would be nice to go to a salon once in a while but I'm too scared, the last time I went I had a really terrible experience and I felt like I'll never go to a hair salon again. That was about 2 years ago and I'm still scared. :lol:

[Nox_Inber]

I've had mixed experiences with a salon however I no longer go. The only colorant going on my hair from here is henna because I've gone as natural as possible with my life and products :) I only trust one hair dresser with cutting my hair and she's halfway across the country. I can do the trimming myself and it's much cheaper than a salon so there's really no reason for me to go. Plus no fear of them taking off too much length and losing 6 months of growth.

I agree with Lapushka, hair is very personal and you should do what makes you happy! It's your body, your choice. He can have a preference for longer hair but he can still respect that you choose something different for yourself. Everyone deserves to feel good in their body and to be free to express themselves :D

[Six Seeds]

The last time I was going to the salon frequently was 2015-2016. I had an ombre dye job that I really loved and I went back every few months to have dye refreshed or .. what have you. I've had a lot of bad experiences at salons with people cutting off more hair than I wanted, complaining about how long my hair was, etc, but I liked this hairdresser that I was seeing. Toward the middle or end of 2016, IIRC, I started to feel bad about the expense and stopped going. My hair got longer than I knew how to manage and in January of 2017 I put it in a ponytail and cut it off myself! I intended to shave my head, but my partner talked me out of it ;)

Fast forward to last month. I realized that my hair was starting to get long again and I had to decide what I wanted to do with it. I found LHC and I'm hoping to give up trimming altogether with proper care and S&D. I do miss my ombre, but I don't miss going to the salon.

[cjk]

I enjoy barber bouncing, the uncertainty of an untested haircut and unfamiliar barber is exciting to me.

But because of the occasional need to fix those haircuts, I became a skilled barber myself. Despite that, I really enjoy the barbershop experience.

Whether you keep or give up salon services is a personal choice.

[MusicalSpoons]

I don't have experience of this, but what I will say is this: if you grow your hair out, go natural, and after a while find you really don't like it, it's easy enough to undo. You can't undo a salon visit if you regret it, only start again. If you feel like you could keep growing and go natural for now, then you may as well do it and see how it goes - you might find you love it and it really suits you and your lifestyle and preferences; but if you truly hate it, then it is simple enough to go back to what you do love.

HOWEVER



Also, please don't grow out your hair to please someone else, it just never works out. Think of yourself and what *you* like. If it is an A-line bob with highlights, I say go for it. If it is BSL uncolored hair, go for it, but: *it's gotta be your choice* or at least be OK with it, don't do it against your own preferences and liking!

So much this ^^ :) My advice above is just trying to see it logically, but ultimately you have to go with what you feel is best for yourself :flower:

[lapushka]

I don't have experience of this, but what I will say is this: if you grow your hair out, go natural, and after a while find you really don't like it, it's easy enough to undo. You can't undo a salon visit if you regret it, only start again. If you feel like you could keep growing and go natural for now, then you may as well do it and see how it goes - you might find you love it and it really suits you and your lifestyle and preferences; but if you truly hate it, then it is simple enough to go back to what you do love.

That is so true! ^^


HOWEVER



So much this ^^ :) My advice above is just trying to see it logically, but ultimately you have to go with what you feel is best for yourself :flower:

Also very true! ^^


Wishing you the strength to make a good choice, for yourself, 2gaits! Whatever that choice is. It's not because we are a long hair forum that when you feel not quite suiting of that vibe, that you have to force yourself into it. You can stay here with an A-line bob just fine as well.

[2gaits]

So I had a funny conversation with one of my sisters today about all of this. She remarked how fast my hair is growing and I told her I was thinking of cancelling my next appointment and just letting it be. She was mortified that I would stop coloring. Instantly said I would look old and start looking unkempt. Gray makes you look old and you are too young to stop caring about the way you look. So many opinions about having a few grays. She is all about long hair but coloring and treatments etc have hers in not the best health. I like the advice of letting it be because I can always go back to getting it done.

[lapushka]

2gaits, exactly how much gray do you have? Just a couple strands? A streak? A sprinkling?

I have a white sprinkling throughout, maybe 3%, you barely notice (see signature). And only when my hair is in an updo (front wispies especially).

I am not coloring for this!

[Servana]

You should do what you like, not what others want you to do. You need to be happy with your hair.

I can't say whether you should give up on salons or not. I spent about 2 years cutting my own hair but ive been going back to salons for about 2 years now because cutting your own hair can be limiting and it's just much quicker and easier to get a professional to do it. I just ask for a trim and they cut a half inch off. I've never had problems getting too much cut off because I always show them on my hair.

I think a trim every 5-6 months should be enough if you really take care of your hair. As for the colour, that's really a personal decision. Do what makes you feel best!

[Zesty]

Agreed that you should do what you like and what makes you feel best. Salons are certainly not necessary, you can trim your hair yourself or just let it grow naturally.

As for me, I went years without going to a salon and didn't miss it. I've never dyed my hair for extended periods of time so I can't comment on that. Now I do go to the salon about every six months to a year, but it's a fancy salon catering to long hair that I realize is an extravagance. They just trim splits and then a gentle u shape, no layers or anything. I feel more confident that they can get it straight and I enjoy the pampering experience. If they closed shop I'd probably go back to self-trimming though.

[pinkypoo]

I used to enjoy hair salons because I liked the feeling of blunt fresh ends and a straight silky blowout. But once my hair got longer and I tried to maintain the curls and health of it, salon visits just became stressful. My hair was pretty badly bleached damaged, even when I told the stylist that the main thing that mattered to me was maintaining the health of my hair. Now it is pretty fragile and salons always end up tangling up my hair horribly ( to the point that the last time I went 3 girls had to rip a brush through it to get it untangled and almost had to cut out a particularly knotted section!) And then wanting to fry it with a straightener and charge me extra for a tiny trim because of the length, I dont find it worth it anymore.
If salon visits are something that is self care for you and something you enjoy you should keep doing what makes you happy! I do miss being able to be pampered and would jump on it in a heartbeat if I ever found a salon that would help me enhance my curls and not tear up my hip length hair. If it's something you could take or leave it's pretty simple to trim your hair at home with Feyes method or the unicorn method to save you some cash!

[Waveurly]

I stopped going to the hair salon when they cut off a lot of my hair due to it being 'dry' according to them. I now know that you can treat dry hair and make it better but I didn't know nothing about haircare back then. I was just fed up and sad to lose so much hair after finally having reached a length I was happy with and that was longer then I ever had (it was just a bit past BSL back then). I did not really come across self trimming at first, I just wanted to let it grow as I hadn't been to a hair salon in a year before going there and my hair grew significantly. But when I came across self trimming this was the ultimate solution! Especially Faye's trimming method is easy. For me it's very easy not to go back to a salon as I never enjoyed it, I'm too self conscious and insecure to sit there and let them judge my appearance. At the length I am at now it's hard to cut very straight but I know that as my hair grows, it will get easier to do so as I'll be able to grab the hair in the front. I realized that they had been thinning my hair or putting in layers always as I had 'too thick' hair and see now when looking at old photos that this usually resulted in scraggly ends over time. Whatever they did, I'm only now finally learning how to take care of my hair and can't wait until it is the best version of itself, and natural!

So whatever you decide, do it because it makes you happy

[2gaits]

Well I went ahead and dyed my hair to even up the roots to ends color. Had a horrible reaction to the dye. Thinking back I think the hair dyes have been slightly bothering my scalp. I was thinking it was rough brushing and high heat at the salon. Anyway after this experience I am going to have to not color. Really don't want to bother with natural herbal dyes. I may still go for a trim occasionally. Right now I'm just going to let it be. Tried a ponytail cut once and it seemed fine so may go that route. Thanks for reading my rambling and offering ideas. I appreciate it!

[Wendyclaire]

I gave up going to the salon about three years ago and trim mine and dye at home. I might go and have it trimmed at a salon in the future but I would definitely be more insistent on what I want done then the past. I think it’s fine for you to grow your hair because your husband or boyfriend likes it. That’s how I started because he’s a rocker and Harley rider. Now I really love it and it’s much easier than messing with different styles all the time. But if you don’t, by all means wear it how you like it! He also got me into working out and I love that too! Almost down two pant sizes! Hooray!

[Wendyclaire]

2gaits, exactly how much gray do you have? Just a couple strands? A streak? A sprinkling?

I have a white sprinkling throughout, maybe 3%, you barely notice (see signature). And only when my hair is in an updo (front wispies especially).

I am not coloring for this!

How do you keep up the layers? Do you cut those yourself? No way I could do that myself.

[2gaits]

A ponytail unicorn cut seems to achieve pretty nice layers.