Hair so short I could die :(

[Miss World]

Ok, so its not too short, but to me, its EXTREMELY short.

for the past few months, I've been suffering from serious hair loss due to my anemia.. no matter what I do, its not getting better but lately, it was slowing down.

I went to the hairdresser to get a trim (just a trim) and for the first time in my life, I actually trusted the stylist to do it without me nagging on showing me how many centimeters he was cutting off (after doing my hair for at least three years, I assumed he'd respect the fact that I'm growing my hair out!!).. so in just a few minutes, my hair went from 3 inches past waist length to, get this, barely braline!! I totally went numb when I realized how short it has gotten (the chair's back is high and I had told him exactly how much to trim off!) and I have curly hair! imagine how short it looks when its on its natural state!

For the past two days I've been feeling really horrible and, its sad to admit this, I cried several times.. my friends keep telling me "its just hair, it will grow back" but it really saddens me! Is it stupid to feel this way? I even started taking new vitamins by "NewChapter Organics" because my pharmacist told me that its great for skin/nails/hair (I was sold when I heard hair! lol).

I'm sorry, I know I'm ranting, but for more than 6 years my hair hasn't been this short, I feel like a part of me has be cut off! I even vowed to trim my hair myself from now on and not trust a hairdresser ever! I wasn't sure where to post this, I'm just terribly sad!

[morguebabe]

I cried once when some "stylist" did the same thing, I had tailbone hair, asked a trim, and I was up BS in a minute or so...
I refused to pay her and said this is NOT what I asked and you did the opposite of what I told you.
Im sorry that happened to you.

[suicides_eve]

i am so sorry, i have been there and know the pain and emotions felt. It's not "just hair" it's an extension of you.
Its a saddening example of no matter how trustworthy a hair stylist is- there still a stylist. If not they would be call "hair dusters"

[Aisha25]

Oh goodness so sorry this happened to you I would have been very very much crying at the salon and I pray it never happens to you again. Hopefully your hairs will grow fast and youll be able to have them long again I wish I could be more help to you.

[lora410]

This happened to me to. I went from SL to 2 inches boy cut. It is very sad what maniacs with scissors can do. It isn't just hair, it is a part of who we are. You will grow it back long and strong again :grouphug:

[Curlsgirl]

Oh I am so sorry! I would feel exactly the way you do. But I guess you just have to make the best of it now right? I would just wear it up more and before you know it, the length will be back. I hate those kind of salon stories though. HUGS to you!!!

[LawyerGirl]

So sorry you went through that! I went from shoulder to pixie that way too! When I started to cry they stopped cutting at least!

It's not "just hair," of course! But... BSL is still long in the real world, and I'm sure it is still beautiful!

[LaurelSpring]

As with others I have had this experience also. I know that friends and family mean well when they say its just hair and it will grow back, but the fact is that when that happened I was truly grieving the loss of a piece of myself and it was very difficult. My hair is a part of me. I say give yourself the permission and space to grieve. Feel what you feel. To me it was very traumatic and the same as you I felt that I could never trust a hairdresser again.

[redtea]

I'm sorry this happened to you - hair is a very personal thing and it's not stupid to be upset about it.

I've gotten a terrible (words cannot describe how terrible!) short haircut and I remember going home and crying... it was the same stylist I'd been going to for years to and she always did a wonderful job until then. I went back to her to fix it and then I never went back again.

Vitamins are a good idea - I know they've really helped my growth and they can only help yours too!

[Miss World]

omg! thank you guys so much *hugs* you all are angels! It just feels good to know that someone (like you all, <3 ) understand how sad I feel. Thank You.

This stylist, as my sister calls this whole thing, got way too scissors-happy! I'm never going back again.

[Johanna64]

I know the feeling too!!
A hairdresser once cut my hair so short and she told me that on my age I should wear my hair not long but short!!( I was 36).
And she cut it from shoulder to chinlength.

I hope your hair is soon much longer again :grouphug:

[WindowDressing]

I will never trust another stylist either, dear Miss World. It isn't worth the grief of having your beautiful mane ruined. They get away with it because once it is cut you have to live with it.

My hubby is the only one allowed with scissors near my hair.

So no more of them. It isn't silly, it is part of ourselves.

Hang in there, and prayers for your health to improve as well!

Love and Hugs!
WD :)

[spidermom]

That was truly awful, but don't stress any more about it. (try not to) What's done is done. The less you pay attention to it, the faster hair grows. (at least it seems faster)

Here's wishing you an "OMG; it's growing so fast" growth spurt.

[Spike]

Pat, pat, pat. I remember a hair salon commercial from waaaaay back when, where they had a cartoon character describe EXACTLY this situation. The closing line was "Getting a haircut you don't like is like wearing a dress you don't like -- FOR MONTHS!!!"

I had exactly the opposite problem when I opted to go short for a bit. The stylist who'd been trimming me for years refused to just do it and remove the mane, but insisted on going in stages. (I now know more "soccer mom" styles than I EVER imagined. Bleh.) I thought about going to another salon and asking for "just a bit off the ends" under the theory that this is stylist code for "a pixie at the longest, please."

Hair is a huge part of how we see ourselves. I second the suggestion for putting it up for a few months and giving it time to do its thing, and then trimming on your own or finding a trusted family member who values your hair and happiness as much as you do.

[Miss World]

morguebabe, suicides_eve, Aisha25, lora410, Curlsgirl, LawyerGirl, LaurelSpring, redtea .... Thanks again *hugs*

Johanna64, seriously! :S so what if you were 36? Your hair is yours to decide how you want it.

WindowDressing, You are right! they get away with it because there's no going back! *grrrr* not fair! :( .. and Thank you for the health wishes as well :)

spidermom, I do hope it grows fast *crossing fingers*

Spike, they scary word is "months" ... My God grant me patience! lol :) -- yes, I'll ask my sister to trim it for me when it grows back.

[feralnature]

So sorry about your hair. I have had my share of hair horrors, it can shake you to your core. Perhaps you can think of your cut as a way to get very healthy ends ;)

[Islandgrrl]

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I really feel your pain. I've been there too.

I agree, though, that the best thing you can do is put it up and out of sight for a while and be thankful the stylist left you what you still have.

Even though I know it isn't true 100&#37; of the time, it's best to always assume a stylist will do what he/she thinks is best instead of what you ask for. It pays to be extra vigilant when someone else is holding the scissors.

[Nes]

Just wanted to lend support and tell you i've been through the same thing and it's not silly at all to cry. It's ok to mourn the loss of your hair. We all understand how much your hair means to you, and we are all here for you.

Stay strong and take care

Nes x

[jera]

Asa fellow aenemiac who's lost pounds of hair just as you have, I understand how you feel. I hope you can find a solution to your hair loss. :(

The hairdresser fiasco sounds like a nightmare. They're always so eager to chop and they never listen to customers who want only a specific amount trimmed. Sometimes I think hairdressers are inately evil. :demon:

[Laila23]

I wonder why people haven't sued hairdressers who've done things like this. I don't see much of a difference between the reasons other people sue and this....

[backtolonghair]

I"m sorry this happened to you as well. I don't think it's right that the stylist would do that. You are entrusting your hair to them, and they should do what you ask, not what they think you should have done!
That's just wrong! I always tell a hairstylist the exact amount of hair I want cut off... I say please trim a 1/2 inch, or a 1/4 inch, etc. But now from all these stories on here, I wonder just how many them really respect that?

It makes me want to just trim my hair myself.
Blessings

[brok3nwings]

I am really sorry ... i really understand what your feeling. I am actually feeling the same about my hair and this is my first post after my"disaster" from yesterday so... just hang on there... we have to :)

[Tangles]

So sorry you went through that! I went from shoulder to pixie that way too! When I started to cry they stopped cutting at least!

It's not "just hair," of course! But... BSL is still long in the real world, and I'm sure it is still beautiful!

You unintentionally got a pixie cut?!

[Debra83]

I am really sorry ... i really understand what your feeling. I am actually feeling the same about my hair and this is my first post after my"disaster" from yesterday so... just hang on there... we have to :)
What disaster from yesterday?

[Akiko]

I am so sorry to hear this happened to you. I cannot believe this sort of things happen quite often and so many so called stylists get away with it! I hope you really complained and not pay for such a bad job. Let them know this is totally unacceptable.

Now what's gone is gone. It is so sad... I pray you will find nice hairdos you can do with the current length and find some ways to enjoy your hair now. There are updos that BSL works really well. French twist, gibson tuck... Really elegant.

[sneakybea]

I'm so sorry this happened to you! I hope that the vitamins will help you regain the hair you've lost, and quickly.

[Telle]

I feel for you, I am so sorry. I had the same thing happen over the summer 4th of July I asked for a trim I loss 4 inches. I am just starting to feel better over the loss. I am sure you will feel better with time, too. I am back to doing all my trimming at home.

[NebraskaChick84]

I am so sorry that this happened to you :( I hope it grows very quickly, I wouldn't trust that stylist again either...those people drive me nuts. I got a bad cut when I was ten and then two more by the time I was 14 after the 2nd one I just never went back, until I had Katie, but then I went to the hair college where they get graded on whether or not they gave the cut that the client wanted.

I tried to talk my mom into it but she refused to "cut off all my pretty hair again" even telling her I just wanted the dye gone didn't work.

[Akiko]

I think it is a good idea to learn self trim. Feye's methods (http://community.livejournal.com/feyeselftrim) work very well. I tried straight and U-shape. Both came out very nice.

[DecafJane]

That is awful! You poor thing. I would cry too, and have cried when I went back to short from longer in times past. It takes so long to fix, but when you do, you will have even more resolve to keep it long and healthy than you ever had before! :)

Ultra-layers are very popular here at the moment, and I'm not going ANYWHERE near a salon because I've seen what they have been doing to other people's hair. I'm waiting until mine gets long enough to self-trim properly. :)

[joyfulmom4]

OMG, I am so sorry this happened. I cannot understand how a stylist can do this to someone. I had a really bad experience like this years ago also. I had BSL hair, mostly one length and I wanted a few *long* layers added to it. I told her I wanted to keep *all* of the length, just add a bit of layering. When I left the salon, she had cut short layers all over my head, but left the very longest back layer the same length I came in with. She proudly announced to me that she had "left the length". :mad: What I had was not long hair with a few long loose layers. It was basically a mullet with hair 2" long all over most of my head and some longish strands at the back. I cried too.

I feel for you. Hugs. At least it wasn't a mullet?

[BlackfootHair]

I know just how bad it sucks when stylists don't give a rat's a$$ what you want.

But if it makes you feel any better, I'd love to have BSL hair. :D Imagine the oposite from where you are right now. Pretend you have my length, and then magically you're at BSL! Maybe this will help??

[Beloved]

Oh honey, it's not stupid to feel that way at all! I cried and cried when a stylist hacked my hair off.

The good news is, you will never let anyone else do this to you again. The first snip that looks like too much and you will be like "what? I don't think so" and out of that chair.

[embee]

What a shame! It's time for us to learn to do our own trims, for sure. Or do no trims at all.

It's true you hair will grow, but gee, if you wanted to do that again you would have asked for it.

You can tell your friends how diappointed you were and how she did NOT do what you asked at all, that might hurt her business.

[YogaGirl59]

I'm so sorry! Why do stylist continue to do this?? They always want to chop chop chop, but I noticed lots of them have long hair. I hope it is at least a good cut so you don't have to go back for any reason.

I was anemic a few months ago too. I decided to try a folk remedy I had heard of - Black Strap Molasses, the unsulphered kind. Within a few weeks I went back to the Dr. and my anemia had resolved. I decided to try the Molasses, since it's really just food I shouldn't have any bad side effects. Now my hair is growing in very thick and shiny too, which the Molasses is also suppose to help with.

[zen_oven]

I'm so sorry that happened to you! I wouldn't go back to that person either! It's so hard to find a stylist who really listens, but once you do you'll never want to go to anyone else.

[Juneii]

ugh, god, I'm so sorry. thankfully I've never had such an experience.
it is frustrating when people tell you "it's just hair", how can you explain to them that losing something that is so much a part of you that it hurts just as much as losing someone important to you?

[Beloved]

I was anemic a few months ago too. I decided to try a folk remedy I had heard of - Black Strap Molasses, the unsulphered kind. Within a few weeks I went back to the Dr. and my anemia had resolved. I decided to try the Molasses, since it's really just food I shouldn't have any bad side effects. Now my hair is growing in very thick and shiny too, which the Molasses is also suppose to help with.

Can you give us some details on what type you use, how much, and what you do with it?

[chainedangel]

3.5 yrs ago I went in to have my waist length hair cut in a U shape. I came out with blunt shoulder length hair. I cried for a week. Didn't help that I was prego and hormonal. And now with trims (some pretty hefty) my hair is hip length. It will grow. You will cry. Change is hard but you will get through it. Just know you're not the only one it has happened to. (((HUGS)))

[jojo]

This is so sad and i really feel for you, in 2005 I walked into a salon with waist length hair and asked for it to be cut with no layers to BSL, I walked out with a pixie and I too was devastated I ended up really depressed because of this as I felt my identity had been stolen. The person looking back at me in the mirror I felt was an imposter. Everybody thought I was over reacting but it did affect me big time, now zoom forward 3 years and my hair is now BSL, I now cut my own and have never stepped foot inside a salon again and never will.

Your hair will grow and I know this is no concelation to the pain you are feeling at this very moment but in 6 months or so you will be back to where you started, the thing to concentrate on is enjoying this length its still long yeah? and there are loads of styles you can now do which would have been difficult before so see it as a time to experiment with different updos and deep conditioners whatever takes your fancy as long as it doesnt involve scissors! those months will fly past so quickly and your hair will be the length you want it to be before you know it.

Looking back with my experience I am now glad I started off again with short hair as it has made me appreciate that long hair takes effort to look healthy, I took it for granted before this time round it has been treated a lot better, like they say you dont appreciate what you had before its gone, but that doesnt mean you can't get it back again!

Good luck and dont be sad xxxx

[Beloved]

Looking back with my experience I am now glad I started off again with short hair as it has made me appreciate that long hair takes effort to look healthy, I took it for granted before this time round it has been treated a lot better, like they say you dont appreciate what you had before its gone, but that doesnt mean you can't get it back again!

ITA.

I went into the salon with hair past BSL end left with hair a couple of inches above my shoulder with wild stringy layers up to my ears.

Before that, I kept wavering between long and medium length hair. I really wasn't sure what I wanted my hair to do for me. After that experience, I knew I wanted long hair and I have never wavered. It was defining.

[LutraLutra]

Your poor thing ((((hugs)))). It's not quite the same, but my ex hairdresser once cut my fringe so short that I looked like an alien Bettie Page for months, and the rest of my hair was so short that I couldn't hide it my fringe, I felt like a freak.

[Loviatar]

I am sorry the stylist did not do what you wanted him to do. In future, I would either self trim (Feye's method works well for me) or be EXTREMELY CLEAR as to your needs at the salon. These days it is not enough to say 'a trim' and expect the stylist to think 'that means between 1-2 inches'. All stylists have differing ideas on cuts and trims, and you need to be completely open about your wishes.

When I used to get my hair cut in salons, the word 'trim' varied so much from place to place it was incredible. I would have half an inch to an inch taken off at Byron's in Lancaster or Diane Jowett (my tiny home village salon), then two inches in Misty Flips, right down to almost 4 inches in one of the smaller Coventry salons (with layers and excessive products).

'Trim' is not an acceptable unit of measuring. Insist, as I started to do when I still used salons, that it is a one inch trim (or your choice of measurement). Ask the stylist to show you before they start to cut what they think an inch is (get them to hold up finger and thumb and estimate. If they estimate too much, get them to make the gap between finger and thumb smaller to your specification. Then allow them to cut one small section with that chosen measurement. If that's fine, let them continue. If not, get out of there. It's better to be totally an*l about these things than wind up with a cut you can't stand. After all, does it really matter if a stylist thinks you're a hair-obsessed control freak? :D I know I would act like that to get the cut I wanted, if I didnt self trim.

Vitamins are a good idea as supplement to a healthy diet. I also know someone who uses Blackstrap Molasses for a supplement to help with anaemia and my mom uses it to help with fibromyalgia. I just think it's yummy :)

That turned into a rather long post... sorry.

[burns_erin]

If I were you, I would report them to the manager. Make sure I was refunded my money if you actually did pay. Then report them to the better business bureau, or whatever the equivalent is where you are from. Then I would also report them to their licensing board, (unless I am mistaken stylists/hairdressers are required to be licensed). Being proactive makes me feel better though.

And if I was really feeling mean I might stand outside their shop for a bit teling people all about how the stylist ignored my wishes. Pople pay better attention when you hit their pocketbooks.

[Dreamernz]

I totally understand the pain, shock and grief that you have suffered and that cannot be underestimated. The thing is you have found a community that feels the exact same way about hair in a way that nobody else does!! Hang in there!!! We will always be there to support you and get you through this while your hair grows back! HUGZ :cheer:

[Darkhorse1]

Been there, done that. Had below bra strap hair and they cut it to my shoulders. To me, a trim isn't inches. I wish we were like those dolls that you cut hair, then pull it and it's long again!

Hair dressers for me are VERY good in my area--they will take some hair and show you it before they cut. I've said to them 'about this much' and before I found my current hair dresser, they always clarified how much I wanted, showed me with their comb/fingers, hair in their hand and I said 'a little less'. They were almost too cautious, which I thanked them for. That was First Choice Hair cutters, so I can highly reccomend them in my area.

I asked a hair dresser about this once, and she said sometimes they take off more because they don't feel there will be a noticable change and that's usually what a client comes in for. I understand that, but people with long hair who come in for a 'trim' want long hair. Not a 'cut'.

Hugs to you!!!

[jera]

I wonder why people haven't sued hairdressers who've done things like this. I don't see much of a difference between the reasons other people sue and this....


I actually think that's a great idea. Wonder what Lawyer Girl has to say about this? :D

[Peggy E.]

Don't ever let anyone - including yourself - discount, or stamp all over, your emotions. You feel the way you FEEL and you are entitled to be upset, to cry, yell, curse when you've been mistreated, taken advantage of, or hurt in any way.

You owe no apologies - people owe apologies to YOU. It took you a long time to gain that length of hair, you enjoyed it and it was important to you. You specifically requested a set amount of hair to be trimmed and the person in whom you'd given your order, went ahead and ignored your request.

This is not a professional manner in which to behave and you should never return to this beauty shop. In addition, you should write the owner of the shop, explain your request, that the stylist blatantly ignored you, cut far too much hair off and not only will you never be returning to the shop, but you will advise family and friends not to frequent the establishment, as well.

There's nothing that can be done now, but the loss of future customers might assure that this won't be happening again. At least someone else might be spared the misery to which you've been subjected. I'm awfully sorry you've had to go through this.