Question : Getting a trim for the first time

[Razor]

Well Ive been growing my hair for about 3 years now (straight out from a skinhead), but I have never had a trim before, I think I'm long overdue one, So I am thinking of going for one.
What I'm not sure of is,... should I go with freshly washed hair ? should I detangle before going ? should I apply products as normal to my hair before going for a trim/cut ? What sort of price and quality of service should I expect ?
y'know that sort of stuff.

Any help/advice would be super appreciated.
Cheerz :D

[2peasinapod]

Welcome to LHC:)

You should have clean hair, but freshly washed hair is hard to work with (I normally wash my hair the day before). You should definitely detangle. You shouldn't use any products, because some places wash your hair (you can request not to or bring your own products) and they need to see your hair in it's natural state anyway.

Since I don't live in Scotland, I can't help you with the price, but make sure that you're very specific about how much you want cut off. Tell them, show them with your hands, have them show you if they don't seem to understand, etc. Make sure to tell them you're growing your hair out, too.

Also, since you're 2C/3A, you should probably get your hair cut dry and get a little less trimmed off then you think you need. That way, you can see the shrinkage. You can always ask them to take more off if it's not enough.

Good luck!

[spidermom]

I like to have my stylist wash and condition my hair, then I do the comb-out.

[Long_hair_guy]

Agreed with 2peasinapod

Make sure that you tell them that you only want a trim. Most hairdressers will cut off more then you want. You can go in with your hair in any state you want. I have been in with my hair looking pretty bad.

Well I live in the north of England and I pay around 15 to 20 quid for a trim. So aim for that amount

[terryn]

As far as price goes, it varies greatly and depends on where you are and how much you want to spend, basically. I usually go to a cheap salon and pay $11, but I've had $40 cuts before, and it was worth it at the time because my hair was short and needed very specific cutting, I don't think you need this if you are going to just get it straight across. However, with hair that is curly, it seems a lot of the very low-end places are relatively inept, not that I know from experience, but that is what I have heard, so you might want to try somewhere with slightly better stylists. The plus I have found to the cheap places is they just do what you tell them to, whereas with more expensive places you are partially paying for their opinion/expertise as well.

Also, if you are specific about washing your hair, then definitely do it yourself. I agree with doing your own detangling, you never know if someone is going to gently comb out, or rip a brush through the tangles. Also, I agree with no product/styling, if you do, they will probably want to wash your hair to get it out so they can see what your hair actually does on it's own. They will also offer to put some product in it for you on your way out, so if you need to go somewhere afterwards then you don't need to worry about that.

Best of luck!

[kmangus]

I was always told to trim dry. This is because the hair is easily stretchable when wet and you could accidentally trim off too much. In my opinion, only I can give my best trim. So i use Faye's Trimming Method (http://community.livejournal.com/feyeselftrim/) :) and best of all, its free!!