Originally Posted by
Vara La Fey
No. I told the truth and I'm going to quintuple-down on it.
1. "Personal experience with a stylist or two"?? In fact, this over-cutting scenario keeps coming up over and over again with users on here. In my own experience it has been the rule almost without exception. It has been going on since the mid-80s at least. And since I decided to ignore all "advice" I've ever received from stylists, and replaced it with my own research and with the advice from LHCers, my hair is longer, healthier and looks better than it ever has in my life.
2. I was wrong to say that "most" stylists are sociopaths, because much more accurately most stylists are trained to follow a sociopathic sales plan, and for whatever reason they do it with gusto.
a) They sabotage their customers' explicit wishes and overall trust just to make more money for the salon - and if that's not sociopathic, you tell us what is.
b) I have been told, and I believe it, that they are trained to over-cut "so that the customer feels they got their money's worth" - if this is false, then you tell us why they consistently do overcut.
c) They routinely violate reality by hard-selling their customers into constant and completely unnecessary 6-week trims where they will continue to over-cut - if this isn't sociopathic, then you tell us why we need that trimming schedule.
d) They try to sell customers only on products whose sole defining characteristic is that their bosses made business deals with the distributors - if that isn't sociopathic sales tactic, then tell us why it isn't.
And I ask again: what other business can routinely violate customers' trust in so many ways and expect to get away with it?
3. Most stylists are under-trained and thus ignorant - if you want to glaze their eyes over, mention anagen, telegen or exogen. Even when I was keeping my hair short, I literally used to ask stylists anagen questions just for entertainment. All such ignorant stylists do not care to educate themselves beyond the minimum training required to get their license, and clearly much or most of their training is on sales rather than on hair. Wanna test this? See how many can pitch you on the latest Nexxus or Aveda crap their bosses sell, versus how many can tell you what a volatile or a water-soluble silicone is. I wonder how many keep an ingredients list on their phones so they can look up such things when asked.
4. Stylists are self-proclaimed hair "professionals", but the actual experts are here on LHC and/or are social media influencers like Sarah Ingle. These are experts with hair down to their knees, experts who routinely have no-trim challenges and who normally trim maybe twice a year without the challenges. They are experts who read science papers and educate themselves _without_ being paid for it. And they're experts who in general seem to follow little if any "advice" meted out by stylists. Poll them about this if you want.
5. On the very rare occasions someone finds a stylist who is competent and honest, keep going to that person. But I repeat that in the vast majority of cases you're better off avoiding all stylists you don't already trust. And I repeat this as well: if you need a stylist for a trim you can't DIY, try to find one who has hair like the hair you want. Then let them know if they take off more than whatever you ask, you will walk out without paying them. That's how I will play it in a year or two when I need a shaping trim that I can't do on my own.
Stylists are generally good for coloring and highlighting, and they're good for helping customers choose and maintain a short/medium length style. Those are important things to many people, and no question they're the bread and butter of salons everywhere. But these things do not invalidate what I've said in any way, shape or form.
Rant over, but rant mode on standby....
Re: waist to hip
MBL :: WAIST :: abyss :: hip:: TBL :: class
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Started: 13/11/2014.
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