Just say no!

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Just say no!

by Anon
(Tuscaloosa, AL)

Is it ego? What would make a hair dresser "try" to cut your hair, when you have explicitly asked "do you know how to cut curly hair?"

I am a black woman with a relaxer - or "re-texturized" hair, as they say. (I don't think people around here know what re-texturized means, but with a relaxer, I can wear my hair short and curly with a minimum of fuss, so I'm happy. or at least I was).

I believe that anyone with the training should understand how to cut hair - straight or curly, relaxed or otherwise. Okay, maybe that's where I'm naive.

In any event, I bopped into an Ulta, told them what I wanted and ended up butchered.

They asked me multiple questions. I thought we understood each other, but now I realize that all this disaster could have been avoided if the hairdresser had just said "no" when I asked if she knew how to cut curly hair.

She claimed she understood because *she* had curly hair. She doesn't cut her own hair, so how would she know? I have met numerous women in my time who have fabulous cuts from people who take the time to go (basically) curl by curl and get the different areas of the head to work together. WHY CAN'T I FIND ONE OF THESE "ARTISTES"?!

Now I've gone from carefree hair to needing all kinds of products and time just to look like a human being. Oh, and btw "thinning" is not a substitute for the curl-by-curl process that results in a good cut.

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Just say no!

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Suggestion
by: Anonymous

This has happened to me so many times. Most people just don't know how to deal with curly hair.

It says you are from Alabama. I am too. If you ever get the chance you should try Hair Centre in Pell City, Alabama on Cogswell Avenue. That is where I go. After tons of terrible butchered haircuts I went to Hair Centre and was soooo happy. They are the only ones I will let near my hair now.

So just a a suggestion I thought I would share.

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Not really the same
by: abstractsoul7@gmail.com

Take this as you like but "curly headed white girls" have no clue as to what "nappy headed black girls" go through.

Because of the curl pattern African-American hair often appears dry due to the lack of reflective textures. This leads to the overuse of heavy products that are more damaging then helpful. While "non ethnic" women can use products designed for ethnic hair, it rarely works the other way around. I say rarely because Aveda creates some amazing products that cover all textures.

While the texture of Jewish hair (I'm sure that's not PC but, sorry) could be considered similar to ethnic locks, the truth is that certain curl patterns require certain "helping aids", and test driving others just leads to a hair accident that could be avoided.

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Curl Artists
by: Anonymous

Well, I've found the best way to find people that know how to cut curly hair is to be nosy. So for example if I see a salon I like, I will ask them if they have any stylists who are TRAINED to cut curly hair.

Trained is the key word here because good hair stylists will maintain their credentials in the field, meaning they will go to training on, for example, techniques for cutting curly hair. One big trainer that I personally trust immediately is Devachan (Training is called DevaConcepts).

Here is a great example of a salon showing the credentials of their stylists:

http://www.salonat10newbury.com/boston_hair_stylist.aspx (note Dailin Davila in particular)

I also happen to know a couple websites as well that are super helpful as far as finding referrals:

This one through Devachan:

http://www.devaconcepts.com/findsalon_intro.html?url=http%3A//blipstar.com/store.jsp%3Fcd%3D1106/105767022774%26hl%3Den%26rds%3Dyes%26sn%3D5

This one through naturallycurly.com:

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlsalons

Hope that helps!

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Right there with you!
by: Anonymous

OMG, I am SO right there with you!

I have very coarse, VERY curly brown hair - and with the birth of my children, I didn't have the time to fool with it so I cut it super short.

Late last year though, I decided to grow it back out - and slowly but surely it DID grow.

About five months in, my hair started to look like a mullet, so I went in to someone just to even out the length so it would all grow together. She swore up and down she knew EXACTLY what I meant, and of course she could cut curly hair because she had curly hair too.

Thinking we were on the same wavelength, I took off my glasses (at her request) so she could cut it. Now, I HATE it when I have to do that, because I'm so blind without my glasses I can't see in the mirror what the stylist is doing, but hey, she had the same texture hair as me (or so it looked to my eye), so surely she could be trusted....

Thirty minutes later when I put on my glasses again, I found she'd cut it into a 1980's style WEDGE. A WEDGE??? On coarse super-curly hair? Are you KIDDING ME???? What self-respecting, curly-hair-knowledgeable stylist would do that????

Needless to say, it proceeded to poof out crazily, giving me the dreaded pom-pom frizzy look. Holy cow - the wedge didn't even look good in the EIGHTIES, for goodness sake (I know - I had one) ... and now it's 2008!!!

I went to someone else to see if she could fix it, and she was absolutely horrified that someone would cut my texture of hair in that absolutely INSANE style. She tried her best, but in the end the only thing left to do was cut it ALL OFF and start from scratch again. Five months of difficult in-between hair completely wasted.

So now here I am trying to grow my hair out AGAIN, and I'm sick at the thought of where I would be right now if the annoying woman would've just admitted she didn't have a clue how to cut curly hair.

I'm not getting it cut again for a good long while. And the next time I DO go, I'm gonna wear contacts!

If anyone knows of one of those elusive curly hair expert stylists in the Tacoma area, I'm listening. I've been looking for over six years and haven't found one yet.

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Submitted by: Anonymous

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OMG, I am SO right there with you! I have very coarse, VERY curly brown hair - and with the birth of my children, I didn't have the time to fool with it so I cut it super short. Late last year though, I decided to grow it back out - and slowly but surely it DID grow. About five months in, my hair started to look like a mullet, so I went in to someone just to even out the length so it would all grow together. She swore up and down she knew EXACTLY what I meant, and of course she could cut curly hair because she had curly hair too. Thinking we were on the same wavelength, I took off my glasses (at her request) so she could cut it. Now, I HATE it when I have to do that, because I'm so blind without my glasses I can't see in the mirror what the stylist is doing, but hey, she had the same texture hair as me (or so it looked to my eye), so surely she could be trusted.... Thirty minutes later when I put on my glasses again, I found she'd cut it into a 1980's style WEDGE. A WEDGE??? On coarse super-curly hair? Are you KIDDING ME???? What self-respecting, curly-hair-knowledgeable stylist would do that???? Needless to say, it proceeded to poof out crazily, giving me the dreaded pom-pom frizzy look. Holy cow - the wedge didn't even look good in the EIGHTIES, for goodness sake (I know - I had one) ... and now it's 2008!!! I went to someone else to see if she could fix it, and she was absolutely horrified that someone would cut my texture of hair in that absolutely INSANE style. She tried her best, but in the end the only thing left to do was cut it ALL OFF and start from scratch again. Five months of difficult in-between hair completely wasted. So now here I am trying to grow my hair out AGAIN, and I'm sick at the thought of where I would be right now if the annoying woman would've just admitted she didn't have a clue how to cut curly hair. I'm not getting it cut again for a good long while. And the next time I DO go, I'm gonna wear contacts! If anyone knows of one of those elusive curly hair expert stylists in the Tacoma area, I'm listening. I've been looking for over six years and haven't found one yet.

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Curls are cool
by: baldness cure

I really like curls and am quite envious of those who have natural ones.

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Yup!
by: Anonymous

Even though I am not black, I (and probably many others) relate to your experience on so many levels because I am a curly hair girl as well.

I too have been butchered by fool stylists who try straight hair techniques on my curls! The best dos I've received have been by stylists who cut my hair while it's dry or lightly misted, not wet. This way they can see what the end result will be right then and there. My curls are tight and loose on different parts of my head, so if it's cut while wet you have no idea how it will come out.

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Just say no!

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Just say no!