Hairdressers Reveal What Everyone Should Know About Their Hair
Stevica Mrdja / EyeEm/ Getty Images

It can't be easy to be a hairdresser, stylist, or a barber. Clients can come in demanding the most fabulous hairstyles, and it's your job to tell them what they have sitting on their noggin can't be done up to look like the image of a celebrity they showed you on their phone. Everyone's different, but there's some good general rules to follow.


Reddit user, u/Palludane, wanted the deep dish on your follicles when they asked:

Hairdressers of reddit, what should everyone know about their hair?

Understand Their Position

I just want to know what to do if I want anything besides a trim or a crew cut. The few times I've tried to get something moderately styled, they had no idea what I was talking about, even if I showed them pictures. Honestly, I just have no idea what to really tell them either.

Any advice?

TechnicalDrift

Did you go to a barber and ask this? In my experience barbers tend to just cut hair, not exactly style it. What I have noticed is that there are many people who think a hair stylist and a barber is the same thing. I work in a hair salon and the head hair stylist has done many men's styles before.

Bylahgo

Get The Right Tools

Giphy

Learn how to properly use a round brush. I'm sick of people getting them stuck because they don't know what to do.

Also product isn't an option, especially when using thermal tools. It's necessary.

astrokhajiit

Regarding Color...

Don't box dye.

PM_ME_10M_FIREFLIES

Also professional dye jobs are expensive. Stop expecting to get your 3 ft. Long hair dyed entirely a different color for $50.

PostIronicTransHuman

Respect The Game. Respect The Price.

You should know that cutting three dimensional shapes into moving structures on three dimensional surfaces, none of which are ever truly symmetrical or the same as others, having had less than 5 minutes to even look at the texture, quantity, arrangement and distribution of said structures is F-CKING COMPLICATED and should be much more respected as a trade than it is.

I got a degree then later went back to hair school and the level of applied technical science is vastly underrated by the general public. Not even touching on the kind of Sherlockian sleuthery required to deduce the hair chemical history and predict accurate outcomes with bespoke mixtures of chemicals to match photographs of unknown origin, print quality, or photographic truth on completely other heads of hair.....

Basically I'm saying be good to your hairdresser and don't stress them out while they work, and appreciate and reward what they do for you and if you are already - stop being cheap.

fairiestoldmeto

Get That Coconut All Up In There

Most hair products contain some amount of alcohol. Alcohol will dry your hair and make it weak. If you use hair products that contain alcohol you have to rehydrate your hair. I would recommend coconut oil, almond oil, black seed oil, or cocoa butter.

AlphaHelix007

Curly Q

As a dude with curls that dry out quick and if I don't use pomade or some sort of product my curls get frizzie, what would you suggest? I've always wanted to style my curls but I don't know how. They stick up naturally instead of lying down.

What am I doing wrong?

WritingScreen

Figure out your curl pattern type (3a, 4c, etc), don't wash too much, experiment a bit to find your best conditioner (based on your curl type!!) dry with a t shirt not a towel (and scrunch the water out gently!!). I use a curl creme (inexpensive) instead of pomade which cuts down on frizz and encourages curls without....crunch. Also if you can....silk pillowcases. I swear.

commieblairwaldorf

No One Likes Snow On Their Shoulders

Wtf do I do for dandruff? I'm tired of this sh-t 😂

kat5kind

Hibiclens aka chlorhexidine 5% soap will do it. Leave it on 5 mins. Keep out of eyes and ears. It is drying. Do it 2x a week.

ChucklesManson

Purple To Help The Blonde

For Bleach Blondes: to keep orange tones and awful "yellow" colour off your head, use Purple shampoo. Start with regular shampoo, then go in with a purple shampoo, leave in for a couple of minutes, and then rinse and condition.

The purple counter-acts yellow and orange and will go back to a lighter blonde. The longer you leave the purple in, it will go silver and then purple on lighter hair. This can have a cool effect or go badly so use slowly and steadily depending on each brand.

Do not leave in over night, I stupidly fell asleep with it in when I was a teenager and woke up to purple hair. That was fun.

OllieAlleOllio

Can't Do It In One Go

was previously a hairdresser and my sister still is.If you are wanting to dye your hair blonde from a really dark colour please do it in stages over a couple of months.like gradually dying your hair a ligher and lighter brown until you are readly for the bleach.

My sister is always complaining to me about people with very dark hair booking 1 appointment for platinum blonde.they alwasy just insist on straight bleaching but bleach on dark hair goes orange.

bumblebuzz94

Instagram Is Not Real Life

Hairdresser of 12+ years here!

1. Adjust your expectations. Whatever you're looking at as inspo on Insta probably was done by a celeb stylist who charged $800+ for a day-long session. It's also probably edited and 'shopped for likes. This is a huge problem in the industry because a client just sees the before and after and assumes it's done in one 2-hour regular hair appointment. Transparency is important!!

2. We really do love what we do and want you to be happy. If you're not happy, just let us know so we can fix it. It is much better, for the most part, to see the same stylist to fix it. They know your hair history already and can make the most informed decisions. Stylist-hopping means each person is starting from scratch and you will keep paying more and more money for a re-do that is less likely to succeed

3. Old people can grow mold behind their ears. Hygiene is important!

4.Professional retail products are totally worth the price -- but if you can't afford it, Sally's is your next best bet.

dietcokepizzaplease

We're Like Doctors. For Your Hair. Just Be Honest.

When your stylist asks you what you have put on your hair, BE HONEST. We ask because we want to protect the integrity of your hair not because we want to gripe at you.

Also, black to Blonde in one appointment is not going to happen. EVER. And it's going to be expensive.

Edit: hairstylist 17 years.

lostbg

Seriously. Honesty.

I really hope someone sees this and has an answer

Hairdressers, how do I politely say I don't want to talk while getting my hair cut?? It's seriously my main stressor when it comes to getting a hair cut to the point where I just won't get one for a long time just to avoid the small talk I need to endure. How do I politely say that I want to just read a magazine or something???

christineteigen

Just say it! "I hope you don't mind, but is it alright if we skip the chat? I'd like to take this time to relax/read/enjoy the quiet." Of course you'll need to tell them what you want, but after that, it should be fine. Some stylists are also more quiet and reserved but feel compelled to talk, as that's the norm (ie, me). It could be a very welcome change for them!

dietcokepizzaplease

Hey Curly! Here's A Checklist!

PEOPLE WITH CURLY HAIR

  • Water Is you friend. Drink. Put in you hair. It is your FIRST AND PRIMARY MOISTURIZER.
  • Other products as Cream, Leave-ins are Oils are moisturizer/sealers for the water that's already in your hair so it doesn't dry and break. I use the LCO Method. Water - Leave in to seal water - Cream to seal Leave In and Oil to Seal the Cream. But it could be as simple as Water and Oils.
  • GOOGLE PROTECTIVE STYLES. Start to learn how to braid your hair.
  • Use a Satin Scarf/pillowcase when you sleep. It's a f-cking life saver.
  • Stretching your hair is a good method to avoid single strand knots because you are stretching your curl patterns and we all know, more curls = more knots.
  • DEEP CONDITIONERS ARE IMPORTANT.
  • Detangle is a hard process and annoying but it is important to be gentle with your hair at this moment so don't do it when they are dry and don't do it when you are tired !
  • FOCUS on your ENDS when you apply products. They are the oldest part of your hair and you want to treat them good.
  • CUT YOUR ENDS. DEAD ENDS ARE DEAD AND THEY WILL JUST BREAK YOUR HAIR MORE JUST SNIP SNIP THEM.
  • DRINK WATER, USE WATER, BE WATER
  • SHOW YOUR CROWN AND BE PROUD OF IT. (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

YukiSamaAnime

Monitor The Product

I've certainly heard about not washing every day, but what if you use a styling product? Seems like if you're going several days just water rinsing and adding more product, things would get funky.

spiderborland

Are you a guy/ do you have short hair?

If your product is water-based (water being the first ingredient) it'll come out with just water.

If it's oil based, that's another story.

HabitualSnubnose

A Rapid-Fire List...

So my wife is a stylist and I'm going to list the things she rages about when people f-ck up their hair.

  1. Box color was invented by an evil wizard who only wants to f-ck up your hair.
  2. If you have dark hair and want to go light, it's going to take a while. To look good it's going to take several visits. Roots apparently are different. If you get your hair blond, taking care of the roots can be done in one visit.
  3. Sit f-cking still. You are only f-cking up your hair.

DrProfessorSatan

...And A Few More For The Road

Giphy

Hairdresser: a couple things,

1. Don't wash your hair every day. Super important. If you can go 3-5 days that's ideal. It takes time for your scalp to adjust and every scalp is different, but for most people you need to allow the natural oils that your head produces to travel down the hair. It really helps keep your hair healthier longer.

2. Product DOES matter, things like sulfates and parabens completely strip your hair, making the cuticle more exposed and therefore more frizzy and damaged.

3. Always always used a heat protectant if you're putting any heat on your head. This really makes a difference, long term heat use is incredibly damaging. From the moment your hair grows out of your head, it will only get more damaged.

4. Trim your damn hair! As I said above, you can take the absolute best care of your hair, and hair that is 3-4 years old or older is always going to need a trim. It's [exposure] to you just living your life is damage enough for it to warrant a trim. Don't wait because you want it longgg, it will break off and that's not going to help you in the long run.

5. Men: WASH AND CONDITION your beards! It's hair, it collects dirt and oil just like our scalp but it's also on your face. Condition helps the coarseness of the beard hair feel much softer, you can use any products on it you use on your scalp, unless you have very sensitive skin, then I would use something recommended for beards specifically!

curiouswritten

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