The Student Room Group

Why do hairdressers hate curly hair?

About a month ago I went for a hair cut. I love having curly hair, so I was a bit annoyed at the hairdresser's attitude. "Right" she said, lifting up a curl with two fingers, "let's see what we can do about this then." And she made a total hash of it, cutting it so that it stopped curling properly, and the top layer turned into a bit of a frizzy mess.

So I went to a different place today to get it sorted. Seemed really good - she sat down with me before she started and filled out a form that had questions like "what would you like changed about your hair", "what do you like about your hair" etc. To EVERY question (just to hammer the point home) I essentially said "I like having curly hair, I'd like it more curly please" rephrased.

And of course her response to this was to use a shampoo and conditioner called "stay straight" (which I only noticed afterwards), and then to blow dry it straight. And yes, I know, I should have said something. But once it clicked I kinda thought, oh well I'll have it straight for a day, twill be a nice change. Also, I am one of those people that's essentially incapable of saying something is wrong. It's a flaw - I'll work on it. I think it looks good, but it's pretty much the direct opposite of what I explained I wanted. And more importantly, she probably cut it to minimise the curl - specifically what I went there to get corrected (and I said this several times).

But what's with this? Is it that they don't teach them how to cut curly hair properly at hairdressing school, so the sight of it freaks them out (like when a customer at work asks me for a demonstration of the espresso machines)? Or do they think that everyone's ambition is poker-straight hair? That she thought I was complaining about the curls? I'm baffled.

Felt good to get that off my chest! Anyone else experienced this attitude, or am I paying for misdeeds in a former life (maybe I once strangled someone with my hair and so now I'm being driven towards eventually chopping it all off out of sheer frustration as punishment)?

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Reply 1
Urm Im guessing that they think its harder to maintain? Not sure you should ask them.
But that's my problem, not theirs. And besides, it isn't. It's a hell of a lot easier since there's no blow-drying or straighening.
Reply 3
Friends of mine who have curly hair (damn you lucky pretty curly hair people :hmmm:) haven't really mentioned any problems with their hairdressers, but then I don't really know that many.
Did you pay for this second trip? Go back and ask them to sort it out ;yes; Especially considering that you wrote it in several times and repeated it enough times for her to have understood you.
*puts hand up*
I've gone through that.. it really does suck :hmmm:
They once cut my hair into several layers so it looked like I had a mop on my head.. oh the humiliation :ninja:

but I have never had a decent 'for curly hair people' haircut ever! - I always go for the standard, longer than shoulder length - half circle cut, no bangs, front bits upto the edge of my chin :smile:
I hate having curly hair because I can never do anything with it!

Every time I get it cut, they do a generic layered, good-for-straight-hair cut, that always either loses all shape when the hair goes curly or makes the curliness so much worse (ie. a frizzy, shapeless mess). And whenever I get any amount of length taken off, it looks terrible unless straightened. Which is kinda weird, as my last hair dresser said he wanted to maximize my curls and give me something to 'flaunt' and 'be proud of'. Did he? Nope. Mop like mess unless straightened.
I've always been lucky with my hairdresser. She has always managed to cut my hair in a way which has kept my curls. However, as it's pretty long now it's not as curly as it has been...

There are hair magazines available solely for curly hair, or just look in hair magazines for examples of curly hair and show it to your hairdresser the next time.
Curly hair should actually be cut while dry.

naturallycurly.com has a directory of curly-friendly hairdressers... though not a lot in the UK... but you can ask on the message board for someone to recommend you one.
Reply 8
I'm inclined to think that it has a lot to do with the fact that most hairdressers habitually cut hair when it's wet. If you cut curly hair while it's wet, it'll get weighed down and won't hang in quite the same way is it does when it's dry (in fact, even though my hair's really quite curly, it goes poker-straight when it's wet) so once they've cut it and blow-dried it a lot of the time it'll look completely different (and possibly awful). It's much less predictable than cutting straight hair.

That said, I maintain my own hair between proper haircuts, and half the time I just go haphazardly at it with a pair of scissors trimming off the bits that annoy me, and it always looks fine - it's curly enough that it hides the mistakes. I reckon if hairdressers would only agree to cut it dry they might not be so opposed to it.
Reply 9
I didn't have my hair cut for the exact reason. I like it too much for me to have some silly hairdresser hack and slash it to poop.
Reply 10
One of my friends had a similar problem for a while, she has the curliest hair I've ever seen and I don't think many hairdressers know how to deal with it, for whatever reason. Her latest haircut looks great though, the girl who did it also had really curly hair so must have had a much better idea what to do with it. So maybe in the future try to find a hairdresser with similar hair? Or even ask at reception when you're making the appointment if there's anyone particularly good with curls. They'll probably lie and give you someone crap if they can't think of anyone but maybe it's worth a try.
Reply 11
StarryEyedSurprise
For some reason, hairdressers seem to completely ignore what the customer wants. You have to be firm with them, or not go at all. My type of hair grows very slowly, and I went to get it straightened once. Me and my mum both told her about twice that I didn't want it cut. Guess what she did?


they really don't listen do they

i have to say although the last hairdresser i went to kinda cut bits of my hair too short, he did still keep the longest length there and the cut's brill. so it's not always so bad

as for the curly hair thing, i imagine it's probably just because it's harder to handle? or perhaps they're not very creative when it comes to curly hair. with straight hair there are all sorts of cuts and styles you can experiment with
Reply 12
Most don't seem to be able to follow instructions with straight hair, either. I often end up with some silly feathering or "volumising" or something, meaning that my hair looks awful and it's a real pain to try doing anything to it afterwards! Grrr....it gets very annoying when they try to give it more volume after I've spent years developing a technique to reduce it's natural poofiness :mad:

There's only 1 hairdresser I've found who can follow instructions, or even create a style that suits me.... Hence why I've not had my hair cut for about 7 months! I now refuse to pay silly prices to be ignored when I can spend about £4 for a decent cut and a friendly chat.
Reply 13
My hairdresser insists on giving me a side fringe even though my hair is so fine that it looks ridiculous and the "side fringe" parts in a frantic attempt to make its way back into its natural middle parting.

Anyway, OP maybe you could try an afro hairdresser if your hair is really curly?
Reply 14
Mine has a small amount of natural curl which is just a pain coz its nither one nor the other. I spend ages trying to straighten it...If I get it dam during the day I just curl up again....so annoying.
Most people I know with curly hair don't blow dry it so I guess the hairdressers are at a loss because they can't really let you walk out of the salon with wet hair. I have straight hair and my hair dresser always offers to curl it instead of straightening it *confused*
hmmmm i just booked my perm (4th or 5th one, i LOVE having curly hair...straight hair is sooooo rubbish) and she asked if i wanted a blow dry....they wont do it straight will they?....obviously im hoping they wont...
Reply 17
I've never been to a hairdresser since I was like...8.
I love my curls, and hairdressers must stay clear XD
hairdressers are maniacs with straightners.
Anyone with curly hair needs to try these products.. they made my hair look amazing.

http://naturalfrizz.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=210