Having a change in hairstyle should be a rewarding, satisfying, feel-good experience that leaves you with a great hairdo and boosts your spirits and self-esteem. Sometimes, however, you can come across the worst hair salon experience that you may not ever want to cut your hair again.

If this has happened to you, The Hairstyle Channel has some handy advice to get you back on the road to recovery and back into the salon chair.

You Had One Bad Haircut Experience a Long Time Ago

Bad Hair Colour

Having a bad hairstyle experience a long time ago can have lasting effects on you. For example, it could have been a bad color or permanent wave that has led you to believe that you should steer away from these salon services at all costs, and you have done so ever since. The truth is that chemical services have improved incredibly in the past few years and you could be robbing yourself of the chance to make life easier and more exciting, all because of a bad result many years ago.

Wrong Haircut

It could be a slight misunderstanding between you and your hairstylist, where the specific haircut or hairstyle you meant to communicate was perceived differently by them, and you got a different hairstyle altogether, but not necessarily bad. It just wasn’t exactly what you wanted.

Poorly Trained Stylist

Perhaps it was a bad razor cut that has led you to believe incorrectly that your hair is the type that cannot be razored. What if this is not true? What if it was a poorly trained hair stylist that just got the whole thing wrong? It’s pretty hard to know these sorts of things without having done a course in hairstyling, so what we suggest here is that you keep an open mind if a hairstylist ever makes a suggestion to you about trying something that might not have worked for you before.

There are so many reasons and factors that give bad hairstyling experience, they can include the following:

• bad communication between you and your stylist where the wrong message has been sent and understood on both sides
• incompetent skill or lack of care on behalf of your hairstylist
• low grade/quality chemical products used by your hairstylist
• wrong, off the mark expectations from you
• wrong hairstyle choice that is not in line with your lifestyle needs
• you making a sudden impulsive decision that your stylist completely missed
• you were given a new hairstyle change too soon before you were mentally ready for it

You Have Had a Bad Hairstyling Experience More Than Once

Chemical Damage

If you have had a bad hairstyling experience more than once, then it’s probably left your confidence to try something new or even a variation of what you had done in a very fragile state. Depending on what the bad experience was, you can avoid it from happening again (such as chemical damage).

Miscommunication

However, a bad hairstyling experience is a combination of things that went wrong, not just one single thing. The whole episode most likely began on the wrong foot at the consultation stage. If the starting plan (the foundation) is wrong, then the hairstyle is doomed from the start no matter what happens thereafter.

You Regularly Have Bad Hairstyling Experiences

Considering that most people on an average visit a hair salon between 6-12 times per year, the chance of getting a bad hairstyle can be high. The fact that it is happening to you on a regular basis is unfortunate, but the good news is that it can be stopped and avoided. It’s important to not let any bad experiences stop you from trying new hairstyles and looks; they are after all, in the past!

You Have a Bad Hairstyling Experience Every Time You Visit Your Salon

If you have had a bad hairstyle experience every time then you could be excused for thinking that it’s just not worth the trouble to consider changing your hairstyle. It could just be a case of terrible luck, bad timing, or that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever the reason was, it would now be a good time to arm yourself with a new strategy to stop this from happening again.

Also, you can refer to: How Long Should You Think About a Hairstyle Change?

Consultation Gone Wrong

There are so many things that can happen and result in a bad hairstyle experience even before you start, and through our observations, the biggest reason has been bad consultation or a lack of communication between the client and the stylist.

It’s really all about what you understand versus what your stylist understands. Let’s use the example of soft waves. To you soft waves could mean a very slight bend in your hair. To your stylist, soft waves could mean soft curls. It’s to your advantage to make sure that you go to your hair salon armed with information and pictures about what exactly it is that you want. So, before going for hair stylist consultation, remember to share your ideas before.

Get Your Terms Right

Even if you are not totally sure exactly what you want, it’s still a good idea to have some thoughts (bits and pieces) about things, such as hair length or color. For example, using words like “to sit above, on, or below the shoulders” will set certain parameters that any hairstylist should be able to follow. Other things to discuss include how talented you are at reproducing the new planned hairstyle at home as well as your time factors and future hairstyling maintenance.

You do have an important role to play, and that is to get your message across in a clear, concise way. When choosing the best hair stylist consultation, be sure that they are on the same page as you and that they fully understand what you’re asking for, and that you probe them for anything at all that even slightly worries you.

Take Charge

Don’t settle for “leave it to me, I know what you want” if you feel that they have not listened. The rest will then be up to your stylist to use their expertise and knowledge to create that new hairstyle. Ultimately, they do know what’s best and it’s a good idea to listen and be guided by what they tell you, but only in consultation.

You need to try a new strategy when you visit your hairstylist. Use pictures and be sure to discuss what you do like and don’t like before any work is performed on your hair. If you are satisfied with your consultation first, then there is a very good chance your new hairstyle will be just right!

Finally…

So don’t allow past worst hair salon experience to stop you from trying something new. Understanding some of the reasons why you had to go through some bad experience can stop it from happening again.

Keep an open mind to things that could make life easier and more exciting and learn from your experiences, try a new strategy and then move on! The only thing that is worse than a hairstyle disaster is if it stops you from trying new styles and services forever that could make you feel and look wonderful.

Although we might not realize it, our attitude towards a new hairstyle and whether we think we deserve one or not plays an important role when trying to find a new look hair style. If you’ve been having trouble making the choice between a style, or whether to have your hair changed at all, it may actually be your attitude that is holding you back.

Scenario 1: I Deserve to Have a New Hairstyle

Well of course you deserve to have a new hairstyle! It’s good to see that you feel this way. A new hairstyle will make you feel even better about yourself, refreshed and new, and this will obviously have a positive result with anybody that is around you, such as your spouse, family, or friends.

How it affects you finding your new hairstyle: It is said that “attitude affects hairstyles.” Ensure that you will find the hairstyle that you want and deserve!!

Scenario 2: I Deserve a New Hairstyle, but Only After Everyone Else’s Needs and Wants Are Met First

It’s nice to see that you are a very caring and responsible person. There are for sure many things that are more important than getting a new hairstyle. There are mortgage repayments, food costs, school fees, health care costs, motor vehicle expenses, power, and water, just to name a few. These things are essential. They are important things that need constant attention and addressing or else problems are bound to occur.

For most people, it’s a struggle to just stay on top of their needs. Why else would you go to work or take that second job? It’s all because you have commitments to meet, perhaps dependants to provide for, and as a responsible person you set out to accomplish this goal. But now let’s move over to the second part of the question where the word “wants” is used, “Everyone else’s wants first before yours”.

Wants and Needs

Wants are different from needs. They are things that are not necessary or needed for short-term survival. Things that include games, music, entertainment, new clothes, and even find new hairstyles. So long as a “want” is not at the expense of depriving the needs of others, then it’s okay to do things that make you feel better.

Do you feel it’s wrong to indulge yourself or feel better until everybody else’s wants are fulfilled first? Why? Aren’t you entitled to the same as everyone else? Understand that:

• Everybody has a right to do and experience things that make them happy.
• An individual cannot continually rely on getting their pleasure from only seeing everyone else happy all of the time (the doormat syndrome). In all probability, this will not make you happy in the long run.
• If you occasionally indulge in things (a new hairstyle) that make you feel better, then this has a positive effect on you and everyone around you. Your wants are just as important as everyone else’s. How you feel affects you and everyone else around you.

How it affects you finding your new hairstyle: You need to give yourself more credit and put your wants on the same table like everyone else. You are just as important and deserve what everyone else does. You can find new hairstyle that suits your personality.

Scenario 3: I Really Don’t Deserve to Have a New Hairstyle

You should introspect and try to understand what makes you think you don’t deserve something as simple and basic as a new hairstyle. More often than not, there aren’t any plausible reasons or contexts that warrant your belief that you don’t deserve a new hairstyle. This literally translates to – you don’t deserve to feel good about yourself!

Also, you can refer to: Is a Bad Hairstyling Experience Putting You Off a Change?

Self-Critical State

You need to understand that what we are dealing with here is your current emotional state of mind that believes that you are not important and undeserving of a simple thing such as a new hairstyle that could quite probably make you feel better. You are not alone in feeling this way; there are many people all over the world that undergo similar phases and think the very same way in those times as you. Remember, attitude affects hairstyles and your personality too.

We recommend you try and understand why you are feeling this way. Is it because of years of self-neglect where you actually now believe you are worthless? When people listen to their inner dialogue and they constantly hear this negative recording that tells them how unworthy they are of happiness over and over, in time it becomes a frightening reality. Your inner thoughts dictate your behaviour and state of mind.

Toxic Environment

If you have people around you telling you that you are not worthy of happiness then that qualifies as emotional abuse. Understand that it’s not right if they are trying to control your thoughts and behaviour. By agreeing to all their demands or opinions and behaving the way they want you to, you in effect give them power and control over you.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.  – Eleanor Roosevelt.

Is this negative feeling because of a bad past experience that you have not yet dealt with? There could be some bad things that happened to you a long time ago that now make you feel unworthy of any indulgence or happiness. If this is the case, then you should seek professional help to deal with the problem. The first step is to acknowledge that you do have a problem that is causing you distress, then to seek the proper help. Only then can you start to think and feel positive about yourself.

How it affects you finding your new hairstyle: You need to question yourself and then try to understand why you feel that you don’t deserve a new hairstyle. You do deserve a new look hairstyle. Unfortunately, unless you sort out your negative inner feelings, a new hairstyle will probably only make you feel guilty and unhappy once it’s done.