Bad haircut

I've been thinking of getting a pixie cut for a while now. This last week I'd been searching for video and photo inspiration and settled on a super short pixie. I like drastic changes and hair grows back.

Today I made an appointment at a nearby salon (which I hadn't been to but has good reviews on Google - 4.6 stars out of 30+ reviews). I went armed with two YouTube videos of girls with pixies like what I wanted.

This is what I asked for:



And I even specified that I didn't want it quite this short:



But that is not what I got. Not at all. (See attachment at the end)

I had to keep asking her to cut it shorter. And shorter. And shorter. And it's still way longer than I wanted.

To make it worse, at the end of the appointment, the hairstylist used another girl working in the salon as a translator to tell me that the girl in the video has wavy hair and I have straight hair, so her haircut wouldn't work on me.

Seriously?!?! You're telling me this at the end of the appointment!?!?!

If she'd said that at the beginning when I showed her the videos and explained what I wanted, I would have gone somewhere else or looked for a different haircut that would work with my hair. But she didn't say anything (she did try to suggested longer pixie cuts but I told her I wanted it really short and she didn't say that it wouldn't work). Now my hair is cut, my money is taken and my time (and her time) is wasted.

DH was surprised I wanted it as short as the first video, but said it was obvious that it's not the same haircut. He suggested going back and asking for a fix or a refund. I've done that once in my life (the last time I ever went to SuperCuts) but am really nervous about doing that here, especially since it's right down the road and I pass it on my way to the Tube.

I'm going to give it a day, wash it and see what I think. I'll at least give it a chance, but it's definitely not what I asked for.

On the positive side, at least it's longer that I want so it can be fixed.

On the down side, I've been on the verge of tears and sick to my stomach since I left the salon.

Anyway, can anyone recommend a good set of clippers?

I know you're not happy, and I totally understand that sick feeling you described from my own disappointments.  But I think the cut is cute.  Your eyes look huge (this is a good thing!).

It's not what you wanted, and I agree that she should have said something at the start if she knew the cut was wrong for your hair type.  But it's cute enough that there's no reason you can't go boldly into the world and strut.

Does your hair have any wave to it at all?  Could you use a styling product to encourage it?

I know you're not happy, and I totally understand that sick feeling you described from my own disappointments.  But I think the cut is cute.  Your eyes look huge (this is a good thing!).

It's not what you wanted, and I agree that she should have said something at the start if she knew the cut was wrong for your hair type.  But it's cute enough that there's no reason you can't go boldly into the world and strut.

Does your hair have any wave to it at all?  Could you use a styling product to encourage it?

Thanks.

I'm hoping I feel better about it in the morning. It's not a terrible cut, just not what I wanted. I really wanted it to be short enough to stay off my forehead without me having to push it back constantly. When I'm pushing it back all the time, I just clip it back and that's what I was hoping to avoid by getting this haircut.

I've got super fine, but thick hair. No wave, but some interesting flips depending on how it dries. The photo was blow dried at the salon, so it's not how I usually do my hair. By 'usually do my hair' I mean shampooing it and, if I'm lucky, blow drying it (only working about getting the part right - the rest can go helter skelter) and combing it.

DH also noticed that it's not even in the back.

Hey there,

I really feel your pain. My first cut here was probably as short as you wanted but cut badly on top of it. That was not what I wanted though.

Because it is not what you wanted, go back and tell someone in charge exactly what happened. You deserve to get the hair cut you want and as you still have length you don't want, I would go in.

You're hair routine sounds like mine. I hate spending a lot of time on my hair or even blow drying it...

You will need a hair product though, no matter how short you get it. If your hair is like mine (fine lots of it, used to dry stick straight back in the US) it will just dry flat to your head otherwise. I liked some of the tigi bedhead products when my hair was that short. You'd be good with a wax or a pomade though. Make sure youre happy with the smell before you buy! If you aren't used to hair products you'll smell it all day! Haha.

Make sure youre happy with the smell before you buy! If you aren't used to hair products you'll smell it all day! Haha.

Great advice on smelling it before you commit to a day of wearing it!  I hate days where I've tried a new product and the scent just follows me around all day long.  (Or days like today where my shirt maybe sat a little too long in the washer before I moved it to the drier, and has a faint smell of mildew.    )  I hate to smell me.

Also... Your two examples may have a slight wave to their hair but hair product would give you enough texture.

That stylist was full of sh*t. My bet is she didn't want to have you freak out about how short it would be after cutting it as short as the examples. When you want to get a pixie (especially a short one) you have to be particular about your stylist, which is annoying.

Both of these people ha e straight hair and the super short cut works.

You'll love this idea http://pin.it/pkCGFyE

You'll love this idea http://pin.it/nzwQNCk

Because it is not what you wanted, go back and tell someone in charge exactly what happened. You deserve to get the hair cut you want and as you still have length you don't want, I would go in.

You're hair routine sounds like mine. I hate spending a lot of time on my hair or even blow drying it...

You will need a hair product though, no matter how short you get it. If your hair is like mine (fine lots of it, used to dry stick straight back in the US) it will just dry flat to your head otherwise. I liked some of the tigi bedhead products when my hair was that short. You'd be good with a wax or a pomade though. Make sure youre happy with the smell before you buy! If you aren't used to hair products you'll smell it all day! Haha.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'll see how it dries tomorrow with my do-nothing lack of a hair routine and decide what to do. I really don't like putting product in my hair so was hoping a short cut with comb-to-the-side-while-blow-drying minimal effort would be doable.

My hair is fine, but thick and tends to have more volume when it's straight. I've been trying to envision how my brother's hair looks when it's short like I want. His is thick, too, so I'm guessing we've got similar hair. 

I work from home and I'm not too fussed about my hair, but it's just upsetting not getting what I asked for, especially when the hairdresser seemed to know she wasn't going to do it before she even started cutting.   

Also... Your two examples may have a slight wave to their hair but hair product would give you enough texture.

That stylist was full of sh*t. My bet is she didn't want to have you freak out about how short it would be after cutting it as short as the examples. When you want to get a pixie (especially a short one) you have to be particular about your stylist, which is annoying.

Both of these people ha e straight hair and the super short cut works.

You'll love this idea http://pin.it/pkCGFyE

You'll love this idea http://pin.it/nzwQNCk

I think that Anne Hathaway cut is what I was hoping for.

I really didn't want fringe. I can handle it for a while, but I've been pinning my fringe back daily for months now. That's my sign that I need a haircut. I was just going a bit more drastic that usual this time. Wisps I can handle, but this length fringe is just annoying (I'll admit it's only been about 8 hours and overall, the cut didn't exactly put me in a good mood).

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'll see how it dries tomorrow with my do-nothing lack of a hair routine and decide what to do. I really don't like putting product in my hair so was hoping a short cut with comb-to-the-side-while-blow-drying minimal effort would be doable.

My hair is fine, but thick and tends to have more volume when it's straight. I've been trying to envision how my brother's hair looks when it's short like I want. His is thick, too, so I'm guessing we've got similar hair. 

I work from home and I'm not too fussed about my hair, but it's just upsetting not getting what I asked for, especially when the hairdresser seemed to know she wasn't going to do it before she even started cutting.   

I've noticed some stylists seem to have a 'holier than thou' attitude. It's annoying. If she wasn't interested in cutting it as short as you wanted she should have said so rather than trying to give you a completely different style while you were in the chair.

I've had a similar length (on purpose and cut well) to what you wanted. You don't need to blow dry it, but to get the undone/piecey look of the Anne Hathaway cut, you will need a product when your hair is close to dry. Without it you will lose any and all texture in the cut. I bet we have similar hair.

I can't post a photo of my old haircut with my phone...

I have super fine hair and seeing that she could not give you the cut that you asked for, which is actually similar to mine, tells me she is shite of a hair dresser.



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I have super fine hair and seeing that she could not give you the cut that you asked for, which is actually similar to mine, tells me she is shite of a hair dresser.



Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

That's pretty much the cut I was expecting. Maybe a tiny bit shorter, but that's closer to what I wanted them what I got.

I might show whoever cuts my hair next your photo if you don't mind. Just to prove a real live human with straight hair can have short hair.

What do you do to style it?

I know nothing about hairstyles, but it is obvious to me that the haircut you got is not what you asked for.  NCTami's is exactly what you asked for. 
It's not you, it's them. 
I really like the smirk on your picture, says it all.

Are you feeling a little better today TF?  You just look so sad in your photo. 

I know nothing at all about hair/styling, (I never recovered from a bad cut as a young teenager and ever since, just have whomever cares to of my friends/family, cut the bottom few inches off every now and again) but it does look like all that needs to happen to get what you want is for you to get a bit more taken off by someone who knows what they're doing?   

I know nothing about hairstyles, but it is obvious to me that the haircut you got is not what you asked for.  NCTami's is exactly what you asked for. 
It's not you, it's them. 
I really like the smirk on your picture, says it all.

Thanks jimbocz.

Good to hear that it's not just me that thinks it's a totally different haircut.

I know it's easy to go into a haircut with a photo of fabulously done hair from a red carpet event and that's not realistic at all for normal people, but I thought I'd found videos of everyday folk with hair the length I wanted and not too styled. I guess the hairdresser felt differently.

I know they might have a bit of wave to their hair, but it's the general length I wanted and it was like pulling teeth to get her to go shorter. I eventually just gave up and hoped it'd be ok. I'm fully aware I'm not a professional hairstylist and they might know something that I don't know, but still.

Are you feeling a little better today TF?  You just look so sad in your photo. 

I know nothing at all about hair/styling, (I never recovered from a bad cut as a young teenager and ever since, just have whomever cares to of my friends/family, cut the bottom few inches off every now and again) but it does look like all that needs to happen to get what you want is for you to get a bit more taken off by someone who knows what they're doing?   

I'm about to hop in the shower and I'll see how it looks afterwards. Yesterday she blow dried it with a round brush but I literally just use my fingers if I blow dry so I'll see how it looks when I do it.

I'll probably go back and see what they say. DH think someone else there should recut it or I should get my money back. I really don't like confrontation and I'm terrible at defending myself, so I'm not looking forward to this at all. It doesn't help that they didn't give me a receipt, but they do have my name and number written down in their appointment book and it's quite a small salon so one or both of the same people will probably be there again.

It does seem like an easy fix - take more off the top and straighten the back. DH said it's uneven in the back. I can't physically see it and at my appointment she didn't give me a mirror to look at the back like they usually do, so I have no idea what's going on there but I'm taking his word for it.