Emily SmootIt was just the one time, but Phyllis Cabe listened to her hair stylist and walked out of the studio very unhappy.
“My daughter, Christie, was going to beauty school a few years back and she said, ‘Just trust me, Mom.'” recalls Cabe, who lives in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. “I did, and my hair wound up being about one-inch long all over my head. It was bad.”
Emily Smoot found herself sporting a nightmare style as well.
“The goal was Meg Ryan’s ‘do from ‘City of Angels,’ but I ended up with Joey Lawrence from ‘Blossom’ – the result of a few beers and a college roommate that worked in a salon,” says the Chattanooga resident. “I wore a hat for the next six months.”
So you think the recent Jennifer Lawrence-inspired short hair cut will look good on you? Maybe back in the day you wanted to try the “Rachel,” the hairstyle worn by Jennifer Aniston in the first few years of “Friends.”
If you’re a guy, perhaps you want to try the top knot or the bowl cut or an emo fringe.
Stop.
Before you chop off your locks or bathe them in a bizarre color, consider consulting with a stylist first. You might find that the style you want simply doesn’t fit your face shape, for instance. And, of all the mistakes that can be made on one’s hair – and there are a lot – a cut is the hardest to correct, says Brittney Ogle, a stylist at Studio La Vie in Riverview.
“Mistakes with color can always be fixed – unless it’s burned – because color can be adjusted. The underlying tones can be neutralized out. But a cut is a different matter,” she says.
If a client comes in wanting something truly different, she tries to convince them to take baby steps.
“When a client wants a dramatic change in length, I’ll suggest cutting off a little at a time because once I cut, I can’t put it back on,” Ogle says. “I’d rather take less first and then ask the client if the length is good or do they want more cut off.”
If the client is adamant, though, she follows their instructions – and it’s not always pretty.
“I make sure they know that they’re making the decision,” she says. “I had one lady who kept telling me she wanted more cut off and, when I finally finished, she cried. She was pregnant and I know the hormones were kicking in, but she knew that she’s the one who wanted me to keep cutting.”
Whenever a customer is dissatisfied with a cut, color or style, Ogle says she wants the person to discuss the problem with her rather than leave the salon unhappy.
“It won’t hurt my feelings that the client doesn’t like something I’ve done, but I’d rather talk about it, make them happy and stay with me rather than go somewhere else,” she says.
And yes, Ogle has had to correct another stylist’s mistake.
“Most of the time, it’s the color someone is unhappy with,” she says. “And also, some stylists don’t listen to what their clients want. They just go ahead and do their own thing, which is the biggest mistake that someone in my profession can do.
“I will suggest something to a client, but if she or he is not OK with it, I’m going to go with what they want. When someone walks out of the studio, I want them happy.”
Stylist Doyle Francisco, owner of Studio La Vie, says it’s mostly color mistakes that people want correct. Techniques such as balayge, which paints sunbleached highlights into hair without making itself obvious, or ombre, in which the bottom of the hair is lighter than the top, should not be attempted by rookies.
“Usually it is an inexperienced stylist that is trying to do something they don’t know how to, like balayage, vivid colors or ombre,” Francisco says. “These techniques need training.
“One nightmare was a girl that had tried to go from black and silver ombre to a natural blonde. She came to us with orange/yellow at the root and then grey and orangish spots throughout the hair.”
They managed to repair the mess, she says, “and she loved it when we finished.”
Correcting color is one thing, fixing a bad cut is another.
“Some things you just can’t fix, but a lot of cuts can be salvaged,” Francisco says. “One woman had a huge layer in the back that was four inches shorter than all of her other hair and wasn’t blended. I took that layer and blended shorter layers into it and thinned it to blend in. The bottom layer was so thin that it could not be layered anymore and that was all we could do until it grew out.”
And then there are perms. Mary Crain of Chattanooga won’t be getting one. Been there, done that.
“I remember getting a perm – in the 1980s – with the yellow curlers, the smallest curlers made,” she says. “I looked worse than Little Orphan Annie. I had to use a pick. I finally had to use a curling iron every day until it grew out.”
Jennifer Trewhitt of Lookout Mountain recalls a perm she got in junior high school in the late 1960s. She calls it “the perm from hell.”
Francisco says she’s hearing a resurgence in women wanting perms. She’s not a fan.
“I had three people ask about perms this week. I am not sure if that is going to come back with a vengeance, but I will personally hide out until that awful trend is over.”
Trends
In the past, hair trends have largely been driven by famous people, musicians and social media, but recently they’re sharing the responsibility with Pinterest and Instagram, Francisco says. That’s not always a bad thing because they can bring in photos of the cut they want, she says, and “can show you what they would like, especially if it is a big change.”
However, not everyone can pull off particular trends.
“Styles are typically famous because they do work on a large amount of people, like the Jennifer Aniston cut. Her cuts are never dramatic or out there. They are classic and versatile,” Francisco says.
“There are other cuts that famous people have that most people just shouldn’t do because they are not practical – like Katy Perry hair. Lots of people are going for the wild colors and pin-up style, but they are obviously not for everyone.”
Today’s trends include women shaving parts of their head or getting designs shaved in, a look that’s definitely not for everybody. Bangs are typically more trendy in winter than summer, she says, “and a lot of women are going with longer hair and layers.”
People of all ages also are “jumping on the extreme color bandwagon,” Francisco says. “Purple is the most popular, but multiple bright colors are huge as well.”
For men, just like women, there are trends they should ignore, reports esquire.co.uk, including the top knot, bowl cut, rat-tail, emo fringe and the mullet. However, in Chattanooga, the top knot continues to trend for men.
“Undercuts and extreme fades are huge along with top knots, shaved in parts, and lines,” Francisco says.
“And obviously beards are never leaving Chattanooga. The men are really stepping up the maintenance game on them, though. They are using beard oils and keeping them trimmed up instead of the caveman beards of the past.”
Whatever your gender, hair mistakes are often the result of a communication breakdown between the client and the stylist, Francisco says.
“Communicating with the client is key and pictures really help interpreting what the client is after,” she says. “There is a lot of terminology out there that people throw around, but they don’t always know what they are truly asking for. It is very important to do a thorough consult to get on the same page to prevent mistakes and misunderstandings.”
And when mistakes are made – and they are – talk to your stylist, don’t clam up.
“I personally like for someone to tell me if they do not like what has been done so steps can be made to fix them, especially if it is just a tweak,” Francisco say. “If your hair gets melted off (coloring mishap) or six inches instead of two got cut off, talk to the owner or manager immediately so they know what happened, and then you need to run for the hills.
“If you feel confident and comfortable letting someone else at that salon fix your hair, then go ahead. But if you are too traumatized to be there, then move on. Anyone that does something that bad shouldn’t be on the floor doing hair without supervision.
“Big mistakes can cost big money, but don’t skimp on that or you may end up in the same boat again,” she says. “Have the stylist talk to you about what you want done differently and listen to them intently. Trust your gut.
“Ask all the questions. Always be very open with your stylist. You are as much in the driver seat as the stylist. It is a dance and you both have to participate to get the results that will blow your mind.”
Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.