c/hairdressers

A client in Seattle asked me to cut her hair like a picture from 1998

She brought in a photo of a layered, face-framing cut from a magazine she saved. I told her the style might look dated now, but she insisted it was 'classic'. I did the cut, and honestly, it looked good on her. Do you ever think some old styles should stay gone, or is it all fair game if the client wants it?

Serious question, why do so many people at home cut their bangs straight across?

I was watching a makeup tutorial on YouTube last week, and the creator paused to trim her own bangs. She just grabbed scissors and cut a harsh, straight line right above her brows. It made her face look boxy. I see this all the time with clients who come in for fixes. The issue is that a straight cut doesn't follow the natural curve of the hairline or face shape. Has anyone found a good way to explain this to clients before they grab the kitchen shears?

Just realized my color mixing method was slowing me down

I used to mix all my colors by eye at the station. It took forever and sometimes came out wrong. A friend showed me her pre-mixed shade cards. Now I have a system that saves time and reduces waste. My clients are happier with consistent results.

Mom's last-minute color changes were wrecking my schedule

Now I have her text me a week in advance if she wants something new. This gives me time to plan and stops our chats from becoming all about work.

Getting really into doing detailed hair taping on models for my portfolio

Honestly, I love how hair taping lets me add texture and detail without heat or product. But some stylists think it's too slow for a busy salon and clients might not go for it. Ngl, I've spent hours perfecting the weave patterns on practice heads. So, is it worth mastering as a special service or just a cool hobby thing?

A haircut in Lisbon made me rethink dry cutting

I was against dry cutting because I thought it damaged hair. Seeing how smoothly a barber there did it changed my mind. What travel experiences have changed your techniques?

Gel hairstyles won't stay for long hours

I'm into doing bold gel styles for client photos. The shapes lose form too fast. What's your go-to method for lasting hold?

My shears jammed on a client's super thick hair yesterday.

How do you cut through thick hair without hurting your shears?

Showerthought: My loud timer caused a bleach splash disaster that clients loved

I began timing haircuts to stay on schedule. The buzzer went off while I was doing highlights. I jumped and splattered bleach all over a client's hair. It created random light patches she thought were cool. She asked me to do it again on purpose. Now I use a quiet timer and sometimes copy the look.

My last three color fixes were all from the same Instagram trend

I keep seeing people try this ash blonde style from their feeds and it never goes right. They grab a box dye and end up with weird orange or green tones in their hair. One person came in yesterday with patches that looked totally fried from a video she watched. Fixing it takes forever and costs them so much extra cash. It's tough because they think they're saving money but really make a bigger problem. We gotta talk more about how these looks work in real life. Honestly, it's a bit of a headache but I'm glad to help them learn.

Filter dreams vs. salon reality: a client's blurry photo request

Honestly, I had a woman come in with a selfie so filtered her hair looked like shiny plastic. Tbh, she pointed at the screen and said she wanted that 'exact cloud-like volume' from the app. Ngl, I had to gently explain that filters add digital hair where there isn't any. We spent ten minutes with her zooming in on pixels while I showed her real hair samples. In the end, I gave her a voluminous blowout and she said it was 'close enough'. But guys, have you ever had to talk someone down from a filter fantasy?

My neighbor called me out for cutting my son's hair in the backyard, but I stand by it

I think doing home haircuts for family lets me bond and keep my skills fresh, even if many say it looks unprofessional.

I finally made a habit of checking water temperature before shampooing

Clients love the comfortable wash and my scalp irritation complaints dropped to zero.

Donating hair from the salon for oil cleanups is a small change with big impact

Vent: A client brought her toddler who decided to give my scissors a trim

The kid grabbed them off the station and snipped a chunk of her own bangs before I could react. How do you handle surprise interruptions in the middle of a cut?