Another Hair question

To all the hair stylists,

I recently went to a top salon and to get my hair permed.I was assigned a Senior Stylist. Since I could not explain what kind of perm I wanted(I don't speak the 'hair' language), I asked him if he had a hairstyle book I could see and show him what kind of look I wanted. He looked very insulted and hurt.Anyway,he asked me to trust him and did some perm and it did not turn out the way I wanted. So now thankfully they have offered to re-perm my hair free of cost. My question therefore is should I not ask for a reference picture to show what kind of look to go for? My re-perm appt is tomorrow, and I don't want to end up with the wrong look.

RA, unfortunatley some stylist do get a little 'insulted' when clients want to see books or reference materials. In my opinion I would be wary of any stylist who did not offer you this option. One of the things we struggle with here is to educate stylists on how to communicate with the clients. The idea is to achievt the same mental image as the client and this is the stylists responsablity. You are definately right to ask for references or at least go through some books and magazines with the stylist during the consultation. Some clients even come in with their own images and although they feel a little embarassed I like it. A visual reference sets a basic outline and gives the stylist a concrete direction. This also gives the stylist the opportunity to determine weather the image can be achieved or not.


So the simple answer is yes.....ask for as much and as many references until you feel the message and image is clear.

Douglas, I knew you would 'love' this topic. As we have discussed a couple of times, its one of those 'service' things that seems so hard to get accross here.

Thanks a ton D-Man and DG. I don't know if they will give me a refund, since they are re-doing the perming under the supervision of the 'Director' this time.The salon is one of the sponsors of this site. However, its always nice to get guidance from experts like you. Hoepfully I will get my money's worth.

RA, it is very rare that a salon would give a refund and I hope it works out. As you will be having another chemical treatment on your hair within a short period you may want to ask them about the hair condition or even ask for some kind or pre-perm treatment to protect the hair. If you can find some reference for them this time then definately show them first. I hope it works out how you want.

Hey D-Man & DL, well, I went to the salon today, the 'Director' came to examine my hair. Needless to say I told her, how I did not go thru any consultation the first time. She did spend some time asking about my lifestyle etc. Instead of re-perming, she gave me a Japanese protien treatment, 're-shaped (trimmed)' my hair and then blow dried it constantly curing it with a roller brush. I kept telling her that everytime I shampoo , I wont be blow drying with brush, but all she kept saying was "wow , your hair looks great with all the treatment" must have said atleast 5-6 times. Anyway, she gave me a free haircut and said that if I am not happy, I can come back to her again. Well, I left the salon looking different (with rollerset hair), but feeling a bit cheated. I don't know after washing,if it will stay the same. Needless to say, I will not be going back to the salon, even if I get free haircuts forever. I did spend a 3 figure amount the first time and still am not sure whether the time and money was worth it. All my fiends and family say I look 'different',and don't know how I will look after I wash my hair at home.


BTW, since I got my hair permed the first time, maybe you could tell me how to take care of it. What products to use, should I comb after washing etc.

Ra, ai.... sound like a short term solution for a long term problem. I am sure your hair is back the same way (potentially a little softer) after washing. It seems they did not really deal with the problem. Consideration should have been taken to how you style your hair yourself and this was obviously not done.

As far as taking care of your hair now and the issue with combing and such i will outline a few points and I know Douglas will elaborate with more great ideas soon. For me, i only sugest combing while you have conditioner on in the shower or when you wash your hair. You can lightly comb the hair after it is towel dried if you put any kind of leave in conditioner or reconstuctor in it but other wise no need. The less you mess with it the less chance you have for it to look out of control or frizz more. You should use some kind of curl enhancing product that enables the curst to separate a little while they dry, such as Screwed by Fudge. This just helps the curl look more structureed and less messy. There are also some good leave in conditioners such as Potion 9 you could use for a similar effect but less hold structure. I would use a moisture base shampoo and condition as the added moisture helps both the condition of the hair and to give a little control to the hair. Without seeing the curl stucture its hard to say if blow drying would help, as in natural blow drying as you dont want to be doing the round brush thing. This can (if done properly) create a nice structure to the curl but can also make the hair more frizzy and fluffy if not controled so often its best to let it dry more naturally. I hope that helps a little.

Thanks for both your response. After washing my hair, and leaving it to dry, my hair looked quite messy, frizzy and instead of curls, I now only have waves left. Anyway,this experience has not been good financially and time wise. I have now, decided to comb out my so called perm to make it more neater and grow out of it. I will wait for my hair to grow now (3 months) and will probably visit one of you for a consultation later. My quest for the perfect hairstyle and stylist meanwhile continues.

Douglas, mate i like the way you think.