Beauty School Drop Out?

Matt and I have an agreement. Every other haircut I go the beauty school. I think of it as community service and Matt thinks of it as a money saving plan. I don't mind going because I figure that my hair grows quickly enough and it is just a cut. I never get a perm or color (that could go terribly wrong).

I am spoiled by my hair. I have had the same haircut most of my teenage and adult life. Truth be told I currently have the same haircut I had as a toddler. The reason I have had the same haircut most of my life is that it works so well for me. With a good cut I have to use no product, don't have to do much if any curling, just blow it dry (don't even have to use a brush while drying it) and if I get caught in a hurricane I simple run my fingers through it.

Notice that I said with a good haircut? That is not what I got at the beauty school in November. I got a bad haircut. My usual hairdresser had warned me once that often in the beauty school the students overdue it in order to impress. My beautician even told me exactly what to tell them I wanted. I made the mistake of adding in a little extra thing. I call it stacking. It is just putting in a little half inch of layers at the base, sort of a bevel if you will. I used the word little when explaining it. I also used the word nothing extreme. When she showed me one of the other students with a layered haircut I told her I did not want anything that severe.

Apparently, I must have not made myself clear. Because I ended up with this.

This is what it looked like after a blow dry. Notice, no volume, it does not curl under, It is not short and it has layers. Lots of layers. In fact, she even poofed it way up in the back when she styled it.

Thank goodness I am not going to work at 6:30 am because it would always look like this.

After 15 minutes of curling and lots of product this is what I ended up with.

Now I know that for some of you 15 minutes and lots of product sounds pretty normal. But for a wash and dry girl it is torture. I ended up pulling up the sides most days and just curling the bottom layer.

I didn't wait my usual 2 to 3 months between haircuts this time. I just couldn't stand it. So earlier this month I went back to beauty school. I got a brand new student this time. I was worried. Then the instructor came and cut the guide line for her. She took a really long time to cut just the back of my hair. I think she may have been shaking. Then her instructor came back cut the sides in 30 seconds and I was done.

I have only a couple of complaints. First, my shampoo was luke warm at best. And second when she was drying my hair she used a bristle brush that she insisted on digging into my head. I know I need to speak up when stuff like that happens, but the poor thing seemed so nervous. So although my eyes were watering during the styling, I managed to not cry. But for $7 what can I expect.

I am very happy with the finished product so the hour I spent getting it cut was worth it I guess.

The moral of the story is that you should go to the beauty school and give the students some practice. Just follow these simple tips:

1. Be very specific

2. Use words like a little, minimal, just a bit, or better yet, use actual measurements in inches.

3. Tell them when you aren't happy with something. If you don't say anything they never get better.

4. Explain what you want to the instructor as well as the student. And when the instructor comes to check it tell her if there is something wrong.

5. Have them dry and style it. It is a good way to check how it looks and see if it is something you can keep up.

6. Don't be afraid to go back if when you style your hair the next day it isn't right. They will fix it at no charge and it can often be a learning experience for other students. (Yes, I have had to go back before)

7. Tip them if they do a good job.