One of the cool things about graduating from college and earning your own money is that you get to splurge on what you want. I read a looooong time ago that every woman needs a good hair stylist and should be willing to pay the money for it. I totally agree with this and ever since I chopped my hair (back in 2005), I've realized just how important it is to have a good stylist, but I'm also learning just how difficult finding a new stylist can be.
Just to give you some background on my hair and finding a stylist....I have very fine hair and a round face. This means the only cuts that really look good on me is a bob (or any variation of that style) at chin-length or shorter. I found my dream stylist, Shannon back in 2005 at Salon 5150 in Brea. Shannon had short hair herself and always gave me the cut I wanted. I would bring in pictures of what I was looking for and she would get it at about 90% accuracy - which is pretty damn good considering they always tell you not to expect your cut to look exactly like the picture. At some point, I stopped bringing in pictures for her and just asked for the usual cut. Unfortunately, she started cutting my hair differently. Instead of giving me the asymmetrical bob I requested, I would get a blunt bob that was the same length all around (I usually like my front way longer than my back). I would have to ask her to redo my hair and it still wasn't right. It was as if she had lost her touch or my hair just stopped liking her. The last stellar cut I got from Shannon was back in August 2006. I went to her a couple times after that, but was never as satisfied with the result as I was before.
Fast forward to this past Friday. I've become quite the Yelp enthusiast lately. I read the reviews on there so I have an idea of what to expect and will occasionally write a review if I think it's worth mentioning (positive or negative). I found a "salon" near my place in Diamond Bar that received pretty good reviews and was at the price range I was looking for, so I made an appointment for Friday at 5pm. I was SO excited to get my haircut and printed out pictures of the cut I was looking for. I arrived at the salon at 4:40pm and no one really greeted me (minus points right there). I went up to the counter and the Hair Washer Girl asked if I was here for a haircut. I said that I was and that I had an appointment at 5pm. She said to have a seat and while the stylist finished up. I noticed that the stylist was working on 2 other women at the same time, but I wasn't too worried since I made an appointment so I got comfortable with a magazine. At about 5pm, they washed my hair and I was told to have a seat again because the stylist still wasn't finished with the other 2 ladies. At this point, a third lady was now waiting for her because her dye job was done and now she needed her cut. I started shifting around, shuffling magazines, sneezing and coughing loudly to get her attention. I asked the Assistant how much longer she would be and she said another 10 minutes. Finally, at 5:30pm, I got up, took the towel off my head, left it on the counter and left - wet hair and all :\
I was so frustrated and disappointed, almost to the point of tears. You don't understand - I was REALLY REALLY looking forward to getting a haircut. Completely, in panicked mode, I dashed for the closest Fantastic Sam's-ish place to just get an asymmetrical bob and gave up on finding a dream stylist for the day. I found a place called The Haircutters and just went in. The first lady who took me passed me off to someone else once she saw the cut I wanted. The lady she wanted to pass me to couldn't take me because she was in the middle of another cut. Finally, I got some lady named Luz. My heart never beat so hard over a hair cut - that's how nervous I was once she greeted me (she reminded me of a Latina version of Gimli from Lord of the Rings minus the beard). I sat in the chair and prayed she wouldn't butcher my hair. I showed her the cut I wanted and the first thing she says is that she can't give me the asymmetrical cut because I'm not a celebrity and it wouldn't look good on me. If I could have smacked her without getting in trouble, I would have. I knew I should have just given up on getting a haircut at that point, but I was in the ugly phase of growing it out and just wanted the back of my hair off my neck.
 |
| Double FAIL: 1) Luz hairsprays my baby hairs and leaves a crooked hairline. 2) I let her. |
I was so happy to be out of Luz's chair. She kept trying to talk to me about my life and I was just so nervous about my hair. I wanted her to shut the fuck up and focus on the cut. She told me that the reason salons charge $50+ for a haircut is because they use a blow dryer on me. Is that true? Or was she just saying that so that I would tip her more for drying my hair for free? She asked me if I wanted to put some volumizer on the crown of my head to add volume and I said, "Yes, please." She proceeds to spay half that shit on my arm and rub it into my hair like it was lotion. Then, she puts down the baby hairs I have in front with hair spray and pats my head (much like you would do to a pet, but worse). I take a look at her work in the mirror. I'm satisfied with how she cut the back, but there was no volume and, even after patting down the baby hairs, my hairline part was severely crooked. I sat there looking at myself for a minute and started re-styling it myself . It took all I had not to break out in tears or scream. But, I took a deep breath, considered myself lucky for not getting a super fucked up 'do, but decided never to come back to Luz again - ever. I only paid $28 for the cut, but the lack of style, hair product knowledge, and customer service dwarfed the financial benefit. I went home and washed out my hair in defeat.
So I'm still at square one - in search of a hair stylist I can call my own - 4 years and counting. If you know of anyone who gives amazing short haircuts and is located within 25-30 miles of Diamond Bar or Orange, please help a girl out.
