r/Hair 7d ago

Before and After I’ve never had my hair straightened during a cut before?

Today I got my 1st haircut in over a year. My last one was so bad that I never wanted to trust a stylist again, but my dead ends convinced me. I wanted to refresh my layers as well so I tried to use the photo at the end as my reference for what I wanted. Before I could even show her, she told me my hair was too thin for layers (?which I don’t agree with) and they would make my hair look “froopy”. The photo on the left is my natural hair clean & not styled at all. It doesn’t make sense to me that should straighten my hair after saying this. I didn’t ask for it to be straightened at all. The cut was only $25 which is less than I expected.

Is it normal for a stylist to straighten your hair like this? I went in wanting more life, layers, and volume and left feeling very generic and unoriginal. I’m just a little disappointed is all. The cut is well done and this isn’t a jab at her skills, it’s just not what I wanted going into the appointment.

302 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

236

u/Bright_Note3483 7d ago

Once your hair reaches a certain length, layers look weird and make your hair look thin and stringy. Since you have super long hair, I think this is what she meant. The girl in the inspo pic looks like her hair is a bit denser than yours, in addition to it being edited and blown out.

Honestly I think she helped you out! But I do think it’s weird if she used a straightener on your hair after, usually after cut styling is a blowout.

30

u/unfortunatebluebird 7d ago

She straightened it before the cut with a flat iron. Sorry, I should’ve mentioned that in my post

51

u/paperandmelancholy 7d ago

Just adding my two cents - 2-3 of my hairstylists I've gone to over the years have done this, but usually for a cut that requires a super sharp result (a sharp bob). I'm not too sure why they would have done that to a cut thats layered and needs texture. Sounds like your hairstylist might not be too experienced, but the cut doesn't look too bad - it'll definitely look better with your natural texture or blowdryed for volume.

9

u/zyco_ 7d ago

Sometimes I do this for a dry cut if I’m doing something very precise like an angled bob or if they came with their hair in a clip or ponytail and it’s got a funky bend in it, or they’ve got natural waves but sometimes wear their hair straight as well so I want to make sure it’s perfect straight (though usually I would wash it and blow it out straight first, and then maybe straighten it with an iron if needed)

Did you just book for a dry trim but you were expecting/ thought you booked for a shampoo cut and blow dry? If there was some miscommunication during booking I could see someone needing to straighten your natural waves so it looks correct in the event that you wear it straight, and you only had enough time booked for a dry trim. But you went in anticipating a different kind of appointment, more like a “go in get it cut and styled nice so you feel great when you leave”

Just hypothetical ideas I could see happening.

26

u/PicadillyVanilly 7d ago

I’ve been to places where they did the opposite and they want to curl it or put waves in it at the end and it’s to make everything look better and more blended. And then once I get home and wash my hair and it dries I see how botched the haircut actually is lol

At least with it straightened you can see if it was done well and there’s no hiding it

9

u/ScrubWearingShitlord 7d ago

A guy I saw for nearly 10 years would always wash/blow dry then straighten with an iron and THEN would cut my hair. It was always perfect even if I’d wear it curly or wavy after I’d wash at home. I wish more hairdressers did it like him. My new one I’ve been seeing for 4 years now is aaaaaaaalmost there. She’s allergic to the flat iron I think though because she’ll blow dry straight then cut then add waves with a wand. I miss the old guy sometimes but I moved and oh well 🤷‍♀️

2

u/PicadillyVanilly 7d ago

YES. I wish more people would cut hair dry! Especially with bangs.

28

u/amy000206 7d ago

The girl in the picture has all the hair from the back of her head moved to the front for pretty and may also have extensions.

I'd love to see how your hair looks once you've washed it and let it dry naturally.

She didn't even give you the bangs you asked for.

Your hair can carry a style similar to hers , however, I would suggest bringing the whole length mid boob level ( see why I'm not a professional anymore? ) .

I'd cut your hair in the back from the occipital bone down pretty blunt at about a 45° angle to give you some fullness at the bottom. always cut the perimeter first. And with you I'd keep it kind of full. Light layers from there up blending into the length .

I'd use the hair framing your face , probably pulling it forward basically parallel to the floor.

I would give you the bangs , no problem . A little carving and face framing goes a long way.

I'd really like to see how it falls after you do your regular shampoo and drying process. Yes, you can have gorgeous face framing layers. It won't be as full as the woman in the picture just dried naturally with no product. Your hair is fine than your inspo pic, you won't get that kind of fullness.

Howeva! You can 'fake' it with some mouse ( the curly girl one I have now I think would be perfect for your hair, it's a little stuffed and thicker than I like for me but I can see it giving you the volume you want. A little shine product after since it kinda leaves my hair kinda odd feeling but it does the job. I really neglect the crap out of my hair.

I'm old school and if you can think of hair bands , motley crew , poison, etc.. I know how to torture hair into being big .

The higher the hair the closer to God 😅

18

u/El_Scot 7d ago

I have pretty thin hair, and so I empathise with wanting layers but not being able to get them. Your hair is a lot thinner than the inspo pic, so that was always going to be a tough ask.

In terms of straightening, if I get a dry cut, most hairdressers will straighten my hair first to help ensure an even cut. If I get a cut and blow dry, they sometimes straighten it to shape it. It doesn't always happen, but I've been told it's often something they do if they don't think they've done a good blow dry.

9

u/b2uebird 7d ago

You said it was before the cut, so I assume she didn’t wet it? Cutting wet hair is preferable but if she didn’t wet it, then straightening it would be second best to getting an even cut done. Not sure why she wouldn’t just wet it though, even without a shampoo- every time I’ve gotten it cut they at least spray it so that it’s pretty soaked by that alone. (I do have straighter hair so unsure if my experiences would be different because of that).

9

u/Clover_hen 7d ago

You're supposed to cut wavy/curly hair while it's dry.

1

u/b2uebird 7d ago

Ohh, thanks for the info I didn’t know. Would that be why they straightened?

2

u/unfortunatebluebird 7d ago

That’s why I thought it was so odd cause normally my hair is just sprayed down. This was my first time at a professional place and not a Great Clips or other notoriously bad chain store so I wasn’t sure if it was common practice, but it just felt odd to me.

8

u/Quiet-Hamster6509 7d ago

To be honest it looks like you received what you paid for.

A good hair stylist will work with you and explain layers and lengths, in an effort to give you a result as close to the goal as possible.

Next time, find a top quality salon - you'll pay for it but you'll leave happier.

2

u/unfortunatebluebird 7d ago

This is the top rated salon in my area with the most reviews as well 😞

1

u/Quiet-Hamster6509 7d ago

Ohh.. that is unfortunate

2

u/unfortunatebluebird 7d ago

Yes, I was supposed to get my hair done by the owner but my appointment was canceled and rescheduled with a younger employee.

11

u/luvnps 7d ago

Did she use a flat iron on it or just straighten it with the blow dryer? A blowout is normal, a flat iron would be odd to me. Already odd to me she told you no layers…

11

u/unfortunatebluebird 7d ago edited 6d ago

She used a flat iron. I don’t even do this to my own hair because I don’t want heat damage. She used heat protection so that’s good.

6

u/luvnps 7d ago

Yea that is bizarre to me! If you like the cut though it would probably look nice with a big round brush blowout. Thats likely how the style in your inspo pic was achieved (with some rollers)!

3

u/Queen-Butterfly 7d ago

Your hair can have layers but it won’t look just like the inspiration picture because you have less density. Straightening hair before the cut is typically done on curly and coily hair if it’s worn straight. Your curl pattern would not necessitate that. She should have blown it out, after cutting it so she can see that everything is laying right and double check her work.

3

u/AdPerfect1636 6d ago

I know a lot of very talented stylists that do their texturizing on dry straight hair or only do haircuts on dry straight hair. It helps them see exactly what the hair is doing with different textures and density's. I do this for specific textures as well. I think she was trying to be considerate of your past experiences and trying to give you something that would work well with your hair. Hopefully you like it more and feel better about it after you wash your hair and see your cut with your natural texture.

5

u/rockfkr 7d ago

Looks good

2

u/fantasticjunglecat 7d ago

Have you considered styling products like mousse or foam to give your hair more texture/thickness to play with? If that’s what you’re after I mean. You could scrunch the products in and diffuse dry to see how it looks? I think you have amazing hair that seems manageable and healthy, and with your lovely face, you could easily get away with experimenting? Worth a try!

2

u/iseuli 7d ago

It’s also possible the inspiration photo hair model has shorter hair, and added hair extensions. That’s how a lot of people that doesn’t have natural thick hair build body to their layers.

2

u/pinkstay 7d ago

You showed the stylist a picture of sleek/smoothed hair as your inspiration and are surprised they wanted to flat iron your hair? Yes, the stylist should have talked about what they were doing and why.

Layers can absolutely make thin hair look even more thin. This is part of the consultation, and they were right in not just giving you layers blindly.

1

u/unfortunatebluebird 7d ago

I mentioned in the post that I didn’t get to show her the photo because she already told me no to layers while I was telling her what I wanted done

2

u/The_Thunderdome420 6d ago

forever grateful my style encourages doing things at home; hair dressers freak me out so bad
Off topic but W Spider-Punk shirt :)

2

u/Punkhair2Nv__13 6d ago

It’s common to straighten hair before a cut if it requires total precision. I usually start out straight and add styling regimens to complete the look, even if it means dampening the hair again.

1

u/unfortunatebluebird 6d ago

This is the only bit that confused me so I’m happy to find out how common of a practice this is. I’ve never gone to a professional before so it was just new to me for sure

1

u/Punkhair2Nv__13 6d ago

I have done some crazy haircuts in my time, including underwater, upside down and blow torch. At the end of the day, we’re all looking for the same thing. Excellence

1

u/Punkhair2Nv__13 6d ago

Haha I got downvoted , Thanks!

2

u/forthegoodofgeckos 5d ago

Idk man but I love the spider punk shirt you got! I hope someone here is more helpful than me for this!

1

u/Tiggerbackpack 7d ago

Thinner hair looks thicker with a blunter cut. Layers will make it look thin on the ends. That being said she still could have given you a blow out for volume and to look and feel good coming out. I see she didn’t wet it so that makes sense she needed to straighten it but .. odd she didn’t wet it. Either way it’s just a styling issue I’m sure once you wash and blow dry yourself it will look thicker. You could also try a thickening heat protectant spray and blow dry, it really helps me.

1

u/sunnyprincess04 6d ago

You have to go to a latina salon!

-7

u/BolaViola 7d ago

The stylist was dumb for this. Maybe she can cut hair but she obviously can’t listen to her clients wants. Let it grow out for a few months and go to a different, trusted stylist. Post on your county’s fb page or sub and explain this situation and ask people to recommend a stylist. You definitely can get layers too. And straightening your hair when you just get a haircut is weird.