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AIBU

Do hairdressers seem ageist to you ?

(98 Posts)
jaylucy Mon 13-Dec-21 11:30:06

I have been looking for a new hairdresser for a while and so am using social media such as Facebook to check out other customer's comments about their experiences.
One thing that I have noticed, is that without exception, the photos on their Facebook pages are all showing customers with long flowing hair ( either natural or with added extensions) , often after a balyage treatment (whatever that is).
I don't think there is any that either show shorter hair styles or on more mature customers!
I have to ask if they are actually interested in having customers that are over about 30, or the current fashions of longer, coloured hair are the only styles they can do ?
Not sure if I would be comfortable going into any of them tbh - got caught out previously when I was treated in a very offhand way , by the stylist in one salon by the way I was spoken to as well as the finished result - I obviously spoilt their day by not wanting my hair to be done in different colours that she was pushing me to have !

Lulu16 Tue 14-Dec-21 17:51:59

I go to a lady who I have known for ages in the local village.
She is happy and makes you feel relaxed. The girls there have many clients of all different ages and are exceptionally good with older ladies, very caring. Everybody knows each other and they are very friendly. They have the ability to know what all their clients like. I am phasing out highlights and letting the grey show through and my hairdresser has just done this brilliantly.
It is a good sign when it is difficult to get an appointment with a salon.

albertina Tue 14-Dec-21 18:12:59

I would say yes they are.

Also ageist are the suppliers of materials needed in beauty work.

After leaving teaching with stress I got a job in Tesco and in my spare time I trained to be a manicurist.

I used two different suppliers for my polishes, files etc. In both I was greeted rather warily as though I had wandered into the wrong shop. I was 51 then and last year I was still doing a few jobs. That's when the ageism really came into play.

rugbymumcumbria Tue 14-Dec-21 18:26:12

Have a look at instagram.com/dominiquesachse?utm_medium=copy_link
She going bed great advice on hair and makeup for over 50’s. I took a photo of her to my hairdresser and she recreated it beautifully

MissAdventure Tue 14-Dec-21 18:31:10

Is that spam?

tictacnana Tue 14-Dec-21 18:40:32

I went to a salon near me and told her I wanted the colourI normally had and picked the nearest to that on a chart she showed me. The result was completely different. She explained that, a woman of my age ( early 50s) shouldn’t have blonde hair. I booked in for another appointment for six weeks time but never went there again.

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 14-Dec-21 18:45:30

Reported it MissA.
Actually tictacnana your hairdresser might have been right, blonde can be very ageing. Been there, done that!

H1954 Tue 14-Dec-21 18:58:14

I have very fine straight hair and quite a sensitive scalp too. Consequently, I am very cautious with shampoo, conditioner and styling products. The last hairdresser to style my hair decided she knew better that's me. She paid no attention to what I asked her to do, used conditioner when I asked her not to and after blow drying my jaw length hair she decided to use straighteners on it...........it ended up looking limp, lank, greasy and as straight as a yard of pump water! And it itched like mad!

Granless Tue 14-Dec-21 19:00:00

Bijou I was more than surprised that Vitapoint is still out there. I’ve never seen it on the shelf for 30 yrs or more. Where do you buy it?

Elvis58 Tue 14-Dec-21 19:19:53

I go to my village hairdresser she is very good and cuts my judy dench style and charges £18.50 for the pleasure.So no problem for me.

Magrithea Tue 14-Dec-21 22:04:51

Instead of looking at the websites why not ask about them on their FB pages or go to the salon and see what they are like, how they react to you etc.

nipsmum Wed 15-Dec-21 09:52:17

I have a wonderful gentleman who comes to my home and does my hair most weeks. He used to have a hairdressers near my home and when he retired he kept on a few of his elderly customers and does them in their homes. He listens to what I want done with my hair and complies as much s possible. Please don't think their aren't good hairdressers out there you maybe have to try a few before you get one that suits you.

MerylStreep Wed 15-Dec-21 10:26:35

rugbymumcumbria has poster before on different topics.

Germanshepherdsmum Wed 15-Dec-21 13:28:30

Oh dear, apologies Ruby.

Mummer Wed 15-Dec-21 17:50:16

Nobody but nobody appears to know what to do with lush wavy hair! When I was in 20/30s it was past shoulder length and I did it mostly myself because naturals waves scared everyone to death! What? No shaggy dog perm? Then in my late 30s I went sharp and short as was the absolute fashion in the 80s! Loads of great hairdressing around....scoot forward to now,same sharp short hair colour varies each season/year, but hang on, I'm now mid 60s don't look much different and gasp! Horror! I don't want to look like either Judy bloody dench or Helen boring thin scraggly haired mirren either!!! Am I missing something but why when I Google short sharp hair for 60s laydeez- these are the two old birds that pop up every time? Hairdressers? Got stiffed for £180(yep but got it all refunded) with RUINED hair at an eye watering expensive very well knowns salon by two baby faced girls who between them destroy lush locks, one didn't know how to lighten without domestos and the other didn't know how to stop cutting! Result? My mobile does my back every few months And I do the rest, back to good old trusted method from my youf!

M0nica Wed 15-Dec-21 19:45:36

Mummer When you are searching for hair styles, forget about putting any age limit on it. What difference does it make how old you are? Because, as you have discovered, put an age in and if it is over 30 you just get screen after screen of dull boring mumsy cuts. or elderly icons.

Just look at the model, is the shape of her face, length of her neck the same as yours, then decide whether you like the cut.

Yiayia70 Fri 17-Dec-21 08:02:49

I agree it has taken me ages to find a good hairdresser where I feel comfortable. Some of the young stylists are so busy talking to everyone else, or looking around in between doing your hair. I has a super girl doing my hair where I used to live, but it’s been a struggle to fine a good one, 3 years to be exact.
I wonder if the young stylists find it hard to communicate with us oldies.

Lewie Fri 17-Dec-21 09:56:44

My hairdresser, who sold her shop and became a mobile hairdresser 10 years ago, has grown older with me, and she is certainly not ageist. I’ve been blonde most of my life and will continue to be so. My hairdresser says going darker or au naturel will not suit me, and I agree with her.

Smurf52 Fri 17-Dec-21 21:14:04

Well, I was a model for Toni and Guy a few months ago. They welcomed me and I had a good discount for doing it. They even took photos of my graduated bob.

Ali08 Sat 18-Dec-21 11:02:02

Look at the hairstyles of the people you see, and when you see someone with a nice cut tell them how good they look and ask for their hairdressers name and where they work?
Also, cut out hairstyles you like from magazines, any magazines, or screenshot them to show to hairdressers so they know what you want!
Tell them straight up if you don't want colour or whatever, that way it saves you both time and effort!!

Jezra Thu 23-Dec-21 19:36:53

I stopped going to my latest hairdresser as the last time I went she presented me with a bill for £175!! This was for a trim to short hair and half a head of highlights. She omitted to tell me the prices had gone up before I sat down. She then kept trying to push full head block colour with highlights on top which was no use to me as I have about 90% grey hair and the roots show after a week. Subtle highlights through the grey suit me best. I think we know our own hair best but she wasn’t keen to listen.
To add insult to injury she gave me the big sell on several very expensive products which I declined.
She had also booked me in for a further set of appointments which I duly cancelled and will not be going back. I am retired and on a pension so the price was ridiculous to say the least.
I know hairdressers have had it bad during the lockdowns but really!

Jezra Thu 23-Dec-21 19:39:41

I forgot to say that yes, she was ageist and kept trying to push some things that my 20 year old niece would opt for.

Ravelling Fri 24-Dec-21 06:16:05

My hairdresser is lovely. We’re roughly the same age but very different in style! She includes my picture on her FB page along with all the colour and extension pictures. I have noticed, however, that she always manages to say something like, ‘Client is embracing her grey!’ (Just in case anyone thought it was her choice not to colour me ?).
Love her, though!