Awful haircut! What would you do?

It does help to have a picture cut out from a mag when you have a change of style.Say loudly 'I want that one!'

The story of my life is bad hair days. The last one was the perm from hell, I know perms are for old ladies but my hair is thin and has no body whatsoever. It is definitely my last.
But I realised long ago that it is all my own fault as each time I go to the hairdressers I take the same head of hair along with me!

Distract attention from your hair.

The odd time I've had a bad hair cut I've dug out some dangly earrings and upped the eye make up until it grew out.

I would love one, I once found a wonderful wig shop on Steep Hill in Lincoln, dragged my daughter in there and we were exclaiming about the excellent quality, then saw the prices. They were real hair, it was embarrassing enough to realise that I couldn't afford one, but what made it even worse was realising, as they took off the wigs they were trying on, the other women there were all cancer patients!

Exit hurriedly with red faces.

Perhaps we could all do with stylish wig, could then pop it on until hair had regrown.A friend has just bought one, and she looks terrific in it.Terrific in a good way.

I can't help thinking he is talking about haircuts for males, geelijay, in which case I would agree with him.

Why would you feel like that, geeljay?

Well, ladies, on your behalf, I asked young Ian about hair. His theory is that every person has a certain head shape and texture, and if the snipper is worth paying, they can cut to those limits with the natural trim and cut for the head! I feel like I am in the tiger's den, so I'm off.

Geeljay you are so right, my MiL does look as if she is wearing a crash helmet and it really doesn't suit her. It is a very masculine style and she looks androgenous, to say the least. When she lived in Belgium they did it beautifully, but once back over here the hairdressers all did it the same no matter where she moved to. And she doesn't care! But I do, because I remember how much nicer she looked with the style that Phoenix had before. That little bit of extra height on top of the head makes a huge difference to the cheekbones and lift of the face.

I keep on losing her when we go to crowded places, because there are so many other grey-haired ladies wandering around wearing identikit hairstyles, cropped trousers with birkenstocks and anoraks!

Maybe go back when the top part of your hair has reached the desired length, Phoenix. Tell her that that is the length you like, and just to lightly trim the rest for now.

Re. your last sentence, glass. Exactly!

phoenix I know what your going through, I have used the same hairdresser for over 26 yrs now, she had just come out of her apprenticeship when I started visiting the salon.

She now has had her own salon for about 16 yrs, but together we have been through all styles imaginable, and consider her to be a good friend.

Mostly I am happy with my cut but occasionally I come away and wonder if she has remembered who's hair she is cutting or whose hair she is cutting in her minds eye. But give her her due when this has happened she has been going through a lot of personal stress at the time and I have lived with the car crash she has left me with, usually time sorts it out but its painful until it grows again, and I just hope I have not got to go anywhere that's going to makes me feel a right clip.

On my next visit I always say I wasn't too sure of my last cut and would then mention the areas that I didn't like.

I would go back in and explain what the problem is. In my experience, most hairdressers are willing to try and put things right (they don't want you bad-mouthing them and losing business for them and some have professional integrity enough that they want you to be happy with their work).

I always tell hairdressers that the style has to be done in a way I can manage at home.

Phoenix I can imagine how upset you are specially as she got it right first time,can you not live with it for a couple of weeks by tosselling the hair about abit doing a sort of "just got out of bed look" and make a bit more emphisis sp ? on the eye make-up,it sounds like you need to really try another hairdressser have you thought of finding a male hairdresser I have always found them so good,I'm fortunate that I only ever need an inch off my mop but I still use a bloke as he does my fringe in a cut that looks as though it has not been cut (if you know what I mean)

I would get out my hairdressing scissors and trim it into shape myself.
Have not been near a hairdresser for over twenty years. Combination of being too mean and not liking how they do it anyway!

geeljay You sound like a real star to me

I can say this 'cos she is now in bed. So its the Granp half on now. Geegee has been using a hairdresser for several years, and they seem to think that all ladies of older years want their hair to be roughly shaped like a crash helmet. Its a shame, she has such lovely hair. So we found another snipper, a young man, who has recently opened a 'salon' in his front room. I did a print off, of Judie Dench, and asked if he could replicate similar, He did a fabulous cut which looks stylish and really pleased Geegee (and me). (She is less assured these days, so I fight her corner). If she reads this, I am for it, but she loves me, really!

And the problem is, they can't add it back again!

janerowena I do understand what you say, but I am around 10 years younger than my hairdresser, and her own current style is very similar to what I was going towards!

I think what is making me extra miffed is that the cut before this one was so much like the style I was going for, just needed a tiny bit more growth on the top, (with maybe a bit of thinning because I have rather thick hair) and we would have been there!

I now feel one step forward, 3 back!

Yes, it's only hair, not exactly life threatening, and of course it will grow, but I'm still not best pleased!

I rarely change my hairstyle nowadays. My hair is quite wiry and if it gets much longer that two inches it sticks straight up and then begins to curl kink out of control.

For years now I have had it cut quite short but avoiding the really butch look which some hairdressers have left me with.

Because of the texture I see no option for any other sort of style without hours of straightening etc, with which I CBA.
My usual hairdresser now seems to know just what I want.

I just want to add In 1979 I had a perm done by a very expensive hairdresser. I had wanted to look my best for a squadron do. It was just awful but I tried to stay calm and make the best of it. I knew I hadn't succeeded when one of my husbands lads asked if I'd travelled to the do on the back of a motor bike!

That's my cut ( well, the one in the wedding picture) I feel for you. The best 'cutters' I have found round my way ( Southend) are Turks and Iranians. They really take pride in their cutting.

phoenix I am tempted to advise wear a hat but I have had a couple of bad haircuts in my time so I do sympathise. It's a dilemma. My husband thought my last haircut was a bit too short but as I told him in my case it hardly made any difference to my looks because my best was behind me and this was probably as good as I was going to get. I peeped at your photo and very glam you looked too.

I know the sort of style you mean, I like it too but can't get my MiL to try it, I know it would suit her instead of her rather mannish style - which I suspect is more what you were given. Maybe she just went into automatic, because it is a style much favoured by women of MiL's age and perhaps she forgot who she was dealing with.

I have very curly hair but the top part of my hair is straighter. When I was younger I wanted a looser more controllable curl, so decided to have a loose perm that would give me nice shiny waves instead. When he had finished, I was horrified, he hadn't bothered to do the fringe, he had only clipped it out of the way. I looked like a blonde poodle at the front. No, not even that good. I made me do my fringe, I was furious. So was he, it took him another three hours.

PS Riverwalk can't/won't do a "selfie" at present, but if you look at my profile pics, you can see the sort of short spikey-ish style that I had for ages, (ok, the wedding photo was 10 years ago) and perhaps imagine the longer on top, softer thing I was working towards.

Thanks to all for the responses.

Jenny is 65, but not what I would consider "old" although I do take your point roses BTW, it does grow fast, grows like a damn weed, but I still have found it a pain growing layers out.

Jess it wasn't exactly "first thing" (neither she nor I do first thing if we can help it!) The odd thing is, that where I worked previously, other staff asked me where I got my hair cut! No danger of that now, my current workplace is all chaps except for me!

I think I might pop in at some point, with it looking like it does when I have washed and dried it and see what she thinks.