In my last post I wrote about my newly found hairdresser. I’m incredibly happy to have found her, because I have had some quite bad experiences with hairdressers in the past (which curlie hasn’t?).

Conventional hairdressers are usually not educated on how to handle curly hair, which is why you could be struggling with your curls when seeing your hairdresser. Don’t get me wrong: Some hairdressers are doing an amazing job cutting curly hair even though they are not specialized!

No-G0’s when handling curly hair:

1. Your hairdresser insists on straightening your curls before you leave, because he/she claims it is only possible to let curly hair air-dry (“no, there is absolutely no way you can blow-dry curly hair”)
2. Your hairdresser diffuses your curls, but is constantly touching them while doing so
3. Your hairdresser refuses to cut your curls in layers, because layers increase your curls’ volume and:
4. “You most certainly need to make your curls less voluminous!”
5. Your curls are frizzer after the appointment than before, because your hairdresser dried (and rubbed!) them with a terry towel
6. Your curls look awful after seeing your hairdresser, because he/she didn’t use the right products for your curls
7. The way your hairdresser combs your curls makes you cry
8. While your hairdresser is cutting your curls they all have the same length, however the don’t anymore once they are dry

I’m sure you can relate to at least one of the above described mistakes, which is why finding a good hairdresser for curly hair is such a big struggle!

How to avoid these mistakes

Enough of the ranting, let’s talk about how you can avoid experiencing the above mistakes. First of all, I recommend you to ask other curlies which hairdresser they go to. They are the most reliable source to tell you if a hairdresser can or cannot handle curly hair. If they can’t recommend you a good hairdresser, try searching the internet for a hairdresser specialized in cutting curly hair. Nowadays, there are many new hairdressers that are just great and reading reviews online can definitely help to find a good one! So once you have found a hairdresser you like, make sure you tell your curly friends as I am sure they will appreciate it!

If you are still experiencing any of the above described mistakes, keep calm and try minimizing the potential damage 🙂

• When it comes to your curls, you probably know best, what they need and what they dislike, so help your hairdresser to apply the right products and techniques. If you are not sure whether your hairdresser has all of your favorite products, bring your own products to the salon and either ask your hairdresser to use them or apply them yourself
• Kindly offer your hairdresser to blow-dry (diffuse) your curls yourself – or you could leave the salon with wet hair (and let them air-dry on your way home).
• If your scalp is sensitive, kindly ask your hairdresser to comb your curls yourself
• Don’t worry about layers making your hair too voluminous: layers only help spreading the volume more evenly and they keep you from looking like a triangle
• To make sure your haircut is also even when your curls are dry, choose a hairdresser that cuts your curls dry (if he/she does cut your curls try, he/she most likely is specialized in cutting curly hair)

I hope that my above tips can help improve your experience at the hairdresser’s! I would love to hear from you: have you experienced any of the above described mistakes? How did you make sure to avoid that mistake the next time you went to a hairdresser? And most importantly: Have you found a hairdresser you really like?