Hairstylists of Metafilter, lend me your shears!
November 9, 2019 8:05 PM Subscribe
My new shag haircut looks dull and blocky. Could it be an execution error by a stylist using the wrong tools? If so, what's the best way to get it fixed (if it's even fixable)?
So this question about alternative shag haircuts immediately inspired me to print out some photos and go to my stylist for a radical change.
My stylist works at one of those high volume chains that provides fast haircuts. I've been going to her for about 2 years and she's been cutting hair in total for about 5-8 years. She's been fine for me since I've been mainly growing my hair out for the last few years and I don't do complicated hair color. So mainly root color and hair trims every 5 weeks like clockwork...very standard stuff.
When I decided to go for this dramatic change...I was worried that she wouldn't have the experience but didn't want to assume she didn't. I brought pictures and asked her if she felt comfortable doing the cut. She assured me she did and did talk about my hair texture (thick, fine, slight wave) as having an impact on the final product but she thought it would be a great cut for me.
The salons from the original link (Edo and Goodby Horse Girl) do razor cutting but my stylist doesn't but she said it didn't matter. She said the texturizing shears would give me the same fringy, piece-y look I wanted. Now I have a short head of hair that looks dull, blocky and has texture out the wazoo...but not in a good way. If I touch my hair on one side, it will stand straight out from my head. Could liberal use of the texturizing shears be part of the problem...I feel like cutting every other hair on my head shorter than it's neighbor has just created a fuzzy mess.
I am conflicted about going back to her to try and fix it or calling a independent salon in my town to ask for a consultation with someone very experienced with shag haircuts. I'm fine paying for the session...I just want to get some guidance from an experienced professional. Any advice on my next best steps? Could the shears have caused the problem or is my hair type just not meant for shag haircuts?
So this question about alternative shag haircuts immediately inspired me to print out some photos and go to my stylist for a radical change.
My stylist works at one of those high volume chains that provides fast haircuts. I've been going to her for about 2 years and she's been cutting hair in total for about 5-8 years. She's been fine for me since I've been mainly growing my hair out for the last few years and I don't do complicated hair color. So mainly root color and hair trims every 5 weeks like clockwork...very standard stuff.
When I decided to go for this dramatic change...I was worried that she wouldn't have the experience but didn't want to assume she didn't. I brought pictures and asked her if she felt comfortable doing the cut. She assured me she did and did talk about my hair texture (thick, fine, slight wave) as having an impact on the final product but she thought it would be a great cut for me.
The salons from the original link (Edo and Goodby Horse Girl) do razor cutting but my stylist doesn't but she said it didn't matter. She said the texturizing shears would give me the same fringy, piece-y look I wanted. Now I have a short head of hair that looks dull, blocky and has texture out the wazoo...but not in a good way. If I touch my hair on one side, it will stand straight out from my head. Could liberal use of the texturizing shears be part of the problem...I feel like cutting every other hair on my head shorter than it's neighbor has just created a fuzzy mess.
I am conflicted about going back to her to try and fix it or calling a independent salon in my town to ask for a consultation with someone very experienced with shag haircuts. I'm fine paying for the session...I just want to get some guidance from an experienced professional. Any advice on my next best steps? Could the shears have caused the problem or is my hair type just not meant for shag haircuts?
You can take this with a grain of salt because I am not a hair stylist but I have had a shag haircut that I loved and when I moved I was never able to find someone to cut it like that again, I think its a very difficult cut to get right and in the 5 years I kept trying to find someone who could do it- I just kept walking away from the salon with bobs, bob after bob after bob. I didn't want a bob.
I think that my original stylist was able to get the cut because I first went to her when I was growing out my pixie cut. I think that the pixie cut, when its growing out, sets itself up perfectly to become a shag, its shorter in all the right places and it doesn't take much. So now I have just gone back to a pixie cut, even THAT wasn't straightforward... it was hard to find someone who could do that... I wanted a longer pixie but but in the end went with a shorter one that I have since grown out a bit... the process was similar to the shag... the longer pixie cut was easier for the sylist to do after the shorter one had grown out... SO, now I have a longer pixie cut and I have a feeling if I want to grow it out then the next stage would be a shag.
One of my stylists explained to me that short hair is hard for some stylists because the longer hairstyles have been popular so long that the younger stylists just aren't comfortable or practiced doing short, more complicated hair cuts and they are afraid to make a mistake and end up reverting to a bob.
I hope you find someone who can do this for you. I feel like the shag haircut is my dream haircut and its such a bummer that its not something easy to obtain. Especially if you aren't living in a city with edgy cuts. I Will be reading this thread with interest.
posted by catspajammies at 11:33 PM on November 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
I think that my original stylist was able to get the cut because I first went to her when I was growing out my pixie cut. I think that the pixie cut, when its growing out, sets itself up perfectly to become a shag, its shorter in all the right places and it doesn't take much. So now I have just gone back to a pixie cut, even THAT wasn't straightforward... it was hard to find someone who could do that... I wanted a longer pixie but but in the end went with a shorter one that I have since grown out a bit... the process was similar to the shag... the longer pixie cut was easier for the sylist to do after the shorter one had grown out... SO, now I have a longer pixie cut and I have a feeling if I want to grow it out then the next stage would be a shag.
One of my stylists explained to me that short hair is hard for some stylists because the longer hairstyles have been popular so long that the younger stylists just aren't comfortable or practiced doing short, more complicated hair cuts and they are afraid to make a mistake and end up reverting to a bob.
I hope you find someone who can do this for you. I feel like the shag haircut is my dream haircut and its such a bummer that its not something easy to obtain. Especially if you aren't living in a city with edgy cuts. I Will be reading this thread with interest.
posted by catspajammies at 11:33 PM on November 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
If you have the means, I'd make a trip to a bigger city with a salon that caters to the artsy crowd. I don't think you'll get it fixed in a satisfying way otherwise, and even then it's kind of a crapshoot. It's easy to turn someone into a puffy-headed mushroom if they follow the usual hair cutting methods it seems. Personally I cut my own hair. Grabbing random clumps and sort of fanning it out between my fingers and cutting somewhat haphazardly gives me a perfect shag (or did for years, I'm growing it out). So I suspect the issue is that those little careful salon snips do not do that haircut any favors. And texturizing scissors are a disaster and it grows out in a really weird way. But I still think an artsy salon (prob doing a razor cut) can save it! Good luck!
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 1:31 AM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 1:31 AM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Razor cuts and texture shears do similar but different things. I have a pixie and get cuts with both and there is a real difference; I prefer the razor myself. Agree with calling around to find someone who specializes in razor cuts to fix it.
posted by john_snow at 3:39 AM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by john_snow at 3:39 AM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
I was a hair model for Jayne and I love my shag. She spends a long time talking about how it cannot be done using scissors. I'm about 8 months away from my next haircut but when I get it done next I will definitely find someone local that has taken her class and practices cutting in her style.
posted by Marinara at 7:36 AM on November 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Marinara at 7:36 AM on November 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'm sorry this happened to you. If we were in the same town I'd try and fix it while I explained this super top sekret sh*t to you ... I hope some of this helps in the short-term.
1. Styling product. Without being able to see the cut, maybe the shape is there but something about styling is preventing the ends from clumping. I would air-dry or dry the roots half-way, then hit the ends with a tiny bit of sticky, but pliable, product, twist little locks, and air-dry the rest of the way. My hair takes well to water-based pommade, but there's pastes and waxes that fall under this category too. They can be in a jar, puck, or stick; often marketed toward men for tousseling with a pliable hold.
2. Shape. So there's two aspects to this, the structure and the texture. Without seeing, I'm not sure if the cut you ended up with is a "classic shag (180 degree)" or something with a different structure and a "shaggy" texture. But a good stylist could, from the photos. It's possible your haircutter got the structure right but missed out on the texture, or vice versa, or none of the above.
(And a note ... maybe you, like me, tend to push the front behind your ears? It all has to go down, or else it looks wrong!)
3. Fabric. This is where I'm gonna talk tools. This is where I'm going to save those thinning shears from the pit of damnation which unskilled cutters and frustrated clients have cast them. Because you are absolutely right: this cutter could have screwed your hair up with the thinning shears.
But it's not about the tool, its the technique. I could give you a magical, touseled mop with a razor; I could also give you a horrifying nest of fraying ends impossible to trim that takes a year to grow out. I could give you that "razor" cut with my lovely, sharp shears and a skilled hand, given the right starting conditions. I would choose based on what your native strands are saying to me, and the texture you desire for the outcome.
The very best bit of wisdom I got for free from the great Robert Cromeans was to think of the hair like fabric. That's where your native strands, and the cut, and the products you are using come together. The same hair can take on different finishes: no conditioner and air-dry, my hair=burlap. Moisturize and slow-dry with tension? Silk.
So, I think what I'm getting at: yes, I think a different stylist could help you. It will be very hit-or-miss, so I think you are right to apporoach it with a consultation. Look for places that are broadcasting the type of aesthetic you seek ... not just that they have books with "current" styles in it, but that they have clients and client photos with the look. It's going to mean cutting off more hair. It could be a minor matter of texturizing, or it could be a reshaping that will take a few cycles to effect. It could mean shockingly short bangs that you never get used to, but they'll grow!
Life is short, you deserve to know how the "real" version of this cut works for you, and I wish you luck finding someone to get you there. In the meantime, small amounts of sticky product, and twisting, and air-drying with all of it down. Good luck!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 11:30 AM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
1. Styling product. Without being able to see the cut, maybe the shape is there but something about styling is preventing the ends from clumping. I would air-dry or dry the roots half-way, then hit the ends with a tiny bit of sticky, but pliable, product, twist little locks, and air-dry the rest of the way. My hair takes well to water-based pommade, but there's pastes and waxes that fall under this category too. They can be in a jar, puck, or stick; often marketed toward men for tousseling with a pliable hold.
2. Shape. So there's two aspects to this, the structure and the texture. Without seeing, I'm not sure if the cut you ended up with is a "classic shag (180 degree)" or something with a different structure and a "shaggy" texture. But a good stylist could, from the photos. It's possible your haircutter got the structure right but missed out on the texture, or vice versa, or none of the above.
(And a note ... maybe you, like me, tend to push the front behind your ears? It all has to go down, or else it looks wrong!)
3. Fabric. This is where I'm gonna talk tools. This is where I'm going to save those thinning shears from the pit of damnation which unskilled cutters and frustrated clients have cast them. Because you are absolutely right: this cutter could have screwed your hair up with the thinning shears.
But it's not about the tool, its the technique. I could give you a magical, touseled mop with a razor; I could also give you a horrifying nest of fraying ends impossible to trim that takes a year to grow out. I could give you that "razor" cut with my lovely, sharp shears and a skilled hand, given the right starting conditions. I would choose based on what your native strands are saying to me, and the texture you desire for the outcome.
The very best bit of wisdom I got for free from the great Robert Cromeans was to think of the hair like fabric. That's where your native strands, and the cut, and the products you are using come together. The same hair can take on different finishes: no conditioner and air-dry, my hair=burlap. Moisturize and slow-dry with tension? Silk.
So, I think what I'm getting at: yes, I think a different stylist could help you. It will be very hit-or-miss, so I think you are right to apporoach it with a consultation. Look for places that are broadcasting the type of aesthetic you seek ... not just that they have books with "current" styles in it, but that they have clients and client photos with the look. It's going to mean cutting off more hair. It could be a minor matter of texturizing, or it could be a reshaping that will take a few cycles to effect. It could mean shockingly short bangs that you never get used to, but they'll grow!
Life is short, you deserve to know how the "real" version of this cut works for you, and I wish you luck finding someone to get you there. In the meantime, small amounts of sticky product, and twisting, and air-drying with all of it down. Good luck!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 11:30 AM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
P.S. Workers at high volume places are often restricted in the time they can spend with you and the tools/techniques they use. So, no excuse, but might explain the whole "my thinning shear is totally like a razor!" tactic.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 12:07 PM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 12:07 PM on November 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
P.P.S. I think your hair type sounds perfect for the photos I saw. Best.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 12:43 PM on November 10, 2019
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 12:43 PM on November 10, 2019
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(I'm not a hairstylist, but hope my advice is helpful.)
posted by bluedaisy at 8:44 PM on November 9, 2019 [3 favorites]