Wednesday's Question of the Day: your haircut

Guess how much training or education you need to become a hairstylist in B.C.? The answer is none - just declare yourself a stylist and you can start hacking away at people's hair.

It's no wonder that, in 10 years and as many salons, I still can't find someone to give my hair a precise, clean blunt cut. ALWAYS it is torn and uneven and I go home and fix the cut. I have to flatiron it to get the raggedy parts to lie down - so frustrating in the rain all the time and because I know you don't have to style a good haircut!

For $80 - $120 (including tax and tip) you'd think someone could cut a straight line. The local tv personalities all have terrible, almost comedic haircuts, too. It's like in high school when your friend says "my cousin can cut your hair"... sigh.

What about you... Do you like your haircut or hairstyle? Do you feel your stylist is qualified and does a good job?

I know what you mean.. When I lived in the UK in the late 1980s there was no need for qualifications (no idea what it is like now) and I got some shockers!

Now I go to a young woman round the corner with her own little private business.  I like hair you don't have to do anything to.. bit of a scruffy look.. and she does it really well.

Check out our local tv station's womens' terrible haircuts:

http://www.cheknews.ca/index.php?option=com_zoo&view=category&Itemid=90

Sure, some of them are "okay" - some are not - but they really should have polished, professional hair, not chopped on.

Mani said:

I know what you mean.. When I lived in the UK in the late 1980s there was no need for qualifications (no idea what it is like now) and I got some shockers!

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As far as l know they have to have qualifications?. My old hair stylist gave up her salon and went back to teaching at the college. That being said, even the priciest salons with trained stylists can still have one that has a bad day with a clients hair. I left one salon years ago because she was too busy watching what the junior members were doing while she was doing my hair, and she was the actual owner!

My current stylist has been in business for over 20 years, and she did her training at the top salons for Toni and Guy. She listens to what l want, and lf she doesn't think what l ask is right she'll tell me

I don't like my hair. Period. I'm getting to the point where I need a roots touch-up every four or five weeks. That gets expensive. My natural color right now is probably white. I'm getting very light red touch-ups with blonde highlighting. Everybody seems to really like it, but I don't really care for it much. I'd rather have my old auburn color, but that's simply not going to happen anymore. So, while I don't really know what to do, I'm considering just letting the white come in and getting my hair cut regularly and letting it go like that.

What really gave me the idea was that one of my nieces was at my mother's service the other week. She looked fantastic! And that's what she did.....she's "only" in her mid-40s, but her hair was silvering to the point where she got tired of dealing with it. She said it took about a year for it to be completely silver, but gosh, her hair is just gorgeous.

My hair is probably the longest it's been in years, about four inches or so down my back. It's long enough that I can wear it up (and I do around the house with a scrunchie. After a period of losing hair (for about two months or so), which I really think was due to the Wen products I was using, my hair is finally starting to grow back again and it's getting thicker.

I have a new stylist, just recently changed over to her about three months ago (she's the one who told me to stop using Wen, BTW) and I like her. She's a little brusque sometimes and she's hard on my hair when she brushes.....to the point where it can hurt. She really wants to "play" with my hair and I told to wait until after the holidays and we can experiment a little bit. I did tell her that the new style has to be something I can do myself and it has to be something I can do quickly as I don't have a lot of time in the morning when I'm getting ready for work. But I am getting a little tired of the wash, blow-dry, and go routine myself.....not that I really want to go back to the curling iron all the time either.

Is she qualified? Oh yes. Do I trust her? Yes. I really do. Like I said, I had starting having some serious hair loss a few months ago and the first thing she told me was that I need to start using something other than Wen. I'd been using Wen for about an year or so and I loved it. My hair was so soft. But she said it was too soft really, to the point where the protein in the shaft was breaking down. She had had other clients with the same problem and they were Wen users, too. She told us all to stop using Wen, just to see what would happen. And we all started growing our hair again.

If that is really the case (IE: no special training needed), then look up a beauty school and go there. At least you will be assured of having someone who is pretty much trained, or well into their training.

I have a hard time finding someone to give me a good cut too. I have lots and lots of hair, but each hair is very fine, like baby hair.  And most stylists that I encounter want to do that hair thinning technique where they shave the hair shaft thinner using a razor comb.  That causes my hair to be totally fly away.

So when I find a stylist I like, I stick to them like velcro, which is why I spend almost $200 for a cut and colour. I don't like spending that amount of money on my hair several times per year, but I stop and consider the end results compared to what I've gotten from other stylists and that justifies the expense, at least to me.

Here in Ontario, there is no requisite licensing or certification for nail techs either.

l had my own home business years ago - l did acrylic nails, manis, pedis, spray tanning and body/facial waxing. l had zero certification.

l did, of course, want to do it right, and had a mentor who "trained" and coached me.

She and l bought all my supplies together at start-up. But that's all it took.

l saw many butcher-jobs on people who had gone elsewhere and had been Dremelled to the point of almost losing their nails!

l still do my own acrylics.

I don't know if a person needs certification to open a home salon around here. I assume the chains like Super Cuts or Cost Cutters require some kind of training, though. That's where I usually go, although lately I've been asking for the same girl every time. My hair is. . .weird. Veryvery thick. When it's long it's wavy. When it's short it's fuzzy. Pretty much every haircut ends up looking the same, no matter how it's cut.So if I don't like a haircut, I never know whether it's the hairdresser's fault, my fault for choosing the wrong haircut, or just how my hair IS. I've never had better results from going to a "better" salon, either. They usually give me "cowgirl hair" and I do NOT want big hair!

Hairdressers at one time needed 1,000 hrs of beauiy school training and then had to pass a test. I think it later went up to 1500 hrs. I go to Great Clips and everyone has their license posted next to their station.

I have no complaints. I keep my hair cut short and it always falls nicely after blow drying. It's hard to believe these people can cut hair without any schooling.

I started turning gray at a younger age also Pam but as you know, I wore a wig for many years. After retiring I let my hair grow completely white and keep my hair cut, I do have to blow dry and use the curling iron on it. I have thin hair and I have to say, sometimes you need to do more work with thin hair to make it look decent. I have had compliments on the color of my au natural hair so I'm happy with it. Don't be afraid to go all gray or white, you may like it a lot and if you don't, you can always go back to coloring it.

I have seen Wen products on QVC but never was interested in it, now I'm glad I didn't bother with it. One thing I can't afford is losing hair with as thin as it already is.

Hair stylists have to go through years-long apprenticeships here and be licensed, but that doesn't mean they're all good. My hair is very wavy on the sides and curly on top, so difficult to cut. Luckily there are two women at one of the local salons who do a really good job on it, and neither one bugs me to color my hair (which has gone from red to strawberry blond to auburn to brown over the years, with very little gray; I don't want to color it because I figure at some point I'll get grayer. My sister went gray really early and has wrecked her hair by getting it dyed all the time, and gray roots have to be kept up with, as otherwise it looks like you're going bald from afar.). I'm lazy and always in a hurry in the morning, so I like a short wash-and-wear cut. I get it thinned out and trimmed about every 6 weeks and don't fuss with it much unless it needs trimming.

WOW! That's horrible that people can work w/out a license in some places!  You can really do some damage with chemicals if you don't know what your doing!!

I went to school for hair, but that was over 20yrs ago. I can't remember how many hours I did back then w/ out going back & looking. I only did hair for about 5yrs. I was more

interested in skincare & massage therapy. I got certified for massage 20 years ago. I still keep my license to do the skincare as well. I have an office in my home, but it is mostly used for trades

now. I work full time in an office & don't have much time for the home stuff. I tried to build my home business, but it was hard. I mainly only went on word of mouth, & referrals from my clients,

because I live alone & there are some crazy, sick people out there! (especially when it comes to massage!) I think out of all the Chiropractors, & Day Spas I worked at over the years, every spa

got at least one of "those calls".)....."umm, no, I'm sorry, we are licensed professionals here, we don't do that kind of massage!!"

SO, ANYWAY, I think it's also 1500 hrs here.   I am very happy with my stylist!!  She has also become a friend. Another friend referred me to her when I was looking for a new stylist.

She is very good, & a color specialist. I am very fortunate that we trade. I couldn't afford her otherwise. Once a month she gets a massage, & about every 4-5 wks, I get my color & trim.

I like my normal stylist and salon.  My Mom treated me to a haircut about a month ago since I hadn't been in over a year.  Her stylist did ok; but I'm not in love with my hair.  It's not all her fault though; my hair is thick and I need to take the time to at least blow it dry for it to look nice.  I just dont get up early enough to do that most days anymore.  It's usually pulled back some anyway.  She does a good job on my Mom's hair; but we have different hair too.  I'll be going back to my old stylist the next time I go for a cut.

I cut my own.  when it annoys me I put it in a pony tail and cut it short as possible but still able to go up.  Yes it is not that even....but I never have it down and refuse to get a super short/stylist needed cut.

My hair isn't particularly hard to deal with. It's medium-thick and a good texture, gently wavy. Does tend to get frizzy but some Lok and Blok fixes that right up no sweat.

But when I get a pixie cut, which I do every few years, I have to find a good stylist. That is a serious undertaking to keep up. Fortunately I have one now. She graduated from the Aveda school, which is apparently rather expensive (like $15,000) and rigorous.

That is slightly horrifying that anyone in your area can claim to be a stylist and just chop off hair or apply chemicals!... In my area, stylists are required to attend a cosmetology school, do apprentice work in a shop, and pass an examination. (One of my really good friends JUST passed hers recently!)

It took me a while to find a stylist that I like, but I definitely like the way my hair turns out when I go to see mine. I actually found him on a whim one day when my old stylist was booked solid, and I needed my hair done desperately. I took a bit of a gamble trying a new shop, but was so happy I did! The shop I go to is older and not as "fancy" as the one I used to use....they also do a much better job and are less pricey, so I'd say don't judge a shop by the atmosphere alone! I have really long, fine hair (tons of it), and it's exceptionally wavy, so it tangles easily. If someone cuts my hair wrong, it turns into a tangled mess. I'm also super picky with the way I like my highlights done. So, when you find a good stylist, I definitely think it's worth it to keep them!

speakhandsforme said:

My hair isn't particularly hard to deal with. It's medium-thick and a good texture, gently wavy. Does tend to get frizzy but some Lok and Blok fixes that right up no sweat.
But when I get a pixie cut, which I do every few years, I have to find a good stylist. That is a serious undertaking to keep up. Fortunately I have one now.

She graduated from the Aveda school, which is apparently rather expensive (like $15,000) and rigorous.

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That's great! Yes, Aveda is a wonderful school. I did some advanced aesthetics classes there when I lived in the Twin Cities.  I also used to work at an Aveda salon. Great products!!

I defiantly miss being able to go into a professional beauty supply & getting them at the professional discount!