Do you hate having your hair "done"?

April

I do. I find it *so* boring.

Right now, it takes hours because I'm doing a lengthy transition to gray that requires dual-process coloring.

I try to spend that time sitting with my eyes closed, feeling grateful for my life, but mostly I just want to get out of there.

How about you - do you manage to appreciate salon time as a form of self-care?

4 years ago

General

66 replies

Latest reply was from Jenni NZ

Diana

Veteran

I absolutely hate it. It's boring, and hot, and smelly, plus because I can't wear my glasses while my hair is being colored, it's also hard to see, lol. I'm also not one for salon chit-chat, even though I like my hairdresser and don't really mind talking to her. But I put up with it because I am vain and like having nice hair.

I go less often than I should, and I am currently putting it off, even though I really need to go soon.

4 years ago

Anonymous

No. I absolutely hate it.

4 years ago

Sara L.

Veteran

I love getting my hair done. I don't mind chit-chatting with my stylist and I love the feeling of being pampered. I've always liked when people play with my hair.

4 years ago

April

Veteran

While I'm happy to know that there are people who love salon time, I also feel much better knowing I'm not the only one who dislikes it.

4 years ago

nuancedream

Veteran

I love my salon time because my stylist gives the best scalp massage when conditioning my hair. I don't mind the chit-chat with my stylist. With my close cropped hair, I'm in and out of the salon in about 25 minutes max.

4 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I don’t mind it. My stylist and I are friends and get to chat, and I read while color is setting. I just view it as an opportunity to take a couple hours to take care of myself.

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Well, I do find it difficult. Since I colour my hair, it’s an all day production. I mean, my girl goes away to eat her lunch during the whole ordeal. But Lilypup comes with me, the master of just lying there and leads the way. Lol. And I read YLF at lunch.

4 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

I like chatting with my stylist. I have been going to her for 32 years. I really like the way she cuts my hair. I am completely neutral about the experience of having my hair done. It is not a wonderful experience but it is not an awful experience. I am grateful for my stylist's talent and I dread the day she retires.

4 years ago

Runcarla

Veteran

Love the pampering and ‘me’ time, as well as clubby (mostly) female environment. Like Sara, I like when someone plays with my hair. Haircut day is about the only time I wear it straight (blow dry and flat iron) since I mostly air dry and go curly.

4 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

I don't colour -- have neither the cash nor the patience. As for cuts, it took me many years to find a stylist with whom I really clicked, both personality-wise and aesthetically. I actually went a long time cutting my own hair because every time I went to a salon I'd feel dissatisfied and wind up tweaking the cut myself at home.

My work schedule filled up last year, and all the clean-up associated with home haircuts (even trims) became somewhat daunting and not something I wanted to deal with. When a new salon with the right "vibe" opened up last spring, I crossed my fingers and booked an appointment with the proprietor. Lo and behold, she's FANTASTIC. Turns out we have lots of overlapping interests so the 40 minutes flies by, and I walk out with the haircut I want every time. Hair appointments that actually feel worth the $$ -- this is a revelation for me!

4 years ago

nemosmom

Veteran

Another who doesn’t like it! I don’t color (yet), but a good cut is really expensive here. Actually, a really crappy cut is expensive, too...

I am happy to have finally found a stylist who can skillfully do a great razor cut, AND doesn’t insist on blowing out my wavy hair. Still, a cut takes at least 45-60 minutes (blow dry would be another 30-45, easily) and I can’t sit still that long. I also struggle with small talk and when my stylist is feeling chatty, I find that I leave the salon exhausted. And when she’s not paying attention, she can get carried away with the razor and it will take a few weeks for it to fill out.

It’s a tiring, wallet-draining experience!

4 years ago

Tina

Active Member

It's one of the few times I feel unplugged. It helps that I've known my stylist since we were in kindergarten and trust her completely. Sometimes I add a mani and/or pedi just to prolong the down time.

4 years ago

Kathie

Veteran

I enjoy it, but, like LaPed, I don’t color, because of the time and money involved. My stylist specializes in curly cuts, and her methods take a while, because she cuts my hair wet, then dries it (with curl, not blown out) and then adjusts individual curls. So, the cut alone is a process, and usually takes over an hour, but, she only wants to see me every 12 weeks. I’ve been seeing the same person for over 4 years, so we catch up on vacations, travel, and the various businesses that she and her husband have. I actually ask her a lot of questions, so I don’t have to talk about myself as much:). And I love the finished product, so it’s time well spent!

4 years ago

deb

Veteran

I do not mind it probably because I do not color. I go to Great Clips and have 3 inches cut off in a blunt cut for $15 every 3 months. They do a dry cut because my hair is very fine. It takes about 20 minutes.

4 years ago

Marilyn

Veteran

I hate it. I don't like the chit chat, being touched, and sitting still.

4 years ago

Sal

Veteran

I like it in the most part unless I have a day where I struggle to take time out. I like my stylist, I read magazines or a book and I come out looking great.

4 years ago

Liz

Veteran

Count me on Team I Endure It Because I Have To. I didn't know there were so many others. I thought all other women were on Team I Feel Pampered and I was the lone weirdo who didn't enjoy the experience!

4 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

As long as they keep the water temp where I like, I love having someone wash my hair & massage my scalp. I don’t mind having it combed and cut, and get visceral satisfaction from seeing precision layers being cut. When I visit my family where I grew up, I see the woman who’s cut it since I was in middle school and she was a trainee. I had a couple perks in high school, but then I went to college, took a couple women’s studies courses, and that was the end of painful, stinging chemical treatments for me to endure! I don’t foresee coloring it either (though when I visited a boyfriend’s family in Ethiopia, they were excited to put henna in my hair, so they did that. Seeing as we had very little language in common, it was a good way for us to connect, along with take the white girl shopping, dress her up in traditional clothes, and have henna designs put on her hands—way more “salon/girly” stuff than I tolerate otherwise!) My hair seems to be doing its own multi-step progression to grey.

4 years ago

Peri

Veteran

I enjoy it, partly because I know I’m going to like the results and feel better in general for the next month or so. Also, I think it’s relaxing. I get enough done at other times, so I don’t feel bad about a few hours every 6 or 7 weeks being forced down time.

4 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Janet said.

4 years ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Don't like it at all! When I used to get my hair dyed I hated it. Getting my haircut is shorter but also involves me staring at myself in a mirror for 45 minutes. Can't read, must chat. At least at the dentist I have the excuse of stuff in my mouth !

4 years ago

Anonymous

Oh my - who knew there were so many dissenters here I LOVE going to the salon. Of course I don't love the waiting for colour to process, but all in all, I look forward to going and like being there. Chatting, drinking coffee and reading = good times for me ! I often think I am a thwarted/frustrated hair stylist, and get great pleasure out of watching the intricacies of cutting short hair. I'm right in there

4 years ago

delurked

Veteran

What?? I’m so surprised by this. I like getting my hair done. I wouldn’t go to anyone who I don’t like talking to. I view it as catching up with a friend when I go in. I’ve had 3 stylists in over 20 years. Once I find someone, I stick with them.

4 years ago

Anonymous

I love the pampering experience, and my stylist and I have wonderful conversations about everything under the sun, so it's fun, too. It's my therapy!

4 years ago

Jane

Veteran

I enjoy it. I like being in the salon and know them really well. I think I’ve been going to them for may be 7 years. They are so kind and warm and I love the clubby feeling that Carla describes. I aspire to be their client for 32 years like Stylefan! The only trouble is that I’m a fidget so I find sitting in one chair for a couple of hours a struggle.

4 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

I enjoy my salon visits, but I only get my hair cut...I don't have to sit for hours on end for the coloring process (I like my natural hair color and am lucky that I have very little gray). I look forward to my haircuts, because I enjoy how easy my hair is to style once it has been chopped off (my hair grows fast).

4 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I like it...but only in the right circumstances. The right circumstances = the right stylist...one who is pleasant to talk with but who is equally comfortable with silence. She has to be a short hair expert, and I have to trust her. I'm loyal to my stylists once I find a good one.

I don't colour any more (at least not regularly -- I just got a bit of colour as a change today, though!) I don't like the chemical smells but my current salon does not smell bad at all -- they use a type of colour that doesn't have that awful odour. I always bring a book, but often indulge in magazines, which I rarely read outside the salon.

Now, without colour, I'm in an out in about 45 minutes as a rule and usually feel better for it!

4 years ago

Adela

Active Member

What Lisa p said

4 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Don’t enjoy it and never have. Have sometimes shown loyalty for a few years if I have liked the cut they do. Last few years, for convenience, it’s whoever is on at the chain.

4 years ago

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