I usually leave the salon, come home and immediately take a shower. My hair person doesn't rinse the dye out as well as I need it to be rinsed. I'll break out all over otherwise.

Mostly I just tell her to let me go wet.

I love my stylist and she does a great job cutting and coloring but I always rush home afterwards because I don't like the way she styles it! I have a very simple style (bob) so I'm not sure how she does it but to me it looks weird. She also puts some styling stuff in in that I think makes my hair look dirty. I know if I said something she would change what she did, but I'm kind of non-assertive.

it's never the way I like it, but I either take a shower and start over or comb it out and do it differently. I usually ask for no hairspray so it is easier to change if I have another engagement that evening. But I absolutely love her cuts and hair coloring expertise so the hairdo is not a problem.

You are NOT alone. My stylist is away and I had another (recommended) cut my hair. It is naturally wavy and layered. For some unknown reason, she decided to use the straightening iron on it, then proceeded to rat the top and put all sorts of junk in it. Here I was with this stick straight hair with layers that looked like a little kid had gotten the scissors and had fun. It was so bad. When my husband saw me it was all he could do not to laugh out loud. I went home and immediately washed and restyled and it is one of the best haircuts I've ever gotten, but why don't they notice what it is like when you come in?? This happens to me a lot, with very good stylists.

It took me years before I found a stylist who styles my hair the way I like it. And she is the first that I have stuck with for more than a year. I have been with her for about 8 years now, and occasionally she tries styling it a bit differently and I'm not crazy about it, but never so bad that I need to go home immediately and restyle, as I did with my previous stylists. I always felt like they gave me an "old lady" hair style, and that was years ago, before I was and old lady.

The minute I get in the car I comb it out. Once its been washed and I style it myself, it's a very good cut. It always takes a few days for a new cut to settle in.

I love how my hair looks when I leave the salon and lament the fact I can never do it exactly like he does.

I've told my sisters that if money were no object I would become one of those women that has a standing daily styling appointment or an in-house stylist.

I've been with my current stylist for-evah. I don't know what I will do if he retires. I expect I'll be in for sticker shock if I have to go somewhere new because my guy is so reasonable.

I adore my stylist. She gives me the best haircut (and highlights) I've ever had in my life. I like the way she styles my hair, but when I do it myself, I like a bit more volume in the back (I've got a short, angled bob). She's young and into shiny, swingy hair that moves. I'm old and like things a little bit more boofy-poufy. ;-)

My gal does a great job cutting but she will tell you herself that I style it better. No problem as she is 5 minutes from home and most of the time I schedule an appointment for right after work. I, too, have been known to ask her to leave it wet.

tina

He can get it super-straight in a way that I cannot. Plus it looks super shiny. However, he just moved away Dec 31, so I'm going to have to try one of the other stylists. Wish me luck.

The problem with straight hair like mine is preventing the "wet dish rag" look. There's definitely a skill to making it look straight and good.

I generally love the way my hair looks when the stylist finishes. It's so much smoother and shinier than I can ever achieve.

Don't get me started! I always look too fixed! Can't wait to get home and tame down the "Poof". I wear a "slightly stacked" bob and want it to look like it requires very little work. Do it much better myself.

I style my own hair before I leave. My hairdresser cuts it then does the highlights. She then washes it and I take it from there. I usually use her products and blow it dry with a round brush before I leave.

She can then check the final cut and color. Sometimes she adjusts the color or does a final curl fix with a round brush.

I do this to save money as she charges a lot to style hair. She doesn't mind at all.

If you don't like how this other hairdresser styles your hair maybe you could do it yourself. You could even bring your own blowdryer and brush.

I just left there and my hair looks too stupid for words. OMG, Gibby, you are too funny! My hair looks too stupid for words most of the time. I have thin (and seems to be getting thinner-ugh) straight hair, so it really doesn't do much no matter what my guy does. Here I am, almost 60 and I still wear it straight and just below my shoulders. I gave up on perms a couple of years ago, although they do make my hair look fuller. Wish I had one of those cute faces that could carry off short hair. Oh well.

Thanks for the giggle!

I like my hair when I leave the salon most of the time. Sometimes she styles it a bit "wild", but I love the cuts she gives me. I wash my hair before my appointment, my stylist will wet my hair to cut it. I save $10.00.

I cut and color my own hair, so if I hate it, I only have myself to blame!

But even with doing it myself, I find that over the next few days after I cut it, I am re-trimming a spot or decide the front needs to be a bit shorter.

I will and do follow my colourist anywhere she goes. "We" are now on our third salon but fortunately she stays in the same neighbourhood. I'm a little fussy about my cut but it's just a simple bob so can't be too hard to do and the lady who does it now does an adequate job. My hair is very thick but the stylist has figured out how to deal with it so I'm happy. But for me, it's all about the colour.

I go to my stylist because I like her and she is cheap. However, I HATE the way she styles my hair. She uses way too much product and makes it so poofy. Why don't they notice when you walk in how you like to wear your hair? I don't understand. I trim my top and bangs between cuts so when I go to her, it's always for a highlight and cut. The cut is usually pretty good but the style is not. I go home and rewet and style it.

A couple of years back I developed severe allergies to many cosmetic preservatives. So now I bring my own shampoo, conditioners, antifrizz serum, texturizer, and spray that I get at the health food store.

I have been with my stylist for about 15 years. Love her to death. She gives excellent cuts and color. I found that when I was styled with my own products, that this is the perfect thing going. I don't have goop that I am not used to, and she styles it way better than me.

So maybe you can try to bring your products and see if that helps any.

PS. My grandmother, bless her heart, will be 96 years old next week. She doesn't "have gray hair " (goes once a week to the salon to be sure). So I keep telling the DH to just get over how much I spend getting mine done. I say if my 96 year old grandmother doesn't have gray hair, I am certainly not about to!

Well, it seems this IS a pretty common problem. I guess I have been spoiled by the person I've been going to for so long. I suppose I'll just live with it since I usually go there at night and just come home and exercise afterward. One day I had to go in the morning before I went out of town. I had to allow enough time to come home and re-do my hair before I went to the airport. That was the one and only time it actually looked pretty good when I left the place. I guess if she can do it once she can do it again. Maybe I need to be more assertive about how I want it.

I go to different stylists . . .there isn't one I love. I have hard hair to cut, though, and a face that can't pull off much. :)

I like to style my own hair soon afterwards so I can see what it will look like normally. It is 50/50 on whether or not I like what's been done style-wise.

My hair is thick and curly. And it doesn't really have a style. It's just cut in long layers that I either pull back loosely or wear up. It also doesn't have a natural part. I wash it, put some fixer-type stuff on it, then comb through when wet. Let it dry a while and then put on some frizz-control mousse, then dry some more, then blow dry. I never brush it. Ever. Or it goes all Rosanna Rosanadanna on me.

Stylists, however, refuse to acknowledge any of this about my hair. They brush, they make a part, they tug it around until it is bumpy and fuzzy. They are insane. So I get a cheap-o cut and leave wet. It has worked for the last 20 or so years.

Sometimes I think I'd like an actual hair style. But It would require so much product and so much fussing that I know I would lose interest after about a week.

When my hair was shorter I'd make sure to run any errands BEFORE my appt knowing that I wouldn't want to be seen w/it styled by him. Really it prob. wasn't THAT bad but I prefer the way I style it. I even kept a small cordless curling iron in my car just in case I couldn't avoid going straight home, and would redo it the best I could in the car.

Now that my hair is longer it isn't such an issue. My stylist does a great cut, is reasonably priced and is the nicest person ever. I searched for several years to find someone who could do a great cut so he's stuck w/me!:)

When my hair was shorter I'd make sure to run any errands BEFORE my appt knowing that I wouldn't want to be seen w/it styled by him. Really it prob. wasn't THAT bad but I prefer the way I style it. I even kept a small cordless curling iron in my car just in case I couldn't avoid going straight home, and would redo it the best I could in the car.

Now that my hair is longer it isn't such an issue. My stylist does a great cut, is reasonably priced and is the nicest person ever. I searched for several years to find someone who could do a great cut so he's stuck w/me!:)

I have always hated the way my hair is styled too and B-line it home to shower and get all the carp they put in it out.

I've had a few different ones over the years but 99% of the time it's certainly not how I'd style it. I usually just tell her blow dry since I'm heading home. I'm basically wasting both our time if she bothers. I think the only times I didn't go home after an appointment was to head to the gym and I just throw on a ball cap.

Can't you talk to your stylist and explain? Or in the case where she kept going with the styling -- I would have put up my hands and said "okay, great, that's perfect!" When I first started going to my hairdresser, she would style my hair much "pouffier" than I like it. When she was done, she would ask if I liked it, and I would start pushing down on the pouffy parts. This happened a couple of times and then she laughed and said, okay, I get it...now she has it right, and occasionally if she styles it a bit pouffy, she'll laugh and say, "okay, now go ahead and smoosh it down."

OTOH, another stylist I had for years would style my hair too straight and non-pouffy! He was a very precise cutter and I think his goal in drying was simply to make sure the cut worked, not to really style my hair. I used to have to run home and pouf it up a bit myself!

Being as ex hairdresser I know how to train them. Don't brag on their work so much and they will try and please you even more. If you tell them constantly how great they are, they slack off, and get you in and out.

Or, it could back fire, and they start hating your guts and will really give you a bad do.

But, quite honestly there are so many hairdressers that surely you can find one that does a wonderful job, without spending your kids college fund.

Here I thought I was the only one who hated my hair after getting it cut & 'styled'. I just got it cut on Sunday and SPECIFICALLY told the stylish that I DO NOT USE PRODUCTS. None. Hairspray, maybe, but no products. I don't blow dry, I have a deep side part and I do not like it bobbed. So what do I get? A wimpy side part, a slightly layered bob and about 6 lbs of mousse, spray and other stuff I can't even recognize. Plus a hard sell on products (buy one, get the other half off!).

DD got her hair cut at the same place and her hair was gorgeous. I thought I was getting her stylist, but apparently not. I have thick, wavy hair, and the bob she gave me looks ridiculous, and when she scrunched and poufed and pluffed my hair I looked like a news anchor. I'm the woman who drags a comb thru my hair as I'm driving to work.

Women don't like the "I just walked out of the salon look". I hate that beauty shop look too. This is 2012 not 1964, women want the natural look.

I like my hair tossed and messy and I have a choppy cut. My hairdresser knows what I like and she knows how to do it finally. Sometimes she does it well and other times not. However, she can color like no other.

.....Jane

I love the salon that I've been going to since DH & I moved to the county we live in (over 20 yrs). The owner does my cuts, and I have had a few different stylists over the years that apply my color.

I've found that the best thing you can do is to take pics of what you like, or want done to your hair (both color and/or haircut style).

You can find lots of pics from all sorts of magazines, they don't have to be "hair style" magazines per se. You may see a cut or color that you like in any magazine. The internet is another good source for images or the internet to give your stylist(s) something to work from.

My idea of what I want isn't always easy to explain. I have a couple of pages of copy paper with pics stapled to them that I keep at the salon. When I go in for an appointment, the gal at the front desk gets them out for me.

When I want to change something with regard to my cut or color, I print a few pics to take with me. That way there is no way that what I "think" I want being lost in translation. Have to say this has been the single best thing I've done to improve getting what I want.

There have been times when I've taken in a picture and my colorist or stylist will reel me in with the reality of changing to that particular style. They explain why they feel that the something I see that I want may not work for either my hair texture or shape of my face. Luckily, the people I work with at the salon have a pretty good idea of what I will or won't like, or will or won't be able to deal with on a daily basis:).

Wow, you've really touched on a problem a lot of us have, Gibby! Like many here, I HATE the way my hair looks when I walk out of the shop! My hairdresser is brilliantly talented in cutting, color, and hi and low-lighting hair. She's a sweetheart and has become good friend over the 5 years and 3 salons she's been at and I'd follow her anywhere. But, even though she sees how I come into the salon, she always adds these little back-combed poufs, held in place with hairspray. My temporary "cure" is to pop on my sunglasses and then slide them back on my head like a hairband (LOL!). That takes care of the ront and side poufs temporarily. I then head to my car, drive around the corner, stop and quickly comb out the poufs. My hair is about 5" below my shoulders and naturally straight. I don't have a creative bone in my body when it comes to styling my hair, but I get compliments all the time on how I wear it~ parted on the side and curled loosely. When I really want to get creative, I pull it back in a ponytail or bun (LOL!).
Apparently, my hairdresser thinks I need help in that department, but it always looks strange to me. I usually meet my best friend afterwards for lunch. Her Tai Chi Cha place is just across the parking lot from my salon, so she's seen the "poufs" and laughs at them, too. But, I can live with the temporary poufs as I always get a great cut and a color and hi-lite job that looks wonderful and very natural.
Lynn

I LOVE my hair when I leave. The same person has been cutting my hair for over 30 years! If she ever retires, I do not know what I'll do. I followed her to several salons over the years, but now she works for herself in a salon in her house. It's great because I get the same color, the same cut, for less money than when she was in the salons.

And, the best part is I've been getting keratin treatments because she charges me 1/2 what the salon would have charged me. I never would have done it when she was at the salons because I couldn't spend that kind of $$. But, once she went on her own and I did it, it's changed my life. Went from 35 minutes to do my hair (blow dry straight with round brush and then a little with the flat iron) to 9 minutes - quick blow dry and no flat iron! I can't believe the compliments I get. Some have said you look younger, some said you look thinner (and I'm already fairly thin), some have just said you look great but I don't know what's different. I even get compliments on my hair from complete strangers when paying for lunch at places near work, etc. It is the first time in my life I've ever really loved my hair.

I learned how to cut my own hair in the last year, so no more horrible post-haircut styling! But before, even though I was spending rather a lot of money, I hated how she would style my hair. I could hardly wait to get out to the car to calm my hair down.

I had no idea how many other people felt the same way. This has been a fun read!

les and xantippe - how do you cut your own hair? How do you do the back? Not that I could ever cut my own hair. I can't even cut my son's hair! But, I'm fascinated how you can do it yourself. I know my stylist doesn't even cut her own hair.

Yes, how do you do the back? I have a real weakness in that if I don't like my hair I'll get out the scissors and go to town with them! I really try not to do it -- it's a bad habit-- but my hair is extremely thick so it hides most of my mistakes (I think....). I have been thinking I need to buy one of those mirrors that hangs around your neck so you can see the back of your head without holding the mirror, if they still make those.