Ok, I’ve heard your horror stories. The times you’ve been to stylists where you’ve gotten terrible this and that’s done. Let’s break things down a little so that I can give you a tangible way of addressing this head on, before you find yourself sitting at the end of your third disappointing visit, considering finding a new stylist.
You love your hairstylist, your visits are fun and you love catching up, the catch? She’s missed the mark on your hair at your past 2 appointments and you don’t want to say anything and hurt her feelings. The main issue with this is you’re likely going to run into the same problem next time because she has no idea you’re unhappy.
Why is this happening to me though?
It’s very likely that even though it may seem like a huge screw up or miscommunication, that it has a simple fix. Being honest with your stylist allows not only you to be happy with your hair, but for them to make you happy as well, which is what they really want. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes people simply don’t connect. This could be the case for you, but maybe try this approach first to find out.
How to say you’re unhappy without hurting anyone’s feelings.
If you’re planning on coming back to see your stylist again, at the end of your appointment (or the beginning depending where you are) try this, “I think it looks good, it’s not exactly what I had in mind so maybe at my next appointment can we try changing _______ about it? I know you’re great at what you do so I have faith we’ll be able to hit the mark, I think we just miscommunicated on __________ today.” Or “At my last appointment I feel like we miscommunicated on ________ so could we maybe try changing _________ about it this time?” If you’re unsure where the miscommunication was you could say, “I’m not sure how I feel about how my hair turned out at my appointment. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful but I feel like I would be more comfortable with it looking more like this...” and follow up with a photo.
Approaching the situation this way is honest and respectful. Your stylist should appreciate your honesty and be happy to help you figure out what you truly want without any hurt feelings. If things end poorly then you know that you gave it your all and you can feel confident in unfortunately choosing to find a new stylist.
Remember that we’re all human. Mistakes happen and there are so many communication styles. What’s most important is that you find someone who you enjoy spending your time with that has a similar communication style to you!
Happy communicating love!
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