I really don’t know how hairdressers do it; people always coming in and asking for new hairstyles, or a ‘popular hairstyle,’ I would have no clue as to where to start if I were them.

He has a lot of hairstyle magazines in the waiting area, so many times he grabs one of them and starts to show me samples of what he thinks I might like.

The reason I feel sorry for him is that he has a tough job to do. We were chatting one day when he was trying to make a short hairstyle out of my currently layered hairstyle when he confessed that he did so much better when a person brought in pictures of hairstyles to show him what they want.

He told me that one day a man came in and asked for a dangerous-looking hairstyle

One thing I like about my hairdresser is that he is always going to conventions to keep up-to-date on the latest trendy hairstyles (both men’s hairstyles and womens hairstyles). However, he had no idea what a dangerous hairstyle might look like. And, because he had no idea, he just gave the guy a popular men’s hairstyle. He wasn’t sure if the guy was satisfied or not; and he definitely knew he wasn’t satisfied with the cut he gave him, not knowing if that’s what he wanted - or not.

I know that men’s hairstyles cost around $20 (womens hairstyles tend to be a LOT more), and if you’re going to pay that kind of money for something, you should get what you want - especially if you tell the hairdresser what you want!

And that’s the missing link. When you ask the hairdresser for something different, but you don’t have pictures of hairstyles you like, you’ll end up with the same old thing. In this case, both parties lost. The hairdresser was not happy because he didn’t think he gave the customer the mens hairstyle that he wanted; the customer was not happy because he had been all excited about his new dangerous look, only to end up with the same haircut he always got.

So what’s the solution? If possible, always bring your hairdresser a picture of what you want, or something close to what you want. I have taken pictures of people on the television and brought them into his shop. He once said I could even bring in a video tape of a person with my vision of a short trendy hairstyle, if that’s want I wanted.

All he needs is some kind of clue as to what you might be looking for in a new hairstyle. Long? Short? Medium length? Oh, and he really has a different idea of how short a short haircut should be - I’ll never make that mistake again!

You may not know this,but there is new technology availabl that lets you try on virtual hairstyles and see what you will look like before you go in for your new trendy hairstyle. I do this all the time, and it has saved me time (growing back hair), and money when I get what I want the first time.

Evelyn Grazini is a Health and Wellness Researcher who writes for a variety of Health Sources. Look and you’ll find the Virtual Hairstyle Selector and More! http://www.ahealthstop.com

- Evelyn Grazini