Last edited Sun Jun 29, 2025, 02:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Too dry and missing emoticons. Sorry about that.

The typo was "mowhack" where "mohawk" was intended, which I thought was an amusing combination of "mow" and "hack". My inspiration was the light-hearted nature of the thread. I note that since then you have edited the post.

So I made up a question combining mow (lawnmower) and hack (hedge trimmer), with the visual in my mind of mowing a head of hair with a lawn mower or hacking at it with a hedge trimmer.

I'm sorry I upset you. My mistake was that I presented the joke question completely dry, completely deadpan. I didn't include any emoji or wording to make it clear it was a joke. So it was easy to interpret it as a jab, as something unkind, and that seems to be how it has upset you.

I apologize.

His wife did his and he did hers. And it looked good.

I've been giving myself a military buzz cut with hair clippers at home for the past 30+ years

I looked like your typical Italian disco douche from Saturday Night Fever or something.

Stupidest thing I ever did...but all the men were getting them back then. I only did it once.

I wish I still had my powder blue leisure suit though with the coordinated silk shirt...that would be badass to wear that thing out today.

and add some chain necklaces.

Every couple of weeks, late at night, I go shirtless into my backyard with my cordless hair trimmer and buzz it all down to a stubble.

Sixteen years ago, after ass kicking surgery, I went through that Chemotherapy thingy. Midway through the process, my oncologist commented I hadn’t lost my hair. What he didn’t realize was I was already loosing my hair slowly, and a new crop of curly white hair was waiting underneath to take center stage. I really looked good with curly hair, and have entertained the idea of getting a permanent ever since.

you

Dear Brother Buzz,

I am so sorry to hear of your illness. I am so glad you made it through!

I've seen clients whose hair grew back completely opposite of what they had. It's something most folks who have not had Chemo know about. I've seen straight hair blondes grow back jet black curly hair.

May You Always Be Healthy, Safe and Happy!
Reis

My hair is essentially black, so i never did any coloring.
I had a perm in the 80s, then let it grow longer, so it was sort of a Gheri Curl.
I was playing in a pretty glammy band at the time, so it worked.
The EVP of R&D, however, didn't think much of it.

Does that count? His next door neighbor was a beautician & used to perm his hair. That was in the 80s & he wanted New Wave hair. Me, I haven't had a perm since that time period.

...was to be taken. I have seldom been that angry. I was so upset I couldn't go to sleep, and went storming out of our bedroom in the dark. I walked smack into the corner of the wall of the short hallway leading to the door out of the room. I'm surprised I didn't break my nose because I really hit it hard.

When I called the photography company to ask if they did retakes for kids with stupid haircuts, the woman on the phone chuckled and said, "All the time."

Dear 3catwoman3,

I've seen so much of that! Being a stylist, I have stories that I still laugh about to this day. I once had a bride with super thick hair to her waist. Her mom wanted the "Julia Roberts, Steel Magnolia Bride Look" but my client wanted a more subdued look. After and hour of arguing between each other the bride walked out. She called me later and asked if I could work her back in ALONE. I did. I gave her a buzzed haircut and she ditched the long veil for a simple small rose on her ear. She was stunning. The mother would not even look at me when I went to the wedding. The groom was absolutely in love with her new look!

Things happen. I'm glad the photographer helped you out!

Reis

heavy tresses. Sure, that kind of hair is fun for special braiding, up-do's, soft curls, etc. But it sounds like the bride needed to claim her independence before getting married.

Dear Ilsa,

Her career took off! Her entire demeanor changed, for the better! No more mouse! The LYON came out and I had never seen her happier! These are the memories made of a past career that I loved! I learned so early that sometimes people need individual care and attention to support growth in their lives. Feeling good about oneself and inner beauty can open up the world around us to amazing things.

Reis

about 25 years ago.

Got back to the newsroom and the hot young reporter gave me a "Yow!"

(Or however you'd spell that bit o' onomatapoeia.)

white/blonde color. Salon gave me red and butterscotch streaks. I hated it, couldn't wait for it to grow out.

I was a hairstylist for over 20 years. I've been every shade of brown, red and blonde. (only blonde once, about a day, and then I said oh hell no!) I loved changing my hair color. As I got older, while still a hairstylist, I stayed within the natural tones of hair color with highlights. I stopped coloring my hair when I passed 50. Very few older men can pull off coloring their hair if they want a natural look. But to each his/her own. If they're happy, then I'm happy for them.

My clientele was probably 65% Women and 35% Men. 80% my clients had some type of chemical treatment. Perms lost the rage in the early 90's. Thank God I was known for Color. I booked out a year in advance. Opened the book in October and by Thanksgiving I was booked for the next year.

I will never forget the smell of perms. (the smell of money, lol) The thing is, most people did not realize that after you have a perm, you DON'T have to smell like perm. If someone smells of perms afterwards, it was not properly done. That use to crack me up! I never gave away the secret to that! Only true professional hairstylist know it, and will usually laugh if you ask what it is. Let's just say it's the difference between a real professional that takes their job seriously and someone who probably wont last in the business. After all, you get what you pay for.

I was an educator for haircare products. I spoke to crowds from 100's to a 1000 at conventions and then presented girl scouts with little treat bags of hair care products and clips and taught them about their hair at their monthly meetings. It was a blast! I loved my job! I could sell as much in retail as I made in client services.

My clientele was very diverse. I had millionaires and folks on food stamps. College students ( entire sororities and fraternities. ) IBM professionals, doctors, lawyers, farmers and florist. Entire families and even entire neighborhoods. You name it, I had it! I I loved my clientele! I miss those days! I wished I had not walked away from it. I miss my clients, most also became friends.

This was a nice trip down memory lane. Thanks debm55

edited:: after posting and rereading, I realized I sounded like I was bragging. That was not my intention. I just loved what I did for a living. Always on the go and I would go home exhausted and so happy, every night! That was a lifetime ago. Again, Thanks debm55, the memories put a smile on my face!

a spiral perm when my hair was down to my waist. Took forever. I remember it was in the mid 90s, It was beautiful but for the price it didn't last as long as I thought it would. Take care, Love Debbie.

someone with a particular passion and expertise! I'm so glad you enjoyed your career.

... don't hide your light under a bushel.

…you loved so much. I felt that way about my pediatric nurse practitioner career for most of the 45 years I did it. The introduction of electronic medical records ruined everything - more time taking care of the computer than of the patients and parents.

I have had the same hair stylist since 1994. We moved from the Maryland/Washington DC area to the far northwest suburbs of Chicago. At the time, I had the Dorothy Hamill wedge cut, which, as I’m sure you know, is not an easy style to create because of all the precision shaping in the back. I’d been thru 10 stylists in MD/DC before I found someone who could consistently do right. So, my main worry with moving was finding a good stylist. Luckily, I did, right away. I followed a woman into the produce section of a grocery store near our new house to ask who did her hair. The cut wasn’t a wedge, but I could tell it had been done with great precision. I’ve been going to her ever since, with 2 exceptions when she was out for surgeries. She uses 4 different tools, and then after my hair is dry, she goes back thru it looking for little strays.

That stylist opened her own salon a few years later. Like you, she books a year out and I tell people that I may not know what I’m having for dinner tonight, but I know when my hair appointments are for the next year.

She is one of the reasons my husband and I have separate checking accounts. He doesn’t need to know what I spend on my hair. I’d rather spend and be happy than go cheap and cringe every time I walk past a mirror.

If one is looking for a new stylist, ask someone with a great hairstyle!

Consistency is the key to success. You were right to mention it. After the second visit to the same stylist, when keeping the same style, the stylist should deliver what you want. It's not that hard if the stylist is a professional.

Not sure if this is true today but it use to be finding a reliable stylist and a really good dry cleaners when moving to a new area was of the utmost importance. I've rarely used a drycleaners in years.

I guess It's because I was a stylist, but I LOVE THIS THREAD and hearing all the stories! I have stories that will leave you in stitches and crying at the same time. You really do get to know everything about your clients and many become friends. I was lucky to have had a career I loved. AND I walked away from it 20 years ago.

...and in the years I was not using contact lenses and had to take my glasses off, I couldn't see if things were going awry until it was too late. So many times, I'd put the glasses back on and have to hide my disappointment.

It's so lovely to have the high level of trust I have with my current hair artist. I've told her that if she retires before I die, we will have to have her filmed doing what she does with my hair so someone can replicate it. Fortunately, the stylist that filled in for her the 2 times she wasn't available also did an excellent job, so I have a plan B. I'm 74, and plan to be around for a least 2 more decades.

I'm so picky about my hair that I could be dressed head-to-toe in haute couture but if I weren't happy with how my hair looked, the best outfit in the world wouldn't help.

... in a couple of months but it was very easy to maintain. Wash and shake and go to work.

I grayed young, I used low-lights. Hair grew too fast, and the low lights were not cheap to touch back up.

Neither process I did for more than a year.

school . Used a pick on it at school and that was it.

That’s the sort of thing you only admit to at your Skull & Bones initiation, if you might have had a perm in the 1980’s.

… only a select few got to see it!

My Mom treated me to a spiral perm with her hairstylist. I went into the salon with hair half way down my back and left looking like a sad, pathetic poodle. The stylist burned it so badly she had to cut half of it off. It was all I could do not to burst into tears sitting in the chair looking like a hot mess. A couple of months later I had a neighbor cut it all off. It barely reached my shoulders. Never thought about getting another one.

was sticky and I couldn't get an pick though it. It was like they put grease on it. For that time, my hair was down to my shoulders.Day after day the grease was covering my hair. My regular hair dresser had a cancellation and cut it all off. I cried too, Went back to the salon at the Mall and told them I wanted my money back. Didn't get it. I stayed with my regular salon.

I would occasionally get my hair permed into an afro (white, middle class, male).
I quit doing it when my hairdresser pointed out the growing bald spot on the back of my head.

more than chemicals!