Theresa Trivelli of Cuttin’ Loose Hair Salon on East Main Street in Kent cuts audiology graduate student Stacey Lin’s hair. Many new looks are in and some old ones are coming back, including the mullet and hair styles from the 1930s and 40s.

Credit: Andrew popik

If there’s one thing that women have an obsession with, it’s their hair.  I read a poll in some girlie magazine recently that a large percentage of women would take having a great hair day every day over great sex. 

Girls always want a coif that somebody else has. Personally, I have extremely thick, coarse hair, and I always wished I had soft, silky hair.

Some people say they would kill to have thick hair, but I have been through hair hell over the years because some hairstylists don’t know how to cut it.

Even worse, one time this lady chunked dark red and blonde highlights over my dark blonde hair.  I even told her I thought the red color sample she showed me was too dark before she colored it. But like a lot of stylists, she didn’t listen. Turns out, they called me “Tiger” at work for weeks until I got it fixed.

I’m sure every girl has gotten a style at some point where she wanted to cry every time she looked in the mirror.

My one friend back in high school called in sick because she didn’t like the color she dyed her hair and then re-dyed it while she was playing hooky.

Since I’ve moved a lot in my life, I’ve learned some important things when looking for a good hairstylist. If it is your first time looking for one because you’re far away from home, or maybe you’re not satisfied with the one you’ve got, I’ve put together some tips on how to find a good stylist.

n First don’t get an impulse hair cut. For instance, you’re walking around the mall and see this cute barber shop and you think, gee, I could use a new look. It probably won’t be a pleasant experience.

n If you want to find a good stylist, ask someone with a haircut you like where she got her hair cut and who cut it. Trust me, even if it’s a stranger, she won’t mind telling you, and she’ll be flattered that you asked.

n Once you’ve made the appointment, do some hair research. Just find a couple pictures of hair styles you like. Most hairstylists I have talked to in the past have said a picture helps them to know what you want. Back when Jennifer Aniston was first popular, everyone was going for “The Rachel” look. Even though everyone knew her hair style, it still helped to bring in a picture of exactly what length and style of hers you wanted. A good place to look for “in style” hair pictures is at a bookstore like Barnes & Noble or Borders. They have tons of magazines with styles from here and Europe, as well as pictures of celebs to get haircut ideas from. (I like the English ones myself; they’re a bit more edgy.) Bookmark the page and bring in the color or style that you want.

n I would get my haircut first and see how much I liked it before spending more money on color or any other salon service.

n If you don’t like the cut when it’s finished, say something very tactfully about why you don’t like it. If the stylist cut too much off, there’s not much you can do. If it’s just that the bangs are still too long, or it’s not laying right on one side, you can get that fixed. 

n As far as bad color jobs, a good salon will redo it for you for free. If you’re trying on a whole new color — from blonde to red — try semi-permanent hair color. That way if you don’t like it, you can rinse it out.

JaLynn Hardy is a senior journalism major and the fashion columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].