My ideal TV channel would feature Seinfeld reruns, episodes of Bridezillas, Bad Girls' Club, and most of Bravo's reality shows. It's a good thing this channel doesn't exist, because I'd be a total couch potato.
I haven't set out to watch any of Shear Genius, but recent Wednesday nights seem to find me at home, eating a late dinner and trying to figure out what Jon did to his face and what the hell Camila Alves is saying. My favorites: Brig and Janine, whom I predict will be the big winner. (Janine also possesses the cutest tattoos ever, and I say that as a non-fan of tattoos.)
Nexxus, sponsors of Shear Genius, has kindly given us a HUGE stash of styling goodies to give away to one lucky Jack & Hill commenter. For a chance at winning, just comment below about your worst or best hair salon experience ever, or about the show. I'll use random.org to select a winning commenter on Friday. Good luck!
I'll start (though I'm obviously not eligible to win)!
My best salon experience was paying a mere £5 (about $10 at the time) for the most incredible haircut I've ever had. It was one of those "I MUST get my hair cut today, I'm just going anywhere that can take me" impulses that, for once, paid off. It was the first and only time I gave a 200% tip.
My worst salon experience was paying £175 (about $350 at the time) for celebrity stylist Richard Ward to give me a very average cut. Nothing is more embittering than shelling out huge money for mediocrity.
Posted by: Jackie | March 15, 2010 at 03:48 PM
One of the best salon experiences was taking a risk and putting a red swish of color in my long bangs a few years back. Unfortunately it also turned out to be one of the worst experiences when the red faded to pink for the next few weeks. Ended up going to a different salon to trade the pink for all-over blonde highlights.
Posted by: Carly | March 15, 2010 at 05:46 PM
Best salon experience ever: getting my very very long hair cut very very short in a modern, piecey Audrey Hepburn-esque style that looked amazing. One of the worst: going back to my stylist a week later to buy products and impulsively letting her convince me to shorten that 'do up into a faux hawk.
Posted by: Shannon | March 15, 2010 at 06:11 PM
I was in Rotterdam, and the hair stylist did not speak English and I did not speak Dutch. I wanted to dye my hair dark, but she began mixing a blondish color. I was not smart enough to say no, so I ended up a weird color of blond with a blunt and shaggy Dutch Boy cut.
Posted by: qssung | March 15, 2010 at 06:15 PM
Best salon experience: Being a Fantastic Sam's kinda girl, the first time I splurged on an expensive haircut was magical. The stylist actually talked to me before cutting my hair! It was amazing! I loved that cut dearly.
Worst: Having a cousin cut my hair in his salon at age 8. I ended up with a boyish (not in a good, gamine way) haircut that traumatized me deeply.
Posted by: Kate B | March 15, 2010 at 06:56 PM
My best salon experience was going to this fancy hair salon at age 16! I got these gorgeous highlights in my hair! They were soooo expensive! my mom flipped, but I still remember how they made me look and feel! I still remember a boy I liked noticing my hair! A teenage boy noticed! hahaha It was magical!
The worst experience: Having my hair styled and curled for prom. It wasn't the vision I had. I looked more like a poodle than having soft waves! I will never forget that day! ha live and learn! xo
Posted by: Kimberly L. | March 15, 2010 at 07:49 PM
Oh, God. Talk of boyish haircuts reminds me that my mother had my long hair cut off when I was three (because I wouldn't stop chewing on it) and into a total Dutch boy. She thought it was cute, I hated it and still remember how humiliating it was. I was three! Nope, I don't let go of hair disasters easily.
Posted by: Jackie | March 15, 2010 at 07:56 PM
Worst experience was the unfortunate "shaved back of the head" incident during law school. Ugh, not a good look.
Best, any time I get a head rub or shoulder massage while shampooing or while my color processes. I'm easy to please.
As for Shear Genius, Brig grates on my nerves something awful. They're all pretty annoying, actually, but Janine is my pick to win the whole thing.
Posted by: Trish | March 15, 2010 at 08:51 PM
I have only seen a few episodes, and I get the feeling that Brig is supposed to be irritating, but I find her pretty imaginative and I love the different looks she gives herself. Adee was the one I really wanted to punch. April irritated me a great deal, and I can't believe she has her own salon in my neighborhood. What's scary about the show is that people with mediocre skills are running their own salons in the real world, charging big money and getting away with it.
Posted by: Jackie | March 15, 2010 at 09:13 PM
My worst experience was letting my former stylist talk me into get big chunky blonde streaks down my part. Ugh, it looked like black and white stripes running down my head. I wore my hair back for a week until she could get me in to darken the stripes. Then I swtiched to a different salon/stylist that I had heard great things about and she took great care in helping get my hair into the the best shape it had ever been in and even now I don't let any bleach near my hair.
Posted by: Jody | March 16, 2010 at 09:40 AM
The Good : Free keratin. Ohhhh yeeeaaahhh.
The Bad : Paying too much for a sub-par cut that left my hair flat as hell.
The Ugly : A stylist not reining in my blonde ambition, leaving me looking mange-ridden with different lengths, thus necessitating a 12" loss (from which I am STILL recovering a year later).
xoxo, Scarlett
Posted by: Scarlett | March 16, 2010 at 01:17 PM
Best experience: in Japan. Hairdresser did not speak much English, I do not speak Japanese but we managed to understand each other with hand signs. What can I say, the Japanese have the cutest haircuts and I wanted to try. I did end up with a cute and sassy cut.
The worst... Once I got a stylist who was an "older lady" (like in her 60s) and made me look (I was in my 30s) like herself! the cut wasn't bad, but she teased the hair way too much and loved hair spray. When I got home my husband exclaimed "You look like Barbara Bush!" Definitely not the compliment I was looking for.
Posted by: Luisa | March 16, 2010 at 01:27 PM
"Does everyone have a problem with this part of your hair?". That's what I get for going to a mall salon! Luckily it was college, my hair was punk-rock short, and it grows quickly.
Glad the blog is back!
Posted by: SK | March 17, 2010 at 05:32 PM
Every hair cut that I had before the age of 12 was the worst salon experience I could ever imagine. I lived in mortal fear of hair salons for the first half of my life. For some reason my parents forced me to cut my curly hair very short. On me this formed a very unflattering, out of control afro!! I cried at every hair cut.
Posted by: Kellie Butler | March 18, 2010 at 03:11 PM
I can honestly say my best haircut experience was at the local cosmetology school. I say that and people look at me funny - probably because they have images of Frenchy dancing in their heads - but think about it! These are students that are actually paying attention to their craft and their instructors have to "sign off" on the cut. Plus, it's super cheap! Can't go wrong with that.
Posted by: Abby | March 18, 2010 at 07:16 PM
It was about 6 or 7 years ago that I walked into my favorite salon where my regular stylist was completely booked up. I settled for a guy stylist who suggested layers. Huge mistake! I got 2 layers. It looked like I had shingles on my head! I've never had layers since.
Posted by: Julia | March 19, 2010 at 09:00 PM
As a kid they would never cut my bangs right, and as an adult things haven't changed!! always uneven still
Posted by: elle | March 21, 2010 at 08:08 PM