What to Do If You Hate Your New Haircut

By Renee Trilivas, Allure magazine

After countless forgettable trims, I finally worked up the courage the to get an actual haircut this past weekend. I walked into my salon with long waves and walked out with choppy layers, wispy bangs, and tears welling up in my eyes. (I did manage to wait until my train ride home before letting the waterworks flow.) Rather than give in to the urge to shave my head like Britney circa 2007, I asked Ruben Colon, stylist at Sally Hershberger Downtown what to do when you hate your new cut.

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Wait it out. Not sure if "hate" is too strong a word? You have more time than you think to let the salon know. Colon recommends clients wait at least a week or two to see if they like the cut-this gives you a chance to wash and style your hair on your own. "Clients usually go into shock, it takes that much time to settle down with the hair and see how it feels to live with it."

Make the call. If you're still sobbing or dropping F-bombs at the thought of your stylist, it's probably best to wait until you're feeling cool and collected before calling. If you're a long-time client, Colon says phone the salon and speak directly to your stylist, calmly telling him that you're not crazy about the cut. If it was your first visit or you just don't feel comfortable with the stylist re-cutting your hair, Colon recommends speaking with the manager.

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Assess the damage. When you return to the salon the stylist should take a good look at the cut to see what they can do to fix it. Colon says the two most common complaints are hair being too short or hair that's uneven. If you're concerned about the length, "wait six weeks for the hair to grow before getting a re-cut," says Colon-adding that that next visit should be complimentary if they can't fix it immediately. But if the cut is lopsided, the stylist should even it out that day at no extra charge.

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Get it right this time. If all you can manage to articulate is "I just. Don't. Like it," Colon recommends bringing in a celeb picture that's closer to what you had in mind. "The important thing is to let us know. We don't want you to walk out of the salon feeling totally unhappy either," says Colon.

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Photo Credit: Fairchild Archive