beauty

8 Things Your Hairstylist Wants You to Stop Doing

Seriously, stop the at-home trims

Hairstylists are kind of like magicians: They make us look like a million bucks and simultaneously serve as pseudo therapists. But are they mind readers? Not so much. Do yourself a favor and read up on these eight things your stylist really wants you to stop doing already.

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1. Requesting A Celebrity's Haircut (unless You Have A Picture)

Celebrities’ styles change drastically from day to day and event to event, so your idea of Jennifer Lawrence’s lob could be totally different from your stylist's. Do the work and print out (or have handy on your phone) a picture of the exact look you want to mimic.

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2. Expecting A Miracle

No matter how perfect the cut and color, you’re probably not going to look 100 percent like Jennifer Lawrence. (After all, everyone’s hair texture is unique.) Managing your expectations ensures that you won’t walk out of the salon disappointed or, worse, take it out on your innocent stylist.

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3. Trying To Change Your Hair At Its Core

No matter how much time or money you spend on changing your hair, you really can’t change it at its core. While you can certainly manipulate your hair to a point, it’s best to accept that you’re probably never going to fit a square peg into a round hole.

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4. Doubting Them

Hairstylists are highly trained professionals. If, in their opinion, going platinum blonde will cause irreparable damage, just listen. Yes, it would probably look super cool for a hot second, but it’s so not worth a lifetime of fried hair.

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5. Going Too Long Between Trims

While trimming your hair often won't make it grow any faster, frequent trims are necessary for preventing split ends and breakage. Ideally you should be getting a trim every eight to 12 weeks for your healthiest strands.

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6. Cutting Your Own Bangs

Seriously. Unless you’re a trained professional, an at-home chop is probably going to cause more awkward-length harm than good. Instead, ask your salon if it offers complimentary bang trims--many do.

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7. Adding Excessive Heat To Your Hair

Too much blow drying, flat ironing and curling can seriously damage strands. Try to take a break every now and then and make sure to use a good heat protectant spray to keep hair healthy.

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8. Pretending You're Happy If You're Not

If you’re not satisfied with your cut or color, be upfront about it and say something. Salons don’t want you to go out and complain to everyone you know, so many of them will fix your hair for free. The moral of the story is: Let's all be open, honest and flexible. After all, it's just hair.

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Jenny Jin

Beauty Director

Jenny Jin is PureWow’s Beauty Director and is currently based in Los Angeles. Since beginning her journalism career at Real Simple magazine, she has become a human encyclopedia of...
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