how to get a great haircut

I've needed a haircut for the past three months, but still haven't gotten on it because... well, because I'm lazy... OK, lazy and broke. But, when it comes time to get a haircut, you better believe I'm going to do it RIGHT.

Follow these tips to getting a great haircut, not just the first time, but every time.

1. Get a recommendation. This is how most people go about it, but remember to get the recommendation from the RIGHT person. Yes, you should admire whomever’s hair- but for what reasons??
   
   The person with the most enviable hair in the office may have great highlights, but if you’re not getting highlights, he/she may not be the one to ask. People who get their hair colored are most likely used to spending $200-300 per visit, and the focus is on the color, not the cut- so you’d be better off asking someone whose cut you admire, specifically if their hair is a similar texture to yours.
   
   You may love your friend’s blunt bangs, but if her hair is pin-straight and extremely fine, while you’ve got over two pounds of wavy, thick hair sitting on your hair, you’re not envious of her haircut, but of her hair.
   
   Accept what you’ve got to work with, even though the grass is always greener, and you’ll end up with a cut that she wishes SHE could emulate.
   
   
2. Yes, they wash your hair when you go to get it cut, but do NOT go in there with greasy, grimy hair twisted up in a disgusting knot. If you’re going to a new stylist for the first time, you have to look the part that you want your hair to look. When I made an appointment right after work and showed up in my uber conservative clothes and asked for a shoulder-length bob, I got a mom-of-the-year haircut above my chin. This wasn’t because my stylist didn’t listen to me, but the image I was projecting stuck in her head, so as she’s making strand-by strand decisions, she (and rightly so) made it match my image.
   
   If you pull your hair back all week at work and at the gym, but live for the weekends when you blow-dry, straighten, curl and style your hair, then throw on a pair of jeans and a funky necklace before heading to the salon, so that when you’re explaining what you want, to the stylist, he/she can see how it would look on you in the clothes you’d be wearing.
   
   This will also help the stylist at the end of the appointment actually style your hair in a way that you can do again, and a way that actually looks good.
   
   Hair stylists seem to have their own opinions about what’s in fashion (yeah, that's another post all in and of itself), so make sure to exude your own fashion sense so that you don’t have to walk out of the salon with teased hair that’s hair-sprayed into a helmet.
   
   
3. Bring a picture. Nothing can show a stylist what you want better than actually showing him/her what you want!
   
   You don’t have to love everything about a picture of a celebrity’s or friend’s hair. It can be like building your own Mr. Perfect- with Brad Pitt’s bone structure, George Clooney’s voice, and Zac Efron’s eye’s, you’ve got the perfect man!
   
   So, bring in a picture of bangs you just love, as well as a picture of layers that you want, and if you wear your hair up a lot, also bring in a picture of how you want your hair to look pulled back... and DON'T be afraid to get them out. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in the chair using every adjective under the sun trying to describe what I want, when I have picture's of Nicole Richie's bangs just SITTING in my purse. Walk in with the pictures in your hand so you don't chicken out. Be brave, which leads me to my final point...
   
   
4. Don’t be afraid to say something! In most cases, you know your hair better than this stylist. You know where your cowlicks are, and you know how your hair inevitably ends up falling.
   
   So if as your stylist is cutting bangs and you think they’re looking too long and you’ll just end up tucking them behind your ear and when you get home or you’ll end up trimming them yourself- then say something.
   
   This will not hurt your stylist’s feelings, and he/she will NOT take it out on you by chopping up the rest of your hair, this will just ensure you get what you want!
   
   Also, do not wait until the very end when the stylist turns you around and hands you a mirror to see the back of your hair to ask for corrections. As you can see he/she is finishing, ask vague questions, “Is this piece always going to fall here?” Give directions to the stylist, like, “I’m really going for voluminous hair, so could add some shorter layers?”
   
   This way when you do get spun around to see your new do, you're happy as a clam... but hopefully looking hot as a tamale!!

Just remember to take part in your haircut!! You're the one who's going to have to live with your hair after you leave the salon... which brings me to my final point (I sweeeear) you wear your hair every day- EVERY DAY!! So, make sure you LOVE it, and hey, at the end of the day, if you get an awful haircut... hair grows!!