When Bad Hair Happens to Good People

by Caitlin Losey

Hair repair tips from the pros.

Everyone has bad hair days, but what do you do when an unbearable cut, color, or perm happens to you? These emergencies deserve expert attention. Read on to find step-by-step instructions from salon professionals on handling your hazardous hair.

Emergency: Terrible Trim
You look like an ill-tempered kindergartener cut your hair.
Step 1: Put Down the Scissors. Taming your trim at home “will most likely make it much worse,” says Melissa Bridgers of OC-61 salon in New York City. “A stylist will have more ideas and experience to suggest ways to reshape."

Step 2: Call a Salon (and for the record Supercuts is not a salon). Bridger says “call a stylist immediately, even if you have to leave a message. Most stylists will do their best to make time for you.” If you return to the same salon, you shouldn’t be charged for a fix. If this is a home trim, “be flexible, make yourself available for a good portion of the day,” Bridger suggests. Hang out at the salon, so when an opening comes up, you can slip in.

Emergency: Pitiful Perm
You wanted Sarah Jessica Parkers’ wavy locks, but instead you look like Richard Simmons!

Step 1: Wash your hair. Perms take 24 hours to set; washing may prevent the texture treatment from taking effect.

Step 2: “Use a deep conditioner or a hot oil treatment”, says Tracy Jones of Paul Mitchell: The School in Danbury, Connecticut, this will relax the hair and prevent any help repair damage from the perm.

Step 3: If all else fails, call a professional. Bridgers recommends doing so within two weeks. The simplest solution may be layering the hair, which can help the shape of the body. A gentle treatment will also relax the perm “without making it stick straight.” Good stylists will work with you until you are satisfied with your hair. If you’re afraid to go back to the same stylist, ask around and find one with lots of perm experience. Be sure to describe what your hair has endured.

Emergency: Catastrophic Color
You wanted to be a blonde bombshell, but your hair just looks bombed.

Step 1: Don’t attempt to fix it yourself. Hair coloring is complicated—even some stylists don’t do color. Seek a seasoned professional.

Step 2: Make an appointment within a week so that you are not charged to color additional growth. Find a color expert and arrange for a consultation (almost always free) so they can assess your color disaster. “Color correction is an intensive process; which may require several appointments and be very expensive,” Bridgers says.

Step 3: It is much easier to darken light colors than to lighten locks that have gone too dark, Jones says. Adding a semi-permanent gloss, which is less harsh, can darken your shade. When a color requires lightening, the hair must be stripped. This can cause more damage and dry our your tresses, which is why using an experienced colorist is your best bet.

Source : www.health.com