[mSkate]

Anyone else have a hard time going to get their haircut. This is ridiculous. I dont know how describe to the stylist what I want done. the scrutiny. having to have a conversation with a stranger about shit you could really care less about. on top of that I havent had a haircut in ten months trying to cover up the scar on my forehead. it is starting to look ridiculous. the fact that i stress out on crap like this really brings me down.....

[mSkate]

that wasnt so bad. not quite what I had imagined.xanax is a wonderful little pill. I just wish I didnt need it to getthrough shit like that.how can the effects caused by effexor vanish so quickly? I hate being stuck in this head.

[moonshadow]

Yeah I have the same problem. I hate getting my haircut. I have pretty manageable hair so I told my mom at the end of the summer to cut it. It was getting to be way too long. Nobody at work knew, in fact they like it :biggrin:
So yeah I try to avoid going to salon at all costs, I just hate the fact that everyone is watching me. I hate the feeling of being trapped, its like once the hairstylist puts on that smock on me I feel like I won't be able to get out. I usually close my eyes for the whole process and listen to music, it sort of calms me down a bit. Not enough to make me want to go again :sunshine:

[jbyrd975]

I have the same problem. Hair cuts! UGH! Most of the time I cut it myself, but once in a while I need a professional to fix the back and correct past damage done. Its so hard first of all to get the courage up to go, knoiwng I'll be "trapped" in the chair for fifteen minutes or more. Then its even harder to find someone who will do a good job. And there is the worry that when I go someone will be having a perm and the smell will drive me away (very sensitive to odors). I went last month and the woman did a horrible job. I'm not talkative or outgoing with strangers and was particularly anxious that time, so I felt like she didn't like me and just wanted to be rid of me so rushed through it. Thank goodness hair grows quickly!

It is a dilemma!

[MusicMan]

i just hate the awkward silence. the last time i got mine cut, my town had had a wonderful rain shower the night before and the barber asked me if i had gotten a lot of rain from it, and i just said nope. at the time i thought he was talking about something else and i sat there during the rest of the cut thinking about how stupid i musta looked telling him no i didnt get any rain last night. he might have taken it as a sign that i didnt want to talk because he hardly said a word the rest of the time. i felt really awkward but i was friendly and thanked him as i left. i plan on going to this same guy so maybe the next cut, things will go better? its stupid i even think about this!

several years ago i used to go to this overpriced place in the mall, and there were always lots of people waiting. i HATED sitting in the waiting room. i never knew what to do with myself. i was always shifting around uncomfortably and sweating. and over what? i never could figure it out.

mSkate, i gave up on trying to give them too specific of instructions. all i tell them is "2 on the sides, 5 on top". i hate it when they bust out the scissors and try to do your whole head like that. and i HATE it when at the very end, they cut your bangs in a straight line across with the scissors. i dont understand why someone who went to school for this would think that looks good or natural. whats so hard about running the clippers through it just like the rest of my head?

This post has been edited by MusicMan: 06 October 2009 - 03:09 AM

[mSkate]

Music man I know exactly what you mean. I think its easier when you just go to the same person each time and go at the best times. I dont mind the small talk after ive been a time or two but for some reason I stutter when trying to explain how I want it done........

[QTpie]

I worry when going to the salon as well. I take my panic med but it doesn't always help. I find myself gripping the chair and trying to hold steady. I also try breathing techniques to keep my mind from racing. It usually helps. I don't go to busy salons, in fact, I stick with the same stylist (not just because I like how she cuts my hair), but because there is some familiarity there that comforts me.

[Darrell]

I have two issues with haircuts:

1) I go to a chain (Great Clips) and it is frequently busy, which kicks my germ phobia up x 100. Hate it.

2) I rarely get the same stylist (high turnover it seems) so even though my haircut instructions are on their computer, I still have to explain in detail exactly how I want my hair cut. My issue here isn't social phobia, but rather my perfectionistic tendency. I have to rein it in because it's unrealistic to expect someone else to indulge my perfectionism. If it isn't cut exactly how I want it, I just fix it myself when I get home.

I've weaseled out of getting my hair cut for two weeks now because of the anxiety. It's pathetic.

[ladyb]

Hi everyone. Having a haircut is NOTHING!! You should try being a woman who has to have her hair coloured, cut and dried!! That is about two hours!! Talk about feeling trapped! So hopefully this will help you, next time you are feeling anxious just think that it could be so much worse. :french: (By the way, this is in no way meant to make light of your feelings, I do understand and sympathise, it is not easy).

[jolie_blanc]

Claustrophic is what I get, under the smock. The last beautician talked so much it created more anxiety and the cut ended up looking like something I could do myself. Horrible. :eyebrow:

[MusicMan]

i just dont understand women...

Why would you want to go to such an awful place as a salon and have to stay there for 2 hours?! the only place where i can voluntarily stay for 2 hours is the movie theater! or maybe at a poker table, but even then, I get all fidgety.

then again, in boot camp, i loved going to the barber. the chairs were the most comfortable thing you sit in for the whole 13 weeks! the barbers have lots of haircuts to give out, so they go through everyone really fast and it feels like knives across your scalp, but you get to sit in a padded chair for a few minutes so it's worth it! :evilgrin:

[lizabeth]

jbyrd975, on 05 October 2009 - 07:30 AM, said:

And there is the worry that when I go someone will be having a perm and the smell will drive me away (very sensitive to odors).
It is a dilemma!

J-do you have the means to get to an Aveda salon? It's a little bit extra, depending on the training of your stylist, but they use all-nautural-ish products and the place smells great (if you can believe it)! No perm smells or fake nail smells; I too, now cringe at the thought of all those chemicals being tossed in my nose when I pass by salons. But I do love the Aveda ones!

PS- I hate going too, but the thought of how great my hair will smell when I'm done makes me want to treat myself to it. I absolutely hate the 'small talk' issue- I always divulge something dumb or personal about myself and feel ridiculous, no matter now much I swear I won't next time... And I don't want to talk about the weather (boring) or the football game (hate it) or going out with friends (don't do it)...I just try to keep the focus on my hair and what I think I want done, and if you ask the right questions, you can get the stylist to start talking and then you really just have to sit there and listen and wait it out till you're done!

PPS-The only way I've found to start talking the stylist lingo and get what I want was to spend way too much time online researching haircuts that I might want and learning what they're called/what cuts are used to shape them. Also, if you just keep saying "NO, well, kinda more like...." while you're trying to get the description right, they'll keep correcting and editing what they think you want them to do until the lightbulb goes off and you're both on the same page.

Right now I'm trying to grow out an awful cut-went too short for my liking, tried it once more, and now have the painful experience of feeling like I have to walk around all dumb and awkward looking while it's in its intermediary stage. Jell-o and PB for me for another 2 months!

[MusicMan]

i just got mine cut today. i was the only one waiting and i sat there for about 20 minutes. thats the worst part i think. i dont know what to do with myself! i should start bringing guitar/music magazines with me everywhere i go.

also, since when do simple haircuts for guys cost $21 ?!?!

[Looking For Answers]

Haircuts are so expensive here that I trim it myself. I used to *like* the smell of hair salons until I began to get hives from just breathing the stuff in. I don't understand how some people spend hundreds of dollars on *hair*!

[boardwalk]

I have had about a thousand panic attacks over the years due to haircuts. I feel so trapped in that stupid chair. It feels good to know I'm not the only one.
Jill