Are you a "Chair-Hopper"?

Are you a chair hopper?

  • Yes, I will try anyone!

    Votes: 3 7.5%

  • No, I dont let just anyone do my hair...

    Votes: 37 92.5%
  • Total voters
    40
Maynard

Maynard

Well-Known Member
Chair-hopper- A woman who hops from salon chair to salon chair with little regard to stylist ability; Woman in search of the best,stylist and willing to try anyone who comes along...

Do you (or have you in the past) do this? Why?

I understand that some people have to do this somehat, in order to find a great stylist, however there are some people I know who will let ANYBODY do their hair. I have never understood this method of thinking...

Chairhoppers/Former Chairhoppers if you find a great stylist, do you still go out and "test the waters"?

Do you allow new/unfamiliar stylists to perform chemical services on you?
 
man this is right up my alley. you don't (and probably won't) read all this anyway, lol

i find it hard to vote because while i have done my share of chair-hopping in the past 2 years, it is only because i have learned what good hair practices are and i run across an idiot (excuse my french) every once in a while. i went to my mom's stylist for many years when i was a kid (between 7 and 13 maybe?) but she is very old school with her techniques. in that period i also visited my aunt's stylist occasionally and while she is very good no one thought a preteen's hair should be more expensive to care for than her mom's. from there it was trial and error...
  • my stepmom's stylist who cut me some awful bangs and did a press and curl at age 11ish
  • the chick who did my first two sew-ins back-to-back and THEN bleached my hair at my request (thank goodness she quit) when i turned 19
  • her co-worker who botched the bangs on my third sew-in right before i turned 20
  • the goddess who did my fourth sew-in after i got fed up with the aforementioned salon (who seemed to know the most but magically disappeared when it was time for a tightening)
  • and now the dominicans who i began going to after that last sew-in caused major breakage.
and while i like what they do i am uncomfortable with all that heat. they are the ONLY ones who have ever told me NO when i requested something they thought too damaging, like permanently coloring my hair dark brown, but they charge $12 for emergencee when the bottle is less than that, so now i am trying to be a DIY stylist.
 
no i have never been and never will be. im just too paranoid and i think no one knows what they are doing.
 
lilsparkle825 said:
man this is right up my alley. you don't (and probably won't) read all this anyway, lol

i find it hard to vote because while i have done my share of chair-hopping in the past 2 years, it is only because i have learned what good hair practices are and i run across an idiot (excuse my french) every once in a while. i went to my mom's stylist for many years when i was a kid (between 7 and 13 maybe?) but she is very old school with her techniques. in that period i also visited my aunt's stylist occasionally and while she is very good no one thought a preteen's hair should be more expensive to care for than her mom's. from there it was trial and error...
  • my stepmom's stylist who cut me some awful bangs and did a press and curl at age 11ish
  • the chick who did my first two sew-ins back-to-back and THEN bleached my hair at my request (thank goodness she quit) when i turned 19
  • her co-worker who botched the bangs on my third sew-in right before i turned 20
  • the goddess who did my fourth sew-in after i got fed up with the aforementioned salon (who seemed to know the most but magically disappeared when it was time for a tightening)
  • and now the dominicans who i began going to after that last sew-in caused major breakage.
and while i like what they do i am uncomfortable with all that heat. they are the ONLY ones who have ever told me NO when i requested something they thought too damaging, like permanently coloring my hair dark brown, but they charge $12 for emergencee when the bottle is less than that, so now i am trying to be a DIY stylist.
Click to expand...

So how many stylists would you say you have been to recently within the past 2-3 years? I'm not talking about experienced you had as a child, you didn't really have "control" of who did your hair at that time.
 
Nope. Thank goodness I haven't had to be. I've done my hair for the most part but I do have stylist for my press and trims. I've had her for going on 7 years. The one before that when I lived in GA did my hair for 3 years. I don't trust folks with my hair and I am super picky. If they try to brush me off, that is a sign that they will not be getting my money. Q
 
nope! i've only ever had 3 stylists in my entire life. 1 was ms. elaine. this lady that my cousin used to go to. she gave me washed and rollersetted my hair. i went to her for like 3 years and then i cut off all of my permed hair and got a WN so i had to find a stylist who did that. i went to her for a long time before she got sick and eventually died. after her i went to the guy who is my current stylist and i've been with him for almost 2 yrs. i wont leave him unless theres no other way out of it. the only other times i strayed was when my stylist was sick and i HAD to get my hair done right then. it was an emergency! lol. thats all
 
Gin said:
So how many stylists would you say you have been to recently within the past 2-3 years? I'm not talking about experienced you had as a child, you didn't really have "control" of who did your hair at that time.
Click to expand...
unfortunately :perplexed but since i turned 17 and started making a conscious choice about who touches my head i would say five-ish.
 
I have to say I *use* to let almost anyone do my hair but usually it was a referral from a friend or one of my sisiters. I have been a walk-in without any knowledge of a stylist too. That's what led me to go natural after experiencing several catastropes. I learned my leasson. I have become very paranoid of who does my hair. Since then my hair has become the thickest it's been in years.
 
I used to be when I didn't know anything. I figured stylists know what they're doing, so it wouldn't matter who I went to :perplexed Yeah, my head got messed up A LOT, but I thought it was normal. I figured most black women have messed up hair, which is why so many wear weaves. So I started wearing weaves (glue-in) to cover up the damage the stylists did :nono:

I'm a DIY'er now, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. I don't trust stylists!
 
I used to be when I didn't know anything. I figured stylists know what they're doing, so it wouldn't matter who I went to :perplexed Yeah, my head got messed up A LOT, but I thought it was normal. I figured most black women have messed up hair, which is why so many wear weaves. So I started wearing weaves (glue-in) to cover up the damage the stylists did :nono:

I'm a DIY'er now, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. I don't trust stylists! (except for DSD, Balisi and other board styists :grin: )
 
I must say I'm a chair hopper. When I was in my high school days I was just trying to find someone anyone who could grow my hair long. So for one time my neice was doing my hair (she's 31 if ya wanna kno lol) then my brother's wife, and after my brother's divorce :perplexed my niece again. And in between there I've been to about 4 people just to test the waters. I DID NOT like them. One lady made me look totally like a lil girl. She was so old to. She made my hair crack snapple pop with all that heat she used, and my mom loved her :ohwell:... I cried all the way home and never went back
 
The last 2 years I had to be because my hairdresser of 13 years moved away. I was going to her assistant thinking she picked her techniques since she's been with her for the last 6 years. NOPE! So I did some research and tried a few other places, but unfortunately what works for some people didn't work for me. I found one lady now, but I only see her once every few months as a treat for myself.
 
Nope and never will be!!!!!! I've been with this stylist for 2.5 years, before that I was with my stylist for 7 years, before that the stylist for 4 years.

I have a very strong opinion on this topic, which I will keep to myself...LOL. But regardless of how often you go, I always suggest finding a regular stylist. After about the first year, a regular stylist will have a better idea about you, your hair and your personality. Ok, I'm shutting up now before I get on my soapbox...
 
In the past, I have been a "chair hopper" in an effort to find that "one" stylist that could master everything (haircare, styling, coloring, time maintenance, good customer rotation, etc.)...I've found some who were amazing at haircare but they double booked or arrived late...I've had some who were punctual but sucked at haircare in general....it's all a matter of trial and error. For me it's not so much about going to the person who's "hot".

I know what I like and I don't mind experimenting until I find the "one"....but no, I won't just let anyone do my hair.:nono:
 
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I wish I was. I feel like bad if it's in the same salon and I see a stylist I'd like better. Like I feel the woman I've been going to will be put off if I switch to the other one. So normally I look up another salon and give that one a breather for a few months.
 
mnemosyne said:
I wish I was. I feel like bad if it's in the same salon and I see a stylist I'd like better. Like I feel the woman I've been going to will be put off if I switch to the other one. So normally I look up another salon and give that one a breather for a few months.
Click to expand...

:nono: I've never switched stylists within a shop either...I would never feel comfortable doing that.
 
I am a recovering chair hopper! I visited almost 15 stylists in 7.5 years before I started going to Balisi. Even then, I had a gift certificate to Too Groovy and tried them a couple of times last year (not gentle while combing natural hair). Needless to say, I went back "home" where I knew my hair was being treated right.

I've left stylists for various reasons:

1. bad highlight job that caused my hair to fall out (immediately after leaving the salon)
2. Excessive tardiness (I had to pick one up twice from her apt); more than a few have been released from service because of this. Three times and you're out!
3. Using old hairpins (had an updo and took the hairpins out and noticed they were all eaten up; not a rubber tip in sight)
4. Distance from home to salon
5. Bad relaxer - suffered severe burns
6. Cheap products - I can buy and use cheap products at home

Most of the stylists I went to were either from referrals or I tried to find one that was close to my home. I will remain with Balisi until she moves, I move (will travel 2 hours) or until death!
 
I'm pretty loyal if you're good. I've been w/ my current stylist for 6 or 7 years. She's not allowed to trim my hair but does a fierce relaxer and blowout.

I will NOT let anyone else apply chemicals of any kind to my hair. :nono:

Shampoo? Sure. Base me up for a relaxer? Absolutely. Rollerset? Maybe.

I have switched stylists within a salon before. The owners were married and the "husband" JACKED up my head. I never went back to him or spoke to him again. His wife did my hair until I relocated.
 
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Yeah I was a salon hoar. After I was overprocessed by the dominicans. I just had to keep search for the "perfect" stylist:rolleyes:

I went to a stylist that someone on here recommended and she overprocessed my hair as well, now my whole nape is practically gone. I don't blame the member though, it's not her fault. See fotki for pics.:ohwell:

So I've learned my lesson.

My new stylist told me, you can let anyone wash your hair but don't let any and everyone relax your hair.
 
There have been only 4 stylist who have touched my hair at my request
  1. from high school (went to school with her son who had crushes on me and my twin) but she was good and cared about health and all until the shop she worked at closed and I graduated
  2. then when it was time for my BC I went to Chicago Aveda Institute - a good experience as I wanted to be rid of the relaxed ends. Did a good job and would have kept seeing her but the travel was too far
  3. a guy (who seemed a bit feminine at times & annoying) did 2 sew in for me; on the second sew in I had my sister with me and she saw how poorly he did my braids underneath which is why i stop going
  4. a stylist who does my aunts hair regularly for a few years, went for a nice blowout as she was all about natural hair and good health, did a really good job reminded me of the first but do to me getting ready to relocate i knew i couldn't fall in love with a stylist
All in all it has made me more DIY - so I had purpose for chair hopping. I'm not the type to let just anyone do my hair as I care for it and feel like if their (stylist) hair isn't in good health you as heck can't touch mines. Also I do research and it seems like so many have bad experiences at the salon. So its a no-go for me.

I would only let my mom, twin and best friend (who's a stylist went to the same cosmo school as me) touch my hair
 
Maybe when I was a teenager, but now? NO WAY.:nono:

I am a DIY'er now but for 10 years only 2 stylists touched my hair and they were best friends.
 
I'm a chair hopper because I can never find a good stylist... sigh. I've only been able to find two. The rest either did a horrible job, or burned the heck out of my scalp (relaxer).
 
If someone is highly recommended Ill go give them a try. I do chair hop in that sense but I dont see any way I could get damaged since I only let them do certain things. NO CUTS NO CHEMICALS. Styles only. And no marcel irons. Most people flat iron my hair and I check flat irons often for temp settings. I stopped one guy and walked out half done because I saw him turn it up adn asked to check it again. He claimed me was brushing some lint off the flat iron but lo and behold he had turned it up. I laughed, got up and left.

I will stop coming if you cost too much, always pushing for me to do stuff I dont want after I say no, use products/appliances I dont like, do someones hair that looks a sh!tty mess, if I see you do something I find unethical (this one lady made this lil girl sit in the chair for 25 minutes for her relaxer to process, the lil girl was squirming and crying saying it burned... smh), have me waiting in an overcrowded area for more than 20 minutes past my appointment, and just cant style my hair in general. NEXT!
 
I'm a chair hopper but not because I want to be. I am desperate to find "that one". I'll actually find someone who is pretty good but then they'll raise pricess exhoribitantly. there was a guy who did beautiful hair but charged $65 for a dag on wash n set! At my old beautician that was a wash, set, hair cut, tip. when I do chair hop, i only have them do a basic rollerset. Not too much heat, no chemical services. That way I can see how they handle hair. I always go off of referrals. If I see someone who has healthy looking hair i ask about their beautician.
 
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