5 Lies Hairdressers Tell To Keep You Coming Back to Their Shop
Last updated on August 5th, 2024 at 08:06 pm

After some great hair advice back in April of 2011, I started taking responsibility for doing my own hair. In this article, I will reveal some of the lies hairdressers tell you to keep you coming back for their services.
Now, before you all lynch me for using the word “lies,” just know that this is my personal experience. I’m not saying that all hairdressers are liars.
Moving along…
The Problem with Some Hairdressers
I used to go to the Dominican salons here in New York and when I was feeling extra special and rambunctious (along with a pocket full of cash), I’d visit an expensive stylist at Time Salon in Brooklyn.
There’s nothing wrong with getting your hair done by someone else. It’s a great way to pamper yourself.
The problem is hairdressers, hair stylists or whatever you want to call them sometimes have agendas that contain little more than getting you to return to their shop over and over again so they can line their pockets.
Let’s talk about the hairdressers that make collecting your money their only motive.
Lies, Lies, Lies
Some hairdressers will tell you lies, sister girl. Lies, white lies and stretches of the truth. Whatever you want to call them, here are five things that some hairdressers have told to keep us coming back:
You have to have a trim every six weeks or your hair won’t grow.
That’s a lie.
Hair grows from the root, not the ends. Plus, if you trim your hair every 6 weeks, you’ll never see any length retention. That’s because hair grows at an average rate of 1/2 an inch per month, more or less.
If you trim your hair every six weeks, you’ll be trimming off as much hair that’s grown.
You only need to trim your ends regularly if you are damaging it regularly. Otherwise, you can go months without a trim. Not trimming your hair will at worst, leave it raggedy looking on the ends. It will not stunt your growth.
You must trim off the dead ends or your hair will split all the way up the hair shaft.
A total exaggeration of the truth.
First off, all hair is dead.
Second of all, it’s not possible for your hair to split all the way up the shaft. It would never make it that far before tearing away from the hair strand.
Sure, you can get splits in the middle of the shaft but one split at the end of your hair will not split all the way up to the root.
Leave Trimming to the professionals.
Why? Many naturals trim their own hair quite nicely. Just check out some of the ladies on YouTube.
It IS possible to trim your own hair. You can snip the ends of twists for maintenance as long as you’re not concerned about slightly uneven hair.
And by the way, uneven doesn’t mean the hair’s ends aren’t cut properly. If you are concerned about having your hair mostly even all around, then go to a professional or straighten your hair and then trim it.
Just know that it’s not necessary to always go to a hairdresser for a simple maintenance trim.
You need a professional to color your hair if you want to cover your gray.
Hmm. Another one of the lies that hairdressers tell you?
Have you ever heard of Henna or Indigo? A good body art quality henna can handle that just fine and can be done at home.
This relaxer can only be done at a salon.
Really? True enough, some salons like the Dominican ones have a relaxer blend that’s in an unmarked jar.
They’ll never tell you where they got it. But if you relax your hair, is it really necessary to only get their brand?
While I no longer relax my hair, I do know that Cream of Nature worked just fine.
Most importantly, take responsibility for your own hair care. You can go to a salon once in a while or even on a regular basis as long, as you know what it is that’s being done to your hair. Then, know how to care for it yourself. This is the best hair advice you can follow before putting your hair in someone else’s hands.
I hope you learn from my experiences but again, don’t get me wrong. There are many competent stylists, well versed in their skill. Some can transform the ugliest bed head into a work of art.
So, has a hairdresser or stylist ever told you a lie to keep you coming back and now you’re having second thoughts?
My stylist just acted like she had no idea how to highlight just the roots of my hair to blend in with the $275 all over partial highlights I got last time. Which was the same amount I paid for all over highlights two months before . So I said, I just want to keep the integrity of my hair and it is dry with the bleaching. She said she doesn’t go all the way down and that I should do a conditioning if it’s dry? That is crazy! I’m done.
Ugh I don’t understand why. Glad you’re done and I hope your hair recovers fast
LOVE THIS!!! So true. When I was going to the salon on a regular basis my hair length was only at my shoulders. Stuck in the state for at least 3 years. Once I stopped going to a certain hairdresser I noticed a little more retention with my new stylist. It wasnt until I stopped going to the salon all together that i noticed the most retention and Im currently at bra strap length
Hey Miss Leah, good to hear it. I think going to the hairdresser has it’s place (ie special events, a day of pampering) but it shouldn’t take the place of caring for your own hair 🙂
This is a great article – I do my own hair at home for some of these reasons and more
Hi Jin
You definitely have more control when you do your own hair.
Thanks for stopping by. Don’t be a stranger!
I am a firm believer of doing your own hair as much as possible. When I was relaxing my hair, I would do it myself because the salon was notorious for burning my scalp. They just didn’t understand that my hair didn’t need something so strong or that it didn’t need to stay in so long. On the flip side I found a stylist that loved what he did and actually convinced me to go natural and I saw him until he taught how to take care of my own hair. Now I will only go to the salon to straighten my hair and get a good trim.
Hey MJ that’s so true about leaving the relaxer on too long. Whenever I went to the salon they would try to have me keep it on for like 20 mins. Now maybe that works for very coarse or resistant hair but my hair is so fine it actually relaxed within 5 minutes. So I’m glad I went natural too 🙂
Great Post Michelle
I used to go to a hairdresser to see about my but eventually I stopped and I began taking care of my hair on my own. I do everything for my hair now. My hairdresser always told me about numbers 1, 2 and 5 and I really believed her until I did some research on my own and found out that it wasn’t true.
Now see that. The funny thing is when I wrote this post I had to be careful about how I worded it because I didn’t want to offend anyone. There are some ladies who absolutely LOVE their hairdressers and some are even stylists themselves. So, I didn’t want offend the really honest and good hairdressers out there. However, the comments to this posts are somewhat social proof that what I’m saying isn’t all far fetched.
I am SO thankful for this post. I’m relaxed & rely on a stylist to care for my hair…and I’m so sick of it!
It seems like every time I go to the salon, I hear #1. I KNOW my hair should be longer than what it is, but it seems like I ‘m always needing a “trim.”
It’s my 2012 intention to take more control over my hair.
*Excellent post!*
Hey Melany- Good for you for deciding to take charge of your own hair care. It will save you tons of money too! It’s OK to let a stylist do your hair sometimes as long as you know what they are doing. I’d definitely say no to all that trimming.