• Replies 8 replies
  • Subscribers 31 subscribers
  • Views 1410 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Haircuts

battybats

Until yesterday, I hadn't had a haircut for over a year because my old salon closed and it's a nightmare trying to psych myself up to phone a new one or even drop by in person. But I managed it, because I found one locally that lets you book online. Congratulations to me!

Except, actually, no Sweat smile

I've mentioned on here before that I like to dye my hair bright colours. I don't really have the spoons or the skills to do it myself so I'm quite happy to pay someone else to do it. Unfortunately, at my hair appointment yesterday the sheer amount of hair I have and the year-plus of growth/fading hair dye meant my hair was an absolute mess. I was in there ALL AFTERNOON.

Everyone was lovely and they did a great job on my hair, and the sensory experience is mostly not too bad for me as I don't mind the smell of the products or the feeling of the dye on my head. But it took so long, and washing my hair is a sensory nightmare even when I do it myself, so by the time I left I thought I might burst into tears from sheer exhaustion.

Today I'm worn out and useless. I have great (pink!) hair and am incapable of showing it to anyone because I'm flopped on the sofa with the dog and have zero mental AND physical energy.

I know getting your hair done is a tough one for a lot of autistic people even when we're adults. If anyone has any tips I would really appreciate them- as long as those tips aren't "cut it all off", because I have a tiny head and a long neck and need long hair to avoid looking like an ostrich Joy

  • in reply to Robert124
    Robert124 said:
    As an aside, I had my first completely white hair when I was 20.  

    Oof, that's quite early- but not unusually so, I think. I knew someone at university who was already visibly going grey.

    I found my first completely white hair earlier this year, aged 35, and it felt like quite the achievement to get this far before finding it!

  • im ok with getting my hair cut but i suppose it depends on the barber...

    my parents when young had this mobile hairdresser and i think she wasnt very trained and her scissors were blunt, it felt like she was plucking my hair or something felt like a twang and a rip out from the scalp. she also pretty much pulled me up off from the chair by my hair one time when grasping it and combing it into a bunch she could cut, she was a proper gorilla with how rough she was lol

    other barbers i got on my own later have all been far better. but the issue is i go in and i dont know what to say.... like, is there a menu? lol ... i just want a haircut, i dont know the names of the haircuts, short but not short, not sure what length or styles i dont know any of your names just cut my hair and dont make me look like a dork basically... i went into mancave or whatever near me and went in vaguely saying i want it short or whatever and they managed to do a good job. will probably use them from now on as its on my doorstep. usually grow my hair out a year or so myself first as i like to get my moneys worth and not be blowing cash frequently on this stuff anyway so i push my hair to the limit and get it cut when it gets a bit annoying or when the weather gets too warm.

    but yeah, i find it ok, i just close my eyes and let them do whatever, and hope when i open my eyes i dont look too silly lol

  • I also dye my hair, dark brown because it's going grey.  As an aside, I had my first completely white hair when I was 20.  

    One decision I have to make is what to do first, dye my hair or have it cut.  If I dye it first then a lot of the newly dyed hair gets cut off.  But if I cut it first then my hair looks awful until I dye it.

    I tend to go to my regular barber who only charges £5, cheapest I can find.

    Many years ago I let my ten year old niece cut it, I went to a barber the very next day.

  • in reply to Luftmentsch
    Luftmentsch said:
    plus many barbers want to make small talk (*shudder*)

    The good thing about asking them to do weird things to my hair is that they're too busy concentrating to talk to me! My new hairdresser actually apologised for being focused rather than chatting and I just said "oh it's fine, I'm autistic so I wouldn't have a clue how to respond anyway" Joy

  • in reply to Luftmentsch

    I luckily have gone to the same barbershop since I was so young I had to sit on the plank across the arms of the chair, I’m the third generation of my family to go there and the barber is the third generation of his family to cut hair.  I don’t even have to talk to him, he knows how I like my hair cut, I sometimes do the small talk thing but all subjects are well rehearsed matters.

  • Hey there! I know how this feels - I loathe going to the hairdressers! For a few years I had one who would come to me and would cut & colour at my kitchen table, this was a lot better for me, but I have moved and now need to go to the salon. 

    I like them to give me a time frame, so I know what I'm working with before I go in. The noise and brightness and heat all get to me, but knowing it is something I only need to do 1-2 times a year really helps because then I just have to grit my teeth and bear it! 

    Well done for getting through it, if you fancy sharing a picture of your fabulous new hair we'd love to see! 

  • in reply to Luftmentsch

    Most of my hair fell out when I was quite young, and what's left I just shave off from time to time. 

    I wear a beard which is, of course, also self maintained.

    Ben

  • Your hair will still be pink when you get your energy back and can show it to people!

    I really dislike having my hair cut. I dislike having a stranger that close and touching me, plus many barbers want to make small talk (*shudder*). During COVID, my Mum cut my hair (I was locked down with my parents) and now my wife does it, unless there's some special occasion where I think the benefit of getting it done professionally outweighs the discomfort (not to mention financial cost).