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Home • Wavy

7 Worst Curly Haircut Mistakes

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Curls from the 18th Century
By NaturallyCurly · Updated March 5, 2013

We asked NaturallyCurly readers what the biggest mistake a stylist has ever made cutting their curls, and we got an earful! The full article can be found in the latest edition of Texture!

If you’d like to share your own horror stories, or simply like to know you’re not alone in your stylist struggles, join the conversation on CurlTalk.


7 Worst Curly Cut Mistakes

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Curly haired woman upset

1. Cutting too short!

You said:

“Cutting off 6 inches when I only asked for a quarter of an inch. :'(“

“Cut my hair as short as my straight haired sisters. I was probably 10 and I cried a lot. Now I only let curly haired stylists cut my hair.”

“I said trim then she went Edward scissor hands on me.”

“Definitely cutting too much off and telling me that she’s the stylist, so she knows what’s best for my hair!”

“I had a stylist literally argue with me over shrinkage because she cut off more than I asked and I was upset. She was so adamant it just could not possibly shrink that much. “

MORE: Curly Beginner’s Guide: Avoiding a Bad Curly Haircut

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Hand holding thinning shears

2. Thinning and razor cutting

You said:

“Razor cut. Killed all my curls, it took three months to get them back”

“When I was in still in High School I went in for a trim and he convinced my mom and I he would do a great razor and thinning. Cut my hair 4 inches shorter did the razor and thinning, when I wore my hair curly I had literally a giant ball of frizz on top of my head. *shivers*”

“Using a razor. I will never let that happen again.”

MORE: To Razor Cut or Not to Razor Cut

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Stylist blow drying curly hair

3. Blow drying mistakes

You said:
“Using a big brush on my hair and trying to blow dry without a diffuser.”

“Having me drop me head so she could blow-dry my hair upside down then had me flip it back quick. It was HUGE!!”

“Running her fingers through it while blow drying it. I finally asked her to stop”

“Trying to blow out hair with a tiny round brush”

MORE: Haircuts That Make You Look Thinner

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Stylist cutting wet hair

4. Cutting the hair wet

You said:

“Cutting my hair wet and ending up making it way too short. i was left with layers that started about eye level – took forever to grow back out” – CurlTalk user sKorpio1190

“The biggest mistake stylists make cutting curly hair is cutting it wet…you might as well place a blindfold on yourself while cutting as you’ll get the same result.” – Andee Hoos

“I hate when they refuse to cut my hair dry (and curly”>.”

MORE: How to Cut Curly Hair to Eliminate Poof

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Woman brushing curly hair

5. Brushing curly hair

You said:

“The biggest mistake is combing my hair while dry and curly.”

“She used a fine toothed comb on my wet hair.”

“Almost every stylist I’ve gone to dries my hair while RUNNING THEIR FINGERS THROUGH IT! This is one of the top curly no-nos! It creates so much frizz that halfway through they start to act uncomfortable and say ‘how about we just blow this out?'”

MORE: How to Find a Good Curly Stylist

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Hairstylist straightening woman

6. Straightening hair before cutting it

You said:

“I had one tell me that I had to have my hair straightened to cut my hair ..BIG mistake. Now, I don’t let anyone touch it.”

“I hate when they insist on straightening my hair first! “

“Well how much time do I have? Okay, I’ll just share one story then lol: The stylist stretching each curl straight before cutting it. Ended up w/a strange, asymmetrical hair ‘shelf’ on one side because of that.” – CurlTalk user Korkscrew

MORE: Tips for Cutting Curly Hair Your Stylist Can’t Live Without

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Curly haired woman nervous for haircut

7. Not listening

You said:

“Not listening to my goals for my hair.”

“To me the worst is when they don’t listen. If I go to the doctor and say a certain medication doesn’t work for me I wouldn’t expect them to prescribe it to me. When I go to a stylist I respect that they went to school to learn how to cut hair, but I expect when I say things like “Don’t thin out, cut too short, style straight, etc.” that they are going to respect my requests and cut my hair accordingly.” – CurlTalk user Cristy_amk

“The worst mistake I’ve come across is when they claim to know your curls better than you do. (I’ve had this hair for nearly 50 years. I think I know what it does”>.”

MORE: How to Get What You Need from a Stylist
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