…don’t say anything at all.

Square Piece followers, do you assume that when a hairstylist changes her hair, it’s because she:

A) Is creative and wants to try something new?

or

B) Just wants to give you something else in life to critically evaluate?

Raise your hand if you picked option A.  Good job!  Gold stars all over your test.  You go to the top of the class.

Now, for those of you who picked option B:  If I wanted to give you something to critically evaluate, I’d give you a newspaper, the U.S. budget or a Lady Gaga album.  So until I hang a sign around my neck that says, “Open for criticism,” perhaps you ought to listen to your mother who – I’m SURE – taught you that if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

Actual conversation I had last week the day after I freshened up my red hair:

Client, sitting in my chair looking rather unimpressed, “So.  What’d you do to your hair this time?”

Me, “If by ‘What did you do to your hair,’ you mean, ‘Your hair looks fabulous,’ then thank you!”

Client, “I don’t like it.”

Me, “…ok…”

Client, “I like it better when it’s dark.”

Me, “…ok…”

Client, “Does your husband like it?”

Me, “Yeah, he loves it!”

Client, with a very flat tone of voice, “Well.  I guess that’s all that matters.”

Ahem.  Well if that’s ALLLLLLL that matters, what was all that other stuff for?  Hmmm?

Later on that day I was informed by another client that the “good news” was that my red hair made my eyes look extra blue.  That’s not good news when your eyes are green.  The “bad news” was that I needed to wear a different shade of lipstick.  Never mind the fact that my shade of lipstick was practically identical to my natural lip color.  Why?  Because I was wearing greeeeeeeeen eye shadow!  The general rule is to pick one or the other – lips or eyes.  Don’t make them both heavy; otherwise at 2:00 on a Thursday afternoon you’ll just look like a circus clown.

To the credit of my gracious clientele, I probably received 20 compliments on my red hair that day.  Yet I – even I – can be discouraged by the more memorable, negative comments.  Moral of the story: If a hairstylist is wearing a shade of red haircolor that makes you go, “whoa,” she’s probably done it on purpose.  So leave her alone.  Moral number two: Let’s all practice random acts of compliments!