Wet cutting curly hair is setting clients up for a bad day

I used to cut curly hair wet like everyone else, and clients would leave happy but come back upset. Their curls would spring up and the shape would be totally off once dry. After getting complaints, I started testing cuts on dry hair first. I watched how each curl pattern changed from wet to dry and noted the shrinkage. Now I do a dry cut to set the shape, then refine it damp. My clients get consistent results that hold up between visits. Other stylists need to stop relying on wet cuts alone for curly textures. It takes more time, but the payoff is real client trust and fewer fixes.

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_hill8d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, I had the exact same problem in my chair for years. Clients would walk out with a wet cut looking great, but then their curls would do a full bounce-back once dry. Tbh, switching to a dry cut first changed everything. I remember one client with tight coils where the shrinkage was almost two inches, so her wet cut was way too long. Now I shape it dry, check the bounce, and only then tidy it up damp. The consistency is night and day.

thomas5878d ago

Imagine charging someone to cut their hair twice because you didn't believe it would shrink. That's like fixing a leak but only counting the water you can see. Her curls springing back two whole inches is the funniest kind of betrayal. You sent her out the door looking perfect and her own hair just went 'nah'.

finley_walker578d ago

Yeah, @daniel_hill, dry cut first made all the difference for me too.