Dear Rhonda,

Almost every time I get my hair cut, I have one side that ends up longer than the other. It was okay for the first 100 times or so, but now it’s just plain annoying. Is it okay to call my stylist and go back to have her cut one piece or should I tackle it all by myself? I really don’t know what to do. I don’t want to offend my stylist by questioning her work. HELP!

Dear Tweaker,

I definitely think your stylist should know you’re not completely happy. She may need to take a little more time with your cut to execute a precise length all over. Also, I would remind you and anyone who gets a cut to KEEP YOUR HEAD STRAIGHT AND YOUR FEET UNCROSSED! (I capitalize that part because we stylists would like to shout it from the rooftops.) Countless times, I’ll begin a cut and my client will start a big conversation, bobbing her head around and there I am, trying to chase her down like a two year old high on cupcake frosting. One time, a client kept tilting her head to one side so I’d push it back straight. But, in a nano-second, it was leaning again. I secretly wished I had a prop to hold it up!

Here are a few simple suggestions that might help you get a great cut from your stylist. As I already mentioned, keep your head straight and your legs uncrossed. Then, when she’s trying to get that precision cut just right, try not to talk to her too much. I know it sounds silly, but there IS a concentration factor at play here. If she’s chatting it up with you, then she may not be paying as much attention to the cut itself. Some stylists are great at multi-tasking and others just aren’t.

Never, and I mean NEVER, be afraid to contact your stylist for any reason. This is a service industry, and it’s your money. (I say this with a bit of hesitation because every stylist knows there’s at least one person out there who will get out her ruler and measure every single hair. That’s a little extreme.) But if you feel you’ve got a legitimate complaint and you’re self-conscious about it, call your stylist to fix it. Trust me, I’d much prefer to fix my own mistake than to have a client get upset because she took scissors into her own hands and things went terribly wrong.

Rhonda Moulder is a mama of two great daughters and is a stylist at Blue Door & Co. salon in downtown Bentonville. E-mail her a question at mamas@nwaMotherlode.com or give her a call at the salon at 479-273-9944. Have a happy hair day.