How to get a good haircut in Germany

I have long dark curly hair.  It's thick and frizzy and tends to turn brassy orange when highlighted.  I'm used to trying to tame it into something that's culturally acceptable with the least possible effort.  Now that I have Sophie I have about half the time I used to have to get ready in the morning. 

In December I got a great haircut in the States.  It costs an arm and a leg but whatever.  I went to the same stylists I had before moving to Germany.  She looked at my hair and asked me where I'd been getting it cut.  I told her Germany and she asked if I'd been going to the European version of Great Clips (ouch).  She worked her magic, took off two inches and fixed some serious problems with the way my hair had been cut.  When I got back to Germany I put off getting a trim.  I was haunted by her European Great Clips comment.  But I appreciated her honesty.  Obviously I was going to have to find a better stylists, but how?  Naturally I put it off for five months.  Five months is a long time to go without a haircut.  Especially if your hair is long and grows fast. 

How can you tell if your hair is too long?  Here are some helpful hints:

- your daughter does nothing but pull your hair day and night
- you accidentally dip your hair in your coffee in the morning
- you accidentally razor the tips off while shaving your legs
- your accidentally dip your hair in your ketchup while eating fries
- your ponytail looks exactly like a pony's tail
- you wear it up or pulled back all the time
- your roots have grown out some much you're ombre
- your hair poses a strangulation risk while co sleeping
- you dread washing, blow drying and styling days
- you shudder when looking at your ends in sunlight

Anyway, I go through cycles of growing my hair out really long, getting sick of it, cutting it and then growing it out super long again.  It was time for a cut.

I asked friends and got a recommendation for a salon with English speaking stylists.  I'd been going to only German speaking stylists for years.  Explaining what I want in German never seems to work out.  Maybe the layers are good but the cut is off or the cut is ok but the color is too warm.  I was excited to try a place where I could speak English.

Not only did I get a great cut and color but everyone at the salon was really nice and friendly.  My hair is a much more manageable length and the color is good.  Ok, the color is a teensie bit too warm but the stylist knew that and offered to fix it but I didn't really have time. Still, I will definitely go back.

Looks like May is my lucky month.