Why are we so scared to tell our hairdresser we hate our hair and what can we do about it?

There’s nothing quite like sitting in front of a mirror for three hours wearing an ill-fitting polyester cape and thumbing through a six-month-old copy of a glossy mag to humble you.

Hopefully, however, you get to walk away from the experience with a spring in your step as you strut out the salon with a new found confidence that propels you to take an unabashed public selfie, foundation-free forehead and all.

Sometimes though, that doesn’t happen, and you get that sinking feeling in your stomach as your hairdresser reaches down to slide that black two handled mirror out. “I love it,” you hear yourself say, as you squint back at your reflection and wonder if they too heard your voice tremor.

I know I’ve been there. The memory of one particular full head of highlights has stayed with me forever. I got home and sat in front of the mirror, Joaquin Phoenix in The Joker style. Digging through my makeup bag in a desperate attempt to see if eyeliner or a red lip could salvage the golden springer spaniel streaks running through my hair.

Spoiler alert: They didn’t.

While my regrettable colour choice was eventually reversed with some brunette box dye, my friend Josie’s bob not only became a family parable but continues to haunt her to this day.

“My sister Abbi told me I would look good with a bob, so I walked down to the salon without putting two minutes of thought into it.”

We can see where this is going, can’t we?

“I came home, and my mum looked at me like, ‘what have you done?’. I hated it and I still live with the consequences to this day as my hair doesn’t grow”.

It’s a tale as old as time and while we might not all have an Abbi encouraging us to go for the chop, I’m sure we’ve all been persuaded at one time or other into a regrettable hair choice by an over enthusiastic stylist with a fresh NVQ certification.

Thankfully, for me, I met my now hairdresser Adam Reed. Our first introduction was when I took part in ghd’s ‘Chop To Your Chin’ campaign and donated over 12 inches of hair to the Little Princess Trust.

Despite straightening my hair beforehand to ensure I was chopping nothing but the minimal entry requirement, Adam convinced me to go quite literally chin length in a move that could have seen me never talk to him again.

But there were no tears and instead Adam unlocked a part of me that had been hiding behind my hair for too long.

I wish you could all have an Adam aka a hairdresser you implicitly trust, but it’s hard enough to get an appointment with him as it is. So instead, I asked him how we can avoid walking out of the salon like a deflated balloon to begin with.

“Follow these 3 rules: Always come prepared with a picture, always be realistic and always listen to your hairdresser,” he tells me. Before adding, “If you get a bit of a bad vibe from your stylist then don’t be afraid to go somewhere else, I do truly believe that.”