The quality of haircuts

[fifilafiloche]

I didnt notice any problem with the quality of haircuts in B.As, at least for males. Most of argentines take very much care of themselves and their haircut is part of their concerns.

 

[HotYogaTeacher]

Actually @fifilafiloche, it is a cultural perspective as much as anything else and that isn't just about language. Most of the locals I see on the streets are not groomed to the same modern standards I am accustomed to in the US (SoCal) and the hair stylists here fall far short of the rigorous training US hair stylists are required to undergo, they aren't even licensed.

Local men wear their hair shaggy and long and don't shave, which is a sloppy easy to maintain look. Most of the women here have long straight hair, not styled hair, which takes a great deal of skill, precision and technique that is lacking in most local salons. Particularly if you have short hair as a woman finding a hair dresser to address your particular concerns is tough. Also, communicating in English is not a small concern for many. Language and culture are both important.

I tried to get a short haircut from a salon I was referred to by several local women, none of them slouches, and the woman tried to make me look like Boy George. The styling she did was dated by 20 years or more, her techniques were lacking in any skill and she argued with me about how the hair should look when it was done. She didn't even know how to use product to make my hair look current. I can do a better job on my own hair at home and I'm no hair dresser.

I hear everyone saying how much locals groom but when I look around on the streets, in bars, in restaurants, I see a very small number of people who are put together well but mostly they look pretty messy compared to what I'm used to at home in San Diego.

This is not a complaint, for those of you whose panties are wadding up as you read this, just a noticing. I have no rule that say's locals have to look any certain way for me, I'm just responding to the idea that an American could get a haircut here, or style, or color, that would be comparable to what they could get in the states. That being said, in America I pay a minimum of $50 US dollars for a hair cut and here it's max $50 pesos so there is that to be thankful for. I have found that you either need to seek out someone from somewhere else, I've used a great guy from Canada who posts here in the past, or you need to adjust your standards....

 

[citygirl]

I am NOT impressed with the salons I've been to here.

I had long layered hair. Not super difficult to do that kind of cut. I went to the salon, explained (in Spanish so it wasn't that he didn't understand) that I wanted just a trim, getting rid of the dead ends but keeping the same style.

I wound up with him chopping and making the layers in the front *really* short and the back, just trimming a little bit. It was like a mullet. We won't even get in to the colour that I got. I'm a natural blonde - just wanted him to even out the color as the top/ends get really light but underneath it was a darker blonde. I wound up with - and I'm not joking - bright yellow hair.

I have a lot of stories like that. And its not just women, my guy friends here have had their hair butchered as well.

 

[emilyr]

I don't know what others' standards are...but I LOVE the salon ROHO on la calle Republica de Indonesia 66. It is 60 pesos for a haircut...IF you specify "no brushing" (styling) and "ningun shampú especial," just the haircut alone. You must specify not just at the desk but to the stylists and shampooer, or they will try to do other things to you that will up your cost if that is a concern for you!

I hail from Kentucky, so my standards are NOT New York salon worthy, and I know there are a lot of neoyorquinos here! But I have never had a bad haircut from them, quite the opposite...I love my hair. When I went on a trip last year to Iguazu, I was overdue for a cut and killed a little free time stepping into a salon cualquiera. I could tell in the pictures even the old haircut from them still looked good, shaped compared to the new one which was realmente un desastre.

The onda of ROHO is rock and roll, which won´t appeal to everyone, and in fact, you can find news articles that say Argentine rockers like this salon, but they are not going to try to make you look like Boy George. I actually think my hair is somewhat conservative but stylish, certainly very Argentine.

 

[fifilafiloche]

I confess i m not a reference in that matter, i would go to a hairdresser in a lost village in the Andes just for the atmosphere, the souvenirs i will build from that place. I dont brush and I like the messy and natural, see bohemian impression it gives to others. It reflects my personality. In the 80s, hairdressers needed a lot of technique and timeto get to a similar result ;o))

I understand that for some cosmopolitan ladies, haircut is important to feel totally in control of their look, i guess like plastic surgery and that they wont find the ultimate accuracy they are accustomed too here with local standards.

I wonder how this also has to do with fashion. Fashion in one country might be different from another, trends are not totally globalized yet. Hoping to find the US standard haircut in another country might indeed need some people acustomed to this style.

Being a male (sort of) makes life sometimes so much easier and inexpensive

 

[EliA]

I wandered into a random salon next to my friend's house in Caballito. I have thick, curly, short hair and it's hard to get a good cut no matter where I go. I like it really long in the front and really short in the back which is like the antithesis of local hair. Also I ask them to do extreme thinning which makes a lot of hair dressers uncomfortable, or they only thin the bottom half which gives me a really attractive mushroom look.

But, I explained to the woman what I wanted and we stopped and examined it periodically during the cut. I also encouraged her to go wild with the thinning shears from the top down. Not only did she give me a FANTASTIC haircut but also a really pleasant hair wash/head massage. $50 pesos plus tip.

I think the key is to ask to see it as they progress. If they are worth their salt this won't offend them, and if they're really great they'll hold a mirror up to the back of your head and get your approval before continuing on without you having to ask them to.

Confidential to HotYogaTeacher: after reading the expansive series of posts re-upped by SteveinBsAs yesterday of which you were a prominent player, I thought you were long since gone. But this post of yours is just from yesterday, and you're still here. You're also still irrationally comparing BsAs to San Diego. Be careful of reverse culture shock once you do make it back: I always romanticize Seattle when I'm gone and once I return it's just the same old place. Not that Seattle isn't awesome, but it also isn't perfect.

 

[Ba Hairdresser]

I have had my hair cut twice here in BA, being a hairdresser myself I really did some research, however, both times I came home with terrible hair cuts , and I did go to recommended salons.. I can't even say it was a language barrier ,as i could see from the way they were cutting that is was not going to be good. YET, due to not being able to express myself well , i let them continue. My hair is getting rather long now, jejeje If only I could cut my own.

 

[syngirl]

I don't know what others' standards are...but I LOVE the salon ROHO on la calle Republica de Indonesia 66. It is 60 pesos for a haircut...IF you specify "no brushing" (styling) and "ningun shampú especial," just the haircut alone. You must specify not just at the desk but to the stylists and shampooer, or they will try to do other things to you that will up your cost if that is a concern for you!

I second ROHO -- I go to Diego at the new Roho in Malabia entre Soler y Nicaragua. I do pay good money for it, I also only go every 2 months. Diego does great color as well. You can pay anything from the 60 pesos for just a cut, to coloring your hair loading on all the Redken products they use and walk out paying $350 pesos, still a lot less than you would pay for the same service and treatments in the USA.

 

[ssr]

I wonder how this also has to do with fashion. Fashion in one country might be different from another, trends are not totally globalized yet. Hoping to find the US standard haircut in another country might indeed need some people acustomed to this style.

Being a male (sort of) makes life sometimes so much easier and inexpensive

Fashion for men here seriously sucks. It is extremely difficult to find anything worth buying in any Argentine men's clothing store. And I rarely see an Argentine dude wearing something that I'd care to wear myself. Women seem to be able to put themselves together fairly well in Argentina, but there is zilch here for dudes. And the sweater around the neck thing is so unbelievably douchey.

So, I have to disagree with you, fifilafiloche. Finding decent men's clothes in Argentina is certainly not easy and not all that inexpensive, either.

 

[Carolina Girl]

that sweater around the shoulders "thing" is SO Buenos Aires! I actually do it in USA and find very few (Hilary Clinton does it) do it.

It's a bit like collar up in the Hamptons.

I wouldn't wear my collar up in Carolina but here (Carolina) they wear baseball hats INSIDE a restaurant....and on airplanes and inside your house (which to me is so redneck).