Until recently, most of us found ourselves facing this dilemma on a fairly regular basis: you go to the salon to get your hair cut, you like your stylist and all, but what do you really have to talk about for 20 minutes?
Or, for women, sometimes upwards of an hour, depending on what you’re having done.
Does anyone else prefer to have a haircut in silence rather than make smalltalk with the hairdresser?
byu/The_Dylmyster inNoStupidQuestions
Do some people prefer small talk? Are we really all just talking when we would rather sit in silence with our thoughts?
These 15 people are weighing in!
15. I never considered this.
Sometimes I want to chat, other times I just pretend to fall asleep. Works every time, and it’s not even rude.
It’s quite normal to feel relaxed and sleepy while getting your hair cut.
14. The hairdresser should get a vote, too!
I’m a men’s hairdresser and I loveeee when I get guys who close their eyes meaning they don’t want to talk… cuz I don’t want to make the small talk either… we don’t like to do it but we have to or else we get called “rude”… when really I just don’t want to talk to you.
13. Imagine doing it all day, every day.
I’m a licensed hairdresser and can confirm that even I hate the small talk.
12. Learn to read the room.
Kind of a similar situation with Uber driving. My policy was always to just politely ask how their day is going, confirm where they are going, and then let the customer decide if they want to talk.
I don’t like small talk, and a lot of them clearly don’t appreciate being locked in a car with someone who won’t shut up, so I just savor the silence if they don’t make conversation.
11. No one likes awkwardly ground gears.
silence – golden
limited smalltalk – i can deal
asks a bazillion questions about your personal life – really grinds my gears
tells you all about their personal life – makes me want to never come back
thinks you’re cute and wants to find out if you’re single – wow this is awkward, please just cut my hair
10. The nerve of some people.
I really dislike the idea that people who work in the service industry have to be sociable. Socializing usually isn’t part of the service we’re providing.
I deliver pizzas. Yesterday a customer took a minute to get to the door and apologized as I handed him the clipboard to sign at the same time. I didn’t say anything back (I’m more of a non-verbal communicator with people that I’ll only see for a few seconds, and my facial gesture was hidden behind my mask). The dude made some passive aggressive comment about me not saying anything back, and I just said “Sorry, I’m not the most social”.
Dude tells me that maybe the service industry isn’t a good fit for me then. Hilarious, because the service that he’s paying me for is to bring him his food fast and correct. Not to pretend to be interested in whatever he’s doing.
9. Cringeworthy.
I hate when the hair dresser asks me about my work. Like, I’m not at work right now so please don’t talk to me about work.
8. It’s definitely not relaxing.
Yeah it feels like a chore coming up with topics to discuss with them the whole time.
7. I’m so glad I don’t get a haircut every month.
What? You don’t enjoy hearing your barber talk about his bitch ex wife for the 17th month in a row? Awfully strange you are
6. Silence is golden.
You gotta learn to love the silence. At least the hairstylists I know have told me, they’re trained to keep small-talking as long as the customer is engaging. Lots of people want the small-talk, many people don’t. I like a little bit of talking, but mainly about the haircut. I feel like they tend to mirror what I do, so that’s perfect.
But I get that the silence can feel even more draining and awkward at first, I felt that way for the longest time, too.
5. The perfect match.
I hardly even care about the hair, make it not look terrible and just please leave me alone.
The guy I have now asks if I want the same thing as usual, I say yes 90% of the time, I close my eyes, he cuts hair, he grabs a mirror and says “check it out.”
And I pay for my haircut and tip him 50-75% of the cost of the cut because that’s how much I appreciate that he doesn’t talk to me at all, and we exist in perfect harmony.
4. Sometimes you don’t get a choice.
With the last stylist it wasn’t hard. She started talking as soon as I sat down and didn’t stop. I don’t think she even drew a breath. She’d ask a question, then keep talking.
She’d talk while she blew my hair dry and I couldn’t understand her. I clocked her one time and she literally spoke for 17 minutes without a single break. Idk wtf she was even saying
3. The silent communication.
I’m a barber. Just close your eyes. It’s universal for “shut up and cut” (except for young, new barbers..they may not have learned the lingo yet)
2. Why is this so funny?
That’s why I choose Spanish speaking barbers/hairdressers… I don’t speak it well so my haircut is usually wrong but it’s totally worth it.
During quarantine, I had my GF cut my hair, but she also speaks Spanish so my haircut is still f*cked up.
Didn’t have to talk much though.
1. It’s even worse for people with anxiety.
I am so terrible at smalltalk.
I always feel like I’m being too annoying or talking too much.
I also always feel like I have to smile the whole time so the hairdresser doesn’t feel like I don’t like the haircut? I’m very awkward at the salon.
I don’t mind chatting for awhile, catching up and the like, but when you run out of things to say, silence should be acceptable.
What do you think? Talk or go mum? Tell us in the comments!
