Basic advise is sometimes bad advice

GQ had a little article posted that I came across today about haircuts and listed the "Six things you need to know now!". And personally I found it actually only had about one piece of useful advice:

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"• Do go to a hair salon if you’ve got a longer, more elaborate coif.
• Don’t go to a salon if you want something standard, like a side part or a pompadour. An inexpensive barber will do.
• Do shampoo and condition your hair.
• Don’t wash it every time you shower—a couple of times a week is enough. (Your hair’s natural grease is healthy.)
• Do get a fresh cut in preparation for a big event, like a wedding.
• Don’t get it done the day before. Unless you’re Kid Cudi (see slide 4), your hair needs a week after a cut to look its best. "

Items one and two are essentially one item, and pretty pointless advice if you ask me. I say always go to whomever you trust with your hair, if you want the extra papering and better magazines a salon has to offer than go there regardless of your cut. While it is a good idea to not expect a barber to know how to do more complex cuts you still should go where you feel most comfortable.

Again, items three and four make the same point. Washing and conditioning your hair is healthy, but if you are somebody that needs to be told that my guess is you are not reading GQ or this blog.

Continuing the trend five and six are for all intents and purposes the same item as well (why break the streak?) This is however, the most useful piece of advice in the article. You always want a cut to look good for a big event, but never cut the day before because there is too much risk factor. Even if you have been faithfulsly seeing the same stylist or barber for years there is always room for error and cutting the day before an event prevents any chance you may have of fixing it. If you have a big event coming up I recommend going to your same stylist 5-7 days before hand and not experimenting with any new cut, color or style. That way you will look clean, fresh and put together and can enjoy yourself without having to worry about your hair.