Welcome back to the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast.
I'm Maria.
And I'm Rory.
And this is the first episode in 2020 or 2020.
Rory, what do you say?
I say 2020, but I think I say that because it's more modern and futuristic.
Yeah, but if I want to say 2020, can I do that?
Why not?
All right.
So in 2020 or 2020.
Let's get the ball rolling with the episode.
Rory, are you ready to answer some questions?
Yeah, I hope they're not hair-raising.
That's funny.
Not because your joke was funny, but because we're gonna talk about hair and hairstyles today.
Yes, dear listeners, in the speaking part, they can ask you questions about hair or hairstyles.
The first question is, Rory, do you care about your hairstyles?
Well, I didn't used to, but now I do quite a great deal.
It's kind of ironic actually, because I'm having quite a bad hair day to day, literally speaking, but normally I do care about my hairstyles.
I think appearance is quite important.
For yourself and for the people around you.
The first impression that you make on someone with your appearance really matters.
It makes a difference.
How often do you get your hair cut?
Well, ironically, for someone who cares about their hair so much, I get it cut rather irregularly.
I suppose I want to get it cut once a month, but in reality, just because of my workload, it's usually every two months actually.
Do you always have that kind of hairstyle?
What, you mean messy?
Yes.
No, it's usually a lot nicer than this.
I usually do something with my fringe.
It's been like that for years and years now.
However, the quasi side parting look that I'm going with now is the one that I like for now and indeed for the foreseeable future.
Was there a time that you felt disappointed in your hairstyle?
Actually, I feel disappointed with it quite often.
But I think that's just a feature of when you have a haircut.
Usually when I get my haircut, I look at it and I think it's too short.
But I know that over time it will grow in and it will actually look how I intended it to.
It's just the intention of the barber or the hairdresser.
That's generally, but more specifically, there was a time when I shaved the sides of my head and I left my hair on top long and I look quite ridiculous.
So I was a bit disappointed with that hairstyle.
It wasn't a good decision.
Have you ever been given a haircut that you didn't like?
Well, I just mentioned one there, I suppose.
However, in addition to that, I also modelled once.
It's not as glamorous as it sounds.
I did it to help a friend who was becoming a hairdresser.
But the way she cut my hair didn't really add much to... to the outfit that she designed as well.
So it was disappointing, but not seriously disappointing.
It was just very strange.
How long have you had your hair in its current style?
Oh, about the last nine months.
Actually, funnily enough, it's been this way since I've been in a relationship.
I think I put in a bit more effort with my appearance when I'm going out with someone.
And I think people should want to look good for their partner.
It's quite important.
Do you like to go to the hairdressers or barbers?
Um, well, usually, actually, I go to a private hairdresser, a friend and I share this person there.
Well, it's a man.
So I suppose you would say he's a barber when he's doing my hair, but he's a hairdresser when he's doing hers.
Yeah.
Sometimes I'll go to a salon.
It's a very specific one in Moscow for expats.
And they're lovely there.
They're very welcoming.
It's a little bit more expensive, but you definitely get your money's worth.
And certainly I like being around the people there.
Would you like to change the colour of your hair?
I occasionally wonder how I would look if I had blonde hair, but I don't think it would really work well for me.
And to be honest with you, I kind of like the salt and pepper look that I have now.
It works for me.
Have you ever changed your hair colour?
Yes, I dyed my hair black normally, well, up until about three years ago, actually.
And I dyed it blue once as well.
No way.
Blue?
Yes.
Like light blue or dark blue?
Dark blue.
Navy blue?
Kind of navy blue.
I think the color was midnight blue or something like that.
We all make silly mistakes when we're 16 years old.
The whole head was blue.
My whole head was blue.
Wow.
And did you just like so one day, like you wanted to hide this blue, you would wear a hat or something to hide this blue hair that you had.
No, no.
You enjoyed it.
At the time, I liked it.
But, you know, it's like for everybody.
You look back on when you were younger and you realize that you made some really ridiculous decisions.
Rory, as always, you've just used gorgeous grammar and vocabulary for a super high score.
Thank you.
First of all, when we talk about hair, we say to have my hair cut.
Have my hair cut.
Yeah, or have my hair done.
For example, yesterday I had my hair cut.
If I want to change the color of my hair, I say...
I have my hair dyed.
Dyed.
It's interesting.
It's not just like dye, like people dye, right?
But it's a dye, like a color.
Yeah, I think in most languages, the translation is to have your hair painted.
But in English, we have a specific word for changing the color of your hair.
So dyed.
How do you spell this, dyed?
D-Y-E-D.
And you can say, I usually have my hair done like once a month.
Absolutely, yes.
Once a year.
Because you don't cut your hair or you don't do your hair.
Someone else does it for you.
Yeah, that's why the construction, I had my hair done by somebody, right?
But actually, if you do do your hair yourself, you say, I cut my hair.
Yeah, all right.
Well, which is kind of strange, maybe most people... Most people wouldn't cut their hair.
Yeah, they have it cut.
It's a bad idea.
When you have your hair cut, you go to... Where do you go?
Like I say, it can be the hairdresser or the barber.
It changes depending.
Right.
But nowadays we have these like barber shops, like cool, fancy barber shops.
Yeah.
So usually I go to, well, like I say, I have a private hairdresser.
Like it's not as glamorous as it sounds.
I think many people have hairdressers.
It is glamorous because actually Rory is very posh.
So, yeah, you can say, like, I have a private stylist.
Yes.
I have a colorist.
Mm-hmm.
Colorist, a person who... Colors your hair, who dyes your hair.
Mm-hmm.
Or a barber.
I go to a barber.
Yeah.
And a barber cuts your hair, shaves you.
Yeah.
A barber is usually for men really, whereas a hairdresser is more for women, although men can go to the hairdresser.
Certainly I do.
And how should I say it?
I go to a barber's.
I go to a barber or the barber, the barber's.
You can decide.
It can be barbers with an S or barber with no S.
I go to a barber's?
Yeah.
Or I go to a hairdresser's?
Absolutely.
Do you need this hairdresser's?
No, not really.
Certainly most native speakers can choose as well, so it's okay.
Yeah, I go to a hairdresser once a week.
Once a week, wow.
I was going to say, you must have a lot of money.
Right, I have my hair dyed blonde once a week.
Okay, and also you can say salon, right?
A hair salon?
Yes, absolutely.
Although usually it's got a weaker sound at the front, so not a hair salon, but a hair salon.
You've also used specific words about hair, like a fringe.
Fringe?
What is a fringe?
It's the front part of your hair.
So it sort of hangs over your forehead, or in my case, it's kind of above my forehead now.
Yeah, so fringe, F-R-I-N-G-E, a fringe.
And also you mentioned that you shaved your sides.
So the sides are, well, the sides of your head, basically.
Although I wouldn't recommend anybody do it if you have hair like mine.
It was not a good idea.
When you talked about a disappointing haircut, you mentioned that it was disappointing and you looked Ridiculous.
Yeah, I think we've had it on the podcast before, right?
Ridiculous.
Certainly, it's a word I use a lot, so I would imagine so.
Yeah, is it positive or negative?
Oh, it's very negative if you talk about how something looks.
Yeah, and you can say like oh, I had a disappointing haircut and I looked like funny in a negative way.
Yes, I looked ridiculous for sure.
Rory, you said that you should put more effort into your hairstyle.
Or you are putting more effort now.
I'm trying to.
Alright, put more effort.
Could you give us another example?
Yeah, when you put effort into something, it's like you try hard to make something look good or you try hard to make something work.
So you put the effort in.
When you talk about the color of your hair, it's nice to use some specific vocabulary.
Rory, for example, told us that he has salt and pepper look.
Salt and pepper, like you put salt on your food and pepper, maybe, on your food.
Salt and pepper look, Rory, what is it?
Do you put salt and pepper on your head?
No, not quite, although it looks that way now.
Because I'm getting older and some of my hair is white, so it just means that there's a mixture of darker colours and lighter colours in your hair.
But natural colour.
Oh yeah, for sure.
I think... you could maybe do it at the hairdresser, but it would be very expensive, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
They bleach your hair, and then they dye your hair.
Really?
Yeah, yeah.
That sounds like a No.
For example, I went blonde last summer.
Oh yeah, so they, I had it bleached.
And then they I had my hair dyed blonde.
Oh, of course, but you had it dyed one color.
It would be unusual if someone had their hair dyed multiple colors.
That would be Yeah, you can do it.
You can?
In multiple colors.
Maybe if you're a millionaire.
Different shades, like shades, we say like different shades of blonde.
You can have like ash blonde or light blonde.
Now I'm talking about myself.
Are you platinum blonde then?
No, I think I'm light blonde.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Rory, you've used a nice expression, I have a bad hair day.
A bad hair day?
What does it mean?
Your hair is bad?
It's probably a good expression for IELTS, but it's not so good if you're having one.
So a bad hair day is something, sorry, it's a phrase that means you're having a bad day.
Nothing is going to plan.
It's just not good.
But I'm literally having a bad hair day.
I left my hat on for too long when I was on the metro and the static is affecting my hair.
So now it looks very pointy and not very tidy.
It's messy.
And maybe some people like this look, but I sure don't kind of like natural, you know, like a bad guy look and they can like the hair is messy and you say oh, I'm having a bad hair day.
Maybe only if you added literally at the beginning.
Usually a bad hair day refers to things which are going wrong, not so much your hair properly.
But if you add literally, then that means it's only talking about your hair.
Now you can listen to Rory's answers again, and this time notice all the expressions he has just used for a high school.
Rory, do you care about your hairstyles?
Well, I didn't used to, but now I do quite a great deal.
It's kind of ironic actually, because I'm having quite a bad hair day to day, literally speaking, but normally I do care about my hairstyles.
I think appearance is quite important.
For yourself and for the people around you.
The first impression that you make on someone with your appearance really matters.
It makes a difference.
How often do you get your hair cut?
Well, ironically, for someone who cares about their hair so much, I get it cut rather irregularly.
I suppose I want to get it cut once a month, but in reality, just because of my workload, it's usually every two months actually.
Do you always have that kind of hairstyle?
What, you mean messy?
Yes.
No, it's usually a lot nicer than this.
I usually do something with my fringe.
It's been like that for years and years now.
However, the quasi side parting look that I'm going with now is the one that I like for now and indeed for the foreseeable future.
Was there a time that you felt disappointed in your hairstyle?
Actually, I feel disappointed with it quite often.
But I think that's just a feature of when you have a haircut.
Usually when I get my haircut, I look at it and I think it's too short.
But I know that over time it will grow in and it will actually look how I intended it to.
It's just the intention of the barber or the hairdresser.
That's generally, but more specifically, there was a time when I shaved the sides of my head and I left my hair on top long and I looked quite ridiculous.
So I was a bit disappointed with that hairstyle.
It wasn't a good decision.
Have you ever been given a haircut that you didn't like?
Well, I just mentioned one there, I suppose.
However, in addition to that, I also modeled once.
It's not as glamorous as it sounds.
I did it to help a friend who was becoming a hairdresser.
But the way she cut my hair didn't really add much to the outfit that she designed as well.
So it was disappointing, but not seriously disappointing.
It was just very strange.
How long have you had your hair in its current style?
Oh, about the last nine months.
Actually, funnily enough, it's been this way since I've been in a relationship.
I think I put in a bit more effort with my appearance when I'm going out with someone.
And I think people should want to look good for their partner.
It's quite important.
Do you like to go to the hairdressers or barbers?
Well, usually, actually, I go to a private hairdresser.
A friend and I share this person there.
Well, it's a man, so I suppose you would say he's a barber when he's doing my hair, but he's a hairdresser when he's doing hers.
Sometimes I'll go to a salon.
It's a very specific one in Moscow for expats.
And they're lovely there.
They're very welcoming.
It's a little bit more expensive, but you definitely get your money's worth.
And certainly I like being around the people there.
Would you like to change the colour of your hair?
I occasionally wonder how I would look if I had blonde hair, but I don't think it would really work well for me.
And to be honest with you, I kind of like the salt and pepper look that I have now.
It works for me.
Have you ever changed your hair colour?
Yes.
I dyed my hair black normally, well, up until about three years ago, actually.
And I dyed it blue once as well.
No way.
Blue?
Yes.
Like light blue or dark blue?
Dark blue.
Navy blue?
Kind of navy blue.
I think the color was midnight blue or something like that.
We all make silly mistakes when we're 16 years old.
Your whole head was blue.
My whole head was blue.
Wow.
And did you just like so one day, like you wanted to hide this blue, you would wear a hat or something to hide this blue hair that you had.
No, no.
At the time, I liked it.
But, you know, it's like for everybody.
You look back on when you're younger and you realize that you made some really ridiculous decisions.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye.
Bye bye.
