Dear Annie: I’ve had the same woman, “Veronica,” doing my hair for several years now. She also does my pedicures and massages. I love her shop and all of her co-workers, but I’ve never been very happy with how she cuts and colors my hair.

It usually takes a week or more to get my hair back to how I like it after each appointment. I’ve talked with her about it, but nothing has changed. When Veronica was out having surgery, “Kirsten,” one of her employees, did my hair, and I liked it a lot better. I want to start having Kirsten do my hair, but Veronica is very sensitive and tends to get defensive. Any suggestions? — Hairy Situation

Dear Hairy Situation: I know that it’s the easiest advice to give and the hardest advice to follow, but I’ll say it anyway. Be honest. Stay positive yet truthful. Make the focus how much you liked how Kirsten did your hair, rather than the fact that you don’t like how Veronica does it. Tell her how much you love her pedicures and massages and would like to keep seeing her for those.

If you feel too bad to speak up, try this useful thought experiment: If you were in her shoes and a customer expressed all that to you, would you be angry? It’s your hair. Anyone less than the best won’t cut it.

Dear Annie: I recently saw a letter to you about workplace body odor. Years ago, we had a similar situation. We had to work in very close quarters, and one person who worked the very early morning shift had a real problem. Everyone talked about how awful it was; however, nobody did anything but jabber about it. Feeling bad for that person, I went into the small room, asked the person whether they knew that we were friends and all, and got a “Yes, of course, why?” I politely said, “Your day has lasted longer than your deodorant,” and presented that person a salt crystal deodorant to try. There was never a problem after that! — Compassionate Sniffer

Dear Compassionate Sniffer: Kudos for resolving an awkward situation using empathy and generosity.

Dear Annie: I’m a 31-year-old man, and I believe I’m in love with my friend. It’s been a year now that I’ve been feeling this way about her, but I haven’t expressed my feelings. At first, the reason was that she was in a relationship with a man for a long time. I never made a move because I didn’t want to cause problems for them. They broke up late last year (for reasons having nothing to do with me).

Now that my friend is single, I don’t know whether I should tell her how I feel. Is it still too early for her to start a new relationship? — Lover and Friend

Dear Lover: You can’t yank cupid’s arrow from your heart, no matter how hard you try. So it’s really not a matter of if you should tell her how you feel but when. I concede your point that it might be early for her to consider another steady, serious relationship, so perhaps wait it out for another month. But don’t wait too long — or you’ll be standing on the sidelines once again, wondering what might have been.

If she ends up feeling the same way, fantastic! And if not, at least you’ll know and can begin moving on.

Editor’s note: Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. To find out more about Annie Lane and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.