In my opinion, AKA Salon Newport Beach is the WORST salon to go to for hair color or to feel like a respected client.
My story begins two weeks ago when I went to Katelyn (who had colored my hair a couple of months prior in December) for a routine roots touchup. Katelyn had asked me if I would like the same color as in December (dark root beer cola brown) and I said 'yes please'.
During the time I was waiting for the color to set in, I made a comment to Katelyn, that the dye seemed extremely red (as it resembled that of the nose on a clown). She did not respond other than a smile. Katelyn allowed the red dye to set in my hair for 12 minutes longer than the 30 minute timer.
Unfortunately, Katelyn had mixed the solution with a mass majority of red dye, which resulted in my entire head of dark brown/black hair turning red, not just the roots but all of my hair as she had apparently "pulled the color through" all of my hair strands.
When I arrived home the night of the botched color, I did not shampoo or condition my hair per Katelyn's instructions. While showering, my hair became wet, and I noticed red running down the shower drain which scared me. I stepped out of the shower and dried my hair with my brand new fluffy white bath towel to find that my entire towel was covered in red. Again, scared, I realized that the color was coming from my hair.
I was forced to return the next day at which time Katelyn even said 'wow, your hair is really red'. Katelyn brought out sample hair swatches and asked me which colors she used in December? I told her that I had no idea as "she" did the color mix and notated my chart.
Evidently the owner, Kelsey, was standing nearby and instructed Katelyn to mix two colors. Kelsey never introduced herself to me as the owner, nor did she apologize for what had occurred. I did not even know she was the owner until I asked Katelyn when she was reapplying color.
Katelyn applied a neutralizer of some kind and a dark dye over the red dye which did not completely fix the problem as there are still minor bright red highlights in my hair.
To make matters worse, the next morning, I noticed that my hair was dry and brittle and then a few days later, a couple of small chunks had fallen out. I am no expert, but I am thinking it may be because AKA Salon manager, Chelsea had instructed me to 'double shampoo' and condition each time I washed my hair, which may also have led to the fact that I now already have gray roots only 2 weeks later when normally it takes 8 to 10 weeks between root touch ups.
All the while, each day, red dye was bleeding on my white bath towels, to the point where I had to run daily loads of hot washes. This caused unnecessary extra money wasted and time spent.
I attempted to contact the owner Kelsey via detailed texts, however, she did not seem interested in my situation until I said I would write a Yelp and Google Review. All of a sudden, Kelsey phoned me to tell me that she had just had nose surgery and that she is a single mother who did not realize I was upset. Kelsey continued to blame her manager, Chelsea (who has been very nice about this situation btw) for not telling her I was still upset even though Kelsey herself had already sarcastically responded to my disgruntled texts.
I had also taken daily photos the first week of the color bleed on my white towels and had texted them to Kelsey for reference.
No apology from Kelsey until I said that she should have introduced herself to me at the salon, apologized for what had occurred, and assured me that they will do whatever it takes to fix the color and dryness of my hair due to their carelessness.
During the past week, I texted Kelsey once to update her about the slow progress on my hair color bleed and dryness. I had indicated that Kelsey did not have to respond (but it sure would have been thoughtful if she had gone above and beyond to reach out).
My hair color bleeding has lessened, however, as of yesterday, there is still slight pink on my white towel. My hair is still very dry.
Two days ago, I texted Kelsey, indicating my frustration as to the fact that two weeks later, my hair is still slightly bleeding color and my hair is still brittle and dry. I requested to chat with Kelsey, regarding the possibility of me going to another salon for intensive conditioning and hopefully submitting the bill to Kelsey for reimbursement. No response so I had to follow up yesterday, still no response until today when I received a text (which appears to be written by an attorney) stating that she will NOT be doing anything to help me restore my hair softness and that she 'wishes me the best'.
In my opinion, when there are dozens of hair salons to choose from, shame on AKA Salon for treating a client so poorly, especially when this is completely their fault!!
UPDATE as of April 8, 2024, I had to spend $100 to have my haircut because of the damage, in my opinion, caused by AKA Salon as mentioned above. read more
