I am new to the area and was looking forward to getting my hair done. I found Aspire through reviews and excitedly booked an appointment. Unfortunately, from my first interaction to my last, this business was disappointing. I want to preface this by saying mistakes happen, and I gave ample opportunities for the issue to be corrected. I remained polite and accommodating, even though I was the client and it should have been the other way around. I wanted to avoid writing this review, and would have, had the situation been handled in a kind and helpful manner. It wasn't.
At my first appointment, I showed pictures to my stylist Makayla and we moved forward with the appointment. I was supposed to get highlights and a cut. She did not have time for the cut as her next client had arrived, so I made no big deal about it. However, my hair was not completely dried, and I could still tell it was very bad so we made plans to fix the large section of hair that was spotty. I texted her that evening and we made another appointment to repair the color. She then rescheduled, I agreed. She then attempted to reschedule a second time, and I was unable to do so due to work. Makayla then proceeded to guilt trip and attempt to make me feel bad reminding me of all the plans she had to change to fix my hair. Again - this was her mistake. When I was unable to reschedule the second time, her responses became short and clipped and she informed me that I would have to pay if I wanted my hair dried when I came in for the repair. I asked if that would be necessary to make sure it was fixed and she said yes. I was conflicted as this was their mistake but I didn't want to be a bother so I sought out the advice of a few hairstylist friends to see if I was in the wrong, what typical policies are, and was told that the salon should fix this at no charge. I worded a very kind message requesting as much and was met with more unprofessionalism where Makayla guilted me by saying that she would dry my hair at no cost but would get in trouble.
At the appointment, I tried to make the best of it and remain positive. I was hopeful and after paying $200 for incorrect color and unnecessary attitude from the stylist, I just wanted my hair fixed. However, after my hair was blown dry, the color was still not what I would consider "fixed." There are clear lines across the back of my head where color was not blended properly. I did bring them up and Makayla responded "well, yeah. I cant fix your hair in just one session" ? At this point, I just wanted to leave. Makayla had been rude, unkind, and extremely rough, despite me asking her to be more gentle. When I got home, a mutual friend told me that Makayla had made a disrespectful post on social media about my visit.
I was really upset as I'd now invested 6 hours of my time, $200, and my hair wasn't fixed. I decided to share my experience with the owner. She was very helpful and accommodating, but when I got to the salon for her to look at my hair, she said "Oh your hair looks good! Its not so bad." She told me that she could do a few things to get my hair "where I wanted it" so I agreed to make a third appointment. She scheduled me with Makayla. I had zero interest in seeing Makayla again, especially after her social media post. I simply wasn't going to subject myself to another uncomfortable interaction. She told me she could schedule me with herself but not for 3 weeks.
Look - hair mistakes happen. Had this been handled properly by either Makayla or the owner, I would not be writing this review. But this was an extremely disappointing experience for me. I visited the salon 3 times, and my hair still isn't fixed. This is not an acceptable way to do business.
Signed, a mom who simply wanted to feel good about herself and instead was treated like an inconvenience.
attached are photos from the first incorrect application of hair color as well as the "fix." read more