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Later that night, I ran my fingers through my hair and could feel hard residue on my hair closest to my scalp. I figured it was just hair product and washed my hair using the products I bought at the salon. I let it air dry and went to sleep. The next day, I ran my hair through my hair and felt the hard residue again. I looked in the mirror and noticed it was actually a hard liquid that came out of my scalp and that under the residue were red patches that were slightly concave. The liquid was clear with a yellow tone, kind of like the liquid that comes out after you pop a zit (sorry, had to go there). I had to rush to the airport for a business trip in Chicago. Once I got to my hotel, I started taking pictures and videos of my scalp. I wore my hair in a bun the whole week to avoid getting it oily and having to wash it again. I was afraid that I could get an infection if I put any product (i.e. shampoo) in it. I began to notice that my hair was in fact orange...
The next day, I searched Atelier's site for an email address, so I could write a message, send the pics, and get some information on my why scalp was the way it is and how I should treat it. I couldn't find a direct address, just a messaging function on the actual site. I did not receive an email reply or call until Thursday, which happened to be the day I was flying back to LA. I went into the salon that Friday (by then, the sores turned into scabs). I showed Virginia my scalp and she said there was nothing wrong. I could literally feel the bump of the scabs with my fingers while showing her. She kept denying that anything was wrong. I proceeded to show her pictures of the fresh sores on my phone and she said she has no control over what I do before and after the color correction- that I must have scratched my head or used bad products on my hair. I explained that I only used the products that I bought from her store (that she recommended), and that I haven't scratched me head. I could not believe she was trying to blame me for the injuries on my scalp. I got a little heated and repeated that I had blood and puss on my scalp and that there could have been multiple times within the entire color process that they could have changed the process, as I kept explaining that I was in pain.
Virginia exploded and started yelling at me that she is a professional who has been doing this for 12 (can't remember the exact number) years, and I have no right to tell her she did something wrong. She then called me "ungrateful" and said if any other salon did my hair, it would all fall out. Her salon is the best, because my hair didn't fall out (WTF? That is the minimum requirement of an establishment). I was angry at this point and crying in frustration. I explained that in addition to the scalp injuries I hate the color, and I want a refund. She refused and said my hair was beautiful. I said that I'm glad she likes the color, but I paid her to give me honey brown color and not brassy light brown. She said she could fix it, and I said I don't trust her to touch my hair. She got defensive and said fine, I'll give you $40 to get the tone fixed somewhere else.
I walked around to other salons to see what the price would be to fix it. The average was about $50, but one of the hair stylists said that it was unnecessary to bleach my hair to such a light color, and that now my roots would be harsh against the lighter color. He explained that they probably bleached it really light, so they could make money off of touch ups. This really upset me. I also had a wedding coming up in 6 days and was afraid to color my hair until the scabs healed. At this point I was not satisfied with the $40 or $60 to get the color fixed. The combination of the scalp injury, Virginia's refusal to admit anything was wrong, yelling at me, calling me "ungrateful", the brassy color, I had to go to work looking sloppy for a week, and that I'd have to go to a wedding with terrible hair, made me decide to demand a refund.
I returned and asked for the refund, Virginia refused in a very angry tone. She said "sue me", so I asked for her license. She refused to show me her license. I looked around the salon and noticed that no one had their licenses visible. I explained to her that this is against the law, and she said "sue me"...
Virginia needs to learn to give her clients the color that they want and not force her own preference on them. When her clients complain of pain, she should examine the cause to see if there is way to adjust the process. When her clients return unsatisfied, she should apologize (not berate or facetiously suggest suing her) and work with them to satisfaction. I will never return to this salon. My next step is to file a formal complaint to the board. I hope no one is harmed or generally treated the way I was in the future. Do your research before going to a salon. Get multiple consultations & look up the state law. http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/consumers/index.shtml read more