I should have trusted my instincts from the moment I walked in.
The first clue was that the front door doesn't close unless you manually pull it shut behind you. The second clue was the giant rhinestone-covered jaguar hanging on the wall. The third clue was that one of the three salon chairs was broken.
Things only got worse from there.
The salon was strangely empty, the walls around the styling stations were bare, and though everything was covered in hair. Cleanliness did not appear to be a priority. When I asked to use the restroom before my appointment, I was directed down a hallway past several small rooms that gave off a vibe somewhere between a discount spa and the location of a future police investigation.
At this point, every survival instinct I possess was telling me to leave. Unfortunately, the salon's Instagram photos looked fantastic, so I ignored all common sense and stayed.
My stylist was polite. We discussed exactly what I wanted and I showed her multiple reference photos. She even told me the photos were examples of her work done at the salon. I felt reasonably confident we were on the same page.
Then came the balayage.
As the foils came out, I immediately suspected something was wrong. Way too much hair had been lightened, but I tried to reserve judgment because my hair was still wet. After another round of processing, toning, bleaching--or whatever step we were on at that point--it became painfully obvious that my hair looked nothing like the photos I had shown.
Instead of a dimensional balayage, I left with top layer of all bright white hair, uneven color placement underneath, with a few patchy sections of what had been my hair. My natural color was gone, and the result looked more like someone had painted bleach all over my head to color my hair rather than a professional balayage service.
When I expressed my concerns, my stylist called the owner on FaceTime. Rather than discussing solutions professionally, the conversation immediately became defensive. I was told they have plenty of five-star reviews and that I might be their first one-star review. I was also threatened with having the police called because I said I didn't feel the service warranted full price.
For the record: I never refused to pay. I simply said I didn't believe the result matched what was discussed or requested.
Meanwhile, my stylist looked absolutely terrified, shaking during the entire interaction, and I honestly felt worse for her than I did for myself.
I paid, left, and decided there was no chance I would return even though the owner said she'd fix it -- but after having her talk down to my on the phone I had no interest in meeting her or giving anymore time to this place.
The most expensive part of this appointment won't be the $175 I paid. It'll be whatever I have to spend elsewhere to have my hair corrected.
If you're considering this salon, my advice is simple: trust your instincts better than I trusted mine. read more
