I came for blonde highlights. The stylist turned me dark gray and gaslighted me, instead!
When I walked into Dandelion for highlights and a trim, I thought I was in good hands. I have been coming here for service from another hair stylist for a little under a year and I never had a problem. My usual stylist wasn't available, so I was assured by the receptionist that plan B would be just as good. Fast forward to this being the worst salon experience yet.
I showed her photos of what I wanted and told her that my goal was to be brighter and blonder. I told her I wanted to look and feel younger, that I had a couple of parties coming up to celebrate my 40th birthday.
She said she could do it! AGAIN, she said she could DO IT!
But, when I saw the finished product after four long hours in her chair, I had to do my best to hold back tears.
My hair was ashen and gray--not the brighter blonde that I had so clearly asked for. To make matters worse, the highlights looked like they came from one of those do it yourself plastic caps with the holes. The kind you get at Sally Beauty with your GF's in highschool. Poorly blended, poorly placed. I was pretty adamant about how I was all about a "money" piece and no matter what, wanted to accomplish that look. As I am sure you can imagine by now, nothing came even close or at all to that.
I was horrified. Was I really expected to ring in 40, with artificial gray hair, toned to drab AF?! THE BEST PART is... I haven't even gone gray naturally yet. I was under the impression that hair salons are in the business of making their clients feel their best! Fabulous! Youthful and most of all Satisfied! Call me crazy, but that is the "Ethos" for most high end salons right?
To make matters worse, the stylist barely took accountability for completely messing up my hair. She gaslit me and told me that she "was no good at blonde, that she did her "version" of what I asked for and that it was "kinda dark" in this part of the salon, so I might not be seeing what I thought I was seeing. Then ended with finally admitting, " I feel like I am gonna cry, I feel so bad", "You should just wash your hair with clarifying shampoo or purple shampoo to make it better" After how much I was expected to fork over, you want me to spend more to correct your mistake? Heinous!! What she didn't realize is that I have years of experience dying my own hair and working with celebrity hair stylists. There are certain things you just have to have another person do, otherwise I would have done it myself. Anyway, I politely told her what she did wrong after she tried to fib about principles in hair color chemistry a normal person wouldn't know. Needless to say, I was the wrong one to lie to.
Honestly, I don't know why I paid the nearly $400 she charged me after all was said and done. I guess I was in shock at what had happened to my hair and how I had been treated, that she had the audacity to charge me so much after giving me the opposite of what I asked for without even offering to fix it. There was a half ass dry trim that she attempted to do, as we were both in sorrowed spirits about the outcome of my hair. That, she did offer to take off. However, $75-85 bucks to do a dry trim? Are you joking? Can I get dinner first before you screw me...
I emailed the salon manager the next day, and she refused to refund me or fix my hair for free. She had zero empathy for my situation and I ended the call feeling hopeless and completely dismissed. It was so bad that I even asked if she was a robot due to her sociopathic attitude towards someone who paid good money to have their hair ruined just before a milestone moment in their life!
I was able to get my hair fixed at Local Honey. The experience was so much better! My stylist was honest with me about what to expect in correcting the color of my hair and gave me a roadmap to reach my hair goals in the future. The word around was that they get a lot of Dandelion "dandruff;" people who are dissatisfied with Dandelion Salon and the prices they charge for what you get or don't get really... Customers like me who had to pay for their mistakes and lack of accountability!
In the end, I paid double to have my hair done: once to have it turned gray, and a second time to have the color corrected. If you know anything about hair, processing twice in one week is not good for your hair. It has taken me a long time to get it long and healthy so this was just devastating. What I asked for easily could have been accomplished in one sitting.
Dandelion may never offer to correct their mistake. Or give me my money back, which I pleaded for with the ice sculpture they call a manager, but I've made my peace with that. I now feel it's my duty to warn others about what they can expect if they come here, and hopefully avoid the heartache that comes with a bad hair job and even worse personal treatment on the part of the cold management and greedy owner. read more