Curly-haired clients, please read this before booking extensions with Miranda…read more
I am writing this review for anyone with naturally curly hair considering Miranda for extensions. My experience is that she may be skilled at the technical installation of extensions, but she does not understand curl patterns well enough to properly match extensions to naturally curly hair.
I was not pursuing extensions simply for vanity. I came to Miranda for an attempt at trying to manage an awkward period of hair regrowth following treatment for a tumor, and I wanted something that would help me feel more like myself while my natural hair grew back.
Before booking, I completed her intake process, sent several photos, discussed my curl pattern and color, and even asked if she wanted me to come in so she could see and feel my hair in person. She told me the photos were sufficient.
When she sent the service agreement and requested a $750 non-refundable retainer, I noticed my curl pattern had been documented incorrectly. I texted her and explained that my hair is closer to a 2D/3A pattern and that what she listed was much curlier. She assured me the extensions would work and said the coloring process needed to match my gray hair would relax the curl. She repeatedly told me to "trust the process." So I did.
When I arrived for my appointment, Miranda was not there yet and the salon was not open. She told me I would need to wait 30 to 40 minutes because she still had to color the extensions, even though I expected them to be ready.
She showed me the extensions before coloring them, and I again said the curl pattern looked too tight for my hair. Again, she assured me coloring would loosen the curls. It did not.
As she installed them, it became obvious that the curl pattern was dramatically different from mine. The extensions did not blend with my natural hair at all. The result looked fake and, in my opinion, cheap. It was nowhere near the natural, high-end result I expected.
I stopped her before she started cutting because no haircut was going to make two completely different curl patterns match.
That is when she told me something I believe I should have been told before my appointment: the extensions she actually wanted to use on me were backordered, and these were the extensions she had been able to get instead.
That was extremely frustrating because I had raised concerns about the curl pattern before paying the retainer and again in person. If she had told me the correct extensions were unavailable, I would have happily rescheduled. She acknowledged that she probably should have contacted me.
She removed the extensions, which took less than a minute. My understanding when I left was that she would order the appropriate hair and we would redo the installation.
Instead, several days later, Miranda texted me saying she was no longer the person for my "extension journey" and ended our client relationship.
A stylist has every right to decide a client is not the right fit. What I find completely unacceptable is that she kept my $750 retainer.
I did not cancel the service or change my mind. I showed up on time and prepared to have the service performed. The extensions were not appropriate for my hair, Miranda acknowledged that the ones she originally wanted were unavailable, and then she decided not to continue working with me. Yet, I am the one who lost $750.
I attempted to dispute the charge through my bank, but because of the wording of the non-refundable retainer agreement, I was unable to recover the money.
In my opinion, that is deeply unfair and unethical.
A non-refundable retainer makes sense when it protects a stylist from a client who cancels after products have been ordered and time reserved. I do not believe it should allow a business to substitute an unsuitable product, end the client relationship, provide no finished extension service, and still keep $750.
That money was part of what I had budgeted for extensions. Because Miranda kept it despite my never receiving the finished service, I was left without extensions and without the money I needed to hire someone else.
My warning to other curly-haired clients is simple: do not assume that experience installing extensions means expertise in naturally curly hair. Being a curly girl, I should have known better. Please learn from my mistake.
Ask what curl pattern is being ordered, what happens if that hair is unavailable, and whether substitutions can be made without your approval. Most importantly, read every word of the retainer agreement and understand what happens to your money if the stylist decides not to proceed.
I gave Miranda multiple opportunities to correctly assess my curl pattern. I specifically flagged the mismatch before the appointment. I trusted her judgment when she repeatedly told me to "trust the process." I wish I hadn't.
Buyer beware, especially curly girls.
