"Hair is everything. We wish it wasn't, so we could think about something else occasionally, but it…read moreis. It's the difference between a good day and a bad day. We're meant to think it is a symbol of power, a symbol of fertility, some people are exploited for it and it pays your fucking bills. Hair. Is. Everything."
-Fleabag, S2
If you're a bride looking for a wedding party stylist, don't take this review into consideration. Why? Okay, you can continue reading, it's your waste of time.
tl;dr - if you hire Ashlan for an updo/style where you're just one customer, her schedule is at the whim of the larger party she originally booked. You may be thinking, "well yes, that sounds reasonable." And yes, it would be. In fact, it is! Her booking is her prerogative, it's her work and she's entitled to that.
That isn't what this is about. This is about her accepting a booking over a month before and then bailing literally last minute in a town booked out for months, leaving the person she's now fucked over to either frantically call every stylist in a 30 mile radius (none of whom are available), or achieve enlightenment and fully let go of their ego in the next 24 hours.
No one gets their hair done for any other reason than to look AND feel good. To cover up the grays we are not ready to accept, to frame our faces a bit better and accentuate our smiles, or to free ourselves from the patriarchy/taking control of circumstances of losing it through chemo (usually by shave/cutting it super short). It has always begun and ended with empowerment and for that it deserves so much more respect between vendor and customer, both ways.
I have my own sob story as to why I booked a medium length updo in the Old Hollywood style for my brother-in-law's wedding, but I'm not sure it matters. It doesn't. I booked Ashlan over a month in advance, gave my style inspiration pictures, got her approval, and checked in to make sure things were still good. She confirmed the time and then 10 days later, at 3:19p on Friday the day before the appointment, messaged me that her schedule got pushed back to later in the afternoon. I was understanding and cordial through text, asked if we could have an earlier appointment (to no response), but it wasn't time for enlightenment so in my hotel room I had a complete breakdown. My dumbass, having trusted the time was booked, didn't bring any hair tools with me (rest assured I won't be making this mistake again). I went to the rehearsal dinner thanking god it was still light out so I could wear my sunglasses and give my eyes more time to look like I hadn't been crying.
Maybe you're reading this and think, wow this bitch is dramatic. Yes, that's exactly what this feels like - how did you know? No, it's not okay to put your entire emotional self onto someone else. But a) I would have written this review as 1 star; ghosted regardless of my reaction, and b) as fucking if you think you're the only 100% forever stable person reading this, good for you. Here's a gold star for your enlightenment. This is for the rest of us who know that weddings are stressful, full of pictures, bound to bend even the most stoic individual, and aren't lying to ourselves that we aren't eventually going to have this same fun time when something goes wrong. During MY wedding my toddler ring bearer lost the ring and started bawling in front of everyone, who all began a mad dash to find it. It's a toddler, y'all - I just hugged him and promised it'd be okay and started laughing so he'd feel better.
Ashlan, however, is not a toddler. She made a grown up business choice: wedding party = more $$$, and the extra $$ she would have earned doing my updo earlier in the morning when she had time just wasn't worth whatever reason she has. If she had one, she never verbalized it - she just ghosted. I mean 2 hours later on Friday, in what can only be described as emotional whiplash, she messaged she was actually going to end up doing the updo and would text me in the morning but nothing ever came. I thanked her profusely, checked in, offered to make a deposit, no response, no message in the morning. I waited all day for her to reach out (and yes, I checked in). She raised my hopes and dashed them quite expertly.
So, if you're a bridal party booking, have all the confidence she'll actually come through for you. If you're someone like me, then I either highly recommend you look elsewhere, or you better begin to namaste.
