I used to come here regularly when it was a one-woman business, and she was really great; and today I went in for a cut with the new-to-me staff (a male manager + 2 female workers).
I'm mixed-race with Asian features but with naturally curly/wavy hair, and I had been growing it out for around a year. I brought several reference photos of the shorter style and silhouette that works with my natural hair texture. There was plenty of length and volume for them to work with. I make every effort to be a good customer because my husband was a stylist and taught me all the things he appreciated from clients, such as reference photos, using terminology that stylists understand, even using drawings to illustrate the cut/style from different rotations.
The woman looked at the reference photos, and I told her that I prefer this kind of messy, punk style of medium-length bob because it works with my hair texture. I have cowlicks all over the place too, which is complemented by the messy style.
She proceeded to comb out my curls, then blow dry and cut them. And then she kept blow-drying my hair with high heat to force it to be straight, and it looked so bad, as my natural texture was clearly rebelling.
I was so disappointed, and, because of the shorter length, I switched gears and drew a basic angled/wedge cut and asked to please just cut it that way instead. She cut some more, then forced it to be straight again with even higher heat, and the result was just a shorter version of the original bad cut she gave me.
At this point, I was so sad and asked to use their bathroom, where I wet my hair to get some of my natural texture back and tried to pin it with my barrettes that I was wearing earlier. I was near tears, and then the male manager asked if I was okay, and I said I was trying to be. He offered to fix it, and I sat down in his chair.
He told me that the reference photos wouldn't work with my hair because it has to be "designed" that way by curling some of the sections. I told him that my hair is already naturally curly, so he told me that since my curls start at the root, then I would need to get a straight perm because the photo shows a "designed" style that's not my texture. Then he said that style wouldn't work anyway because I don't have enough length. He recommended cutting off more length, and I said that's fine since that's all that could be done.
I was really near tears at this point because it's literally my hair texture that I clearly walked in with that I had been growing for around a year to give a stylist plenty to work with. I told him that I don't ever blow-dry my hair, because air-drying works better with my texture, and I just wanted a style that works WITH my curls and waves, not force it to be straightened. And the "designed" style in the reference photos is basically my natural morning hair - which is why I brought the photos in the first place, because I told him that my hair routine is easy: just wash and go.
He cut my hair shorter, and now it looks kind of like a pixie cut that's grown out some. I was tearing up when I looked in the mirror. He said he wouldn't charge me the $25 for the cut, and I offered him $20 for trying to fix it. After some back and forth, he really, really wanted me to keep my money, and I thanked him again for trying, and I let him know that I know my hair will grow back.
When I got to my car, I cried. I cried all the way home, and I cried some more when I went inside and told my husband about getting 3 haircuts just now. When I showed him the reference photos, he said, "You've had this haircut before -- that's your natural texture. It's not hard to do a bob haircut -- or a wedge cut -- with your texture."
It's now 2am, and I'm in bed feeling so horrible about the three haircuts and having my hair forced to be straightened unsuccessfully and not at all what I asked for, and for wasting a year's worth of growth with virgin hair: no dye; no blow-drying, no heat.
Until my hair grows back, I'm stuck with a haircut that I dislike so much I don't even want to look in a mirror, truly. I'm so sad and disappointed by this experience. Even though the manager tried to fix it as nicely as he could, I'm not going back here again. read more