So, I had a lot of high hopes for this salon. From the reviews it sounds like they're really concerned about making sure you get what you want. I wanted to make a pretty dramatic switch to red (my hair is very dark brunette). I've tried to make this switch before with other salons, but with results that ranged from: "Wow, did I just pay $100+ to damage my hair only to have it come out looking exactly the same as when I arrived?" to "Wow, that would be purple-burgundy. Yes. That is how I would describe my hair color" also known as, "I have been transformed to a 40 year old woman in Indiana's mid-life crisis".
I'm pretty timid, but I knew what I wanted. After a rough month, I really wanted to treat myself and I had all these dreams of walking out of this salon with pretty dark red hair. Having experienced issues with hair coloring at salons in the past, I asked them when I first made the appointment, "Do you think maybe I will need my hair lightened/lifted in order to go from dark brown hair to red?" I was pretty certain the answer would be yes, but after a hurried, "Um. No no." I decided, "Ok, well whatever, they can't figure this out on the phone! I'll just go in, show them the hair I want, tell them to do whatever is necessary to get this hair color and voila!"
I came in, they were polite, it's a cute little shop, and they offered me a drink. I sat down for 5 seconds before they were ready to see me - so far so good! My stylist was friendly, and asked me what I wanted. I explained the issues I'd had in the past, showed her a picture of what I wanted (Drew Barrymore's dark red hair, not the lighter red she had recently) - she explained that the issues I'd had were because basically the color dye the other stylists had used, and the darkness of my hair. So I'm sitting there thinking - yes, she understands! She knows what's necessary! She even recommended highlights to help make the color pop out more. I was like "Chyah, multi-dimensional color, I'm all over it." She even expressed concern about my budget before going into it - as I mentioned "I brought cash, but not sure if it's enough for a haircut too." So she began. She put on a few foils, put some hair color - but I started thinking partway through the process "I wonder if this is the lightening portion" before I realized "Nope, she's just putting the dye straight on my hair like all the stylists before. Well...she seemed receptive to what I wanted so... let's keep it going."
I ended up with a base hair color that..really didn't look that much different from my dark hair, with....blonde streaks. I am....disappointed. To say the least. And this is from someone who lives by the philosophy of "hair grows. Deal with it." Luckily it didn't cost that much, so I just took it as a loss. Gave her a decent tip (26%), because....I'm a good person. I didn't cry until I got into the car with my husband just because I'm so frustrated with trying to get what I want at salons (in terms of hair color). read more