After a bad experience at a salon as a teenager, I had been coloring my hair at home for a few years. Since my mom is a former hairdresser, she has been the one I've turned to for all hair-related changes. I have brown hair. We've bleached it, dyed it red, and, more recently, used semi-permanent boxed color, but haven't colored it my hair in at least 6 months (relevant). I decided I wanted to do something different with my hair and, after discussing what I wanted, my mother suggested it would be easier to go to a salon.
After researching what I wanted (some lighter tones in my dark brown hair, balayage style), I dove into Yelp reviews to find a salon who would do exactly what I wanted. I compared multiple salons, and chose Salon 6 because their reviews were awesome and Instagram account was *perfect*.
I chose to use their online scheduling. It was super easy, and I got a response the next day asking what I wanted (even included photos!), what my current hair color condition was, and when I wanted to make an appointment. I was thrilled they had a time available before I went home for Christmas! I scheduled it for today (Saturday) at 9am. This was two weeks ago that I scheduled the appointment. This past Thursday I got a text confirming my appointment for 9am again.
Fast forward to this morning, I had just pulled into the parking lot at 8:55 when I got a phone call saying they had a scheduling "error" and had to push my appointment to 10am. There were no cars in the parking lot, even though the opening time online said 9am. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, was glad I live close, and ran a couple errands with the extra time.
When I got to the salon for the second time around 9:45, they were prompt with checking me in and offered me a drink. The stylist got me to a chair quickly as well and apologized for the rescheduling. But, she seemed incredibly rushed and wasn't exactly sincere. Again, I gave her the benefit of the doubt since it was before the holidays and she was still nice.
I explained to her what I wanted and my prior history. She seemed like she understood, but now I'm not so sure now. After telling her I have used boxed semi-permanent color on my hair (a color very close to my natural color, I might add), she immediately started explaining to me that because my hair has had a bit of color on it that doing the lighter tones in my hair would be "much harder". I was completely confused, but she offered to do a test strip anyway to see how the color in my hair lifted. She then told me, however, that she wouldn't have time today to completely do my hair. Okay, really disappointing after already waiting an extra hour for my two-week old appointment. She told me that a consultation should have been scheduled as well.
Back to the test strip: For some reason, she put the bleach all the way up to my root. I have no idea why she put it up so high since the lighter tones I wanted would have started a quarter/halfway down my hair. She left the bleach on for about a half an hour, coming back every 10 minutes to check the progress. While washing the bleach out, she again told me that because my hair has been colored (again, by semi-permanent color on top of my natural hair color) that there was really no way to get the lighter tones I desired. She then showed me the test strip, which is near blonde at the roots that quickly transitions down to my natural color. By looking at it, I would have thought she only applied bleach only to my roots.
The stylist said that to get the color I wanted I should "let my hair grow out with more virgin hair". However, she then said that if I "wanted to try" to get my hair lighter that I could schedule another appointment. Wait, what? Why would I schedule an appointment when she just told me that there was no way to to get my hair to a lighter shade? I never said I wanted anything platinum blonde if that was what she was thinking; I wanted caramel balayage highlights.
I felt like the entire time she talked to me like I was a child who had no idea what I was doing with my hair. I grew up with a hairdresser mother who, frankly, knows her shit, and I knew there was absolutely a way to lighten my hair! I'm frustrated that after waiting an *extra hour* that I was told that what I wanted was not achievable on my hair, but then told that "we can try" if I schedule another appointment. There are examples of what I wanted in many places on their Instagram and you can not tell me that none of those girls used hair color on their hair or had completely "virgin" hair.
Maybe some of this could have been solved with more questions, especially if she was that confused about what hair color I wanted. But regardless, a lot of this appointment was just rushed and, honestly, very odd.
Thankfully, I was not charged for the time I spent in the salon. read more