Giving this place a chance, despite the little reviews it has, was a big mistake.
Whoever I spoke with through Yelp knew exactly what I wanted: a layered hair cut + wispy bangs + my hair dyed a copper brown tone, but if it wasn't possible to do copper brown, then I'd settle for a dark brown that could possibly hide any remaining color I had from my previously box dyed hair. Whoever runs the Yelp quoted a starting price of $170 for a full color + haircut + blow dry. So although the quote was $170, I understood that it could cost more if they had to work some magic to get me the preferred copper brown! When the person showed up, they didn't know what I wanted, which was strange because I thought I made myself very
clear on Yelp with the person I chatted with, but I guess my appointment was not with who I was chatting with and they might have not relayed the information? So I repeated exactly what I said on Yelp and explained that I had previously used box hair dye, which I hadn't done again in 6 months. The hair stylist looked at my hair and almost instantly suggested a balayage. I told him I did not know what a balayage was, but he showed me a picture and said he wanted to do something that would look really good with my skin tone and I trusted him because I know nothing about hair styles. I was so eager for a change too. At the moment, I had no idea how costly a casual suggestion would be and wish the big change in pricing had been made clear. As he was doing my hair, he also said he was going to give me a hair treatment that I really needed, I said okay, but as he walked away to get the stuff, he nonchalantly said it was an additional $65 dollars. I almost didn't want to get it, but he convinced me I needed it (which I most likely did) and dropped the price down to $50, so I agreed. In the end, I knew I wasn't getting what I had originally asked for, but I thought hey, this guy is really nice and if this guy says it'll look good, I give him my full trust 100%!!! Especially because I hadn't had my hair cut in 1.5 years and I had never had my hair professionally dyed! Once we finished, I walk up to the counter, he starts ringing me up, and says the balayage alone was like ~$285-295. Wow. I began to disassociate. I felt like such a fool for not realizing that the first thing he casually suggested for my hair would be so costly. Somehow, the balayage + hair cut + treatment totaled to $515. Keep in mind that I had also already made a $30 dollar deposit for the appointment.
If we do the math, let's just round the balayage to $300. So $515-$300 = $215. Minus the hair treatment which he said was $50. $215-$50= $165. That means I was charged well more than $140 for a haircut when I was originally quoted $170 for a hair color + hair cut + blow dry combined? What kind of hair cut did I get without my knowledge? And if I hadn't mentioned that I already made a $30 deposit, I would have walked out of there with $545 less in my bank account, but instead, overall (including deposit) I paid $510 total for the services. At the moment when he ringed me up, I was so upset and tried to maintain my composure. I felt like my ignorance with hair salons was taken advantage of. I felt like the biggest fool on this planet. All I wanted to do was pay and run out of that place, which I basically did, and as soon as I got to my car, I started to cry :'(
Let me just end this by saying, I DO NOT hate the hair. It's different than what I wanted but I can say it's still beautiful. Should I have asked how much a balayage was? Looking back, 100% yes! But did I ever think, for a second, I'd be suggested a hair styling technique that would end up costing me nearly $300 alone at checkout? Never would have crossed my mind. Had I known how much more it would cost than the original quote, I would have never agreed to it. I may not hate the hair, but it's the principle. I think transparency is really important, especially if your client has never heard of the method you're suggesting and has never had their hair professionally dyed. At one point I was even excited to recommend this place to friends and family. Instead, I left feeling so upset, like I had just walked out of a mechanic shop, where you go in for an oil change and somehow leave with a bill for new brakes, tires, and a transmission flush you never planned for. I'll take this as a learning lesson and move on with my life, but I honestly had to write a review because what happened didn't sit right with me and I wouldn't want it to happen to someone else new to salon culture. read more