Original post is below the ********. This is an update (because Yelp is not letting me post a separate update since not enough time has passed or something).
This is an update about the service here. I spoke with both Denise and the owner David. They were both very courteous and professional about the situation, which is much appreciated. I've had a pretty terrible experience with a hairdresser blaming me for having bad hair, and this was the complete opposite. I would like to mention though, based on the owner comment to my original review, that I was never told this would be a color correction, only that it wouldn't get as light as the pictures I brought in.
I was refunded everything except the haircut and all over color, which is very fair. I can't give more than two stars though, because I really feel like this should not have happened in the first place and has left me with hair I cannot run my fingers through without them getting tangled/stuck, even after brushing. Maybe it was miscommunication that led to the horizontal lines in the virgin part of my hair, maybe it was a technique issue. But anyone can make a mistake, and the stylist did a great job fixing the color. My hair color right now is beautiful.
So, to summarize: coming here with previously darkened hair wanting to go lighter may not be the best idea, and I am very sad that my once silky hair now feels like dry, tangly horse hair because it was bleached so much, but the service is really amazing. The location is great, interior is beautiful, all the people who work here are wonderful and so sweet. I just wish my hair had turned out right the first time.
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Original Review:
I don't even know what to say right now. Let me preface this by saying that everyone here is amazingly sweet and considerate. I didn't want to write this review even, but I have to. Also, I saw a couple clients leave with great hair.
So I cannot understand what happened. I asked for a balayage, and my stylist and I talked about how it couldn't get as light as I was wanting because I had a brown artificial color in it already. That's fine. I wasn't expecting bright blonde. My hair ended up orange, which could have been okay - but there was just no blending. Looking through others' photos, balayage should blend. I showed the stylist pictures of what I wanted. I ended up with chunky, completely un-blended hair. There were horizontal lines in my hair, which you can see in the pictures I posted. The stylist said that if I added more balayage, it would blend. It was still chunky. These pictures are after the stylist tried to fix it a second time. The stylist kept telling me that it was the contrast between the light and dark that gave the illusion of stripey-ness, but it's clearly not just that. I was there from 2 PM until 11PM. An entire day gone. The stylist said that it could be fixed with more balayage, but if the first two times left un-blended, chunky lines of demarcation, I could not see how more balayage would fix it. I told her to just dye it back to my natural color (black) and honestly it ended up a really pretty dark ash brown color which I love. But it is extremely dry and damage. Good thing I have strong hair.
It would've been okay. Except they charged me the full price for the messed up balayage (which the stylist admitted to messing up) as well as the dye/toner used to fix the mess!! I paid $370 to have hair that is not what I wanted, is extremely dry and damaged from so much bleach, and took 9 hours of my life to not get what I asked for. They could have at least not charged me for one of them - the messed up balayage or the repair work that was done.
The stylist is a great, sweet, caring person. Everyone there is a great person. I really appreciate that they also stayed with me to fix things. I understand that a service was performed and products were used on me. But I did NOT get what I asked for. And I was charged for BOTH the mistake and the repair, which I cannot understand.
*Editing to add: i also got a haircut, which is included in the $370 and is fine. read more