My wife went to Bubbles Salon in Columbia at 8am with clear inspiration photos and a very simple…read morerequest: a dimensional blonde with warmer, slightly darker tones, including lowlights and highlights to add depth. Her hair was already a light ashy champagne blonde with fresh root growth and a solid base. She intentionally left it alone so there would be zero confusion about the goal.
We were fully prepared to pay for quality work. She expected over $300 for the service and was ready to tip about the same. She factored in processing time, toning, even test strands if needed. With her starting point and today's hair trends, this should have been a straightforward appointment for any experienced colorist.
Instead, she spent five hours in a chair watching her hair get worse in real time.
A shadow root was attempted and applied so poorly it looked almost black against her blonde and had to be corrected. Her hair was then highlighted in multiple rounds, and somehow still ended up yellow, brassy, and completely untoned. At no point did the result resemble the reference photos she brought in.
Iman told her he "can't make her hair thicker," which had nothing to do with anything she asked for. She never requested thicker hair, she requested color placement. That comment honestly felt like the theme of the entire appointment: not listening, not understanding, and then reframing the confusion as if it was coming from her. When I came in, this happened again and they basically tried to blame her not being clear which offended me greatly as I know she had the reference picture ready to go. I would have respected it more if the stylist just admitted she messed up, instead of blaming it on my wife.
Billy, a senior stylist, told her she should just do it herself. That alone should tell you everything about the level of professionalism here.
She was also told her hair didn't match the reference because it wasn't styled, which is an unbelievable excuse when the issue was color, tone, and placement, not curls and volume. She was even handed a color book mid-appointment as if she hadn't already provided clear visual references.
There was no manager on site when she asked.
By the end, she left with yellow, uneven, brassy hair that didn't resemble her starting point or her request in any way. She went to another salon afterward, where they were immediately confused by what had been done and suggested corrective work.
The entire experience felt disorganized, dismissive, and careless. She came in ready to pay for professional results and left with something she wouldn't have expected from a beginner trying it at home. We did not pay for the service, and we will not be returning.
The most frustrating part is how easily this could have been avoided with basic honesty at the start. If this was outside their skill set, that should have been said before five hours of trial-and-error damage control.
