If I could give zero stars, I would. I deliberately waited several days before writing this review…read morebecause I wanted to cool down, get used to the haircut, and try styling it several different ways before deciding how I felt. Unfortunately, I am just as upset now as I was when I left.
I had been growing my hair for FOUR YEARS, and I could not have been clearer with Jack about what I wanted. I showed him multiple photos, explained exactly what I liked about them, and repeatedly told him that preserving my length was extremely important to me. Looking back, the first red flag should have been that he barely looked at my reference photos for more than a couple of seconds before saying, essentially, "Yeah, yeah, I know what you want."
Apparently, he did not.
I asked for long layers and a few soft, face-framing pieces while keeping my length. Instead, Jack proceeded to cut and cut and cut. I repeatedly expressed concern about how much hair he was taking off, and each time he reassured me, "These are just layers. I'm not touching your length."
Technically, I suppose he can claim that he "kept the length" because he left one thin, long section at the very bottom. But the overwhelming majority of my hair is now significantly shorter. From the back, the remaining length comes down into a thin V. From the front, instead of the subtle face-framing pieces I specifically requested, the bulk of my hair looks almost like a bob with a few long pieces hanging underneath it.
That is not what I asked for. It is not remotely what the reference photos showed.
What bothered me almost as much as the haircut itself was that he could clearly tell I was unhappy, yet instead of acknowledging that the cut was dramatically different from what I had requested, he kept reassuring me about how "healthy" and "sexy" it looked and insisting that he had kept my length. Whether he thought the haircut looked good was completely beside the point. It wasn't the haircut I asked for.
I am extremely nonconfrontational, so unfortunately I didn't advocate for myself as strongly as I wish I had in the chair. I paid, even tipped him, went home, and cried. When my husband and friend saw my hair, their immediate reactions were essentially, "Oh my God, what did he do?"
But perhaps the most unbelievable moment came near the end of the haircut, when Jack asked me whether I wear my hair straight very often. He then told me that the haircut he was giving me wouldn't look as good blown out and was better suited to wearing my hair naturally.
Excuse me?
That is a conversation you have with a client BEFORE you cut off years of hair growth, not when you're almost finished. If a haircut is going to limit how I can wear my hair, I should be told that beforehand so I can decide whether I want that haircut.
To make matters worse, after this happened I spoke to a friend who told me she had gone to Jack last year and had a remarkably similar experience--she felt that he kept trying to take her hair much shorter than she wanted as well.
A stylist can absolutely have professional opinions and make recommendations. But ultimately, it is the client's hair. If someone repeatedly tells you that keeping their length is their highest priority and brings photographs showing exactly what they want, you don't get to disregard that because you personally think another haircut would look better.
I went in expecting a trim, long layers, and subtle face framing. I walked out having lost years of growth and with a haircut I specifically did not ask for.
I genuinely think I would have been better off giving myself a trim with kitchen scissors.
Now I get to spend the next several years growing my hair back to where it was.
Needless to say, I will never return, and I absolutely would not recommend Jack--especially to anyone with long hair who is particular about preserving their length.
