I give up. I'll no longer get my hair professionally colored ever again.

Most of you will probably find this story to be incredible boring, but it just happened and I'm still pissed so I thought this would be a good way to get it out of my system.

I'm a magnet for colorists who REFUSES to listen to what I ask for. I walk in, armed with pictures of people who's hair I like, and I tell her that I don't want to be blond anymore. I couldn't decide between red or brown so I asked her for her opinion and she said brown since that was my natural color. She brings out tiny hair swatches to show me the two different shades of brown and I agreed to it. The first was a dark brown that matched my natural shade, the second was a warmer, honey brown for highlights. Great. Beautiful, I'm exited.

As she rinses the dye out of my hair, she decides THEN would be a good time to inform me that SHE changed her mind and thought I would look best with dark blond highlights. :wtf: With my head in the sink, I tell her "but the whole point of me coming in today was to get away from blond. I've been blond for years and I'm tired of it." She still wouldn't listen to me and the only way I could get her to darken it some was to have the manager tell her to...which sucked because then I had to deal with her attitude.

Now I'm stuck with an this weird sort of light brownish color, I wasted my entire day off, and I spent too much money. How hard is it to understand "I don't want blond hair"?

Seriously.

And I feel your pain. Nothing used to piss me off more than telling the person at the salon to cut off about a half inch of hair and then look down and see 4 and 5 inch strands of hair on the floor. *grrrrrr*

I HATE when I'm paying for a service and I have to deal with people arguing with me over my decision. I don't know why, but it always happens at the hair salon. Years ago, I asked for dark blond, the colorist gave me an ashy, almost white Blondie which just happened to be the same color her hair was. That's why I brought pictures this time, I didn't want any confusion. If I decide to cut my hair short, the stylist argues with me, if I want a blunt cut, they want to give me layers...it's freakin' nuts.

The only time I don't get into a damn argument is when I go to the cheaper places like Super-cuts. They're cheap and they listen.

Their "glazing" technique sounds like something that may work for you. It makes hair very shiny too.

Maybe I'll try them if I can work up the courage to do it again. I can't imagine it being worse than what I had to put up with today.

That's why I color my own hair. Black is black no matter how you look at it.

I have a stylist I trust implicitly. She's been doing my hair for three years. I get a cut every six weeks or so and a color job every other visit. She's fabulous. As long as I can have her, I will never color my own hair again. It never looked as good when I was doing my own color.

However - it does take some time to find a stylist who is a good fit. The best way to find one is to get recommendations from people whose hair always looks good.

services. I just had my brows waxed and they NEVER listen to me when I tell them what I want and even draw it for them! The same thing with massage therapists.

I almost think they do it on purpose.

go to anyone else. She has great suggestions but listens to what I want. She does a great job--my hair looks good the whole time it's growing out between cuts and not just the first week. Plus she's funny and a great conversationalist. She has no attitude at all even though it's pretty funky urban salon. I guess I just got lucky.

either I've been really lucky or I just don't pay enough. :-)

:hi:

Call your state's Cosmetology licensing board and register a complaint. Perhaps if this stylist garners enough complaints, come license renewal time, she might find it difficult to renew.

Big no-no. I absolutely agree with the suggestion that you report her to the state licensing board.

she told you she changed her mind to try and save her embarrassed ass. Too bad the lying is worse than the truth.

Be sure to let her manager know you won't be back if colorists can do what they want on a whim. If she didn't color it the way you asked and she agreed to, seems to me that the coloring should have been free.

how to correct and adjust already colored hair. She used the wrong developer when mixing the color to apply.

She just didn't want to admit she fucked up. You should request a refund.

You have a right to the service you asked for. Next time pick up the dye from the supermarket. If you're going an all over color, they don't do anything you can't do at home. They are important for multi-color treatments and highlights.

That is ridiculous. And find a new hairdresser. I think the good ones are worth it.

--and she failed to follow your instructions. You should contact the owner/manager of the salon (assuming this woman isn't the owner/manager) and explain what happened.

I also would *never* go back to someone who failed to deliver what I asked for, particularly when I happened to be as clear and unambiguous as to the specifics as you were.

I would report it to the state cosmetology board and BBB.

I love the girl that does my hair. I got my hair cut last week, and I told her, "well I was it a little shorter than my shoulders, but keep the long layers, and really do what you think would look good." And she did a great job. She never messes up my eyebrows either.

Also, I have red hair, and I hate it when the stylist says "Oh, you have such beautiful hair, blah blah blah, you know how much people pay to get hair this color, blah blah blah." Look I don't really care, just cut it already. Or if I want highlights, do them and don't lecture me either.

The lady I go to now, I've been going to for a couple of years, and when I asked for highlights, that look natural, she did an awesome job. It just looked like I had been in the sun.

I would definitely complain, this lady totally didn't listen to what you wanted.

A few months ago, I decided to stop trimming my own long hair and have a pro do it. He "sold" me on layers. I despise layers. I was defenseless against his "suggestions" that I looked older with long gray hair. So I fell for it. I HATE my hair. I don't even look at it in the mirror. Now he wants to color it. Fuck that. "Red" hs says. Like I want to keep doing that every two weeks for the rest of my life.

which I love. But once when I was 15 they gave me the Jennifer Aniston layered do, which I hated. I have shoulder lenght hair and the shortest layer starts at the bottom of my lower lip. Nothing chunky. I hate chunky.

If she acts dumbfounded, then ask to talk to the salon manager/owner, and ask for someone else who will actually listen to you to do your hair.

I had to do this before, and I was glad I did. It worked out great, and I continued to use the second stylist for years.

--not given this level of presumption, incompetence, or outright lying.

I'd ask to have someone else there do the work -- and do it right.

Perhaps it's best to go directly to the salon owner/manager and ask for someone else.

Some lady in the radioactive area of the state came up with this solution

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Bad%20Hair%20Day

I saw her on the news. I don't blame her.

I'm sure she'll have plenty of time to let it grow out.

Why is it that every time I'm "checking out" after my haircut/color, I hand the cashier/receptionist person my credit card and she will loudly say "How much did you want me to run it for?" They force you to say out loud, to her, in front of people who may be waiting for their cut, they force you to say the tip out loud.

I honestly believe this is a tactic they use to shame people into tipping more. Think about it..those credit card receipts all have the line for a tip, if a restaurant is able to run the tip, why the f*** can't the salon?

Pisses me off.

That is all.

That oughta settle the problem.

at a restaurant and yet tip 10% for the undivided attention they get from a stylist. It's why I quit.

Pisses me off.


That is all.

And for some reason they think that they don't have to tip or not as much for their stinking kids.

I hate doing kids.

:hi: Or they would want a bargain basement discount if they brought all their kids in at the same time. As if they were doing me a favor.

Horrible, isn't it? I am such a pushover when it comes to stuff like this and even when I receive bad service, I normally tip at least 10%.

It wasn't the fact that she changed the color or screwed it up somehow, it was her piss poor attitude when the manager made her darken the blonde highlights.

The water was scorching hot when she rinsed it out, she kept slamming the bowl loudly around in the sink when she was brushing the toner in my hair (with my head in the sink so it made loud echo noises) she was splattering the crap everywhere and she threw the towels on my lap.

And just when it I though it couldn't get any worse, she started talking to some other colorist about how the color looked great on me but I still wanted to change it and how it's harder to go from dark to light (which I know from TONS of experience isn't true)and how she couldn't believe I would want it darker, blah blah blah.

What pisses me off is that I STILL feel a little guilty for not tipping. I hate that about me sometimes.

I've been blonde for 48 freaking years now! :(

have you thought about changing the color?

She did not fill your hair first, so the color will not hold to the lightened shaft. Therefore, when she rinsed it out, it came out lighter than she intended. And she's covering up for her "oopsy". Happens all the time, and it's wrong. Next time tell them to fill the hair (with a base tone like red, gold, or green) and then color over. A neutral fill works best. And then I go with gold. Good luck.

Could you explain this fill thing a little more for me? I'm completely ignorant about this stuff and that's part of the problem. Is the fill sort of like a rinse or something or is it also used with the foil thing?

but I don't EVER let women touch my hair

I either go to a hair fairy or I do it myself.

I think it's because the majority of female hairdressers come out of the working or middle class, whereas male hairdressers are upwardly mobile.

I rarely ever see any female hairdressers that have hair that isn't tacky as hell and overworked, or 'dyed, fried, and boiled on the side' as one of my male hairdresser friends says. (one exception is a friend of mine in Asheville, NC who has her own salon, which is called 'Lola'. She is so talented that you can literally tell if she has done the hair of someone you just pass on the street. But, case in point, she's from the upper class. I guess I'll also sound classist here, but it is a taste and refinement thing).

boat. 70% of my clientele were men, because I know sports. The other 30% were color jobs, because I know my color! :hi: Not working class here. Grew up in a fairly upper middle class family. I was just the black sheep. :) It ended (the affluence) at 20 though.

many men stylists are scissor and styling happy too. I think it's someone who has a hard time sublimating their creativity and going with the whim of the customer.

It's a human being thing, not a female thing and not a class thing.

and he was one of the hottest most fashionable stylists in West Hollywood. She never knew what color her hair would be, but kept on going back ....

Do whatever you need to do to get "square" with the colorist, and please remember that the hair color you were born with probably goes better with your skin tone than anything a colorist can ever sell you.

It took me 32 years to figure that out, by the way.

Respectfully submitted,

Heidi (redhead)

It was the weirdest thing, but as a child my hair was naturally blond...I'm talkin' bright, nordic blond. Between 6th and 7th grade it got darker and darker and now I'm naturally a dark brunette. The only reason why I changed it back to blond was because I have pale skin and I thought the dark hair made me look washed out.

Today is a new day though and I'm starting to like the color now. It's not as dark as I originally wanted (I planned to go back to as close to my natural color as possible) but it goes well with my complexion.

I agree with you though and I'm on the journey to eventually go back to my natural color. I'm on a big natural kick these days...from food or haircolor to skin products and clothing. Life just seems overly artificial these days on so many levels. Then again, adding chemicals in my hair to appear more "natural" doesn't exactly serve my purpose, but oh well. Life would be boring if I made sense all the time. :)

and the last of it is almost gone. I've decided that I actually like my natural color.

you asked her opinion, she assumed you trusted her judgment. Communication is key when dealing with hairstylists. And I never get my hair colored by someone I haven't seen at least twice before. Finding a good stylist is like chosing a doctor. You have to be comfortable with them.

I'd suggest trying to color yourself. Or have a friend help out. It's very simple and most kits are foolproof. I would not suggest going lighter on your own, but going a simple shade of brown is very simple and easy. I suggest L'oreal's Ferria brand. They are super easy and have a great line of colors. You'll have to wait a bit before you can do it, though. You don't want your hair to fall out. :-)

I brought pictures of both types of colors I liked and my one explicit instruction was that I did not want blonde hair.

I actually tried a brown hair dye at home several months ago but it didn't do anything, that's why I decided to shell out the cash to go to a professional. The biggest problem for me is my ignorance because I truly know nothing about the science of hair color.

It could be that the color she put in didn't set properly or whatever, but if she would have told me that instead of literally telling me that she changed her mind on what color she was going to use, then I would have been fine with it. It wouldn't have been the result I was looking for, but I have been dying my hair blonde for years and I could understand how adding more chemicals could be problematic.

That is a big no, no. Luke warm should have been the warmest water she used on your hair. Cool water if you let her. The peroxide opens up your hairs cuticle so the color can deposit in the hair shaft and the scalding hot water can take it all or quite a bit of it right out. If your hair is very bleached it may have cuticle that is already opened more than the optimum amount making it harder for your hair to hold color.