Hairdresser asked me why I don't go to her anymore

[Whenwillwe3meetagain]

I found this a bit odd and wondered if it's me being over sensitive?

Live in London and used to go to local hairdresser for highlights and cut etc. have been going to her for a couple of years and she did my wedding hair so know her pretty well.

Couldn't afford the £160 +tip while on maternity (couldn't really when working ft) and can't now I work part time. Walking home by her shop and she called out to me and asked why I don't go to her anymore. I said you are too expensive for me unfortunately, she seemed pretty put out. Then she said I don't always wave when I go past. The fact is I go by several times a day and it's weird to acknowledge her each time is it? Especially as I'm no longer a customer.

How should I have dealt with this?

[DraenorQueen]

Oh I'm so sorry CreepingDog, what would you rather I spent my own money, that I earn myself, by working for on
Precisely. God there are some bitter, cats-bummy, joyless, nosy people about!

[FunnysInLaJardin]

oh and OP your old hairdresser is seriously odd!

[Queenbean]

I go here, notanartist, Michael is amazing. He is moving back to Australia in September though so get in quick! Otherwise he also trains the other stylists and I'm sure one of them would be very good too. I have very dark hair naturally and he applies a root lift too so it looks even better as it grows out. My hair looks very similar to any of these pictures now.

instagram.com/michaelkellycolourist

[ellie264]

I'm going to show this thread to my OH who thinks £75 is expensive!!

In response the OP, I think you handled the situation fine and I think it is the hairdresser's problem, not yours. You don't have to explain not going to her anymore.

[RaeSkywalker]

I pay £35 for a wash, cut and blow dry. It was £42 but my hairdresser has now set up her own business and has lowered her prices. I have it done every 12 weeks.

The most I've spent is £100 for cut and colour.

I feel for you OP, it must've been really awkward!

[EttaJ]

I've been asked that by someone that just wasn't a very good hairdresser and I told them that, politely of course.

I do find it rather off that some feel the need to be so negative about how much people spend on it. I pay roughly $360 every 6 - 8 weeks. My lady does a great job and I love having it done and as was pointed out, we wear it everyday.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

Wow I pay £40 for mine in the north west and think it is a lot.

I have to say though, my very arty student daughters have done each other's hair with a freehand home bayalage kit and it looks amazing. Just naturally sun kissed or fabulously expensive.

[LaContessaDiPlump]

She was rude to ask, op, and probably embarrassed which led to the second (odd) statement. You did nothing wrong.

I paid the princely sum of £10 for my last haircut (plus £2 tip!) - this is not because I'm some haircut anti-snob, but rather because my hair looks exactly the same (i.e. a mess) however much I spend on it and so I resent any expenditure over £25

Yes, I could google it, but what on earth is balayage?

[sizeofalentil]

I let the dog chew my split ends off and I dye it with mud.

[NotAnArtist]

Thank you Queenbean I'll get in there quickly for a consultation!

[ZippyNeedsFeeding]

Balayage sounds like something you'd get in a plain wrapper from LoveHoney!
I hate going to the hairdresser and after a really traumatic cut the day before my son's baptism (went with a shoulder length bob and asked for it to be cut short, showed pics of nice short cut. Came out with exactly the same cut as I had when I went in, but ear length and with a hideous, too-short fringe) I prefer MrZippy to do it. His dad was a hairdresser and he trained him, so MrZ was quite easy to educate and now cuts my hair exactly the way I want it.
If I could bring myself to brave it again then I'd pay whatever to took to get a decent result. If I thought some fancy dye or treatment cost too much then I'd just have something simpler and cheaper.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Very rude of her, she sounds quite strange.

[Fluffyears]

How come you discover a hairdressing God and they fuck
Off....they always do that!

[JuxtapositionRecords]

mishaps / lulu - £6 and £5 for cut and highlights?? Where do you go??

creeping 'I hope these people aren't moaning about austerity' - did you stumble on the wrong thread as clearly no one here is moaning about austerity? Or you just wanted to get a snidey comment in?

Op - this is very weird. You said nothing wrong, I would hate to be pestered like this!

[Middleoftheroad]

God, where have I been hiding? What's balyage? I thought I was cutting edge moving from cap to foils 😆
It sounds like I want it and need it as my highlights grow out too quickly.

[JudyCoolibar]

Silly woman. What on earth does she think that will achieve? If she wants to persuade you to go back to her, that seems calculated to send you running in the opposite direction.

[wannabestressfree]

Who gives a shit how much it costs.... some of you would do well to remember that there are those of us who would happily pay..... only my hair fell out last week, I now have no hair, look like a baldilocks red faced steroid bloated demented frog.....
I am jealous.

[Queenbean]

Balayage is basically painting on the colour from half way down the hair. They slightly backcomb the hair where they start applying it so you don't get a harsh line. It's meant to look like natural colour that's growing out, so you don't need to always get your roots done. It's much lower maintainence as you could just get it done once and never again, so it would just grow out and grow out of the hair.

[StickTheDMWhereTheSunDontShine]

Just for the waving comment, she'd never get my custom ever again.

I would. however, be tempted to organise a sort of flash mob. It would be a whole day affair, with people walking past waving every 1-5 minutes. All day.

[Middleoftheroad]

Thanks - it wouldn't work on my white grey sadly.
OP - your hairdresser has a cheek to ask and is weird to request serial waving. Back away.....

[Vinorosso74]

Ooh that does sound odd. I live in London and it does cost more for a haircut as rents etc are higher. My present hairdresser owns the salon and she had to do a much larger price increase than she wanted a couple of years back as her business rates shot up.

[Yeahthatwasme]

There is a real lack of empathy here! Of course she wasn't "odd" or "rude" to ask. She had been providing you with a professional service for two years. You stopped going. She probably thought she had done something wrong - whether that was in terms of your hair or something she had said to upset you.

She was looking for feedback and had probably spent hours mulling over what failings she had committed. It's perfectly normal for a professional to want to know why they lost a customer so they can improve.

However her reaction being "put out" was inappopriate. I suspect she'd spent ages analysing what she may or may not have done to lose you as a customer and it never occurred to her it was a financial issue. On being told that, she was embarrassed and reacted poorly to cover her embarrassment OR she didn't believe you and still thought it was something she'd done to upset you.

Asking = not a problem and a sign of a professional wanting to improve their service.
Being put out = inappropriate.

[SpiritedLondon]

Well that sounds like a very awkward encounter. It's perfectly fine to explain that you find something expensive and that should have been the end of the matter. Re the cost issue.....I'm in the South and was paying £200 for a cut and colour with a great stylist ( award winner). When I went on maternity leave I tried a number of other stylists within the same salon since it was too expensive and explained that I couldn't afford my favoured stylist any more. I've now moved to a different salon and have a new stylist that I'm happy with. I have already primed her that when I'm working more hours that I'll probably try her boss because I really like his work ( but is a bit too expensive for me at the moment). She's fine with that and knows it's not personal - although we're friendly we're not friends and I'm paying for a service.

[Travelledtheworld]

Had a dry cut today for £12.50 and I am in affluent Gloucestershire.

[joellevandyne]

My OH is a top-end hairdresser and he shuddered when shown this thread.

Clients move on for lots of different reasons so he'd never a) ask why a client left or b) make them feel bad about the post-client relationship. He said he'd have said hello and asked how family/work was going (as that in itself would have given your ex-hairdresser a clue as to why she hadn't seen you), then cheerily said lovely to see you, hope to see you again.