To make a complaint?

[ETanny]

My DD11 has just been into town with her dad to get her haircut. This is something we have discussed over the course of 6 months so it isn't something that has been done on a whim.

They waited over an hour at a chain hair salon to be seen and when it got to DD turn the stylist has refused to cut her hair as it's too short for a girl of DD age.

My DD currently has shoulder length hair and has been begging for us to get it cut into a very short style. We decided on a pixie cut as it was longer than what she originally wanted.

One of the big reasons she wants it so short is because her cousin has incurable cancer and has lost her hair to chemo and she wanted to show support in her own way.

AIBU in making a complaint or do they have the right to refuse to cut a girls hair short?

I think they technically have a right to refuse anything they want. It's their name attached to the 'work' after all. A bit like an artist refusing a commission. I've heard of hair stylists refusing in cases where it was a cut that really didn't suit the client but they are usually high end hair stylists (George Northwood, Larry King etc)

If she just wants it cut really short why not just watch some youtube videos and do a home job?

I don’t think they can refuse if it’s discrimination.

Or, I suppose more correctly, they can refuse but it could be unlawful.

Maybe the stylist was worried your DD would have a negative reaction to having such a drastic cut? She might have had a bad experience with a previous customer.

I'd ring and ask them, rather than complaining exactly, but I can understand feeling annoyed.

Sorry about your DD's cousin

I was once at a hairdresser and the woman next to me wanted her shoulder length hair cut off into a pixie and the hairdresser wouldn't do it. She said she thought it was too drastic and that the woman needed to think about it.

I think some hairdressers think hair is dead important. And they don't get it when other people don't. It's just hair to me. I'm a teacher and I was recently horrified when someone I know moved to Australia at Christmas when their dd was in the final year of her GCSEs. I couldn't get my head around why they just wouldn't wait a few months. They thought I was daft.

too short for a girl

Of course you should complain, if there's anyone to complain too, and certainly if the only given reason for refusing the cut was about a protected characteristic then it could be unlawful, (a right to refuse service generally is lost if you're doing it purely on a protected characteristic, but of course such things are rarely worth anyone's time in proving)

Really though, just use a different hair dresser, it's not as if there's not a lot of them about?

Did you pre- book an appointment?

If their comment really was about it being too short for a girl then, yes, complain on the basis of it being sexist.

Otherwise, I can kind of see why a hairdresser may not want to do a drastic change on a child as they may worry the child will hate it and someone make a complaint.

Tbh not everyone's hair will suit short styles, could that be the case?

The only reason given to her dad was that she didn't feel comfortable taking that much hair off a girl. Would she have felt the same had DD been a boy with shoulder length hair and went in to get a short haircut? I doubt it.

It wasn't a pre booked appointment. It was at one of them chain salons where you just go and wait till it's your turn. That's why they had waited an hour before being told they wouldn't do it.

Her dad has booked her in somewhere else for tomorrow now and they're more then happy to do it.

The only reason given to her dad was that she didn't feel comfortable taking that much hair off a girl

Definitely sexist in that case, and I'd complain.

Glad she's booked elsewhere, hope she's not too disappointed having to wait (I'm dead impatient!) :)