Are these foils bad and can they be fixed?!

[PinkSpring]

I paid £75 for a full head of foils yesterday as I wanted to lighten up my hair a bit. I said I didn't want them to look stripey or for it be too unnatural but this is what I ended up with.

I really don't like it, I think it's stripey, it's not blended in, parts around the hairline are very harsh / the highlight starts very abruptly. Then I was in the salon it looked ok, it's when you look closer you notice all the issues!

I have already spoken with them and sent photos and they have asked me to come back in a couple of days and they will "fix" with no charge. But what should I be expecting them to do with this?! I want them blended in somehow, I don't want to look like someone has literally just drawn some highlighted stripes on my head!

They are a good salon, I have used them before (although not for colouring), they have very good examples of their work on Facebook and Instagram so I am not sure why mine has gone go crap?! The only things I noticed was that it was the same colour used for all the highlights and they didn't use a toner but that might be normal?

Any hairdressers on here give me any ideas on how they can fix this?

I think it has been caused by going too light. Presumably they asked you about the colour first?

I’m not an expert but I have been having light blonde foils for millions of years. I think they’ve been done in too thick sections. They need to be much finer - more foils with less hair in them. I’m sure it’ll be fixable.

I think you're right in everything you say - they start abruptly and look harsh and stripey. But they're doing the right thing offering to fix it. I would ask for a different colourist than the one you've had if possible.

So colour wasn't discussed and I feel like an idiot but I didn't even realise until she had already started and asked her, I think she said something about a Level 7? The picture attached is what I asked for - obviously understanding it wouldn't be exactly like that as my hair is finer and straighter. I assume she based the colour off the photo but I am thinking to get the colouring of the photo, more than one colour should have been used?!

Also my hair is now mostly blonde rather than how the photo is, brunette with blonde highlights

This happened to me once, but they were much more stripy than yours. I sympathise. I paid to go somewhere else to have it sorted out as I couldn’t bear to go back, but I was young and it probably wasn’t necessary as I should have made the salon who did it sort it out really. I think they should be able to tone it down and blend it better when you go back. Just be really firm and prescriptive about what you want. Good luck!

She definitely should have used 2 colours. Your hair looks nothing like the photo. I showed this exact photo to my hairdresser and said I love the colour but presume I would have have a low light darker than my natural colour and I didn’t want to. It’s difficult to see your natural hair colour. Are you dark blonde / mouse blonde?

This also happened to me about 1.5 years ago (and I've not been back to hairdressers since!!) I didn't complain and just paid the £130(!!) and left and went to boots and bought due to go over it! I was too shy to complain. But I think they can do something called root shadowing and blend it in more and maybe will just have to lighten your hair a bit all over to blend in the chunks. Good luck!

My hair before was like a mid/warm brown colour.

I feel like my hair needs some darker lowlights or something through it to get rid of some of the blonde as at the moment, it's mostly blonde which obviously isn't like the picture. The roots definitely need blending though, I hate it!

Ironically I don't usually spend this much on my hair, this was a treat and I wanted to get it done professionally! If it wasn't for the fact I spent so much, I would have just stuck a box dye over it. I think it's the same woman do did it who is going to "fix" it

You were looking for a golden brown balayage finish. The highlights you’ve got are pretty shocking tbh. So far away from your scalp.

I know someone that had their hair coloured post lockdown 1.0 - it was stripey like yours, she went elsewhere to get it toned down - had caramel colours put through it. Hairdresser is usually fab (I've had mine done by them with no problems), we think it was the plastic facescreen and glasses that caused the problems 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Idk your consumer rights but you didn’t get what you paid for. I wouldn’t trust the woman to rectify this.

With the base hair colour that you had (darker than mine then), it shouldn’t have been so difficult to achieve the colour then. She’s used foils and you wanted a balayage. I presume the balayage in the pic would also be achieved using foils. Balayage is a technique. Not all over uniform.

I had a consultation the week before and showed her two pictures, the other picture (don't have it anymore) she said was balayage - the picture I attached she said was achieved with foils - so that is why we did foils.

I really don't know much about hair so I am very much led by their guidance!

So what should I be expecting them to do to fix this and get what I wanted?

I have dark brown hair and I've never ended up happy with foil highlights. I went back and complained about a stripy result once and they redid it and it was much better. Now I go for balyage with a root stretch every time and it's exactly what I want - natural, no harsh roots, blends in my my colour well and I can go ages without needing it redoing

Oh dear sorry youve ended up like that! Defo complain.

Can you show a full side photo of your hair to see what it's really like?

I think it will be fine if they get a bit nearer to the roots and add some lowlights.

Have you washed and dried it yet, see how it falls and how the colour looks then.

I have had something similar a few years ago, spoke to the salon, they said for me to come in to fix it. They fixed it 😊.

Was a salon that I had been using for years but a different stylist - she didn’t read my notes properly 🤷🏼‍♀️. Although I never went back to them after!

This is a side on view - as you can see, it's a lot blonder than anticipated!

Looks like there needed to be another blonde in there and also they could have put a toner on after colouring. Toner takes up to 20 minutes depending on which one, and sometimes it must be tempting for the hairdresser to skip that and have a client out quicker. I wonder whether this, in general is why we see first time colour/foils going wrong/not as expected on her often.

Maybe I’m wrong about it being a balayage. Not 100% sure due to lighting at the top and not being a hairdresser. But it looks so much darker at the root iyswim. Oh and just looked up balayage. Always hand painted on. You can also see 3 colours in the photo. The dark natural hair colour, a lighter brown (which has a slight red tone) and the blonde highlight.

Personally I’d go to another hairdresser and get a price for fixing. You want an experienced hairdresser. A specific colourist if poss. Then push to get a refund from the first place. The woman, who did your hair doesn’t have the skills imo and unless the salon can offer you it to be fixed by someone very experienced with colour I wouldn’t be using them.

Yeah you needed a balayage not traditional highlights. A root shadow may help

I don't mind going back to them and having the original woman try and fix it - like I said, they are normally very good and they have a good reputation so it might just be a one off. I have used them for a few years, it's just this is the first time I have used them for a colour as I usually do it myself at home but as I wanted something more than an all over colour, thought it would be best to get it done properly!!

It definitely needs to be darkened up a bit and blended in. I know when you show a photo to a hairdresser, it's unlikely to end up exactly the same but this just doesn't look anything like what I wanted!

We have something planned for tomorrow and I am dreading it now as I think my hair looks so crap but I cannot get back to them for a few days due to work and the fact they are busy anyway. At least it should hopefully be fixed before Christmas!

The picture is just plain balayage no rootdrag or similar and looks only to be bleach with maybe a toner. The base is nearer a 6 than 7 and the lightened tones are only really an 8 - its beautiful and subtle emphasised by the curl - straight it would be lovely but still very subtle and certainly not 'highlghty'
Your higlights are frankly awful

@Gamble66 - are you a hairdresser?! I knew they weren't great but I honestly feel like crying now. We are meant to go out tomorrow but now I don't want to.....

What can be done to fix this? I have no idea what they will do - I am so tempted to just tell them to do an all over colour so at least it's not stripey