AIBU to ask for a refund for my hair?

[HairRaisin]

I went to a local independent salon this week to get a balayage and cut, first time since before DC was born end of 2021 so I was very excited! I’d never been there before but the salon owner/stylist had good reviews.

At end of cut and colour the stylist insisted on curling my hair, and with the mixture of the curls and the soft salon lighting I didn’t notice how choppy and uneven it was. As soon as I got home and had a proper look I realised that she had done a really bad job and it’s not the natural looking balayage I’d asked for.

I’ve since been messaging the salon owner to let her know how unhappy I am, and have also been back to show her what I’m not happy with.

Not only did she play down how bad it was, but the only option she is currently offering is for her to ‘fix’ my hair by trying again, however I don’t trust her to try again and have instead asked for a refund so I can get it fixed somewhere else. She has no employees, it’s just her, so there’s nobody else there that could try to fix it.

Looking at what she did the first time (which took 4 hours, and cost me £160) I haven’t got the confidence in her to fix it, so I asked for a refund, but she is currently refusing - although asked for the weekend to seek advice on what her next steps might be. So she might decide next week to refund me, or might decide that she legally doesn’t have to since she has offered to fix it - and that’s that.

Not sure if photos will do it justice? But it’s choppy, patchy all over including underneath, yellow and grey in parts, and all a little too Friar Tuck. Plus the cut is uneven too! I’ve been left feeling quite sad after being so excited for this first little treat since DC was born!

AIBU to want a refund so that I can get this fixed somewhere else?

I was also gonna say you should leave a review anyway. It’s really bad. I hope your next hairdresser can sort it.

Your hair was beautiful before. What was she thinking?

She obviously hasn’t got a clue what she’s doing she should be giving you a refund and compensation. I would ask for that and if she refuses definitely share the pictures. I’m not usually a fan of naming and shaming but you could save others from her.

I honestly have to agree that's the worst dye job I've ever seen from a qualified hairdresser

It looks like what I used to do to my hair in the 80's with 'Sun - in'

It's Sunday. Pop all the pictures up on social media and attribute the cut and colour disaster to her. Tell people she's refusing to refund you so you can get someone who knows what they're doing to fix it.

If it's true, and it is, it's not defamation.

£160??! And she’s trying to tell you it looks ok? I wouldn’t feel confident about her trying to fix it. I hope you get your money back so you can go somewhere else.

Omg yes ...I had a sun in episode too !!! Not a good look.

Bless you OP. Normally on these sorts of threads my inner voice says "OK, so it's not the look the OP was hoping for but it's not actually a bad job in itself". Her cut and colour are an utter car crash, I can't imagine anyone being happy with it which is why she doesn't want you posting pictures. As you say, if she truly believes other people will think it's a good job she'd have no issue and nothing to worry about eh. Definitely keep perusing a refund and I would be inclined to consider seeking advice re small claims court for £160 and the money it will cost to fix it. It's completely understandable that you don't want her to do the "fix". Wishing you luck!

@mummabubs thank you, you’re right that’s why she doesn’t want me to post the pictures as she knows how it looks. I can’t believe she let me leave like this, it’s so bad isn’t it! Agree that I should be seeking advice. Frustratingly after asking her twice she still hasn’t sent me a receipt but don’t think that will matter if it does go further since I can prove it was her who did the work from the card transaction!

I’m now booked in to get some kind of correction at another salon next week and can’t wait. I’ve sent photos to the owner of this other salon and he talked me through all the different options he thinks could help to correct this, and we’ll choose the most appropriate option when they look over it in person at the salon. Sadly he said none of them will likely hide the original bad dye completely when you look up close, but he said from a distance we should be able to achieve a good result.

Just wondering @HairRaisin , if you've had the appointment with the other salon and also what the previous one has done/said since? Have they offered you a refund yet and/or compensation other than offering to re-do the shoddy work they did before?

Do you have curly hair and was it straightened for the treatment.The only reason I'm asking is my sister had a huge head of curly hair and gets this style.When straightened it can look quite streaky but in its natural , curly style looks great.
If that's not the case for you I wouldn't be happy with the colour or cut.

I hope the new salon is able to help. If the old one still isn't agreeing to a refund, maybe your card payment can be reversed? Or you can threaten the small claims court. Don't let her away with it!

OMG. You need trading standards involved.

You need a refund. Once she has refunded you, put a post online tagging her to warn others.
Hope you get sorted. 🙏

Bloody hell OP, did she cut it with a pair of wooden spoons??

I’ve been to have the colour correction today at a different salon, here are the results! Feeling really pleased as they did say they wouldn’t be able to completely fix it to the point that the original blockiness was gone but I feel like most people wouldn’t notice now! Two different stylists did the correction and they were both lovely, and were both really shocked at what the other lady had done.

Sadly they confirmed what I thought, that my hair is very damaged pretty much all over. They think she used too high a volume of lightener and it’s basically fried my hair! Apparently she should have either used a very low volume or none at all on the ends as they were fairly light already and had been lightened before.

Also an update on the original stylist, after I went to see her in person to complain last week she asked me to give her the weekend to consider her options, so I waited and gave her all of Monday too and still heard nothing. So I messaged on Tuesday asking if she was going to refund me so that I could get the correction done somewhere else, and she saw the message, but still hasn’t replied. So not too promising on the refund front.

Could look into a chargeback through bank but I think you need a receipt for that, but I’ve asked her for one twice and she’s not sent it.

Will keep pushing and continue to add any more updates on the refund situation as they happen!

That looks lovely now. How's the doggie?

Thank you! I think it’s another user that posted about the dog, weirdly she also had a hair fail recently too! I think her original posts have been removed though sadly but also hope for a good outcome for the little pup

Your hair is lovely again!
I think we're all angry in your behalf about the refund. If you have time, just brazen it out and wait in the salon, photos in hand, until she refunds you.

Hair is looking good. Very pleased for you.

I really hope you get some resolution from the BAD hairdresser. Good Luck. Try not to give up. She's trying to wear you down.

Don't know if this has been suggested but if she had a Facebook page, I would put up a picture of your hair and say that you have requested a refund but have received no response from the hairdresser.

She will probably take the post down asap but probably reimburse you!!

This is a Balyage that was done today in my salon , that is the worst colour and cut ever .
you don’t want her doing your hair again . Dreadful

I personally would go to the original salon and ask for a refund again. If she doesn’t give one straight away, I would tell her that not only will you give a very bad review and show your photos on SM, you will also stand outside her salon with your photos and show them to any customers who are going into her salon, and if necessary do so. I once threatened this when I bought something, which I quickly realised wasn’t as advertised, and the seller, who at first refused a refund, very quickly changed their mind and gave me my money back!

The new hair looks amazing.

Wow, that’s awful! Can you try trading standards if she refuses?

Go onto her Facebook page. Post all the photos here with an explanation. Don't slag her off. Be factual and show screen shots of your conversations and let the public decide. Bad publicity is very damaging and as she's refusing to refund you that's what I'd do. I'd also contact your bank.