Hairdressers - AIBU to be unhappy with my £170 balayage?

[Bumble88]

I’ve recently had a baby boy and have a three year old girl. So you can imagine my excitement at finally being able to get to the hairdressers (for the first time in over a year) to have a fresh new balayage done.

I went to a small chain which has a branch locally. I showed the hairdresser a photo of what I was looking for in terms of colours and depth of the colour. My appointment was 1pm and I came out at 5:30pm, £170 lighter and with a huge feeling of disappointment.

Whilst I’m not naive enough to expect to look like the model, I just don’t feel the colour looks anything like what I asked for😓To me it looks very flat and single tonal. Some of the hair also has a metallic/brassy look that kind of glistens (like my old highlights had become over time!)

I didn’t say anything at the time as I was a) running so late as I hadn’t expected to be in there nearly 5 hours and b) I felt too embarrassed to say it was way off what I wanted, when what could be done to fix it?

AIBU to think my £170 has not been well spent…? (Image on left is my hair, image on right is what I showed the hairdresser for the colours I wanted…)

I wouldn't be happy op. Sorry. The hair on the right probably has to go through a lightening process? I'm guessing?

I agree. It doesn’t look awful but it looks like all over highlights with a root smudge, not balayage. Also it doesn’t look toned, it looks brassy.

Your colour looks very flat. I wouldn’t be happy. Can you go back tomorrow-that’s a lot of money for something you’re not happy with.

Also, is your photo immediately after you left the hairdressers or have you washed it and dried it yourself since then? Because (sorry) it’s not been styled well and most balayage needs a wave through it to look best.

It doesn't look glossy, or just done. Sorry op. That is shit.

You are right to be disappointed that is not what you asked for. It looks like you have lovely thick hair and I am sure it can be sorted. But you have to speak up.

What did it look like before. As after looks like normal hair...
Not sure how that took 5h

It isn't what you asked for but I think it still looks lovely.

Definitely go back, it's not been lightened enough

Fwiw I had balayage this afternoon too - root melt and toner plus blow dry and it was £86

I agree with you it is very flat and I wouldn't be happy
I took in a similar picture to my hairdresser and she did this for me

What were they doing for 5hrs?
The pic looks like brighter highlights. Did they put bleach on your hair? What did it look like before?

Never heard of a balayage. Amazed at that amount for a hair do. Looks like highlights and a weak perm to me

The "what I wanted " photo that is. The left photo jyst looks like normal hair

You have lovely hair but yes what they did is what you’d expect from a £30 Groupon deal!

Please go back and demand a refund.

Get some purple shampoo to remove some of the brassiness and in three months, use a different hair dresser. It doesn’t look terrible but it’s not what you asked for.

Did they use foils?

you could go back and complain but I’m very British and find that very awkward so I’d just vote with my feet.

Thanks everyone - basically confirmed my thoughts! I do have very thick hair (partly attributing to the 5 hour appointment? 🤷🏻‍♀️). I hate any sort of confrontation and the thought of going back in to say I’m unhappy (when the hairdresser is there) just fills me with dread. I thought about maybe emailing their head office customer services and going to a different branch?

Hairdresser here.

£170 is reasonable for a balayage as it requires a lot of colour use and also it is quite intricate work that is time consuming so it is not unreasonable to be there for that length of time and pay for the time spent.

However, it just looked like the hairdresser has popped a toner/semipermanent on top of the pre-exsisting colour that's made it refresh in a sense. It does not look like it's been lightened at all and if it has then very half assed.

I would definitely go back to complain or have it corrected asap as in my salon we have a 3 day policy for refund or correction with no charge. They may have a policy similar in their salon.

I'm very sorry you had this experience!

Did she put a toner on? It doesn’t look like it to me. I get highlights and always have a toner on

Did you have dye on it to start with? This can affect how light you can go on your first session. If you started off darker it may not be achievable on your first session as the picture you wanted has some very light strands. If this is the case it should’ve been explained to you.
its a shame you’re disappointed, it looks like it needs another round of bleach to get those really light pieces.

@Laurthomx thanks for your view - and good to know your thoughts on the cost. She definitely lightened it as I had a whole head of foils which she took me to rinse off at various times, then I stayed in the hair washing area whilst she mixed on the toner (I could see out the corner of my eye the ends of my hair were super blonde) and then she applied that and left me with that on for about 10 minutes….

Listen, you will feel a million times better getting it off your chest with them.

This is the time to be brave and get a refund.

They close ranks, I had bad balayage, I didn’t complain just went elsewhere after that. I only noticed how bad it was when someone showed me a pic of the back.

If it was super blonde before the toner she has either used the wrong toner or it "grabbed" quicker than she expected.

The good news is toner fades quickly.

If you are unhappy you can complain. It should be easy to fix if it is only an issue of the toner being too dark. They can strip it out and apply a brighter toner.

Fair enough.
Did they tell you that it might be a process and won't look like the inspiration pic in 1 session?
That is usually the case with these Color jobs but it is the hairdressers responsibility to tell you the process and inform you of the possible outcome.

I think you'll feel so much better to have a conversation with them about it and hopefully come back with a solution !