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 normally think the hair looks fine in these types of posts but in this case no. I know it's uncomfortable going back to complain but going above their heads to head office is likely to cause huge stress for them when they haven't even been given the opportunity to put things right.

Would strongly advise going back with these 2 pictures, explain that you were too embarrassed to say anything at the time and needed to get home to your baby and see what they can do.

I would be disappointed too, time for big girl pants on and ask them to fix it ❤️

Did you contact them op?

I think the price you paid for the style you WANTED is reasonable, however that’s not what you got unfortunately! I agree whith other comments it does not look salon fresh either!! I’d definitely complain and ask them to rectify

Did you have a consultation before the appointment? I was in the hairdressers recently and another stylist was sat with a lady explaining a balayage to her, she told her how much it would cost (around 150) and that she would be there around 6 hours. The lady went ahead and booked the appointment knowing all of that information. To be honest I wouldn't be happy with the result you have either but its not an unreasonable price or time for a balayage, I just think they shouldve prepared you for that so you weren't taken aback. If you're not happy then speak to them and ask them to resolve. The positive with a balayage is that its very low maintenance and probably needs doing every few months, when you work out the yearly costs compared to say highlights every few weeks its definitely more cost effective.

Good God. 170 quid for that? Nope. Looks like smthg you couldve done yourself or had done for a fraction of the price at some local small hairdresser.

The hair on the left is perfectly fine in the sense that i wouldn't be hiding in the house or wearing hats until it's fixed or anything like that. But it's certainly not what you asked or paid for.

Sorry, mistake. I thought what the OP got was the pic on the right.
Deleted.

It looks like it needs another session to fully lighten. If the hair is thick and quite dark that is normal, mine needs 2 sessions and I have thin hair if I need the full head done and it's been ages.
I'd go elsewhere. But complain to the salon that did it as the job is not complete.

Its no where near. Go back tomorrow speak to the manager. Ask for 50%back

Any joy with the salon, OP?

Yes me too. I think it's too late. 😁

Oh dear. You’ve been ripped off. Honestly, two boxes of L’oreal Excellence would’ve given a better result and cost £13 in a twofer offer. There is no differentiation in tone and it looks like one shade of tint only has been used. It doesn’t look horrid, it’s just not a £170 hairdo.

It may just be your hair. My best friend has hair doesn't take perms particularly highlights or dye very well - it's super fine, which I think is part of the problem. I know she's spent good money in award winning salons and they just seem to have problems so she's glamour greying out now.
Definitely take yourself back to review and see if there is anything they can do.

The last time, I went for something similar to your preferred picture, I ended up with three stripes of blonde, two either side of my head, that I couldn’t see very well, and one at the back, kind of to the side.

My daughters were horrified.

I didn’t go back, this was my regular hairdresser who was usually good.

No idea what she was thinking

That's why I stopped going to them completely. A bunch of quacks, over the past 20+ years I've been going to them, I've been truly happy with my hair twice. TWICE. Two times it was somewhat close to the 'I want' pic. Been to low-end and high-end salons from villages to London. And I'm not fussy, don't want anything super-intricate-insta pic, and I have thick healthy hair you can do things to.

They charge you ridiculous money and NEVER manage anything even close to what you want. It's always either 'um...ok'/underwhelming or a bit/a lot shit. I've almost never left a salon without scratching my head and thinking what kind of dummy I am to part with a couple of hundred, sit there for hours and leave with something so meh (or completely shit). And what's the point of asking them to fix it, if they're that incompetent in the first place. You'll just get shit no 2 instead of shit no 1, just waste some more of your time.

Your hair is not horrible, but it's just flat and boring after spending almost £200. Sorry, OP. Looks like you just woke up like that, and your last visit to salon was months ago. I'm not saying it to be nasty, it's just shit work.

The problem was that you asked for baylage (just the ends) but the pic was full head highlights. She did exactly what you asked for in terms of placement and did exactly the colour you showed her via the pic.

I think yours is nicer than the other photo but nothing like it. £170 is a lot to spend at the hairdressers and 4 hours is a long time. Most people don't have 4 hours to spend in the hairdressers. I have teens so definitely don't!

Agree with this, but if your hair did grab the toner more than expected then this may be an indication that it is quite porous and vulnerable to damage. Did you have Olaplex or similar to protect it? Don’t attempt to strip the toner at home with fairy liquid as you will dry it out further. I’d go back to the hairdresser and give them a chance to fix it.

Same thing happened to me I went in for highlights when I was pregnant and it came out not the colour I wanted, I went back in the next day and he redid it

Fwiw your hair is beautiful but no it's nowhere near what you asked for

Yeah mine didn’t look like that (also took 5hrs). It does look flat, and very uneven in parts. Can you go back? I would

Can you take a friend or partner back with you to give you ‘courage’? Don’t let them get away with this.

This also happened to me! It was about my 3rd visit to my hairdresser and I thought we were both on the same page regarding my balayage journey, based on the messages and photos exchanged.

Due to the pre-existing colour already on my hair, and the condition of it, I understood that it was going to take a few visits to get my desired look. In my 3rd visit, I left feeling confused and devastated at what my hair looked like! It was a full head of highlights in the traditional sense, but with about an inch of root. I’ve never liked the traditional, almost stripey, highlighted look, and I was very clear that it was balayage that I wanted, with the classic darker top area with lighter sections through the mid lengths and ends - I always thought this was best achieved with a free-hand, painted method rather than a full head of uniform foils!

My hairdresser also over ran, so asked if I minded someone else styling it for me….the apprentice left me looking like 1970s Jane Fonda. I asked for a soft wave. I was so, so embarrassed that I paid very quickly and ran the 1 minute walk back home to find a hat!

It took me a few days, but I sent a message to my hairdresser explaining that I was disappointed and expected a look more like the photos we’d exchanged. She was so glad that I’d messaged her and fitted me in a couple of days later to rectify it. It did look much better, however after a few washes I still feel like it looks like standard highlights rather than balayage.

I’m still baffled as to how I ended up with what I got, after the discussions and photos that we’d shared! I’m due to go again soon but I think I’m going to cancel and just continue the impossible search to find someone else that I feel confident in 😩

Definitely contact them OP, as long as you’re not rude and confronting, it’ll all be ok! My message was polite and I got the same back.

Good luck!

My hair is very strong and although not very dark takes quite a lot of time to bleach, 5 hours and the price seems reasonable. However, the result is far to homogeneous for what you wanted. Highlights can not be seen at a glance like in the other photo. Although, they are there, they are very similar in colour than the base.
I wonder if is a mix of the colour chosen, the strength of your hair and your natural colour or just a bad technique application. I would be inclined to think the first.
I would be disappointed as well. It is not what you wanted.