Hair salon have cut my hair too short. What are my rights?

pimento

It depends on what your opinion of too short is. If your hair is shoulder length or longer, three inches is nothing. If your hair is earlobe length, three inches is quite a lot.

I had a disastrous perm about a fortnight before my wedding. We still got married, we're still married (24 years later) and I don't look at my wedding pictures and think "Oh My God! Look at my hair!"

BlueAngelCV

It's very difficult to see quite how much is being cut off, particularly if you have a wet cut. I've often thought that too much was being cut off but then when it was finished it was fine.

I've had a similar situation (although not before my wedding!) where I asked for a trim & they completely ignored what I asked for and cut loads off & made it lopsided.

Some people find it difficult to be forceful about what they want and try to avoid confrontation. Yes they do say "is that ok" but it's usually a rhetorical question. In the past I've said yes that's fine (& given a tip) but gone home in tears. Yes it's my fault for saying nothing at the time but by then it was too late.

Hairdressers are professionals so you expect to be able to tell them what they want and for them to do it. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't experienced it myself but sometimes they do completely ignore what you ask for.

I would go back & explain the problem & ask them to try & fix it. I would also request a refund although whether you will get one or not is debatable.

I would be furious if I was you but don't let it spoil your day.

*Scarlett

This is obviously causing you a lot of distress (it would me too).

I would go back to the hairdresser and calmly explain your concerns - no one wants a bride to be unhappy with their hair on their wedding day so hopefully they will be able to offer alternatives / solutions to you.

A jokey conversation with my own hairdresser, when I asked if he had ever made a client cry, revealed that many hairdressers will never admit that they have done a bad cut or something that didn't suit the client. They would just say it was a "mis-communication" or something. However they would do their level best to put it right. (By the way the only time he has made me cry is with laughter!)

Hairdressers rely on repeat customers and word of mouth so they should take your problem seriously so hopefully they will come up with something to resolve this. They can't grow your hair back but might be able to suggest a different styling.

Also was this the first time you had used this stylist as this can always be a risk? I've used the same hairdresser for about 10 years and would be gutted if he quit.

You have nothing to lose by going back to them and listening to their suggestions - it doesn't have to be confrontational.

In any case, best wishes for your wedding and I'm sure you will look wonderful and have a fabulous day - you can make it work girl!!!

SUESMITH_2

ring up and explain the situation - if they're anywhere decent they will get you back in and recut it for you for free.

makes me so glad that i have a fab hairdresser who is lovely. i changed the style of mine and when it was finished really wasn't sure, she just said to me "live with it for a few days, if you don't like it i'll redo it for free" and after a few days i really liked it

flashnazia

Sounds awful. Don't let it ruin you day.
Just to add, have you moved your parting? Doing so will make one side shorter than the other.

And advice to others (from personal experience) some hairdressers (younger ones) don't understand inches. I've had a few blank looks with that one.

somethingsgottogive

This happened to me too. I went to the hairdressers for a trim about 2 months before my wedding and explained that it had to be just A TRIM because I'd been growing my hair out to over halfway down my back to wear down with my medieval style wedding dress. The stupid b**** cut about 10 inches off, no exaggeration, and it was just about touching my shoulders, and when she asked me if I was happy all I could do was shake my head. She stood behind me with a mirror for a few minutes telling me that it was lovely, and that it suited me, and I was just in total shock and trying not to cry because 'there's nothing you can do about it now...'. After a few minutes I sort of half nodded, paid and left, came home and cried for about a day.

It doesn't matter if it's 'just hair'. If you knew how you wanted to look and some idiot hairdresser has completely ruined it then it is the end of the world. You should do what I wish I'd done - march back in there, tell them that you DID NOT ask for this much hair to be cut off, that you were too flabbergasted to think about it properly at the time and that you fully expect them to rectify it with hair extensions/refund you so you can pay a competent hairdresser to fix it - or you will be telling literally everyone you know in the area to avoid them. I wish to god I'd gone back in, instead of spending nearly £200 on hair extensions and another hairdresser to help make it all look natural.

I hope you manage to get something sorted and that your wedding goes off without a hitch

charlcurt

Go back and explain your not happy and maybe ask if they will be able to do an up-do for your wedding day for free so you won't feel uncomfortable on your big day !

candycow

I hope you managed to get something sorted. I had a simelar situation once, although before a holiday, not a wedding. It was MUCH shorter than I had asked for, and badly cut, but I couldn't tell quite how bad in the hairdressers. I went back the next day, and the manager suggested I come back just before my holiday to maximise length (mine was very short, so every mm made a difference) and she would cut it to make it a bit better straight off, then she would continue to cut it for free herself until it grew back to the length I originally wanted, which took about 6 months.

Whilst this doesn't help you now, it does show that going back and complaining can help sometimes.

74jax

Do we have an update to this? OP did your wedding go ok on NYE?

Welshwoofs

The thing here is that 'a trim' is not a standard measurement. Generally when you ask a hairdresser for a 'trim' they will take off whatever it takes to get back to healthy looking hair. So if your ends are a bit raggedy then a 'trim' could be a few inches. The best thing to do is specify exactly how much hair you want off if you have a length in mind.