Total Hair Nightmare!!!!

unreal83

Hi all. I cannot find a website that offers hair advice anywhere, so thought i would come here and try and see if anyone here could offer advice.

Just so you know a bit of background - i am naturally blonde, dyed it dark 7 years ago and have always been a dark - medium brown. Decided recently i wanted to go back to blonde which i knew was hard to do but my hairdresser who i have been going to for 6 years said she would do it for me.

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i got my hair done, and the colour is lovely - nice warm caramel colour and definately a start to going a bit blonder, i like the colour on my complexion and was told to wait a good while before going back to have more blonde put in - at least after Christmas.

So anyway - i've been going to XXXX for 6 years so totally trusted them and what they were saying to me about stripping out the brown using something called 'Effasol' by Lloreal. I knew why they wouldnt put the bleach straight on my brown hair because i had big roots so obviously would have had bright blonde roots and orangey hair - so thought ok they need to strip it out. I grew out my roots at their advice as they said the effasol should not touch my scalp/roots. Anyway at consultation she looked at my hair for ages before putting it on and said it was quite dry and it might make it drier, but when a hairdresser tells you that you dont think its gonna be anything bad (especially if you've been going there 6 years and trust them) just maybe a good few treatments!

So anyway, she done a water based cleanse which lifted most of it out which was good, made it go a red colour and it was dry when she rough dried it, but didnt really bother me as it always looks dry when rough dried. She then put half a head of scattered highlights on me and more at the front, and put a base brown in between them to tone out the red of the hair she hadnt highlighted. Left me for a while, and then put toner on the bleached hair. Put a treatment on after shampooing and started to dry it (this all together took from half 11 until 5 o clock when i walked out with my hair done) when she started blow drying it she said it had gone like sponge and asked if i had ever had a straightening chemical put on it, which i havent, she looked really worried and i wasnt comfortable as this particular hairdresser hasnt blow dried my hair before so didnt know how to handle it so i asked for my usual one to do it which was really uncomfortable but i didnt care i just wanted her to do it - so she did, she gave it some welly and it blow dried fine - felt a bit dry but i walked out happy thinking that i needed to buy some good products to get it soft again.

So that was Thursday, by Saturday morning it needed washing as it felt really dry, so i did it and blow dried it and it felt even drier but manageable - just so dry.

My Mum gave me some Olive Oil hair conditioner which is for black people, but thought would be perfect for my wiry course hair so i left that on for ages on sunday, and when i brushed it out it felt really really soft. When i started to rough dry it to blow dry it it was going all matted. I put it up in a ponytail just done the front of it and clipped it back - colour still looks nice but by now the condition was just getting unmanagable.

Spoke to my hairdresser (on her mobile, am quite friendly with her since she started doing home visits to me on the sly for cheaper money than the salon and cash in her hand but stopped as i was fed up of going to XXX and missed that 'salon' feeling you know?) and she said that she doesnt know why she (the manager of the salon and is also a colourist who told me what i needed to do) had to strip it, when she (original hairdresser doing home visits) put some foils in my hair may 2010 she didnt do that she just put them straight on, and they went a nice caramel colour! exactly what i have now!

The woman i spoke to in xxx in the first place i know has worked there for years and shes the manager, plus said shes stripped hair loads of times so after looking at my hair would she not have known the best result she could achieve for me, leaving my hair in best condition possible?

Anyway, girl on the phone, suggested i get (whilst waiting for my kerastase to come) some lloreal elvive damage repair or something shampoo and conditioner - i thought great i will do that, so got it, washed my hair last night and combed through the conditioner (still felt really knotty even with conditioner in) when it started to dry its completely matted up, gone clumpy at the back - none has fallen out yet (obv some breakage on brush) and i can just about put it up in a pony tail as the actual length of my hair is clumpy if that makes sense.

God i certainly think i have probably washed it too much! Just kept wanting to wash out the clumpy feeling you know! Am gonna leave it until they see it now.

So i called the hairdressers and they've made an appointment for me on thursday, i dont know what they are gonna do - but i want my money back.

What do you reckon? Do you think im gonna have to have it all cut off?

Do you think if they dye it back dark it will make it worse or put condition back in it?

I dont mind being dark again - i just want to be able to brush my hair!!


I want to go back there and tell them i want my money back (cost £150 in the end) and i want my hair sorted out - otherwise i will go to a small claims court - my hair is a total matted clump on my head and i am totally stressed about it.

Hope someone can help. :-(

bobajob_1966

Your hair will be horrid for a week or so after it has been stripped (mine was worse than after bleaching). However whether yours is just 'post stripped' or if there is something more wrong with it, is difficult to tell without seeing it. See what they say, and what they offer to do with it, but if it has reacted as expected I would be surprised if you get a refund.

arcon5

unreal83 wrote: »

So that was Thursday, by Saturday morning it needed washing as it felt really dry, so i did it and blow dried it and it felt even drier but manageable - just so dry.

My Mum gave me some Olive Oil hair conditioner which is for black people, but thought would be perfect for my wiry course hair so i left that on for ages on sunday, and when i brushed it out it felt really really soft. When i started to rough dry it to blow dry it it was going all matted. I put it up in a ponytail just done the front of it and clipped it back - colour still looks nice but by now the condition was just getting unmanagable.

Why is it for black people? :huh:


I really think you need to get youself to a specialist forum, before you even ask for a refund or threaten small claims you need to determine if they have in anyway been negligent or caused damage to your hair and be able to prove it.

Best wait for them to look at it first but you won't be entitled to a repair and refund. Also the last thing you want to do is create a hostile atmosphere, that won't help your progress.

If I was you I would go in and discuss thhe problem, discuss how its happened and create an action plan with them on how to rectify it. It may involve repeat visits to the hair dresser at which point you may have established if any fault lies with the hair dresser and discuss the cost of further treatment/visits.

bobajob_1966

arcon5 wrote: »

Why is it for black people? :huh:

Think the OP badly phrased what she meant - there are product ranges aimed at those with afro hair which tend to be extra conditioning.

arcon5

bobajob_1966 wrote: »

Think the OP badly phrased what she meant - there are product ranges aimed at those with afro hair which tend to be extra conditioning.

Ah, thanks, that makes more sense

unreal83

Hey everyone thank you for your replies.

Whoops - the original post was an email I sent to my friend, I should have probably altered that bit about the hair conditioner slightly better - in boots there is a range for afro caribbean hair - thats what i meant! Soz.

I am going in there tomorrow now, as i cant sit at work like this for another day so im popping in there quickly before work so she can give me some advice as to what she can do.

I know its hard to say without seeing it, but my hair isnt just dry, its literally like wire - cant even run a brush through the crown its so matted.

Why would i not be entitled to a refund and repair if they have not provided what i have paid for? Of course it looked nice when i left the salon after paying, but its the aftercare that has gone wrong - if i wasnt meant to wash it for a week, they should have said, if i wasnt meant to put any product on it, they should have said, but no - they said nothing - the manager who i apologised to incase i offended her by asking if someone else could blow dry my hair was apparently laughing about it out the back according to my other hairdresser that works in there - so if she was actually more professional she would have spent time making sure i knew what to expect.

Anyway, you're totally right, i do not want to create a hostile atmosphere, i love the hairdressers and i want to continue to go back, but with my loyalty to them i want some back and hope they do offer me an action plan to get my hair back to its original state.

It definately hasnt reacted as expected - if anyone expected this to happen i doubt i would have wanted to go ahead with it and i DEFINITELY doubt they would have done it!

I will let you know what happens.

arcon5

unreal83 wrote: »

Hey everyone thank you for your replies.

Whoops - the original post was an email I sent to my friend, I should have probably altered that bit about the hair conditioner slightly better - in boots there is a range for afro caribbean hair - thats what i meant! Soz.

I am going in there tomorrow now, as i cant sit at work like this for another day so im popping in there quickly before work so she can give me some advice as to what she can do.

I know its hard to say without seeing it, but my hair isnt just dry, its literally like wire - cant even run a brush through the crown its so matted.

Why would i not be entitled to a refund and repair if they have not provided what i have paid for? Of course it looked nice when i left the salon after paying, but its the aftercare that has gone wrong - if i wasnt meant to wash it for a week, they should have said, if i wasnt meant to put any product on it, they should have said, but no - they said nothing - the manager who i apologised to incase i offended her by asking if someone else could blow dry my hair was apparently laughing about it out the back according to my other hairdresser that works in there - so if she was actually more professional she would have spent time making sure i knew what to expect.

Anyway, you're totally right, i do not want to create a hostile atmosphere, i love the hairdressers and i want to continue to go back, but with my loyalty to them i want some back and hope they do offer me an action plan to get my hair back to its original state.

Thanks for clarifying that, I genuinely didn't understand what it meant (most likely because i'm a guy ).

You would be entitled to a remedy if the problem is the fault of the salon (Sales of Goods & Services Act 1982). You wouldn't be entitled to a repair and all your money back though. Its the same concept as if a TV was to develop a fault, you would be entitled to a repair or replacement or refund (their choice).
You can't have your cake and eat it, so to speak.

If however the problem is a result of their negligence and they refused to act, you would have a case of having it rectified elsewhere and recovering the costs.

Keep us all updated though, hopefully they will know how to deal with it effectively. Any decent salon would though offer some additional goodwill gesture to keep you happy.

unreal83

Ah i see what you mean i thought you meant i wouldnt be entitled to anything!

Yeah people with afro hair tend to need extra conditioning hair products and my mum bought an olive oil based conditioner as she has dry bleached hair too - im giving it straight back to her as im not impressed with it at all.

I will let you know, i wonder if they will be able to dye it dark again and cut it short - i will still want a part refund though as i didnt pay £150 for THAT end result - if its not their fault, whose is it? Isnt that the whole point of being a colourist and learning the science of hair - if she was unsure of the end result then she shouldnt have agreed to do it - i trusted them, paid my money and have ended up traumatised with a big messy clump of hair.

Feel so crap :-(

pinkshoes

You can't expect a refund, but you can expect them to put it right!

Why go messing around dying it dark again? Sounds like you have "difficult" hair, so why not just go back to your original colour and wear the roots with pride?

unreal83

True. Was just a thought as the brown dye always made my hair so soft.

Tonight I have put a john freida treatment on it and blow dried it and u know what it's actually better but its so tacky like it still has product on it! Don't know what's wrong with it.

Thanks all xxx

booter

Hi unreal - I just spotted your thread - my niece was in a very similar position, but she wanted to go white blonde from brown. The hairdresser told her "no problem", "stripped" her hair, and then applied peroxide. When she left the hairdresser's it looked great, but felt a bit dry. But she then experienced similar problems to you - the hair became matted, even dryer and she had lots of breakage. Her outcome - a course of hair treatments from the salon to try and improve the condition of her hair and finally a cut, but she was advised NOT to have any further colouring on it until the condition improved substantially. You can imagine her horror - brown roots with shock white ends :eek:

I agree with arcon5 - my niece was advised at the time that she could try to claim negligence against the salon, but would probably need an independant report from a Trichologist to be successful with any claim against them - I can't remember how much this report was going to cost, but I know it was outside her limited means! But she also wanted to keep the salon "on side" to get treatment.

Now I'm no hairdresser (apart from dabbling with home colours fairly frequently:)!) but it does sound like your hair has been over processed. I would strongly suggest that you don't have any more colouring done - it may just make it worse. Go for a course of conditioning treatments on a regular basis and regular trims. My niece had one length hair and ultimately had layers to physically reduce the amount of damaged hair - so maybe that's another possibility for you?

I really feel for you - I do hope you get it sorted!