So I saved my money to go to a salon for a major color change. My hair is light brown with soft highlights. I wanted much more dramatic blonde highlights done with balyage.
So it turned out that she did ombré on me, which I didn't really want. Also the blonde is different than I pictured, it's very honey yellow golden rather than the silvery blonde I asked for.
Do I go back and ask her to fix it? Can it be fixed or will this cause damage to my hair? I dropped $200 on this (just the color, I didn't even get my hair cut!) and it's not pennies for me. Will they charge me more to fix it?
Everyone around me is complimenting my hair, everyone seems to like it, should I just deal?
I feel for you! That is a lot of money to drop on something you didn't ask for. Every salon has their own policy, but I would imagine that if they want you to come back, they'll fix the issue. Did you bring a photo when you asked for the look? In the future, I highly recommend a photo because communication is often difficult when it comes to these situations. It's definitely not your fault, but maybe the stylist misunderstood you? Anyway, it doesn't hurt to give them a call and ask if they can help you out. I don't think it will cause any major damage since celebrities are constantly making changes and color isn't what it used to be. If you paid that kind of money, I think they probably used something that's good quality...again, ask a lot of questions to make sure.
If they don't fix the issue, then at least maybe they can give you your money back. It's worth a shot.
Either way, sounds like you look great and if nothing changes, maybe you'll love it over time.
I had a similar experience years ago. I was having a celebration-type week - might have been right before I got married, can't quite remember - and I decided to splurge and get lowlights along with my haircut. But I very specifically told the hairdresser I don't want any red tones in my hair (I have dark brown hair, espresso-coloured, I'd call it), and I didn't want to bleach my hair - I only wanted colour added, to have darker lowlights, not highlights. He showed me colour swatches and I picked out a colour and he reassured me it wasn't red (I think the lighting wasn't great in there).
And after my hair was cut and dried, the highlights were clearly copper-red. He had stripped colour out of my hair and given me bright copper highlights.
Now, I've had bright copper highlights before and I didn't mind them, and the issue wasn't that they looked bad. The issue was that I didn't want to damage my hair anymore by highlighting it, and I'd specifically asked for lowlights.
I told him it was a problem (I also didn't want the highlights, for aesthetic reasons) and he was hesitant to fix it, whether because of the cost or potential damage to my hair. But in the end he did a full wash of semi-permanent colour on my hair to darken everything, in order to tone down the highlights.
Of course, once I'd washed it a few times the semi-permanent colour started fading so the highlights showed through...
It's difficult, because my hairdresser is just incredible at cutting hair, and I never felt like he'd let me down.
If you feel like there's something they can do to fix it, I think you should give them that opportunity. Call them up, tell them how disappointed you are with your hair, and ask them if there's anything they can do to fix it. After they suggest fixes, ask them if it's at no charge so you're clear beforehand.
They should also be able to tell you if it's going to cause more damage to re-highlight the highlights... but my suspicion is that as long as they use the same chemicals it should be okay. Big problems can happen when you mix types of dye, though... you can get brittle hair that breaks right off.
I think it's more important for you to like your hair than for the people around you to like it. You need to feel good in your skin and in your hair. So, no, I don't think you should "just deal" with it. I think you should find a way to make your hair feel like it fits your identity better.
That doesn't mean the solution is re-dying though. There may be other solutions.
Go back and let them know it's not what you wanted and ask what needs to happen for you to get it the color(s) you want. It may be an easy fix, it may be difficult, but you can make your decision once you know. Something like that is not worth just dealing with especially when you spend that much money!
I think they'll understand that sometimes it takes a few days to realize you didn't get what you wanted. You paid for a service, you didn't get what you wanted, they should fix it. End of story.
i think if it means alot to you (and it must, because of the $$ you put towards it) then you should call them back and discuss fixing your hair at no additional cost
me, i'm not that attached to my hair, they could whack it and dye it green and i'd be just fine with that....BUT for something that meant alot to me, i would call back and ask to have it fixed the way i want it
I wouldn't say it means a lot to me, but I do take care of my appearance because my job site is a stage. Lots of public appearances and publicity photos, can't stand to look awful in that many photos lol.
Update, I lived with the hair color for a couple of weeks and then I called the salon and went back. My hair dresser was a little defensive about it but she did want me to walk out happy and so we fixed it. I ended up liking the blonde color she had put in and so we fixed the ombre and now I'm really liking it. Luckily they didn't charge me for the fix but I did leave a nice tip.
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I had to google "balyage" but now I get it. I'm glad they were willing to fix the ombre and you are happy. I have had highlights for years, varying from subtle to very light blonde. You are the one who has to be happy when you look in the mirror.
Bad haircut, what to do?
