Bad Hair Salon
by Mrs Dallas
(San Antonio)
Mrs Dallas here tried 'Hair by Shannon' at Truesdale in San Antonio, Texas. After 3 hours and $140 later... My haircut was NOT the one I showed her, but yet one she thought would look best on me. I reluctantly bowed out of the salon, as one, I was starving. 3 hours is a looooooong time for just a cut and base root color.. and two, she can be rather condenscending in making you feel like you should not ask any questions. (after all she is the hair designer... Shannon talks down to her clientele, so she must be fairly famous?) All day they kept shifting me around from one chair to another while they offer you water and then they work you in and our of rooms/chairs, etc.. several clients at a time.
Anyway, I went back once again, but used Jennifer who was rather new and easy to book. (apparently trained under Miss Shannon and her husband) I asked for base color (no cut this time) and maybe just a very few faint highlights. She called it a partial. (she explained that a partial is just mainly the top) I asked if I could use the same amount of foils (10) but instead of just the top could she spread them all over? (still a partial in that it was the same amount of time/foils, just spread out around the head) She starting the highlight process (bleach) at around 10:15 and while the foils remained on my head, she began painting the base coat all over, and was told to sit about thirty minutes... My head was under foils and color now total for about 1 and a half hours. Once I got my head in the bowl, she made the remark that she was going to put some "colorease" on it and said that it lasts about 2 weeks. I asked what happens after 2 weeks, she said nothing it will fade??????? I ask what that was? She said some salons call it toner. I thought that rather strange, as no one ever uses toner on a highlight if they check color, but oh well..
I then started feeling a little faint from hunger about 12:30 now...and I watched as she took the towel off, and before you could say comb, I knew I was in trouble. Yikes, I looked like Pink, the punk signer with bleached blond hair and roots were light orangey. So I said oh my gosh, this is too blond! She said well lets just try it as we dry it. I said definitely this is too blond I looked like a bleach blonde instead of the dirty blonde I am used to.....you could feel the tension in the salon as all were eagerly watching.....
Anyway, I suggested that we just do some low lights with my natural color, and she immediately lured me off to the back room and put some other color of colorease, which she said would be permanent. Yikes again! I now have mousy brown hair with some form of ash color if you look closely. I came home from a fun day of just about me shopping and my husband who is pretty complimentary all my life said: Your hair looks darker than when you left home at 9.
So off I go back to my sweet lady in Comfort, Miss Marielena, who charges $15.00 for a great haircut and only $40 for a wonderful highlight. She has been practicing hair for over 25 years. Now if you don't mind having all the fru fru water and the changing stations back at the Truesdale Salon with Miss Shannon and Team, then come on down to Comfort, where this former Dallas girl, who has used some of the best hairdressers/colorist in the business knows how to pick a humble not too uppity, down to earth stylist.
Wow, Mrs Dallas! I think many people have had an experience with a bad hair salon at some point. Sounds like you had an awful time of it! Twice! I don't know if I'd have had the gumption to go back after the first time! Bleach on your hair more than 20 minutes without checking it is not good! You're lucky you're hair didn't disintegrate!
Toner's are actually a semi permanent color and are used to tone bleached hair all the time! However, you are right. She could have gotten your bleached highlights the right color if she had just checked on them and removed the bleach at the right color level. Then she wouldn't have needed a toner. Because she was trying to give you both colors at the same time, thats why she didn't check on them. She was waiting for your roots to process and knew she could just tone your highlights afterwards!
All I can do is shake my head. Live and learn. We all do it! The older I get, the more I like and appreciate 'simplicity'. Its something we've all moved away from in search for something bigger and better! The moot point here is to find one good hairdresser and stick with her. But remember! No one is perfect all the time. If you have a good hairdresser who usually does a good job, and you go in and your hair doesn't turn out quite right one time, don't give up on her! Even hairdresser's have bad days where they're off!
Go back and nicely explain why you were dissatisfied and see if you can work through it. You're far better off using someone who's tried and true, than using someone who sells glitz and glamor at a high price and treats you like a dawg!
