Your thoughts on a hair crisis

[SheWhoSkis]

Natural hair color:  Medium Brown

I've been highlighting my hair for over a year, and it had become a beautiful, variable light brown with bright blonde highlights. I went in to my highlight appointment today with my hair in this condition, and left with it being an ASHY BROWN.

At the time, I thought it was because it was still damp, but it finished drying and it was still an ashy brown. Hoping it was a new product he used, I washed and dried my hair. It's still ashy brown.

The only things he did that varied from what he had done in the past was :

1. After highlight-wash-tone-condition he did some sort of moisturizing hair mask. I don't know the specific product.
2. During styling, he mixed in eufora style powder lift (new product) to a tried-and-true Kevin.Murphy Motion Lotion.

Any idea what the heck happened to my hair? I'm feeling pretty defeated, and reaching out to my stylist will be emotionally hard as it is. Having some idea what happened will help give me the strength to proceed to ask him to make it right.

[Anonymous]

So sorry to read of your problem. You must reach back to your stylist as only they have the answer to what was used and how it can be corrected.

 They will be as embarrassed as you, and if they are true professionals pleased that you reached out to give them the chance to correct the problem.

We wish you courage as we say in France.

[SheWhoSkis]

Update #2: 

My hair has been fixed, and all is right with my hair. I tipped generously (50% of what the service would have cost), because I was so grateful! Thanks, @molkie and @snoflakefaerie for the support and suggestions! 

[snoflakefaerie]

Yay! Happy things worked out ok.

[molkie]

So glad to hear that it worked out just as you wanted! 😀

[snoflakefaerie]

Refinery 29 has this to say:

 I think if it's the same stylist and you already tipped them, then you don't need to worry about it. If it's someone new, I would tip. If you feel comfortable I would inquire about why the color didn't work how it normally does. I would also be more inclined to tip a little again if the stylist is apologetic and courteous about fixing things. 

[SheWhoSkis]

Update:  I have a complimentary fix appointment scheduled for Saturday 

Question:  Do I leave a gratuity on this $0 appointment? Or express gratitude in some other way? 

On one side, I very much appreciate that the stylist will try to fix it. On the other side, I'm not exactly thrilled about losing 2 hours on a Saturday to something that should have been right the first time. I've (lucky) never been in this situation before, so I have no idea what to do on this one. 

[IlesHaircare]

We are happy to hear that it all worked out.  Always contact the stylist because they would rather you do that.  Thanks for keeping us informed of how it went.  

[molkie]

@SheWhoSkis I would tip the stylist since he will be working to make it right. Sounds like your hair didn't react well to some new products - do you think he should have known your hair might react that way and did he discuss using new products beforehand? If you've lost confidence in his abilities, then probably time to look for a new stylist.

I hope after your Saturday appointment your hair color is just what you wanted!

[SheWhoSkis]

Some great information from both @snoflakefaerie and @molkie. I still have full confidence in his skills, and looking up the product info didn't yield any information regarding hair color to use it on (or not). The point about if it was information he should have known is key here. I don't believe he did something that was a known reaction, so tipping would be great, especially since I hope to keep our relationship on great terms. 

I plan to carry cash since the change won't be done at the salon. 

Thsnks for helping me think this through! 

[snoflakefaerie]

I hope things work out! I do think if you have liked your stylist and this is a relationship you'd like to keep, then it's definitely a good idea and more importantly a nice gesture to tip a bit. Let us know how it goes!