Have you ever walked out of a salon, your hope for the perfect 'do dashed by the all-too-real reflection staring back at you? I've been there, and that's exactly why we're tackling the sensitive topic of hair mishaps head-on. In our candid chat, I'm pouring out lessons from my own not-so-fabulous haircut experience. We'll navigate the choppy waters of addressing hair regret, both from the client's side and the stylist's chair. With tips for clear communication and finding a path to a fix, this episode is a treasure trove for anyone who's ever felt the sting of scissors gone rogue. Plus, stylists, take note—we're discussing the art of turning a client frown upside down through exceptional service and that all-important listening ear.
Moving on from cuts to color, we're unpacking the foils and fears behind common coloring conundrums. I'll spell out the steps for stylists to correct those pesky bleed marks and offer a lifeline of at-home remedies for listeners DIY-ing their damage control. But it's not all doom and gloom; there's hope in the hair-tinted horizon. Whether you're seeking a second chance with your current stylist or testing the waters for a new hair hero, I've got your back with a pep talk on finding your perfect salon soulmate. So, if you're ready to turn your hair don'ts into definitive dos, this is one episode you won't want to miss.
Have you ever walked out of a salon, your hope for the perfect 'do dashed by the all-too-real reflection staring back at you? I've been there, and that's exactly why we're tackling the sensitive topic of hair mishaps head-on. In our candid chat, I'm pouring out lessons from my own not-so-fabulous haircut experience. We'll navigate the choppy waters of addressing hair regret, both from the client's side and the stylist's chair. With tips for clear communication and finding a path to a fix, this episode is a treasure trove for anyone who's ever felt the sting of scissors gone rogue. Plus, stylists, take note—we're discussing the art of turning a client frown upside down through exceptional service and that all-important listening ear.
Moving on from cuts to color, we're unpacking the foils and fears behind common coloring conundrums. I'll spell out the steps for stylists to correct those pesky bleed marks and offer a lifeline of at-home remedies for listeners DIY-ing their damage control. But it's not all doom and gloom; there's hope in the hair-tinted horizon. Whether you're seeking a second chance with your current stylist or testing the waters for a new hair hero, I've got your back with a pep talk on finding your perfect salon soulmate. So, if you're ready to turn your hair don'ts into definitive dos, this is one episode you won't want to miss.
Welcome to All About Hair, the go-to podcast for stylists, salon owners and anyone passionate about hairstyling. Whether you're a seasoned stylist refining your skills or a curious listener looking to enhance your hair knowledge, we've got you covered. I'm your host, denise Kylitz, a former stylist and salon owner with four award-winning salons under my belt, with over 30 years of experience, I've dedicated myself to helping stylists excel in foundational haircutting, color theory, client communication and more, enabling them to build six-figure careers they can be proud of. My mission is to uplift our industry by sharing valuable insights gathered along my journey. Get ready for enlightening discussions, captivating interviews and practical advice on marketing, sales and technical skills. This is the podcast all about hair. Hey, before we get started today, I wanted to remind you we have a weekly newsletter that you can go sign up for today. Go to DeniseKylitz, spelled with an A dot com, and sign up. There Talks about hair related stuff. My favorite style of the week a weekly nugget to get your weekend started. Just join our community. I would love to see you there Now.
Speaker 1:
Have you ever had one of those weeks or months, if you will, that it seems like everything goes wrong? I mean like just about everything. I mean I've had one of those months. You know, a family member passes away, my children are going through some pretty you know emotional adult situations. My dog is getting older and keeps peeing all over the house yeah, that's a thing. Can't go up and down stairs anymore my dog, not myself and then, you know, I get this huge cold sore on my lip and it really takes me down. I mean it's like what the heck? I don't remember the last time I had a cold sore. It just made me feel terrible. And then I wake up this morning and I have a little tiny cut on my eyelid. It's like what in the world? But enough about that. I used to always say that bad things happen to you because something great's about to happen and the universe is just testing you. Okay, I'm done being tested. So let me add this to my list.
Speaker 1:
I went and got my haircut, and the reason why is because I kept wearing it in a ponytail. If you know me, I've got curly hair, so it's pretty easy to get away with really not doing anything, and as a hairstylist, I know that if I'm just wearing it in a ponytail, then it's time. It's time to get a haircut. So I went to my friend and I showed her a picture and we had she's a wonderful hairstylist, do not get me wrong. She's wonderful, she's very, very talented. You know, I showed her a picture of what I wanted and she's like yeah, I got you and she gave me a haircut and there's nothing wrong with the haircut, the haircut's a cute, cute haircut.
Speaker 1:
It just wasn't exactly what I had in mind. So you know, I came home and I was just a bit disappointed, you know. Then I styled it myself and I played with a curling iron and I put some highlights in it. You know, I made it me and if you're watching this on YouTube, it's okay, right, and I do know it's just hair, it will grow. So that's a good thing. I am not throwing any shade on my friend. She is terrific and I would send people her way all day long. It just was a communication thing maybe. So it got me to thinking that if this happens to me, I'm sure it happens to you.
Speaker 1:
So what do you do when you go to your hairstylist and you're and I get it you're really excited about going and you know, getting this new do and it takes some courage and it takes some budget and it, you know it takes time off of work or hiring a sitter. It's a big thing anymore, right? So what happens? When you go there and you're either not happy at all or it just didn't hit the mark, what do you do? That's what I want to talk about today. What are some of the things that you can do as a client if you got a haircut you didn't like or a hair color you didn't like and I can tell you right now, hair color is a lot easier to fix than a bad haircut. I don't know if you knew that or not. Most people are more afraid of color, but these days I mean, if you know color theory, you can correct bad hair color typically 99% of the time. A bad haircut it depends on what's happening in the hair and it depends on your goal. So let's talk about these things and then we're going to talk about if you're a hairstylist. What do you do if your client really doesn't like what you did? Yeah, so I wrote some notes, all right.
Speaker 1:
First thing you do if you get a bad haircut or a haircut that you just don't like communicate with the stylist. You let them know that you're not satisfied. Maybe they can tweak it a little bit. Maybe they can offer a solution, maybe they can help you style it in a different way. But do communicate with your stylist, don't ghost them. Did I contact my stylist? No, because I knew I could, I'd make it work. But you are not a hairstylist, so you don't know how to take matters in your own hands, if you will. So make sure you communicate with your stylist and then ask them if they can fix it free of charge. Most salons offer complimentary fixes within a certain amount of time.
Speaker 1:
Seek somebody else's opinion. Maybe you're afraid to go back to that stylist for whatever reason. You just didn't feel it, or they couldn't, didn't communicate with you, or they had different ideas. Go to a different stylist, maybe even in the same salon. Maybe ask to talk to the owner. See if the owner if they do hair could offer you some advice. I mean, don't get upset. Please. Don't go in there with an attitude but I know it's hard not to, because you know it is your hair, it's how you feel about yourself. But try to go in there realizing that the hairstyle is human and it's usually just miscommunication and it's usually fixable. But if you go in there hot headed and I'm going to tell them off and how dare them? And all that stuff that doesn't solve anything. All that does is it makes it so. You know the hairstylist doesn't want to help you. I mean again, they're human. What if somebody was coming at you with guns blazing? Right, you probably get pretty defensive too. Sometimes.
Speaker 1:
A bad haircut you could just style it differently. Yeah, try a different style. Make it purposeful, intentional. If it doesn't look good, smoothed out, maybe curl it. Yeah, just try different styles. It will grow, it'll grow back. Hair does do that. It does grow about half an inch a month. So keep that in consideration. You can take things like biotin. You can use shampoos that have some like stimulating menthol, peppermint, caffeine whatever product they have in them. It'll help your hair grow a little bit faster. A little bit. Yeah, experiment with different hair products mousses, gels, hairsprays, clips.
Speaker 1:
Maybe you need to buy some cute little bobby pins or clips and then, if you really do feel strongly like like the stylist just did not do their thing, leave a review. Make sure it's honest, make sure you're not too cruel. Um, if you leave a mature review and say, hey, it could have just been a miscommunication thing, I asked, you know, for half an inch cutoff and they cut off four inches. I've seen that happen. It happened to me once. Just be honest, be very factual in your review and that way what you're doing is you're helping the owner of the salon, because they see the reviews, and you're also helping other clients who are looking for a place to go, because if they're feeling like you and they're feeling like you know, a little bit nervous because it takes courage to see a new hairstylist If they're feeling a little nervous, your review is going to help them with deciding where to go, and maybe they do decide to go see that hairstylist.
Speaker 1:
It's going to help them say, hey, maybe I need to be a little bit more clear with what I want. Maybe take more pictures in with them, create a Pinterest page. Pictures speak a thousand words. And don't go into a hair salon and say, hey, I want a bob, because a bob can mean a thousand different things. So get some pictures of what you want the length you want, the movement you want, maybe the color you want, maybe cover up the face of the picture, cause sometimes it's the face we want, not the hair, and I'm being serious, I've done that many times and it gives you cover up the face and you're like, oh, I don't really like that hair and I'm being serious, I've done that many times because you cover up the face and you're like, oh, I don't really like that hair Uh, I'm kidding, but um, but yeah, I mean make a Pinterest page and then take that into them and then tell them what you like about each picture, because each picture is going to represent something else Maybe it's the highlights, maybe it's the face framing, maybe it's the length and then ask them questions like what do you think I've got fine hair that I wear curly sometimes and I smooth it out with a round brush sometimes. What do you think would look best on me? And then take their professional recommendation. If you like what they're saying, okay.
Speaker 1:
So what if you go in and you're getting your hair colored and, whoa, it is not what you wanted. Maybe you went in for a balayage and it turned total brassy or who knows? There are so many things that could go wrong with hair color. There really are. I mean, so say, you went in for hair color and you are not happy with it. You get home and I'm not saying that kind of unhappiness where you love it in the salon and then you go home and your significant other doesn't like it. So then you don't like it. Don't tell me you haven't been there before. That used to happen all the time. The client would love it in the salon, just feel like a hundred bucks, and then they would go home and then, like three hours later, they would call and say I don't like it. What you know what happens is they go home and their husband is like you spent that much for that, what you go, get your money back. That happens, I kid you not. That happens all the time. So really they do like it. They just don't like arguing with their husband, which is a shame, right? So what can you do? If you don't like your hair color? Communicate with the colorist, communicate with your stylist, express your concerns and politely tell them the reasons why. Maybe it needs a little bit more tone. Maybe it needs the highlights need to be broken up a little bit. Maybe it just needs some really, really micro highlights to break up the strong bands of color. I don't know.
Speaker 1:
Making all this up, a lot of salons, within the first few days or so, first week or so, will offer complimentary fixes. We used to have a stylist who used to always say go home, play with it. If you don't like it, come back in, I'll fix it. No, if you're a stylist, don't say that. But you can say, hey, I guarantee everything. Go home and even if they love it, say hey, when you're playing with this at home and if there's anything you don't love about it, you let me know. Don't say we fix everything. I mean, yes, you want to fix it. You want your client to be a happy camper, but there's a way to frame the verbiage. Anyway, I hope you know what I'm trying to get to.
Speaker 1:
Most reputable salons will guarantee their work a hundred percent. Even if it was two or three weeks later, I would always guarantee it. I would always guarantee it because that's your reputation walking around out there. Plus, you want that guest to be happy with you and with your salon, no matter what. I don't care if they went home and they tried to take matters into their own hands this has happened and went to Sally's and bought a toner to try to do it themselves and then complained that you did it. Yeah, that's a fine line. That is probably a salon is going to say look, I have your formula right here. What you have on your head right now is not what I did. So tell me what did you do to your hair. Then they might do a discounted kind of thing just to get you back into a place that you feel good about.
Speaker 1:
If it's a reputable salon, they're going to want to make sure that you're happy, no matter what End of story. Then you've you've communicated with the colorist. So request a color correction. Yeah, you can do that. So request a color correction. Yeah, you can do that.
Speaker 1:
Ask them to please fix this, please. You know, if there's like noticeable flaws, like bleed marks, oh my gosh, fix that. Those are easy to fix. And a bleed mark is when you do foils and the lightener expands in the foil because the heat of the head or they got the lightener too close to the edge of the foil and it expands and it bleeds out of the foil packet and then it leaves this. Really, it almost looks like a tiger stripe on your scalp. Those are super, super easy to fix.
Speaker 1:
However, your stylist should fix that before you even leave the salon, because when they're shampooing your hair, they can see that, and if they can't see it at the shampoo bowl, they can definitely see it, when they're blow drying your hair and they they should not try to cover it up, they should just be honest and all they have to do is stop what they're doing and say you know what? I want to fix this while you're here. It'll take me three minutes and all they have to do is go get a demi-permanent color, mix it up a little tiny like this much the same color as your root color and put it right on the root, blend it down a little bit, let it set five minutes and they don't even have to go back and shampoo you. They should, but they don't have to. Like, if you're pressed for time, yes, they should shampoo you, but they can use a water bottle and squirt it off and soap and get it off of there and then water bottle and rinse it If it's just one little spot.
Speaker 1:
I know I'm rambling about bleeding color, but people ask me that. Stylists want to know how to fix it and clients want to know why it happens, because it shouldn't happen. It takes practice as a stylist, practice and knowing what you're doing, but it takes a little bit of time. So most salons offer a discounted color corrections within certain amount of time. So just ask the salon, say, hey, I'm not happy, what do you, what can you guys do for me? Or consider a different stylist or a different salon. Maybe this stylist you were seeing they're not communicating, they're not seeing what you're seeing, maybe they don't have the skill set, I don't know.
Speaker 1:
If you just really, after you've discussed your concerns and you're not happy, you're feeling like you're not seeing eye to eye or they something you know. You know, when you're having a conversation with somebody, go to a different salon, you might have to pay for it, you probably will have to pay for it. But if it's that atrocious, you know you don't want to walk around feeling yucky. There are some temporary things you can do, like if you can't get in for a while, so say, yeah, I could see you, but not for another two weeks. There are some temporary things you could do. You can. You could do like color depositing mousses or shampoos to really like tone it down just a little bit. If it's the tone that's bothering you, if it's regrowth, maybe there's a bleed spot or maybe they didn't get their highlights far enough up to your scalp, they have products that root touch up. That's like powder or sprays that you can use to just camouflage until you can get into the salon and then also just be patient.
Speaker 1:
Like I said, color is fixable, adjustments fixable, color theory fixable. It might take several appointments, depending on what the problem is. So say he went in somewhere and they over-processed your hair big time, like they left lightener on your hair too long and the ends are now spongy and they feel like crap and stringy. No honest hairstylist is going to put color on that. Okay, you're going to have to do some treatments to get the strength and the protein built back up in your hair. It can be done. It just takes some time. You might have to cut some of the ends off. It just depends on what the problem is.
Speaker 1:
And just make sure that the integrity of your hair comes first, always. You don't want them to do something. You definitely don't want to go in there and you know they just highlight it everywhere and they took you up to platinum, let's say, and it's not light enough. You don't want them to put more bleach on your hair. Your hair will fall off. It won't fall off, it'll burn off. The integrity of your hair is so, so important. I can't stress that enough.
Speaker 1:
Now let's just say that you're a stylist new or seasoned and you're a stylist and your client doesn't like what you did, it happens, oh my gosh, it happens more than you know, because it's hard. Hard, it's because it's all about communication and then it's. Then you have to apply your skill set, what you know when you know it, because, like I say, when you know better, you do better. Right, and not everybody has the same knowledge, and so you're. You have a stranger sits down in your chair. You've never met them before they bring you a picture. You don't their lifestyle. You don't know how they style their hair. You don't know.
Speaker 1:
I mean, you need to find out, but you need to listen and then you need to make good judgment with what's going on. So, as a stylist, it's just kind of hard. Plus, then you need to know the chemistry and the science and all that good stuff about hair color and angles for haircuts, and it's a lot. As a hairstylist, it's a lot. Most people might not think that, but it is. So the first thing you need to do if your client comes in and they're not happy with whatever it is that you've done, you need to listen. You need to listen to what they're saying. Hopefully they're not coming in screaming and mad and, if that's the case, you get a manager or the owner to help diffuse the situation, because there are Karens out there and sometimes they take you by surprise. You're just like, whoa, I didn't see that coming.
Speaker 1:
So if somebody comes in and they're unhappy, take them into maybe a private area and face to face and let them express what their concerns are. Why are they unhappy? What's not working for them? Is it the tone of the color? Is it too many highlights? Is the length not right? Is there not enough layers in their hair? Are they struggling with styling their hair? What is it? Let them talk, Then repeat what you heard. Say I hear you saying that you're really struggling with it flipping out. Tell me a little bit more about that. What are you doing? How are you styling? Do not blame it on them. It is not their fault and you need to apologize and acknowledge what has happened.
Speaker 1:
When we were in the salon, it used to drive me up the wall that stylists would blame the client's hair on the mistake. Well, I can't help it. Their hair's too coarse. Or I can't help it, their hair's too thick. I can't help it, they've got thin hair. That's just what's happened. No, no, no, no, no. That means you need to know better so you can do better, because hair is just hair, all right. So you need to let them know that you value their feedback and that you value them and you actually want to thank them for having the courage to come back in and letting you know because it does take a lot of courage to say something.
Speaker 1:
Most people won't say anything. They just won't come back in and letting you know because it does take a lot of courage to say something. Most people won't say anything. They just won't come back. I guarantee it. You just won't see them again and you'll be like what the heck? I thought I thought they liked it. No, no Again. You want to apologize? Say I'm so sorry this happened. Don't say I'm sorry about me. I'm sorry this has happened.
Speaker 1:
Let's see what we can do to correct it and then offer a solution. Come up with something. Whether you show them to style their hair different, whether you trim it up and do your best don't take off any more length if they think it's too short whether you tone it, whatever it is that you need to do, make them feel like and do some kind of an adjustment. Okay, so they know you're listening and that you need to do, make them feel like and do some kind of an adjustment. Okay, so they know you're listening and that you care about them. And then reassure them that this is the proper thing that they need to be doing. If something is wrong, ever, ever, every single time, maybe educate them on what they might need to do differently to achieve the success. So maybe, maybe, yeah, you put too many layers in their hair and now they're struggling with it to turn under. If that's the case, I don't know Educate them on what they can do to help them get the look that they want. Okay, and then follow up with them. This is huge, crucial. Okay. Thank them with them. This is huge, crucial. Okay, thank them, acknowledge them, reassure them, educate, make sure that they're happy and then follow up either the next day or the following day.
Speaker 1:
Don't let three days go by. Reach out, make a phone call or text, if that's your thing. I think a phone call is much more personable, but I get it. A lot of people don't want to talk on the phone these days, so just reach out and say hey, I'm just thinking about you and I just wanted to make sure that you're doing okay on your with your hair and thank them for being a guest, thank them for having the courage to come to you and let you know, and let them know that you can't wait to see them next time. That's how we build clients and that's how we build trust.
Speaker 1:
If you ignore your guests, or because people do it, people have reached out to me on my YouTube channel saying, hey, I didn't like what this stylist has done and I tried communicating with them like you tell us to do, and they ghosted them. Come on, don't be that person. Be a bigger person. And I know it's scary, I know it's scary. I have so many situations where brand new stylists and seasoned stylists I keep saying brand new stylists because I don't know.
Speaker 1:
I love brand new stylists they would get finished with a guest and they say goodbye, they would, and then they would high, tell it to the break room and just bust down in tears. It was the saddest thing. It always happens to every single stylist at some stage, usually more than once, because what happens is we give up ourselves and when we can't 100% make somebody happy, we feel it. I mean it's like a empath kind of thing, because we're touching the guest, because we're touching the hair, we feel the energy transfer just as much as the client feels the energy transfer when we touch them. So, yeah, many, many times a stylist would be in the break room just crying going I never want to do hair again. I didn't know what I was doing and whatever. And you know we'd have to pick them up and go come on, girl, you got this, you got this. When you know better, you do better. Right, make the best of your situation.
Speaker 1:
Hair is hair. It does grow and, who knows, you might find a new style that you didn't even think about before. But, most of all, communicate with your stylist. Stylists are people. Stylists have feelings. They're just out there doing the best. They know how to do with the tools and the knowledge that they have at the moment.
Speaker 1:
If you like the stylist as a person and you feel like your personalities are there, give them another chance. If not, there are a ton of salons. There are a ton of hairstylists who would love to have you in their chair, okay, and they are just waiting and looking for you, just like you're looking for them. I guarantee it. I guarantee it you will find them. Hope this has helped you in any way and again, I am not throwing shade to my stylist, because I love her and she's super, super talented, and it's okay. Just remember, when you know better, you do better. Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of All About Hair. Don't forget to subscribe to stay updated on future episodes and to continue your journey with us. If you have any questions, feedback or topics you'd like us to cover, feel free to reach out. You can find us on Instagram or our website at denisekeilitzcom. Until next time, remember when you know better, you do better.