We’ve all left a hair salon thinking ‘Did I really just pay for that?’ Though there are millions of fabulous hairstylists that can whip a kink into shape, there’s also a not-so-secret society of mane abusers. They’re stylists known for being overzealous with chemicals, hot combs and shears. Check out a few of the hilarious encounters of these EBONY.com readers.
CHOPPED & SCREWED
At the time, I requested that my stylist give me an asymmetric bob similar to Erica Campbell of Mary Mary. This chick cut one side of my hair into a shaggy mess like Dudley Moore and didn’t leave barely any length on the side that was supposed to be longer. It barely reached my chin! She also gave me an awkward Chinese cut bang and, since I am known for never really styling my hair, I walked around looking a mess for a week. Finally, my best friend took me to a real stylist and we salvaged what we could.
Brandy, 28, Indianapolis
TRUE LYES
I went to a hair school in LA for a basic blow dry and flat iron for my curly tresses. The student washed my hair and then proceeded to put on conditioner… or so I thought. She styled my hair and I was good to go. About four days later, I washed my hair and it was bone straight – no curl! I found out that the conditioner was actually relaxer! It was remarkable that I didn’t lose all of my hair, but I did have damaged hair for about a year and a half. It’s just now growing and getting healthy again.
Linda, 34, Atlanta
TEXTURIZED TERROR
I had been natural for over two years when my stylist suggested that I get a texturizer. She knew I had no plans to wear my hair in its natural state and that the humidity had become a nuisance as summer approached. She slapped the texturizer my head in May 2010 and I absolutely loved it. I still had a curl pattern and I could wear it straight. I kept the party going in November and got another touch-up. When December hit, something was wrong. I noticed a small spot of damage and asked my stylist about it and she shrugged it off as nothing. By March, the entire left side of my hair had broken off! I ended up cutting it all off and promptly switching stylists!
Shalisa, 32, Chicago
EXPERIMENTAL ERROR
It was my boyfriend's senior prom and I trusted my stylist to "try something new" with my hair. She had been my stylist throughout high school and styled my hair for the first prom I attended, so I felt pretty confident in her skills. This was early 2001, so she decided to create a sculptured ponytail and told me that I would “love it.” Absolutely not! The ponytail literally shot straight up to the sky like a tower made of hair. It had to be about 6-8 inches tall! It looked like a tall, frozen bird’s nest with holes in it. I showed up bawling on my best friend’s doorstep (my kitchen stylist) and she worked a miracle and fixed my style. That was just one of the many times she saved me in a hair crisis!
Janean, 28, Grand Rapids, MI
NATURAL NO NO
When I first moved to Charlotte, no one knew how to work with natural hair. I went to a salon and an assistant washed and conditioned me like normal, and set my curly hair on roller rods with regular ‘ol setting lotion. I think she assumed that it would dry silky. Um, no. When I was dry, I looked like a frizzy, horrible version of Betty White. It was so bad, she didn’t even charge me.
Allison, 27, Charlotte
