That time a perm went VERY wrong on a new client last Thursday

I had a new client come in wanting tight ringlet curls, but after 15 minutes her hair started feeling like cooked spaghetti. Turns out she had been using a keratin treatment 3 weeks before and never told me. I had to immediately neutralize and spend 2 hours doing a deep protein treatment to save her hair. Has anyone else had clients hide what they've done to their hair and then blame you for the disaster?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige3312d ago

oh man this brings back memories. i had a client last year who came in wanting a bleach and tone. she casually mentioned using box dye a few months ago but said it was fine. twenty minutes in her hair was literally melting in my hands. pieces were breaking off. i had to stop everything and do a protein soak for almost three hours. she tried to blame me too even though i asked three times about previous treatments. some people just don't get that we aren't mind readers. you ask and they lie then act shocked when things go bad. it's so frustrating when you try your best and still get blamed.

simonp761d ago

Honestly, is it really that serious though? I get that hair is fragile and all, but melting in your hands sounds like an exaggeration. Like, unless you were using industrial strength chemicals, a little box dye from months ago ain't turning her into a science experiment. Tbh, maybe the bleach was too strong or the timing was off. Clients can be clueless, but sometimes we gotta own our part too.

cole_baker4h ago

@paige331 that's brutal and I get it, but here's something nobody's mentioning. What if the box dye had metallic salts in it from years ago? Those old school box dyes from like 2015 had stuff that basically turns your hair into a ticking bomb when bleach touches it. I've seen hair turn into literal gumbo in bowls before because the client was using a dye that was older than their kid. So yeah, maybe the stylist didn't ask the right questions about the timeline of that box dye. Three months ago is different than three years ago and people don't think to mention it.