7 Quirks From Beauty Salon Clients That Can Annoy Even the Calmest Beauty Professional

4 years ago

The story of someone asking for a trim of 3-4 inches that ends up getting way more cut off seems familiar to every girl. In all honesty, every client has left the salon feeling disappointed at least once in their life. But at the same time, there are ways in which we behave that can upset the hairstylist just as much.

We at Bright Side thought that reading about these nuances could help both professionals and beauty salon visitors to understand each other better and get great results. Plus, there’s an interesting bonus feature waiting for you at the end: stories from hairdressers and their clients that prove how some people have an enormous amount of patience.

1. Not voicing your wishes

When a client visits a beauty salon not having a clear idea of what they want, both the client and the hairdresser take a risk because the result could disappoint both of them. The way the professional envisions your style can greatly differ from what you desire.

That’s why it’s better to save the looks that you like on your phone beforehand or search for them together with the professional before starting the procedure.

My friend was taking educational courses from one hairdresser. So a long-haired client comes in and asks to be served specifically by this professional. He invited her to the chair and asked what haircut she’d like to have. She replied, “I trust your sense of taste.” That’s when everything happened. The hairdresser made a ponytail and cut her hair off at the root. The client almost had a blackout while the hairdresser said that he found it to be trendy and beautiful. © crazzzy / parikmaher.net
A woman came into our beauty salon and at first glance, she seemed conservative to the core. She said, “I want to change drastically. Please make me beautiful!” The hairdresser did her work perfectly — the result looked gorgeous and trendy with a stylish haircut and style, nothing glitzy. But the client who was used to wearing perms and bouffants simply couldn’t perceive herself in the new look and everything ended up being a big drama. © Bagira7611 / parikmaher.net
I work as a hairdresser. When I ask clients what haircut they would like to get, they answer, “A beautiful one” or “You’re the master, you know better.” I actually like green Iroquois, I’ll do one for you now! © Psycho007 / Pikabu
I am a nail artist. I get extremely tired of clients who take a long time choosing the color they want. When I get them multiple color samples they say, “So many! I don’t know what to choose.” When I bring several color samples, they ask, “Is that all?” Eventually, after going through all this choice torture, I listen to their comments: “It’s not the way I wanted!” If I ask, “What exactly did you want?” they answer, “I don’t know.”

2. Interfering with the process

Sometimes beauty salon visitors give recommendations to their hairdressers on how they do their work. All because they’re used to doing so at home or saw how another professional they visited in the past has done things. Some people take the tools from the hairdressers’ hands and try to do things themselves.

It’s important to remember that a person giving a haircut, a dye job, or a manicure studies the art for years and are constantly working to improve their skills. When interfering with the process, the client only increases the risk of getting a bad result.

Sometimes I get clients who watch bloggers a lot and learn special words from them. Once my client said, “Please make me up with a cornichon because makeup foundations don’t match my skin.” I wondered whether she was talking about cucumbers. Finally, I realized that she meant cushion (an aseptic sponge soaked in liquid makeup foundation).
“I myself can do it 100 times better.” When hearing such phrases I feel that the money I spent on my special education and good tools was all in vain. It wasn’t necessary to attend those educational seminars and watch videos in order to find new techniques. I simply ought to give up on my work, it’s not worth it. I breathe in chemicals, spoil my own nails, develop allergies, and after each haircut, I have to get that nasty hair out of my fingers (because they prick them). Next time, I’ll visit this client and she can do everything herself and 100 times better! © MuhoZhuk / Pikabu

3. Giving false information

Oftentimes, a specialist will ask their client questions in order to understand how to perform the service in the best way from a technical point of view. For example, the hairdresser may ask whether the client dyed her hair at home or in a beauty salon, what hair care they use, and when the last time they got their hair cut was. It’s important to answer frankly, like when meeting with your doctor, in order not to get an unexpected result that will disappoint you.

We ask in detail about all previously done procedures before dyeing your hair. Of course, not revealing any of the procedures that your hair had received earlier can affect the dyeing process drastically — that’s why you shouldn’t keep silent and tell us everything.
I had a client who wanted to go platinum blonde. I asked her what items she used during previous dyeing sessions, covered her hair with a special mixture, and asked the assistant to remove it when the time came. After some time, he came up to me looking quite worried and I realized that something was wrong. When I came up to the hair washing room, I saw that the lower 4 inches of her hair had turned bright green. I asked the girl once again what cosmetic items she’d used before. She answered, “Oh, I forgot, I dyed my hair with henna 3 years ago!” If you don’t want to get turquoise hair, be honest with your hairdresser! © notusha / Reddit

4. Refusing to wash your hair at the beauty salon

Many clients wash their hair at home and refuse to wash it again at the beauty salon. Some hairdressers believe that cutting such hair affects expensive tools adversely. In addition, the structure of the human skull is always unique to the individual, which means that the professional can find all the uneven areas and features during the washing process, which can help them give a better haircut that will look perfect. After washing the hair, the hairdresser will be able to divide it into zones which are also very important for the haircut. Moreover, this procedure disinfects the scalp and enforces the hygiene level in the salon to remain high.

My colleague: “Let’s wash your hair!”
Her client: " I don’t want to wash my hair. Do you think I’m dirty? I actually have shampoo and water at home.“
My client, “Hmm. What nonsense! Is it really that difficult? They come to the salon with dirty hair and refuse to wash it.”
Me: “Yep. It happens quite often. Let’s go and wash your hair!”
My client: “Why? I washed it at home!” © KateSova / Pikabu
It’s important to note that a hairdresser needs fresh hair for the best result. The minimum is the hair being washed in the morning, but the best option is hair that has just been newly washed. This is because the hair becomes more malleable when it’s clean, which lets the professional enjoy their work and keep their tools in good shape for longer. Many salons include a wash into the haircut price so you won’t have to pay extra. © MuhoZhuk / Pikabu

5. Not washing your hair for a long time before dyeing it

The necessity of washing hair depends on the type of coloring you’re going to have: modern hair colors are produced using a low percentage oxidizing agent and can be used only after washing your hair with a deep cleaning shampoo. But some professionals get tired of explaining to their clients that there’s no need to avoid washing their hair several days prior to the coloring session.

There’s a special category of clients who believe in this outdated myth — one should avoid washing their hair for as long as possible before dyeing it. Recently, I’ve asked a woman on a Friday when she washed her hair last. She answered, “Recently, on Wednesday.”

6. Signing up for a procedure and not turning up at all or turning up at the wrong time

Everyone encounters emergency situations when circumstances interfere with the things we had planned. In cases like this, calling the beauty salon and explaining the situation is more than enough. But there are other clients who ignore this rule and simply disappear without answering their calls. Sometimes hairdressers come to the beauty salon specifically for this client and spend a lot of time getting to work and preparing for the appointment.

Last time, one of my clients asked me to serve her at 7 am on the 31st of December and I agreed because there was no other time available. She wanted to get a pickling procedure, dye her hair, cut it, and style it. It was supposed to take a lot of time. I came to work at 6:30 am but the client never arrived. It was a good lesson for me. © Nikola-ru / parikmaher.net
My client was late for our appointment and I called her. She said, “I forgot the PIN code to my bank card and have been standing in front of an ATM for the last 15 minutes trying to recall it. I’ll call you in the evening and reschedule the appointment.” It seems she forgot about that too.© lisawow / beauty.net

7. Stories from beauty salon workers and their clients

I’m a nail master. I work in a beauty salon but sometimes my clients come to my home. It takes me a lot of time to do clients’ nails but I do it very well, which is why I get 3 times more money than other nail techs. How do I manage to do this? I simply let my clients sleep during our procedures. At first, we discuss all the details and I answer any questions. Then I get them a cup of soothing tea, put them on the couch, and create beauty while they sleep. I already have a big base of clients that all love my style of working. The amount of clients keeps increasing and I’m getting more and more money and plan to start my own beauty salon where everything will be working the same way. Am I a genius or what? © “Chamber #6” / Vk
So in comes a girl with gorgeous, thick hair that has a beautiful natural color and asks me to give her a bob haircut. I was shocked. I wondered why and her reply shocked me even more. Her friend said that she would look better with a bob and that long hair didn’t suit her. I convinced the girl that her friend was wrong. She thanked me and left as if she had been put under anesthesia. How can such people be called friends? © “Overheard” / Ideer

Bonus: A unique story of one client

Once I came into a salon and said, “Is there a way I could sign up for an appointment by text? Getting the deep bikini area epilated is a delicate thing, don’t you agree?” I was given their business card and they wrote me the phone number on it. One month later, I wrote to them and asked if I could sign up for a deep bikini epilation. Suddenly, I get the following reply, “Who are you?!” I answer, “I was given this number at the salon,” and sent them a picture of the business card. This is the answer I got: “I work in this salon (see the pic below).”