I had been going to an Aveda salon in Carytown for about six months (after leaving a stylist I had been going to for almost 10 years) when they decided to raise their prices without telling me (found out when I went to pay that the bill was about $20 more than my appt. 4 weeks before). I decided I would try another salon. I saw that Ahead of Hair had received some good reviews, so I felt pretty comfortable about going there. I was still a bit scared about trying somewhere new, but the receptionist said I could come in about 10 or 15 minutes early for a consultation with my stylist (I saw Sheena). Great!
My appointment was at 11:30; I got there at 11:20. Despite getting there early, Sheena didn't greet me until my original appointment time. She asked what I wanted, and I said I was there for a color and maybe a highlight (my appointment was booked for overall color, but I wanted to talk about what we might do). She immediately discouraged me from doing a highlight (now I'm glad she did the way my color turned out!), saying it's a pain to keep up with. I'm wondering if maybe she didn't know how to do them. She also didn't show me any hair swatches, which surprised me since this was the first time I was at the salon. I thought, "Maybe she really knows what she's doing." She asked about the kind of cut I wanted. I brought a picture, and she thought it wouldn't work for me. She thought I should go for an angled bob. OK...I told her about some concerns I had: sensitive skin (use Retin-A), wavy hair that doesn't behave, especially on the right side of my head, etc. She said she'd be right back and went to mix the color.
I began to wonder when I was going to be given a smock so I wouldn't mess up my clothes. Before I knew it, Sheena was back with the color. She practically threw a smock at me and told me to put it on while I was in the chair. Huh? Usually when I go to a salon, I'm given a smock when I first walk in. Weird. I guess I was a bit discombobulated because I couldn't figure out how to put the smock on, so she had to help me.
I've never seen someone put on color so quickly in my life, and I've been getting my hair colored for a very long time. Once she was done, she moved me to another room where I sat for one half hour. She checked on me once (gee thanks), and then someone washed and conditioned my hair. I noticed they didn't pull the color through. Not sure what was up with that. Sheena came back and rinsed my conditioner and took me back to the chair. She gave me the haircut, which looked good when she styled it, but at the end of the appointment, she told me, "Well, that one side with the wave pattern is going to get on your nerves." Gee, thanks a lot.
At the time, the color and cut looked nice, so I made a follow-up appointment for six weeks; however, it's only been two weeks, and the roots are noticably LIGHTER than the rest of my hair. Also, the cut has lost its shape. It's a mess. Needless to say, I cancelled my appointment, and am going to try another salon.
Pros: Could get an appointment (now I know why)
Cons: Felt rushed, roots are lighter than rest of hair...bad!!
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