We all have our own share of worst salon stories. Capsule writer Vivien Beduya shares her most recent brow session mishap, along with other horror stories from our wonderful readers.
There’s nothing like HAVING to put your faith in a stranger than going to a salon – whether it’s getting your haircut, a massage or your brows waxed.
The moment you sit on the salon chair or lie on a massage table, you are at their mercy and you just have to trust it will all go great.
But life likes throwing a few curveballs our way, doesn’t it? So of course we don’t always leave a salon feeling hot as shit.
Maybe the hairdresser cut your hair too short, or dyed your hair the wrong colour.
Or maybe you’re getting your brows threaded and the new girl took too much off your left brow, and when they tried to fix it with a hybrid brow tint, you just walked out of there looking like Shin Chan. (True story!!)
But see, thing is, I could FEEL she was taking off too much. But did I say anything!? Absolutely not!
The people-pleasing, non-confrontational polite Kiwi gal in me would much rather stay quiet in the moment, smile, say thanks… Then go have a cry in the car.
Or at least in my case, waiting to get home for my breakdown and ugly-cry in the bathroom mirror as I tried to scrub and fix my brows.
I could hear my best friend laughing at me from a distance, saying “I mean, it doesn’t look so bad from here…”
Yeah, if you were two metres away from me!!! Yes, that’s HELPFUL.
Surely I’m Not The Only One?!
In the spirit of sisterhood (and bonding over our shared struggles, ha), I asked our Capsule readers their worst salon stories:
- A haircut that left me looking like Krusty the Clown
- I got the skin under my brow waxed right off. Hurt so much, scabbed, and said nothing 😭
- Brazilian wax was too hot. Burnt me, skin peeled days later… I didn’t say anything at the time 🤦🏻♀️
- I went to my regular spot, where I go for waxing as well as my nails and the occasional massage. My usual gal was away, so I had a new person for my bikini wax. Anyway, she shows me the room says she’ll come back when I’ve undressed. She comes back in and is a bit confused. I’ve got the top half of my clothes on obviously, and the towel on my naked bottom half. She says she’ll dip out while I take off my top half of clothing – bra too – and will be back. I’m so confused I take my jumper off, leave on my bra and she comes back in. After MUCH awkwardness we realise that she thinks I’m there for a massage, not the bikini wax I thought was happening. So embarrassing!
- A request for a lob (long bob) turned into an above ear helmet haircut. I cried for months.
- Postpartum, I got a pixie cut. I looked like Antonie Dixon and Paula Bennett’s long lost cousin
- Full nose pick from the person giving me a foot massage
- Consistent burping from the person giving me a back massage, not even subtle!
- I said I wanted a cut where I had some layers at the front. I normally wear my hair up and wanted some cute layers that meant my hair could be up with some fun little bits that would fall out and frame my face? I thought she got what I meant. She gave me a bunch of very long layers at the front and then layered the whole back of my head so it was SO SHORT. I could barely get it in a pony tail. It was like a reverse mullet? I looked insane. But I still said, thanks looks great, paid and left (and cried).
- During a Brazilian wax, she drops hot wax in my hair. I could feel her trying to pull it out subtly…
- I went in for curtain bangs, like long ones that kind of go to the side and she said yes yes. Then stood in front of me with the comb, picked up her scissors and started hacking. I had a big, blunt – and VERY VERY short fringe. I immediately started crying.
- I had to find a new salon when I moved to England during Covid, I asked them cut an inch off but they cut off three and gave me layers I didn’t ask for. I was devastated. I don’t like confrontation so I told them I loved it, left and immediately rang my mum and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
- My new hairstylist gasped when she brushed my hair back and said “what the hell did they do to your hair?” She showed me a picture and I almost cried. Tell me why there was a chunk missing off the ends 😭
- She kept cutting, and cutting, and cutting and made my hair way too short and it was CROOKED.
