I went to Sakada at the beginning of the new year, had a nice Balayage, and cut with one of the stylists there. I returned to get a nice new look for date night; unfortunately, I had horrible service this time around. I did bring in a reference photo for inspiration. I was open to talking about colors if there was a need to. I was a golden blonde on the parts that were balayage from last time. After some discussion, Melia asked if I looked like the reference photo and if I would be happy. I said yes. The service started fine, but she didn't get a lift from my hair. She said she feared damage, but I don't know why she didn't do a strand test if that was the case. Either way, she went through it again, and this time, it lifted very yellow. I was pretty concerned when she was drying it and not noticing that it needed some correction. She kept saying there were light issues, but being next to a big window, I didn't feel that was the case. I asked her if we could put some toner or something to help it. She did this, but it left blue spots in my hair, and I felt my blonde pieces were inconsistent in tone and application. She styled me before I really had a chance to look it over and as we were over time she had me pay her. She gave me her card and kind of awkwardly said if I needed anything to contact her. When I got home, I looked at my hair closer, but it didn't look good. I went to straighten it to get a better look at the issues; it was apparent that this was a bad outcome. I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of honesty. I understand mistakes happen, but professionals note when things don't turn out well and schedule customers for a fix before leaving. I sent my photo to get an opinion and was advised this would need some big color correction. I do believe in giving people another shot if I think they can do it. However, I already made many comments of concern about the color to which I felt wasn't validated when it should have been. I also didn't feel we had enough trust if she let me walk out looking this way. My hair already went through a lot and I don't have the confidence that she has a solution to get me where I want. I did ask for a refund as I would need to pay for a corrective service. It's one thing if this was about a matter of taste, but this was technically a bad job. In a text, she said she didn't do refunds and would do a corrective treatment followed by recommendations of foils. I don't want foils; I want blended pieces. Right now, I have harsh lines in my hair that shouldn't be there. There was back and forth about whether she thought this was a good outcome and about consistency/patterns. I have had multiple balayages over the years, and I know what is expected, so it was pointless to argue further. At this point, I think the pictures speak for themselves. It sucks when things go wrong, but I would have hoped that it would have been acknowledged at the time of the appointment or at least in the end. I did get my tip back after I sent pictures to push my point further, but this experience was beyond disappointing. Lessons I learned: 1) These people are independent contractors, which means their work is not guaranteed. Make sure you discuss bad results and alternative solutions if they are not nailing the look they promised. A good stylist stands behind their work and cares about your happiness. If you have any doubt, go somewhere else. 2) Be your own advocate. If you are too shy to say something, go somewhere else that has a manager in charge. 3) Always tell them to do a test strand if they have any concerns about lifting or hair integrity. It's better to do a test than doing a service again and running out of time. 4) If you are in doubt, ask another stylist in the salon to come over and give feedback. That way, you will know if your concerns are valid. read more