SALON DISASTER - AM I DOOMED???

[kjeneen]

Ok, so after 20 weeks of strong stretching and growth, I decided to go to the salon for a touch up. Since I hadn't been to a salon in ages, I decided to ask around for a good haircare specialist and was given a referral by a good friend. So I made the appointment and went to see the lady. Long to the short of it I'm wondering now if she ruined my 5 months of progress. Here are a list of the no-no's she performed:


1. She used a no-lye relaxer (which I never use, but figured since she's the professional I'd trust hererplexed).

2. She used a micro-thin toothed comb (now, my hair is a very FULL 4a/b...but I'm still not trippin' since she's not pulling too much.)

3. She pulled it ALL the way through to about 1' from the ends (ok, even an amateur should know this is all types of wrong. I had no more than 2 inches of ng and with shoulder length hair this means that there's definitely some over-processing going on, so I pretended that I was burning :burning:so she would escort me right to the bowl.

4. She rinsed my THICK hair 2x...need I say more? Almost immediately after drying my hair my scalp started itching like mad. She asked me if I wanted her to oil it and I was like "no thanks".

I refused to let her do anything more from there including condition it and couldn't wait to get home. Once home I hit the shower with my neutralizer poo and wouldn't you know it, I could literally smell the half-washed out relaxer still in my hair. So I washed, and washed, and washed, then I followed up with a dc, afterwhich I saw some of the most tore up ends I'd seen in at least a year.

Now, even my pin curls look ridiculous because of these frizzy overprocessed ends. Last night, I even gave myself a light protein treatment using egg, EVO and condish followed by a ACV rinse. It helped but still no cigar.

HOW CAN I FIX THIS SO THAT I DON'T END UP BCing????

 

[TheQueenBeeMaya]

wow girl, i don't have any advice as i am natural. i just wanted to say that i'm sorry and i hope it gets better

 

[Divine Inspiration]

First, I want to remind you that YOU and you alone are responsible for your hair. Honestly, this is not the stylist's fault; it's your hair, and it's your responsibility to set appropriate boundaries to protect it. The FIRST time she did something you didn't approve of, you should have let her know. The fact that she is licensed means next to nothing, as witnessed by all of the jacked up heads that come to LHCF for relief from a stylist. I don't mean this as an attack - just as a helpful warning for future salon visits. Next time, let the stylist know prior to beginning EXACTLY what you want done and how you want it done. If she/he cannot or will not agree, then you move on to the next.

Second, I think you should relax and give it a week or 2 before doing anything drastic. Give your hair plenty of moisture over the next few weeks and consider doing another protein treatment in a couple of weeks. Sometimes ends just look ratty but need a week or two to return to normal. Be sure you saturate your ends with moisture in the coming weeks.

Third, you may not be able to fix it, depending on whether there was any damage done. More often than not, truly damaged ends have to be cut if you want the rest of the hair to remain healthy.

 

[ajacks]

I agree that you should have said something sooner, so you share some of the blame. But we have all made mistakes, so learn from this and move on. Give your hair the TLC it needs over the next few weeks. I am sorry you had such a negative experience.

 

[kjeneen]

tHANKS LADIES.

 

[The Princess]

When I go to the hairdresser to get a retouch for a relaxer, I make sure I load my hair up with conditioner/CHI silk infusion/ or some type of protection from the relaxer, therefore there will be no overprocessing go on with my hair. Cause no matter what, the hairdresser seems to always get relaxer on the rest of my hair, besides the NG.
Did you protect the rest of your hair? If so you will be okay,
Also did you chelete your hair, to get rid of the NO Lye calcium deposits?
Like one mention, just relax, for a min.

Im sure your hair will turn out fine. Just next time take preventive measures and you should be fine. Good Luck.

 

[MCMLXXII]

Wow. Here's a hug.

Experiences like this are just one of the reasons why I'm natural. Bad perminig experiences are the worst. And I'm not going to "e-beat-up-on-you," but I wouldn't have let her slather the chems all the way to my ends.

The coming days will tell if you suffered any hair loss. Try a serum on your ends (Aveda Brilliance) to see if that helps but they're toast, you'll need to trim them.

HTH

 

[brownelovely]

First, I want to remind you that YOU and you alone are responsible for your hair. Honestly, this is not the stylist's fault; it's your hair, and it's your responsibility to set appropriate boundaries to protect it. The FIRST time she did something you didn't approve of, you should have let her know. The fact that she is licensed means next to nothing, as witnessed by all of the jacked up heads that come to LHCF for relief from a stylist. I don't mean this as an attack - just as a helpful warning for future salon visits. Next time, let the stylist know prior to beginning EXACTLY what you want done and how you want it done. If she/he cannot or will not agree, then you move on to the next.

Second, I think you should relax and give it a week or 2 before doing anything drastic. Give your hair plenty of moisture over the next few weeks and consider doing another protein treatment in a couple of weeks. Sometimes ends just look ratty but need a week or two to return to normal. Be sure you saturate your ends with moisture in the coming weeks.

Third, you may not be able to fix it, depending on whether there was any damage done. More often than not, truly damaged ends have to be cut if you want the rest of the hair to remain healthy.

ITA...I just talked about something similar to my stylist yesterday pertaining to why don't people speak up when they don't feel comfortable about something the stylist is doing. Although she asks me if I'm okay occasionally....she also STRESSED TO ME to tell her if anything was wrong.

 

[Chevelure618]

Every single thing she did was wrong. But I have been fooled by "tore up" looking ends after a long stretch. They may not be tore up, just having grown uneven and then with the pulling of the relaxer through to the almost ends, it made the ends look even more uneven. I would just deep condition for a few weeks....I'd say 3 weeks to let the hair plump up again, then reevaluate. From then on I would DUST IT MYSELF.

I am guilty of some of the same trusting things you did. I am back at APL because I got trimmed. But I do have to say that it is full APL now, and that the other part of the relaxing process he did to a Tee.

Don't beat yourself up, like I am doing to myself right now, and next time just say "I'm sorry, but that relaxer just does not work for my hair" , and then say "Please shampoo 4 times"...If she doesn't, all you can do is what you did...go home and rescue your own hair, with your unlicensed self, who knows more than her licensed self.

Just DC. Don't cut anymore. Hugs

 

[brownelovely]

Good luck too you! Sorry you had that experience...I've sat back in the past and dealt with things I didn't care for but girl voice your concerns openly!! Hope everything turns out okay.

 

[smwrigh3]

I sorry to hear wat happened.. I agree.. WAIT IT OUT AND SEE IF U CAN NURSE SOME OF YOUR HAIR BACK TO HEALTH!

 

[peppers01]

At least you know the do's and don'ts of relaxing and was able to get her to wash it out sooner. Sounds like she was gonna let it stay in there longer. That's first. Secondly, take the advice of these seasoned hair pros and nurse your hair back to health. I know it must be devastating to have strectched that long, and have those kinds of results. Stretching really takes patience and care, to see results. IMO if you self relax, just do that, and if you want a salon style, go there just for that. But I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to see another salon.

 

[girlcherokee]

girl if i had a penny for everytime my hair got busted up by a stylist.....
i think you had great recovery - you got her to get it out soon by saying you were burned and you had the good sense to go home and properly wash the stuff out of your hair instead of lettign it continue to fry your hair. i think you can probably save most if not all - because awhile ago, long before LHCF i self permed(this was after a stylist busted it up and i refused to go back) and forgot to buy neuatralizing poo - bad - i know, and then i left town for a funeral - so i am not sure if my hair ever got neautralized - it was really damaged but i did not discover lhcf for atlease another year after this and i still had hair on my head - most of which was salvageable - once i began to take care of it, it did respond and i basically had to cut because of uneven hair that broke before i knew how to care for it. so good save - give it a few weeks of deep conditioning and tlc and see how it responds - cuz trust me it could have been far worse.

 

[hopeful]

You are not doomed! Don't say that, okay? Listen, hopefully you learned from this mistake. For now focus on babying your hair. Give it few months before you do anything drastic. And even if you have to do a major cut, it will be okay. It will grow back, thicker and longer than before. Think positively about yourself and your hair.

 

[MizzBrown]

Did you pay her? Did you express to her at the end of the appointment that you werent satisfied or did you smile and leave?

I say this because if u dont tell HER(not us) then she will do it again to the next client or to you.

How can you correct someone if you never told them they were wrong?

 

[kjeneen]

Every single thing she did was wrong. But I have been fooled by "tore up" looking ends after a long stretch. They may not be tore up, just having grown uneven and then with the pulling of the relaxer through to the almost ends, it made the ends look even more uneven. I would just deep condition for a few weeks....I'd say 3 weeks to let the hair plump up again, then reevaluate. From then on I would DUST IT MYSELF.

I am guilty of some of the same trusting things you did. I am back at APL because I got trimmed. But I do have to say that it is full APL now, and that the other part of the relaxing process he did to a Tee.

Don't beat yourself up, like I am doing to myself right now, and next time just say "I'm sorry, but that relaxer just does not work for my hair" , and then say "Please shampoo 4 times"...If she doesn't, all you can do is what you did...go home and rescue your own hair, with your unlicensed self, who knows more than her licensed self.

Just DC. Don't cut anymore. Hugs

OMG....{HUGE HUG to Chevelure618}.

How a question for advice with a little background turned into a lhcf jump, is beyond me. All I was asking for was ADVICE ON HOW TO MOVE FORWARD and I get a string of "IT'S YOUR FAULT, DEAL WITH IT!!!" What happened to being SUPPORTIVE of one another???

I was just sharing my experience, along with the emotions that came with it...but obviously, it was not for ALL to hear, especially those with unsympathetic ears who have grown so far past these stages that they no longer remember what the early days of growth and disaster were like~

 

[kjeneen]

To all who actually offered ADVICE....Much luv and big hugs!

 

[girlcherokee]

kjennen,
i feel you.... sending you a cyberhug
just know that i have been thru far worst and not so long ago - and unfortunately i didnt have LHCF to turn to.... no advice... no slaps on the head either - i was just out there to figure it out alone. accept the advice .....and those who admonished, i do believe meant well as well - maybe in a sort of tough love sort of way. i wish you the best with your hair, and yes please dont make any rash decisions with it, just show it a bit of love and i believe you will be just fine.

 

[Platinum]

Sorry to hear this happened, OP. We all make mistakes but atleast you were smart enough to go home and neutralize again. Your hair may have ended up in worse shape if you hadn't. You may want to try a mild protein treatment. Do you cowash? If not, try that. You may want to try DCing frequently.

 

[Your Cheeziness]

I'm so sorry this happened, but this is a story to testify that we MUST speak up for ourselves b/c we are paying for a service and only we have to deal with our hair on a daily.

But to answer your question, I would do a deep protein treatment on your hair with some sort of reconstructor followed up by an intense moisturizing treatment. I would do this weekly for the next few weeks and if your ends look janky and split, trim.

And most of all take this as a lesson learned.

And give this to your friend who recommended her

 

[kjeneen]

Sorry to hear this happened, OP. We all make mistakes but atleast you were smart enough to go home and neutralize again. My hair may have ended up in worse shape if you hadn't. You may want to try a mild protein treatment. Do you cowash? If not, try that. You may want to try DCing frequently.

Right back at cha, Platinum. And yes I do cowash and did one just a day or so ago. My hair really enjoyed it, so I think I will keep the ends moisturized and just keep them protected until their nursed back to health. But I'm wearing a pin curl style today and getting mad compliments. Only one woman mentioned my hair looking a little frizzy in the back, but she just advised me to have someone else pin curl that section the next time. Other than that, it looks like I'm good...CRISIS OVER:crossfingers:

 

[Your Cheeziness]

Right back at cha, Platinum. And yes I do cowash and did one just a day or so ago. My hair really enjoyed it, so I think I will keep the ends moisturized and just keep them protected until their nursed back to health. But I'm wearing a pin curl style today and getting mad compliments. Only one woman mentioned my hair looking a little frizzy in the back, but she just advised me to have someone else pin curl that section the next time. Other than that, it looks like I'm good...CRISIS OVER:crossfingers:

Dang, I was looking for that big hug smiley for you. Oh well! I'm glad your hair is looking better. But keep an eye out over the next few weeks. You'll really start to see if there is other damage done. Keep us posted! I think there are too many ladies that experience this and following up on how you kept it in check would be a great reference.

 

[PGirl]

Believe it or not I have done much worse to MYSELF! I colored my hair and relaxed myself years ago and my hair came out in clumps. I had to BC!!!! And I didn't even know what a BC was back then!

Girl, I know it's easy for us to say "You should have spoken up" but it's really hard when you are faced with the situation. I have been the one sitting there in the chair squirmming because the stylist was doing something that I didn't like. For some reason I couldn't get my mouth moving to tell her because I didn't want to create a bad situation.

You did the right thing by going home and neutralizing. Just give your hair love everyday and you will be fine. If you use another stylist, find someone you feel comfortable talking to, so that you can openly express your needs. If you can't find one, then just learn to self relax like I finally did. LHCF is here to help you learn. I try to stay away from any scissor happies...

Good luck to you and your hair!!

 

[Lucky's Mom]

I am so sorry this happened to you..... I know that after ten years being relaxer free....and 20 years of hair horror stories before that.... I can never ever trust a stylist again...


Sheesh....If I go to a Braider - I have a setback. No Thanks.... I cannot trust them, and I won't.

Good luck you. At least you knew to neutralize.

 

[LovelyRo]

So sorry you experienced this! I agree with others posters... DC with a mild protein (weekly) if your hair can take it. And you might want to do a hardcore protein treatment every 6 weeks. Watch your hair very closely! Be as proactive as you can!!!

 

[kjeneen]

Believe it or not I have done much worse to MYSELF! I colored my hair and relaxed myself years ago and my hair came out in clumps. I had to BC!!!! And I didn't even know what a BC was back then!

Girl, I know it's easy for us to say "You should have spoken up" but it's really hard when you are faced with the situation. I have been the one sitting there in the chair squirmming because the stylist was doing something that I didn't like. For some reason I couldn't get my mouth moving to tell her because I didn't want to create a bad situation.

You did the right thing by going home and neutralizing. Just give your hair love everyday and you will be fine. If you use another stylist, find someone you feel comfortable talking to, so that you can openly express your needs. If you can't find one, then just learn to self relax like I finally did. LHCF is here to help you learn. I try to stay away from any scissor happies...

Good luck to you and your hair!!

AMEN!! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about....show a sista some love!!!!

PGirl,I appreciate your feedback, as well as that of others! i am new to this board, so i was really thrown by the initial reaction to my thread. But now I am delighted to see that there are some sisters on here who really care about PEOPLE and not just strands of hair.

The stylist was new to me too, plus I was really pressed to do something to my hair for the weekend....so I guess you can save that my haste did make waste. Next time, I plan to take the time to do a lot more research early on to prevent from feeling left in a bind at the last minute.

 

[kjeneen]

Dang, I was looking for that big hug smiley for you. Oh well! I'm glad your hair is looking better. But keep an eye out over the next few weeks. You'll really start to see if there is other damage done. Keep us posted! I think there are too many ladies that experience this and following up on how you kept it in check would be a great reference.

There's enough for everyone!!! Thanks~

 

[wheezy807]

Seems like the ladies gave you great advice. I'm sorry that happened to you. We live and we learn. Best of wishes!

 

[Misshairdiva]

I'm so sorry that happened to you. But, I do have three words of advice: AVEDA DAMAGE REMEDY
Even though this product is VERY expensive, its the ONLY product that turned my hair around. I am sure there are others in here who can testify to Aveda Damage Remedy Treatment!

 

[Mook's hair]

***Grrrrrrrr to bad stylists and their cursed errors*****
Grrr I say!!!!
I remember when I used to go to stylists, the bad experiences and that sense of what have and done and how can I fix it.

First rest assured that hair is very resilient. It can bounce back in most cases. Reading your story, It's good that you got her to rinse the relaxer out as early as you did, and then high tailed it out of there to go neutralize yourself.

How long would you say the relaxer was on there before she rinsed it?
Hopefully it didn't process very long.

If you give yourself a decent trim and work on your protein & moisture balance fro a few weeks you should be able to improve the problem. You may also want to try the Roux Porosity control from sally's.

Did your New growth get straight? if not, then wait about 6 weeks and do a corrective. But moving forward, just make sure you coat the relaxed areas with something to protect them. can you show us pictures?