First EVER colouring disaster... I feel sick

[scottydolly]

Ok guys here we go and im probably going to get rows from a few folk cos this is partly my fault. . .
Client came in today with around 2 inches regrowth and home dyed hair, which was a reddish brown colour, client wanted to go all over blonde in an instant ( u know the kind of client, expect miracles in one appointment and wont take no for an answer), so firstly i explained to her that she wasnt going to get the result she had hoped for as the picture she was portrying was all over BLONDE. . . so i told her that i would advise an incompatability test first for obvvious reasouns, which i did and it was all good, then after discussion wit my senior we both agree that the best service to offer was full head of bleach foils and lots of them. I pitched this idea to the client and also explained to the client that because she had a build up of colour on the lengths of her hair it was pretty definate that the colour may be a bit tangy and that it could take a few colours to get the result she hoped for. . she agreed and said just to go for it. . .
sooo all guns a blazin i went in armed with my 12% for the lengths and 6% for the regrowth (she a natural base4-5).. . so full head of foils and i mean their were HEAPS cos i wanted to put in as much as i could to get it as blonde as possible without an all over colour. . so after checking and checking and checking again i saw the colour get lighter and lighter, the rwgrowth was fully developed and i couldnt ethically leave itn the lengths any longer,. so it was rinsed. . .and then toned using 10/1 KOLESTON. . . and even after toning i was like oh ****. . so i proceeded to cut the hair which is still in good condition, and blow dry and half way through i could see the clients face cos it was just horrific, and i told her not to worry i was already thinkin bout what date she can come in to get a follow up appointment. so anyway the end result is like this 2inches pretty blonde and then bout 6 inches of hair getting graduaally darker and darker from peach to like burnt orange. . .
she is coming back on tuesday to get this sorted, she has told me she will settle for no less than blonde and wants the whole process repeated, i have explained the implications to the health of her hair, but she still is just like DO IT. . . so question is, what would you guys do here? re foil the whole head and tone again? im totally a wreck and have even cried cos i have NEVER had anything like this happen before, NEVER. . .gutted. . . HELP ME PLEASE. . . . ps sorry this took so long. . . x

 

[nora525]

how long is her hair?
The problem here is... if you go against the conditin of her hair and ti sill get ruined,then she may take a legal action, dish the name of your salon and do all sorts....
so if she insists that she wants it done, get your manager involved, graft a letter saying that the possible implications have been explained to her and put those into the letter and get her to sign it. That way you and the salon are both covered and there is no way on this earth she can take it legally any further. Personally, I would just stay firm and say no, the hair is not going to be able to do take it. if you slap the same again her hair will fall off.

 

[scottydolly]

thanks for the reply, i am so wound up, i really wanna please the client, and my manager has just said to rebook her in free of charge because she doesnt want to piss anyone of either. . . is their any advice u wud offer to get this blonde cleaner?

 

[minky]

Hi scotty dolly please dont get upset hun :hug: it happens to all of us at one time or another ,
and because you are in the actual situation it is a lot harder to think about it clearly ,

I think it will all be ok after some more lifting but before you go ahead you really do you need to talk to your colour / bleach helpline manufacture
because the product you used never took like the test pieces did
and they may know what caused it
they will also advise you hun :hug:

1, first of all you made her no promises ,
2, you followed all the test piece rules and the manufactures instructions and timings ect....
3, you told her that it will take more than a couple of goes for it to lift well

and because it may need some more step by step work done on it
she is ignoring your professional advice and wanting it done yesterday which just cant happen ,
but she still is trying to make you do something that may make things worse

So before you do anything to her hair
you must ring up the manufactures to see why
the product failed ?
as it could be due to something that is coating her hair ,

because as I said the test pieces that you performed
were fine ,
so what I would say to her is that we can go no further until I have discussed the issue with our hair colour manufacture department
as we need to ask them why the test pieces came out ok but some of the the hair in certain places did not respond in the same way ,
they may know what has been on your hair and they can advise us

and I would ring the colour manufactures and see if they can help in any way , I am sure they will scottydolly :hug:
now go dry your eyes stop worrying so much and have a wee night cap
you will feel much better after ringing the colour helpline :hug:

 

[scottydolly]

i didnt do test pieces (dont hit me) i did an incompatibility test, that was all, because i really didnt think it wud struggle to lift as badly as it did. . . thats why im kinda takin a large burden of blame, i jus wanted to check it wasnt gonna start a reaction wit some cheap box kit she has been using. . . i will try phoing up goldwell and asking what they think it was, but after that im still crappin it bout what im gonna do, should i go ahead and reapply bleach, someone has told me just to rebleach allll the hair i did today, but i was like shudnt i just bleach the peach and leave the roots wit conditioner painted on the foil in that area/ and they said no they wud jus go for it. . URGH i hate being a hairdresser today. . :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

 

[Beauty by Chell]

Hey scotty, i'm not a hairdresser (yet) but had to comment as i have been the customer in this case... i have naturally dark hair that goes burnt orange when bleached and i went to a salon and wanted blonde and NOW!!! I was a lot younger and after the first session the colorist explained the problem and explained how i could get my desired look in 2-3 sittings, i was mortified at first but she was very professional and had the salon manager over to arrange a discount and it all worked out good in the end!!

I hope it works out for you hun, don't stress to much and remember that you always have someone higher to call upon for advise. xx

 

[scottydolly]

thanks for ur reply chelz, i am just up to high doe, cos colouring is my thing that i love and it has never ever went wrong. i just dont want folk to think im crap now cos one thing went wrong. . and it was a big thing to go wrong to, im so glad the woman didnt have a night out tonight. . . x

 

[minky]

Hi ,well dont panic as her hair is not damaged
its just the shade

just get your boss to ask her to pop in before her appointment ,
tell her you need to test out the best product for the best possible lift
then do some test peices first with bleach and see how it lifts ,

then once you have done these peices you will know if it will lift ok ect

and by the sound of it if
it seems like it is in pretty good condition I think it will be ok

if it goes elastic then you cannot proceed ,
and you may have to offer her some light brown lowlights mixed in this will take the orangey look off the ends
or an all over light brown
but as it stands at the moment you have not damaged the hair at all
its only the shade that is not right yet but it will get there

so please do not be bullied into
doing it as blonde as you can as quick as you can as This may cause damage the hair ,
just stick to your plan and do what you told her
that you would lift it a bit higher each time and it may take a few goes
but with a little patience on her side I think it will be fine
and it only needs lifting on the mid length and ends ,
so you dont need to put any more lifting product on the roots again

but I would still ring the helpline up too :hug:

 

[scottydolly]

thanks minky, that genuinly made me feel a good bit better. . . and a ciggarette helped to, (BAD ME i am meant to be stopped). i just off phone to my colleague and we both agree on a course of re bleach the peach and then tone with 10.8 KOLESTON at the back wash for a good ten minutes if neccesary, and just avoid the root area. . . eek. . . well i will follow up on this on tuesday night after 10pm. . keep ur eyes peeled. any further advice from any posters most welcome . . . thanx u guys, GEEKS STAND TALL TOGETHER. . X

 

[minky]

Hi, yes do the necesary test peices
and just start at the darkest areas first
but dont put any more bleach on the roots at all as they could go white
:hug:
and the 10/8 looks nice just got my chart out lol x :hug:

 

[minky]

Hey scottydolly ,
its just the panic that is stopping you thinking it all through hun ,
and if she hadn't of bullied you
you would have been handling it all perfectly fine :hug:

If she had said to you thank you for doing this for me
and I know it is going to take a few goes before it will lift to a decent shade and I do appreciate you keeping my hair in nice condition
you wouldnt have felt bad at all ,
it is the bullying that has made the problem seem a lot bigger than it is
but dont worry ,

we have all been there with those demanding clients
and you will soon be feeling like your confident self again

:hug: minky

 

[Beauty by Chell]

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you hun... As a consumer i would be made up to know that my colorist (SP) was so keen to get my colour right that he was on a forum venting all this..... even if this one doesn't come out top notch then it will make you a better person for the future huni...... it's all experience... i hope one day that all i have to worry about is a complicated thing like this... i'm still grasping plaits at college. xx

 

[persianista]

Hi
I specialise in technical hairdressing, and one of my favourite sayings to clients is " you have to be realistic about what can be achieved with your hair".
Get her to sign a disclaimer before you start if you think yur going to wreck the condition.
may also be worth colouring the rest of the hair when you have the foils in with a light ash. will clean up a bit of the home dyed orange and improve the overall look without darkening the hihlights you have already done.

 

[natsel]

Hi scottydolly,
hope your feeling a bit better today , I do feel for you we have all been there at some point, I dont admit to be the best hairdresser in the world and Ive made mistakes but you have to believe in yourself you are a great hairdresser so please dont let this knock your confidence :hug:

personally I dont think it would be good to bleach the whole head because the parts you left out of the foiling will probably go the same colour , you need to ask the client to come in for a test piece on the blonde to see how they will come out after a second appilcation of bleach.

You did everything right in your first consulation by telling the client she wasnt going to get what she wanted in one sitting,

After the test pieces have been done and if all comes out ok, Just foil midlength and ends or where ever needed. Youve been giving plenty of good advice from the brilliant geeks here so you dont need my 2 pence worth lol , let us know how you get on and wishing you lots of luck, just remember if your unsure about anything ask your workmates/boss or even ask them to help if permitted with the appilcation of the foils just a thought anyway :hug:

 

[Zo Zo]

I have done one or two things that have made me cry and worry, but just remember, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger :hug:

When you think about it, the busier you get, the more services your perform, the more likely something is to go wrong... if nothing ever goes wrong, you're not working hard enough!

I am not a hair geek but if you don't mind me adding my two penneth, I would say the mistake you made (other than not testing) was letting the client bully you. If you had talked her through a plan of action that involved a number of appointments to achieve the look she wanted, and she tried to bully you and you resisted, and she then went to another salon and they went ahead and did what you did.... she would have had the utmost respect for you and the advice you gave her. Also, once she'd stomped off, you would have quickly forgotten about her whereas now... it's going to take a long time to forget about her.

None of us are perfect, and there is always a learning curve. It's very hard (and unprofessional) for you not to take the blame BUT if you can somehow let her know that you performed the service against your own advice to her, maybe she will have some inkling that she is also to blame :hug:

 

[jotommo]

hey! don't feel bad, she should of listened to your advice but as you kow some people just won't be told will they???
it is such a long process and is not gonna be perfect for a while especially if she has been using box dyes on it???? layering colour on colour time and time again!!!!!!
what the hell do they want BLOOD?????????
seriously you have nothing to feel bad for , she willl just have to wait for blonde she wants, and don't let it knock you down coz your have done everything right xx

 

[si_82]

Hi Scotty what bleach are you using? If your trying to lift color out with blondor its not gonna happen. Try Indola rapid blue bleach with 6 or 9% (never 12)and she will be proper blonde!! Iv never seen a bleach like it it gets chinese hair blonde seriousley!!

 

[scottydolly]

using goldwell dust free blue powder bleach and it was 12, but for the pending re-app its gonne be 9% me thinks, and i will watch like a hawk, she will be the only client im doing as i am only going in to specificallly do her hair. . i am feelin alot better today guys, i am gonna give it my all on tuesday, just gonna painstakingly weave out all the foils i did on saturday and redo every last strand, if it kills me. . . she will be better pleased if it kills me, and it wont be crystal clear and if she isnt happy i will just explain AGAIN, that i cant work miracles. . . lol. . . urgh x

 

[liana kay]

Hi , the important thing is to learn from it then it hasnt been a waste of time . Weve all done it , and you did get a second opinion from your boss. I would do it differantly than rebleaching im afraid! Id reapply to maybe half of the bleach with barrier and maybe 3% ( which you can reapply later using higher% if not taking ) and then maybe another colour to blend and cover the orange and peach, maybe something like 8/7 and then a semi on the rest . Obviously we cant see the hair , but if straightening and regrowth is gonna be a problem , then at least theirs only half the hair to worry about breaking , and if the bleach does comprimise condition and you have to rinse it off before its done , the the other colours will help disquise it with a cut .
Then the colour can be tweaked next time after a few conditioning treatments .
Dont worry yourself - its better for someone to be annoyed when you havent done that great a job rather than when youve done a fantastic job( but they cant see it)(or youve done your best but you feel just rubbish)

 

[scottydolly]

thanks for your advice lana, taken on board and after further consultation im just gonna lay it down in front of her and see, hopefully since she will have had time to reflect on the current situation, the prospect of not having it all gleaming blonde will not be as horrid a prospect as before, lets be honest, all of us would rather have good lookin hair than, lighter but mingin coloured hair. . x