13 People Who Walked Out of Hair Salons with Truly Unforgettable Experiences

A trip to the hair salon is supposed to be a chance to unwind, feel refreshed, and maybe get a little confidence boost. But every now and then, instead of leaving with a glamorous new look, you walk out wondering, “What just happened to my hair?” In this article, we’ve gathered some of the most jaw-dropping, strange, and downright unsettling stories from people around the globe about their most unforgettable experiences in the stylist’s chair.

“Reference photo for the cut and the one that I got.”

• Fourth grade. My grandmother decided she was going to take me to the salon. I was so excited — my first beauty makeover. It was short lived. When I looked in the mirror I realized I looked like a younger version of my grandmother...complete with short hair and a tight golden girl style perm. My older siblings had a field day with the insults. © Roo514 / Reddit
• I had long hair, and it was a hot spring. I told my barber to cut it all off. I heard the clippers coming out. It was a disaster!
  I came home and the first thing my wife said to me was, “It’s Gump! Forrest Gump.” Thank God my hair grows fast. It was a painful but cool month. © badpuffthaikitty / Reddit
• The worst haircut I have ever had. My barber had retired; he was old, and it was a well-deserved retirement. But that left me with no place to get my hair cut. It had been a year, and I couldn’t stand having hair over my shoulders and in my face, so it was time to do something.
  I looked around for another salon, but nowhere had anything like what I was used to, so I gave up and went to the first chain salon I could find. The woman sat me down after a short wait and wanted to chat, but I just wanted a haircut and to get on with my day, which may have annoyed her a little. I had told her I wanted a basic cut, nothing fancy, just clean and professional.
  And what did I get? The shortest cut of my life. I went home and got a flush cut. © Taureem / Reddit

“Went to a new barber. Asked for my part to be cut in. SHE MOWED 1/2” STRIPE OUT OF MY HEAD!"

• A few years ago, my hairdresser, who has done my hair many times, did something very unusual for me: cut me at least 6 inches on one side and not so much on the other, and it was so uneven and weird. I was so confused! What had happened? I cried and cried.
  But the scariest thing was that a few weeks later, the barber went to the doctor and discovered he had a brain leak. I was one of several customers with strange cuts. One day he got lost in his own neighborhood and went to the hospital. I knew something was wrong. © Reyalla508 / Reddit
• I went to a new barber and asked her for a trim. She gave me a tight-lipped smile. Thirty minutes later, I looked in the mirror and gasped in horror.
  “You ruined it!” I shouted. She smirked and said, “Next time, don’t break up with someone over text.” That’s when it hit me — she was the sister of my ex. I paid and left in silence.
• I’m at a beauty salon, getting my hair color changed from dark to light. I was super nervous, thinking this might be the end of my hair as I know it. The stylist reassured me that everything would be just fine. While I was sitting in the chair, she spent about 10 minutes mixing something, then walked over and casually said, “Well, rest in peace!” My heart dropped — I nearly passed out! Turns out, she was talking to someone else in the room.

“He asked for this.”

• I was starting a new job the next day — this was 1997 — and I asked the barber to “just clean it up.” I walked in with maybe 3″ of normal-looking hair on top, parted on the left side, and he gave me one of those stupid Caesar cuts of the day and left huge whitewalls over my ears.
  I was so embarrassed, I almost didn’t show up for work. It was obviously very scarring for me, as I’m still horrified by the experience almost 30 years later. © twelveangryken / Reddit
• I went to one of those places in the mall just for a trim. The girl said, “Trust me” and pulled me away from the mirror. When she was done, my hair was at least 6 inches shorter, but up to 6 inches shorter elsewhere.
  I looked like I had been attacked by a brush cutter. I burst into tears. The manager came running over and was flabbergasted. The woman with the scissors, sacred, said, “It’s just a joke! She’ll look pretty with short hair.” I ran out of there.
  The next day, I covered my hair with a hat. A co-worker saw me and said, “My wife can fix it.” I cried again. I went to his wife at lunch. She called all her hairdressing students to see what a mess my hair was. She fixed it, but instead of my hair being waist length, it was chin length.
  Now, I don’t let anyone cut my hair until I’ve seen someone else’s hair cut. Even then, I’m afraid. Now I have it long enough to cut it myself. © gaelicdarkwater / Reddit
• My barber was out of town, so I went to a new one this time. And let me tell you, I walked into the barbershop, and the barber seemed distracted. And as soon as they started cutting, I could tell it was going to go south real fast.
  The haircut ended up being completely different from what I asked for — think of it as a cross between a botched DIY job and a bad 80s mullet. I tried not to panic the whole time! It was one of those situations where you just nod, pay, and get the hell out of there, all while wearing a hat to hide the disaster. © Cool-Tanjirou77 / Reddit

“Help! Horrible highlights.”

• I have the traditional male pattern baldness. My cut is a buzz on the sides, trim on top, and I part from the side. No comb-over, I am proudly bald.
  But apparently I failed to communicate this to a new stylist. I didn’t notice until I left because I can’t see without glasses, and after she styled my hair, it looked fine. But as soon as I got outside, the wind blew it up and I discovered the terrible truth.
  She left one side of my top untouched. Then she buzzed the other side (almost to the middle of the top of my head) and used the long hair to cover where she had just buzzed. I don’t know if she made a mistake or if she thought it looked good.
  I was pretty embarrassed. I demanded a refund and ended up having to shave my head. © efluxr / Reddit
• I went to see a mutual friend, a girl I had known for a few years from beauty school. But the “mutual friend” through whom we met and I had a bad end to our friendship. However, I trusted her to be professional because she had done my hair in the past. Big, big mistake.
  I asked for an inch cut, and what did I get? She cut off about 6–7 inches. I was DEVASTATED. It took me almost 2 years to get it back to the same length. 3 years later and it is still not as long as it used to be. © stephinatorr / Reddit
• I got the number of a beautiful girl and that night I was going to take her to the movies and a nice restaurant. I bought new clothes, new shoes, and planned to get a new haircut to impress her.
  Everything would have been fine if I had never met Tom. Oh, Tom... I went to his hair salon, which was near the mall, and it looked like an old-fashioned hair salon. The kind where they talk about sports and make jokes with the mayor or something.
  Tom waved me in and sat me down in a chair. I told him plainly what I wanted: a haircut. Tom was an older gentleman who looked like he had been cutting hair all his life. But no, Tom fooled me.
  The haircut he gave me made me look like Jim Carrie from Dumb and Dumber, except it was dramatically uneven in the back. © saltnotsugar / Reddit

“Worst haircut of my life.”

• I was once sitting in the hairdresser’s chair and suddenly saw a boy about 12–13 years old coming out of another room and sobbing like crazy. His haircut was good and neat. I couldn’t understand why he was crying. He looked good, and his haircut was also good.
  And then his mother ran up to him, tried to console him, and then called the administrator and the hairdresser. They came running and the boy’s mom yelled, “How did you cut my daughter’s hair? What does she look like now?”
  At that moment, I realized why she was sobbing that hard. She was wearing a hoodie and wide jeans, so I didn’t realize it was a girl at first.

A trip to the beauty salon is often full of surprises — not just for the clients, but for the staff as well. From unforeseen hiccups to unforgettable moments, these experiences can be just as hilarious as they are unbelievable.