14 People Whose Beauty Salon Experiences Were Anything but Beautiful

A trip to the beauty salon is often full of surprises, not only for the clients but also for the staff. From unexpected obstacles to unforgettable moments, these experiences can be as amusing as they are unbelievable. In this article, we’ve compiled 15 incredible stories from both clients and salon professionals, each one remarkable enough to fill a novel.

• I was getting my hair done at a salon today, just minding my own business. There was this woman, probably in her forties, sitting in the chair next to me. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to her, but then she kept looking in my direction and muttering, “Oh, poor girl, such thin hair!” Like... repeatedly. Not once. Not twice. Over and over. I tried to ignore it, but she just wouldn’t stop. At some point, I couldn’t stand it anymore, turned to her, and said, “I was born this way, not with a horse’s mane, so what? Should I shave my head and become a nun? You should educate yourself and have some sense of tact. Oh, poor woman, so old and so ill-mannered.”
  The whole salon went dead silent. She just sat there, completely stunned. But as I was leaving, I heard her whispering, “What did I say? Young people are so nervous nowadays.” Like, seriously?

• My local spa stopped taking my massage appointments, and I couldn’t get why — I tip well, I’m clean, and I’m a regular. Frustrated, I went to confront them. They reluctantly scheduled me with a new masseuse, but as I was preparing for the massage, I overheard an employee warn the masseuse, “Careful, this woman has a fungal rash on her back. Three staff members already caught it, and their treatment took weeks. Wear gloves when you’re working with her.”
  I was stunned. Without saying a word, I quickly got dressed and left. I never returned to that spa. Instead, I went straight to the doctor — and to my shock, I really did have a rash. Thankfully it wasn’t serious, and I am doing better now.
• My friend is a hairdresser and her biggest complaint is unrealistic expectations. People want to go from dark brown to platinum in one session, they want bright pink hair that never fades, or they want amazing rainbow hair from a heavily filtered photo on Instagram... © manlikerealities / Reddit
• I work as a makeup artist at a salon. The other day a girl came into our salon — she looked posh, was wearing expensive clothes, and was well-groomed. We discussed the makeup she wanted and I started to work. When it was time to do her lips, she suddenly bit my hand, jumped up, and rushed out of the salon. I just stood there confused and watching how she was running away. I had a whirl of thoughts in my head. Anyone I share this with starts to laugh their heads off when I tell them about it. There are so many different clients in the world.

• I went to get my nails done, and the nail tech took one look at my hands and went, “Oh, your nails are so small, just like children’s nails! I don’t like to work with such nails.” Like... okay? What am I supposed to do with that information? Grow new nails on command? I just smiled and hit her with: “Imagine you come to me for a depilation appointment, and I say to you, ‘Your armpits are so hairy, I don’t like to work with such armpits.’” She immediately shut up and just focused on her work.
• I work in a beauty salon as a nail technician. Once a MAN comes to me and asks to do false nails for him. Turns out, his little girl was going to have a birthday soon and the celebration was going to be held in the “I am a princess” style and even her father would have to wear a pink dress, have painted nails, and wear a crown on his head! It was the first time I’d had this type of request from a client.
• Client: “You didn’t study well, did you?”
  Me: “Mmm... No, why do you ask?”
  Client: “You are a hairdresser! There is nothing difficult to do!”
  Me *recalling all the time I spent on my studies, at my internship, and at seminars*: “Well, actually it’s not that easy...”
  Client: “Ok, ok! You all say the same thing! My neighbor took a 2-week course and started to work right afterward...” Blah-blah-blah...
  My thoughts: “I will not accept this woman as my client ever again...”

• I work as a nail technician. I start my work at noon. Once I got a phone call at 9 a.m.
  — Hi, do you remember that we have an appointment at noon?
  — Hi, yes...
  — Oops, sorry. Did I wake you up?
  — Yep...
  — What a sleepy head you are! It’s morning already! We have been waking up at 6 a.m. for our whole lives...
• My wife started spending money we couldn’t afford on massages, claiming it was for her mental health. Feeling desperate, I went to the spa to ask them to stop taking her, but the receptionist told me they hadn’t seen her in months. That threw me off, so the next day, I decided to follow her. Turns out, she wasn’t going to any spa at all. She was meeting a younger, muscular, Hollywood-type guy. Their body language made it clear — they were romantically involved. I trailed them as they went to a mall, where she bought him a few pieces of clothing.
  I was in shock. Not only was she being unfaithful, but she was spending my hard-earned money on him. I took photos and filed for divorce.
• I was in cosmetology school and just about to graduate. A woman came in and I was assigned to take care of her. She had long hair down to her waist. She came in with a picture showing me what she wanted to have done. It was a very short haircut and a very drastic change. I kept asking her if she was sure she wanted it that short. She kept telling me that, yes, that was what she wanted. So I did what she asked. I gave her the exact haircut that was in the picture. When I was done, she turned in the chair, looked in the mirror, and freaked out! She was crying, saying I ruined her beautiful long hair, refusing to pay, screaming at my instructor. It was awful. That experience ruined my hairstyling career. It’s too bad because I loved being a hairdresser, but that woman scarred me for life. © Barbara Klickstein / Quora

• I got an order for evening makeup, which was supposed to be finished by 7 PM. I did my work, but the client switched on the mode “I don’t like it, I won’t pay for it,” though she liked everything in the process. At some point, I wondered whether she was simply trying to cheat me.
  — Ok, don’t pay if you don’t like it. I will remove the makeup and that’s it.
  — What do you mean by “remove”?
  — You don’t like how you look that’s why I will return you to your initial look.
  Short pause.
  — Well, wait... in general, I think it’s ok. Let’s keep it as it is.
  She paid for my work. Later I learned from my colleagues that this client is famous for pulling these tricks, but no one had offered to remove her makeup before.
• Normally, I don’t work at home because I have a little kid, but today a client asked to come to my place. So I was doing her makeup and my kid (1.5-year-old) is walking around quietly. After we finished, the client left happy and satisfied. When I was about to start washing the brushes, I found out that my kit was missing 2 brushes, a highlighter, and a sculptor. I got confused, started to look for them around my apartment — they were not there! I had already said goodbye to them when I get a call from the client, “Hi, I found your cosmetic brushes, a toy car, and a diaper in my bag.” Turns out, my kind son decided to present gifts to my client.

• A few years back, this client comes in with jet-black hair and wants to go full-on ash white in one session. I explain, like any reasonable hairstylist would, that this is not happening in one go — best-case scenario, she’d get a caramel tone after the first round. She nods, agrees, we do the process, and she leaves seemingly satisfied.
  A few days later, she storms back in, absolutely fuming. Apparently, she thought caramel = blonde, and now she’s accusing me of making her a redhead. The receptionist pulls up our records proving she was warned. She leaves again.
  Five years later, she starts commenting on all my posts, still raging about how she “wanted to be blonde but got made a redhead.” Girl, please.

Beauty salons offer us the perfect opportunity to relax and refresh our appearance, but occasionally, the results can be surprising in ways we didn’t expect. Get ready for some funny stories of makeover mishaps as we explore the world of transformation fails.