The day a client pointed out I was overworking their hair color

I had this regular client, Margaret, who comes in every 5 weeks for a root touch-up. For about a year I was doing what I thought was a thorough job - really working the color into every strand, saturating from root to tip. One afternoon she said something like "You know, it feels like my ends are starting to get dry and brittle." At first I thought she just needed a deep conditioning treatment. But then I started paying closer attention and realized I had been overlapping color on already-colored ends way too much. I had to admit I was basically cooking her hair every time she came in. Now I only apply color where it needs to go and I use a lower volume developer for her grays. Has anyone else had a client teach them a lesson like that? How did you handle it when you realized you had been doing a step wrong for months?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_robert1mo ago

Lol I read something online from a hairstylist who said clients can sometimes catch things we miss because we get into autopilot mode. I guess it's like how my buddy at the station kept overfilling the tank on the truck cause he thought it needed more, but the gauge was just wrong. It's easy to do the same thing day after day and not realize you're messing up. Props to you for actually listening to Margaret and changing your technique instead of just brushing her off. Most people would've just blamed the water or something.

wesley_grant331mo ago

Totally agree with that autopilot thing. Once you do something a hundred times your brain just checks out and you stop seeing the little details right in front of you. Good on you for being humble enough to take the feedback instead of getting defensive, that's harder than people think.