And I will tell you why. I am sure we all have those salon or barber shop horror stories that we tell friends 
because we can look back and laugh about it now. However, we all know there was a time when it wasn't so funny. There's nothing like a jacked up fade or color and cut that go horribly wrong. I know because I have my own horror story (one of many). The good news is I lived to tell it.
It was circa 1995 and I had just moved to the other side of the country. I was new in town and didn't know a soul, let alone a good stylist. My hair was in dire need of a trim and color. I was a walking kaleidoscope with brown hair with cinnamon, auburn, and plum highlights as a result of long days under the sun. I needed someone desperately. What did I do? I got out the phone book (I wasn't on the WWW, so no I didn't go online). I flipped to a shop just ten minutes away. I immediately picked up the phone and discovered they could fit me in. I was surprised considering it was a 
Saturday afternoon. That was clue number one. When I arrived, I immediately thought of a hair academy. Wigs sat on mannequins and tracks were laid out everywhere: on chairs, tables and some even on the floor. That should have been clue number two. The whole place seemed cold and only one lonely soul was in the back getting her hair done. That was clue number three. I walked further into the salon and was greeted by a glowing, friendly woman named, yes, you guessed it, Cookie. She had two-inch long acrylics airbrushed orange, purple and black. She was wearing a black spandex cat suit that was screaming for dear life and I tried to ignore her hairstyle in hopes someone had done that to her and that she didn't purposely add twelve packs of weave to her scalp with orange highlights to match her nails. I know all these signs would have you running from the building but I stayed which should show you how desperate I was.
I accepted her invitation to sit in her chair (the ultimate commitment so there was no turning back) and proceeded to tell her what I wanted. I was there for a trim, a soft black to cover up the damage from the sun and some spiral curls for body. My hair was two inches past my shoulders so I had a nice picture of Hillary Banks' curly do ('Fresh Prince of Bel Air') in my head. The next hour is a blur. Maybe I blocked it out because it's just too horrible to think about. All I know is that after she applied the color, trimmed and curled it she pulled out a towel and began rubbing my forehead. I didn't say anything at first, but then she started rubbing harder, leaving a rash on my head. I finally spoke up and asked her, "Is there a problem?" "Well," she began. "You've got color on your forehead and I ain't got no color remover." I turned the chair around to look in the mirror and she was right. There was black color all over my forehead from her sloppy application but it was also on my ears, neck and smeared on my white shirt. I started shaking my head not believing it could get any worse but then I looked at what she had done. My hair wasn't just black it was blue! She had cut almost three inches off and what was left was curled tightly up to my ears. I wasn't Hillary Banks. I was Shirley Temple -- with blue hair. While I stared in disbelief at my reflection in the mirror, Cookie tried to convince me that it wasn't 'that bad.' I begged to differ. Needless to say, I left the salon that day and vowed never to return again and never to trust a woman named 'Cookie.'
Do you have a hair horror story to share? Tell me in the comment section.
Comments: (22)
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By: dpc on 7/22/2007 8:10AM
not related
Question How do you color stubborn gray hair?
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By: nick aka pops on 7/22/2007 11:06PM
gurl u kno better !!! she jacked ur head up so i kno u dnt trust nobody named cookie oh no dats bad dem cookies is crazy i should kno i got a cookie in my family n she simple
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By: JeLoi on 7/25/2007 10:20AM
Your story was bad and I understand. I went to a Cookie to get my hair done, but her name was Melva. Considering that fact that some of us will burn if the relaxer is left on too long and when you tell them that it is burning and they say wait about 10 more minutes it is not straight yet! And when your head finally stops burning you have sores in the back of your head and the hair will never grow back properly. We have to really be careful with who we let do our hair, but this lady was a friend of my sister's and my sister's hair look great! But for me my head was full of sores!
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By: missy on 7/25/2007 5:08PM
This is why I do my own hair. I had a few Cookies who damaged my hair.
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By: I Press on 7/25/2007 1:06PM
Not really a horror story... just preaching to the choir... why did you 'run like hell' after all those clues? LOL
The worst thing that ever happened to me (thank God for small favors) is that my favorite stylist was a crack head and sometimes didn't make it in for appointments. But when he did hair.. he was nothing short of brillant. That man could do hair for free and still get paid. I eventually moved on, and was blessed to find another great stylist, and I was with him for 7 yrs before I got married and moved from the city. I am a military spouse, and we have only moved three times, each time, with the exception of this move, I was able to find a great stylist and stick with them. I just moved here to GA., and I haven't found anyone yet, only because I am in school full time, and I am too lazy to look... so I just let my best friend (who is two hours away) do it when I go home.... thank goodness she is licensed.
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By: JoJo on 7/25/2007 6:16PM
Awwwwh, HELL NAW!!! Yo, "Cookies" allways cut your hair too short, burn your scalp, do their own hair style on your head or do a hairstyle they KNOW 'aint for your face or body, get mad when you dont leave a tip for the hair fiasco you have to live with for the next six months and pay for someone else to fix, have their OWN HAIR jacked-up up in the salon (not good advertisement, HELLO!), talkin' ying-yang all up in your ear, yellin' at their Bebe Kids, then..., then... WANT TO GET PAID FOR ALL THAT DRAMA!
That's why I do my own joint at home- then say Cookie did it to mess up her business!!!!
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By: ms jackie brown on 7/25/2007 6:40PM
thats just why i dont play around with no cookies..i keep it real with donte at design and dimension in harlem on 145 street...he is the bomb and i always leave completely satisfied
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By: Alaedra on 7/26/2007 1:22AM
DID ANYONE NOTICE THAT THE PERSON WHO WROTE THIS ARTICLE WROTE "I am sure we all have those salon or barber shop horror stories that we tell friends because we can look back and laugh about it now. However, we all know there was a time when it wasn't so funny" TWICE IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH?? IT'S CLEAR THAT SHE IS PROOFREADING HER OWN ARTICLES. NEXT TIME, GIVE YOUR ARTICLE TO THE EDITOR B4 IT'S PLACED ON AOL BV....
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By: Sassythang2 on 7/27/2007 1:36AM
Oh my gosh I feel your pain. I once went to a salon I knew nothing about for a wash and curl & left with hair shorter than my husbands.She said she only clipped the dead ends. I should have read the signs and left when she dissed every client that walked out of her salon thats right her own patrons her bread and butter. I was so hurt I voiced my outrage and she had enough nerve to tell me I was no longer welcome in her salon.The same salon burned my collegues head by neglecting to remove her perm on time the stylist was on her cell phone she is considering suing her.
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By: Jackie on 7/26/2007 2:11AM
This is exactly why I leave my hair the way God gave it to me, all of that coloring, and flat irons, chemicals weaves etc etc is ridiculous, as black women we need to stay BLACK... stop trying to make your hair straight like white girls. Be proud.... The women of the 70's with their beautiful Afros are the best looking women around. And ladies, stop with the neon colored weave, are you serious?? You think your cute, but you look like a clown, and the only ones who think you look cute, look like clowns their self!
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