Horrifying and Hilarious Home Hair Disasters
Not only is it NOT the box that does the work, it’s often the box that does unspeakable damage in the wrong hands. And those hands generally belong to clients who decide to take matters of a professional nature into them. The result? Frantic phone calls, tears, promises to join a 12-step program for home haircolor abusers—anything it takes to get you to agree to fix it, like, RIGHT NOW! PLEASE???!!!
We know as professionals, you don’t fix and tell—except maybe at the end of a long week, over mimosas at Sunday brunch. But BTC is a “safe space”—we’re all friends here, right? So in the spirit of good fun, we asked some of our pals from Schwarzkopf Professional’s education team to share a few of their most horrifying and hilarious DIY encounters.
Love scary stuff? Meet Do-It-Yourself Donna in Episode 2 of Schwarzkopf Professional’s “Hair Scenarios”!
Have your own horrifying DIY scenario to share?
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Rick Wellman, Schwarzkopf Professional Ambassador and Hue Director @ SAHAG workshop:
“It’s happened more than once. It’s the common and unattractive DIY scenario when a new client calls in a panic and walks in with bright orange roots and black ends because she thought she could dye her tinted dark hair blonde. One client came sobbing, holding a box of lightest ash blonde displaying sexy, blonde Blake Lively on the front. I handed her tissues as I explained our upcoming journey of corrective color.”
Rossa Jurenas, Schwarzkopf Professional Creative Director:
“Oh so, so many! One client came in and I couldn’t figure out why her hair was so dry and coarse with brittle ends and broken pieces. I politely asked her if everything was ok with her health to try to figure out what happened. Finally I asked point blank what happened to her hair. She told me she took sections, twisted them and burned them because she had heard it was the best way to get rid of the split ends!
“This one wasn’t a DIY per se but it really stumped me. A client kept complaining that her gray just wouldn’t cover, and the color faded super fast. I tried everything, every brand, every technique I could think of for a year, but nothing worked. Then one day we were chatting and she revealed that she likes to have a nice bath every night—with generous amounts of Epsom Salts! The lightbulb came on! I asked where she washes her hair and she said, ‘Why, in the bath!’ It had never occurred to me to ask my clients if they bathe in Epsom Salts, but now I do. And my client is now washing her hair in ‘regular water’ and her color is fantastic.”
DIY disaster, fixed by Jorge Bucio
Jorge Bucio, Schwarzkopf Professional Artistic Team Member
“A client decided she wanted to go lighter, so she selected a box color three shades above what she had and applied it roots to ends. The result was three inches of bright orange roots, while the rest of her color didn’t budge. I had to use darker color on the regrowth, plus a few of the same tones on strategic midlengths and ends as a sort of reverse balayage to add depth and even out the color. Fortunately she was able to have a good laugh about her bad at-home haircolor job!
“Another client came in with spots and horizontal lines across the back and sides of her hair. After lots of questioning, she confessed she had used a well-known drugstore ombré kit. I added lighter and darker tones for more depth, and the end result was softer, more natural and more sophisticated. In this case, we didn’t talk much—I could tell she was embarrassed and aware of how bad her hair looked!”
