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Email templates · Hair salon

Email template to complain about a bad haircut or color

You left the salon, got home, and it is wrong. The color is brassy or nothing like the photo you showed, the highlights are patchy, the cut is uneven, or the bangs are two inches shorter than you asked for. You may have said it looked fine in the chair because you were flustered. That happens to everyone, and it does not cost you the right to ask for a fix.

Write to the salon within a day or two. Most salons will redo a cut or color at no charge if you come back quickly, usually within a week or two, and the sooner you write, the easier it is for them to say yes. Email rather than a phone call because you can attach photos, you can be specific without getting emotional, and the reply from the salon, whatever it is, will be on record if you later need a refund from your card issuer.

Before you send

  • Photos of the result in natural light, from the front, sides, and back. If you brought a reference photo to the appointment, attach that too so the difference is obvious.
  • The date, the stylist's name, the service you booked, and what you paid. It is on your receipt or booking confirmation.
  • A one-sentence description of what you asked for and a one-sentence description of what you got. Keep it factual: "I asked for a shoulder-length cut and it is above my chin."
  • Decide what you want. A corrective appointment with a different, more senior stylist is the fix most salons offer first. A refund is reasonable if you do not trust them to fix it or the damage cannot be undone quickly.
  • Do not go to another salon to fix it before you write. Almost no salon will refund work once someone else has touched it.
Subject My [service] on [date] with [stylist's name] 
Hi [salon manager or owner's name],

I had a [cut / color / cut and color] at [salon name] on [date] with [stylist's name], and I'm writing because the result isn't what we discussed.

I asked for [what you asked for, one sentence, referring to the photo if you brought one]. What I have is [what you got, one sentence]. I've attached photos from today in daylight, plus the reference photo I showed at the appointment.

I know I didn't say much in the chair. It was hard to tell under the salon lights and I didn't want to make a fuss. Now that I've seen it at home, I'd like to ask for [the one remedy you want, such as a corrective appointment with a senior stylist at no charge, or a refund of the amount you paid because it cannot be fixed without cutting more than you want to lose].

I'd appreciate a reply by [date, two or three days out], since I understand the sooner a correction is done the better.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good salon replies within a day or two and offers a redo. Take it, unless the fix would require cutting more than you can accept, in which case say so and ask for a refund instead. Ask who the corrective stylist will be and make sure it is not the same person.
  • If the reply says "that's what you asked for" and you have your reference photo, send it once more with a short, calm note. If they still refuse, ask for a partial refund as a courtesy. Many will offer half.
  • If the salon ignores you for more than a few days, follow up once, then post an honest review with your photos. Salons live on reviews, and a fair one often prompts a reply.
  • If you paid by card and the salon refuses any remedy for work that plainly does not match what was booked, a dispute with your card issuer is an option, typically within about 60 days of the statement date. Your email and photos are the evidence.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get a bad haircut or color fixed or refunded 
Hi StandIn,

I'd like you to take a complaint to a salon about a cut or color that came out wrong and get me a correction or a refund.

The salon: [name, location, and the manager's or owner's email if I have it].
The appointment: [date, stylist's name, service, and amount paid].
What I asked for versus what I got: [one sentence each]. Photos and my reference picture are attached.
What I want: [a free corrective appointment with a senior stylist / a refund of amount].
When I'm available for a redo: [days and times].

Please write to the salon today, since time matters here, push for the fix I asked for, follow up if they stall, and bring me what they offer before I agree to anything.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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