Sky Salon — Local services in Boston

I got a haircut and styling with Lan yesterday. I had originally requested an appointment with Ivy, but the salon asked if I would be open to seeing another stylist instead. I agreed, under the condition that the stylist could follow the reference photos I sent when I booked, as I had an important photoshoot that day and a specific hairstyle in mind. I also shared the photo links a week in advance to clearly communicate the look I was going for.

I initially came in for just a shampoo and blow dry, but I was encouraged to get a haircut as well. I agreed in the moment, but unfortunately, the cut ended up much shorter and quite different from the style I usually wear and feel confident with.

While the curl styling right after the cut looked good, I’ve been feeling quite uncomfortable with the overall look after the hair returned to normal this morning. I wanted to share this feedback so you’re aware, as the change wasn’t something I had planned or expected.

The photos below show my hair before the haircut here (I’m wearing the orange sweater) and after I got haircut (with brick wall).

The other photo, of the woman in the jean shirt, is the reference image I had provided for the styling I was hoping for.

I’d truly appreciate any advice or tips for styling my hair during this grow-out phase to help me feel more...

I’m not sure where the good ratings are coming from. I went there spontaneously because of the good ratings and wanted to shorten my bangs, without washing it, which takes a few minutes. The young lady there was super nice, told me to wait and then the older woman, who’s probably the owner, said it costs 25-30 dollars. This was crazy expensive for me and we agreed on 20 dollars (still not cheap, but whatever). She did shorten the bangs and it was okay. In the meantime she told me that it’s usually more expensive (which gave me an uncomfortable feeling, since we agreed on the price). When I was about to pay, she asked me for tip in a very harsh and rude way. I live in the US and I’m very aware of how it works, but I just hesitated because of something else and she was so pushy, that I was super uncomfortable and I thought it’s rude to demand it like this. I never had it elsewhere in the US and just gave her whatever she wanted. Right after, I saw that my face was full of hair, because she didn’t clean it up and was not careful enough. I don’t recommend it at all. There’s always a friendly way to approach and demanding tip like this - especially when someone was about to pay it - is just...

My second time at this salon and while the first experience went well, this time I was unhappy for a couple of reasons. My hair is naturally wavy, which I expressed right from the beginning. I was looking for a cut that would work with that. I didn’t specifically have any length requirements. My hair was blown and straightened so the cut and layers didn’t reflect how my natural wavy hair would look. Way too many choppy layers. I don’t blow dry or straighten so the first time I washed it, and air dried how I always do, it looks like a short fuzzy mess. I asked for a curl cream at the end of the cut so I could see it with the waves and all I got was a holding spray on straight hair. Hair grows and while I don’t love the cut, it isn’t forever. The part that bothered me the most was at checkout when I double checked the price of the service (which I was fine with even though I don’t like the cut) but was then told not including the tip more than once. And then asked if I needed help figuring out tip. As a 20 year veteran of the service industry in restaurants and spas I found that to be rude and assuming. I gave my 20% tip but won’t...