Carolina Hair Studios — Local services in Columbia

Wow really disappointed! So I called before I came and asked for a blow out and a hair cut. I was quoted $60 over the phone and asked to make it by 2:15. When I arrive Tia greets me and proceeds to shampoo my hair. I am natural ad I drscribed over the phone. Tia rips a “detangling brush” through my head. I told her thats going to break off my hair. She tells me my hair is matted and that she’s not taking my hair out. She then goes to show me all my hair that shr snatched out with her brush. Half way into it she tells me its a fee for my length (its barely to my shoulders) and a fee for detangling it (doesnt mention how much) i told her i did not know how I wanted my hair cut but after she straightens it we can figure it out. She stops in thr middle of ripping my hair to cut another client’s hair and offers her a 10% discount (but I didnt get one And I had to wait on with wet hair. She comes back. Straightens my hair and is burning it. You can smell my hair burning. I am afraid a lot of my natural curl pattern will be damaged. She also begins cutting my hair and then explains how she’s cutting it when we didnt discuss what cut I wanted or if I decided to get one. We then get to rhe register and proceed and Breona tells me my (now above shoulder length hair) Is $140 wow. On the website it says blowout 45-60 Dollars. She then charges me an additional $20 saying it was for length (is not the length included if you’re charging me MAXIMUM price? Nope she says and plus another $25 claiming that was a detangling service. So $60, $20, $25 and then says its $35 for the cut. So I mention over the phone I described a blow out and hair cut and was told $60. Breona admits this was true. Tia tells Breona while I am right there that she is NOT erong and she will just take this “L” (lost) as a stylist because she slaved two hours (mind you she stopped in the middle of my hair for another client. I told her I did not do well with conflict and that I live in New York City and never in my life paid more than $50 for a standard blow out. She claimed the maximum amount was charged because she’s a senior more talented stylist and it mentions it on the website. I had a screenshot and showed her how it ONLY mentions the price 45-60 and nothing else. Tia is unprofessional. She burned my hair multiple times while on the phone. I had to find something last minute for a funeral for my hair and she ruined my experience. I am hoping my natural hair is not demage. Plus I alreadybhad whiplass from a workout class and she was just ripping my hair out and then later proceeds to ask of she’s hurting me as if it’s not obvious. Biggest scam ever! $140 for a simple blow out cut (that I still never asked for) I need to speak to a manager. As a New Yorker with years of hospitality experience I would get rid of Tia. She is janky, rude and disrespectful. Basically telling Breona in front of me she did no wrong snd that Tia herself did no wrong. So who’s wrong here? Its so bad I wanted to tell every woman I ran into to NEVER go there. My boyfriend said he could smell the burntness of my hair from across the room. Really disappointed especially after disclosing my personal lost of a family member and needing this service. Really really extremely disappointed. This is my first review snd I hate it had to be like this but others must be warned. Tia is black and made me feel ashamed of my natural hair. ALSO SHE BURNED MY HAIR ON 455 hair burns at 450 and it is recommended not to pass 420. I took a picture of her flat iron to purchase it and after looking at it I see she was burning my hair. How do I...

I was seen by Tia for a partial highlight. Online it stated my partial highlights would cost $110, but once I was seen and a consultation had been had, I was informed it actually starts at $150, which did not include a cut, style or toner. After telling Tia what I wanted, she stated numerous times that I should get a full instead of a partial, which I declined. She also stated I should get a shadow root to make it more lived in, which I originally agreed to but later declined. I was then told I had to get a shadow root because it was part of the toner (???). I’ve gotten my hair dyed blonde for the last 20 years and had only gotten a shadow root once, so I am still confused by that. I was told after declining a style that I would have to get one before leaving to make sure everything was even, which I again, declined to pay for. Tia was generous and did style my hair complimentary at the end of the service (which looked amazing tbh). She ended up giving me additional blonde highlights on the under-layer portion of my hair (which again, I declined a full and did not want blonde on this portion of my hair). This was done without my knowledge, I was just told that she was adding more blonde free of charge. It did not process long enough (was not placed under a heater) and the foils were removed too soon and I am now left with an orange, uneven patch of hair that she agreed to charge me $85 to fix ( stated she knew I wouldn’t want to wait the additional time it would take to fully process, but I never stated I was unwilling to). I also received a shadow root after expressing numerous times that I did not want one. It is not blended and far too dark, so it now looks like I need my roots touched up already. At the end of the service my total was $285, far more than I expected to pay when I had booked the appointment. I know inflation is real, but after 20 years of partials, I have never paid this much before. Overall, the customer service was lacking ( Taylor and Joshua were awesome, tho!) my wants were not taken into consideration and I am unhappy with the results. I would not recommend this salon to anyone looking to maintain their blonde.

Edit to add clarification: Yes, it did look amazing when I left. Like I stated, Tia styled it very well, and it wasn’t until I got home and styled it the way I do on a daily basis did I see how awful it looked. When Tia informed me that I could come back had have her fix it for $85, I informed her at that time that I wanted to style it on my own and see if I thought it needed to be fixed, which clearly it does. Also, the inspiration pictures that I showed her were pictures of my own self with how I had been getting it serviced for the last 20 years. I explained to her that the last salon I had seen previously did not lighten it as much as I wanted and would like to be the shade of blonde I was in the pictures of myself that I showed Tia. There was no miscommunication in regard to that.

Another edit to add: I had to go to another salon to fix the orange mess and root smudge that I DID NOT ASK FOR that Tia gave me and was informed that she couldn’t even cut my hair evenly and had to get ANOTHER haircut. This...

So I came across this salon by walking down Main Street. A kind gentleman with dreads complemented my curly hair and explained the promo for $20 cuts on Mondays. I explicitly asked if curly cuts were done and was told yes. So I came in as walk in. I saw the kind man again, he walked me in. I spoke with a kind young lady at the front desk who explained there would be an opening in an hour with someone named Taylor. I returned and she told me a stylist named Frankie would be taking care of me. She walked me back. I sat down and was greeted by Frankie. He asked if I usually straighten my hair for cuts to which I replied no. I explained that I got it straightened last for my wedding. He informed me he had to finish the cut for the woman next to me and that I would be next. It took about 20 minutes before someone offered me a water. I watched people come and go, but I waited patiently because I understood this is probably a busy time and they probably triage cuts based on hair types. After about 35 minutes Frankie finished with the woman next to me. He starts to prepare to work with me. In the meantime, a woman who appeared to be the owner or a senior stylist there approached me. She complemented my coils and I asked had I been there before. I replied no. She approached Frankie and started what appeared to be a discussion on his plans for my hair. Frankie than approached me explaining he usually cuts hair straight. I clarified, so you don't do curly cuts? And he said no. He then asked the woman if she felt comfortable doing it. She said it would need to be shampooed. She stated that if she cut it curly I would be upset and it would be uneven. Frankie did offer to cut and they also did offer to shampoo, but I decided to leave. I had two essential issues here. They do not do curly cuts. I have been natural for years. I am originally from New York and had a long standing relationship with a hair salon that catered to curly hair and also worked with other stylist who did curly cuts. For a curly cut, it is done DRY for shaping/trim. It is then washed, styled, set,and dried. Then it is touched up for finishing touches/shaping. For the senior stylest to tell me that she would have to cut curly hair WET shocked me. If my curly/coily hair is cut wet when it dries it will shrink and I loose way more length than the trim I had presented there for. All I needed was a trim and I would have washed and styled my hair at home. I understand this was a $20 hair cut day so I didn't expect a lot, but I did hope that there was someone who specialized in curly hair.

Frankie knew onsite that he could not do my hair. I would have respected if he told me that from the beginning instead of having me sit there for 40 mins. That would have been nice just out of respect for my time.

It is for these reasons that I can't say I had a good experience. And I would let someone with curly/coily hair know to be very clear prior to letting a stylist at the salon touch their hair...