Philadelphia Hair Design — Local services in Philadelphia

I really wanted to like this place. I resonated with the owner's personal story on her about page & I'd been looking for a decent salon in the area for a long time. I mostly liked the cuts I received at first with one of their former employees, but not as much after she left. Unfortunately even when she was there the atmosphere was really killing the vibe for me, both in terms of presentation & due to the discussions I would hear between employees.

First off, I was really looking for a classy well-kept salon that was good at pulling off sleek, professional, timeless styles for women. Everything about their presentation in advertising & promotions made this place seem like it fit the bill, but the actual location is...not at all like what they advertise. It's more of an alternative-style type of joint that strongly caters to a 'queer' clientele. The stylists here mostly sport wild, choppy alt looks themselves & the internal atmosphere is very heavy-handed about what demographics they specifically cater to. This is by itself not a bad thing but if they had advertised themselves accurately, I would have almost certainly looked elsewhere for something that fit me better personally.

The incongruence between how they present themselves and how they actually are was a shock to me, but I really wanted to give them an honest shot & I liked the first cut I got, so I went back a few times. Unfortunately my discomfort with this establishment only grew over time. I feel very strongly that they could have done a lot better for themselves & their clients if they were just honest about what kind of community they seek to serve, rather than trying to represent themselves differently.

What was especially upsetting to me was how the staff talked about certain people, or groups of people, and how the tone and behavior directly contrasted their claimed mission statement. They say that they're friendly to and serve ALL kinds of people & want to make sure anyone who walks in their door feels respected...but they clearly cater to a very specific subset of the population. Again, this isn't inherently wrong or bad. I think especially when it comes to aesthetics it's okay to say that you specialize in serving a specific community, or doing certain styles, or are best for women or men or textured hair or anything else pertinent. But they present themselves as being open to "EVERYONE" & "ALL people" and they're really not.

Most of the disparaging comments that I heard were about men, & I feel that the staff were way too comfortable making those comments around me because it was expected that as a woman I would agree or feel similar...but I don't. I actually & honestly believe in equality, equal opportunity & that no one should be prematurely judged for superficial attributes. A lot of these comments were made in the presence of an employee who I'm fairly certain was a trans man, and that really didn't sit right with me. It seemed very shallow & disrespectful. One comment that really stuck with me, that multiple stylists there all audibly agreed with, was that "straight men shouldn't be hairstylists" & "don't belong" in fashion/beauty-oriented spaces. That by virtue of being straight men, they inherently make spaces less safe. If this is your genuinely held belief, you cannot convince me that you actually serve and care about "EVERYONE" or "ALL" of your clients, or employees for that matter. I saw that this kind of behavior was deeply ingrained in the workplace culture & that dragging men was almost knee-jerk for some of them. Normally I enjoy conversing with my stylist but these people made me loathe it, because almost every topic seemed to devolve into needlessly & often cruelly disparaging men or straight people.

I wish that I had spoken up the last time I was there, but I didn't know what to say in the moment. I had to think hard about whether or not I would come back to give them another try. Ultimately, I decided not to. I hope they read this, reflect, and...

TLDR: Love the stylists and the staff, hate their cancellation policy - almost feels like a trap.

I loved my hair cut which I got in April, folks at the salon recommended setting up a follow up maintenance cut in the next 4 months which I agreed to that moment cause it felt like a good idea except, when August came around, I had forgotten about the appointment and missed an opportunity to modify it 24hrs prior.

On the day of the appointment I tried my best to explain what had happened & when I realized that they won't waive off the cancellation fee in any situation (which btw is not a default amount but the cost of the service you were booked for) I considered rescheduling for a different service of higher cost on a later date which was month later (since I didn't really need another hair cut). This was recommended to me by the receptionist as a way to put my cancellation fee towards another service instead of completing losing out on it.

At first, I didn't mind coming in for another service since folks there are good, but later I chose to cancel all together and forfeit the cancellation fee they had already charged cause I felt like I was being forced to come in for a service.

Its great the PHD has good stylists and I understand their time is important so cancellations have an impact on them but accomodating customers, especially well-intented ones should ideally be prioritized as well. I would have love to come back if my situation was considered and my cancellation fee was waived off or lowered to a reasonable amount.

I understand businesses run on certain policies but strict policies need better management!

Here's what I suggest for PHD: Call out your cancellation policy at the time of the booking, especially if you are so strict about it. Send notifications in every way possible, again if you are strict about your policies. Text notifications are default method these days, don't rely on emails. SET A MINIMUM CANCELLATION FEE! Imagine someone booking a $300+ service and...

I visited Philadelphia Hair Design to have a root touch-up and hair cut with Meghan. My first visit went well and I was happy with the results. During my first visit, Meghan recommended several styling products, including volumizing spray, blow-out spray, and dry shampoo, as she told me these would help my hair to look its best. She used these products during my first visit, so I felt I should continue at home with the same styling protocol.

When I returned for a root touch and haircut 6 weeks later, Meghan did a good job with the service, and recommended several more products, including shampoo, conditioner, and treatment products that she had used on my hair in the salon. While I was at the salon, I saw that the salon was offering a Spring special for highlights: 7 highlights for $50, and I made an appointment to get highlights 2 weeks later.

During my highlight appointment with Meghan, who continued to highlight my hair in 7 parts, then sold me another batch of products, which she believed I needed. Meghan never consulted with me regarding the effects of double processing so close together. My hair was dry, and began to break off at the highlights and now I have 3 bald spots on the top of my head and very little hair left around my face, which anyone could understand would be distressing. I called the Salon and spoke to a very nice stylist that told me she would have the owner contact me. I did get a call back from another stylist, who told me they have no return police, but they had a “satisfaction guarantee" and I could come back for a consultation. What is a consultation going to do? Grow my hair back?

I should be livid, but at this point all I would have appreciated was a refund of the services that ruined my hair, and a refund for the extensive amount of product that was recommended to me. The salon should stand behind ALL of their stylists' work, and I would not...