Olympian Academy of Cosmetology

I wanted to get blond highlights & mahogany low-​lights in my hair – how fun! My friend recommended Larissa at Olympian University — College of Hair & Aesthetics. I liked the idea… I’d heard the prices were more affordable at the schools, but they still did a good job… UNFORTUNATELY Larissa proved otherwise. Although I know Larissa’s a student and still learning, she couldn’t recognize that she’d done a bad job – something you can’t teach.
Before Larissa even touched my hair I drew a picture of what I wanted. I also specified what I did not want. The picture showed the highlights/​low-​lights, with the alternating streaks going from the roots to the tips, not horizontally! I said I wanted the highlights done gently and not too thick or dramatic. I held out my thumb and said I didn’t want anything that thick.
As she got started, she began to apply the blond to the entire back section of my head. As I am not a stylist, I thought for a second she knew what she was doing. Then, my better judgment told me to check in with her. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was going to lighten my hair first and then add the mahogany low lights. I couldn’t believe my ears! When somebody asks for highlights and low lights, does this mean they want their entire head of hair one of the colors and then highlights of the other color?- NO, Not at all! I repeated what I wanted, EMPHASIZING that I wanted to keep the majority of my hair its natural color and only have the highlights/​low-​lights blended in. While she was working, she actually said, «I’m surprised your friend recommended me at all because she was upset with what I did to her hair». (Later, when I checked with my friend, she surprisingly said Larissa did a good job… Larissa was thinking of ANOTHER client whose hair she messed up). I wanted to jump up out of the chair and save my hair, but by then all the foils were in place and enough time had passed I knew the damage was done. All I could do was hope for the best…
But, sure enough, as I looked in the mirror, I saw THICK CHUNKS of mahogany, blond, and pink highlights! I asked why half of the blonde highlights were pink. She said it was because the «mahogany bled into the blonde» but to get «purple shampoo» and it should wash out. Then, I realized washing my hair could make it worse. I asked her how long I had to wait before washing my hair to keep this from worsening. She said, «You don’t have to wait, it won’t do anything».
I took the following pictures the day after Larissa ruined my hair. When I showed my hair to my sister, she also pointed out that Larissa didn’t even put the highlights to the roots of my hair in some places. I wish I would’ve refused to pay.
Later, I went back to the school and talked to her instructor. The instructor asked what temperature of water I was using to wash my hair. I said warm to hotter water and she replied that for the first month, I should’ve been using cold water instead. Now, you think Larissa would’ve brought this up when I asked about washing my hair in the first place!
I talked to Larissa, too. I told her I was completely unhappy with what she did to my hair and said I wanted half of my money back (acknowledging the time and products she put into the job). I thought this was fair. She said, «The job I did was legit”– I couldn’t believe she couldn’t see what a horrible job she did. She said she didn’t make any money, but rather lost money, in the hopes of gaining me as a long-​term client. I could appreciate where she was coming from, but she never once apologized, not even after acknowledging that she did some of the highlights horizontally instead of vertically. An apology goes a long way with me.
After all this, my hair has begun to get more and more frizzy. I went to another salon where a licensed stylist explained Larissa left the peroxide for the blond on way too long and that my hair has been permanently damaged. The stylist recommended I grow my hair out for a couple of months, then get a super short haircut, like a «pixie» style cut, because what Larissa did can’t be repaired. Although I did my best to explain how thick I wanted the highlights/​low lights blended through my hair, I got chunks of FRIED PINK hair!!!