When Donna Smith arrived at her local hair salon in Bramhall, UK, asking for a fresh cut and colour, she never imagined leaving with hair so badly damaged that she’d be forced to shave her head.
Well, according to The Sun, this is exactly what happened to the 37-year-old, who, after suffering from such a dis-tressing episode, was rendered unable to work because of her disastrous haircut.
And the air hostess has been rewarded $15,000 in compensation for it.
The (literally) hair-raising incident occurred after Donna made the decision to treat herself to a new ‘do for Christmas, telling a hair stylist she wanted her waist-length brown hair lightened, cut with a fringe and layers.
What she left with was a chin-length bob and matting so bad, it was completely unsalvageable.
Donna spent seven hours in the salon.
Then, when started to question how long everything was taking and if something was wrong, the stylist wouldn’t even let her look at herself in the mirror.
“When I finally saw it, my hair was a melted, matted mess,” she says.
The trauma continued after Donna left the salon, when large clumps of her remaining hair fell out in the shower. She then sought the help of a scalp specialist, who advised her that the only way to repair the damage was to shave her head.
The ordeal left Donna so distraught that she took six months off work and started taking anti-depressants. Donna works as a flight attendant on a local UK carrier, and, as she explains, her appearance is part of the job.
“In my job, appearance is everything. I have to look pristine at all times. I’m representing my company and I feel I have to look good,” she says.
Donna spent more than $1500 on a wig to cover up her short hair, and while the stylist was removed from the job, she says she “would have much rather had my lovely hair and for it never to have happened”.
“It wasn’t about the money at all for me,” she says of the $15,000 payout. “I just wanted lessons to be learned. It robbed me of six months of my life.”
Donna is still in the process of growing her hair back…
