I started my career in cosmetology at a local Smartstyle and would like to advise anyone wanting a job there to PLEASE think it over. If you want to be a robot or slave churning out five-minute haircuts, coming in early and staying late to clean or attend meetings you don't even get paid for, made travel to other stores in the area (being told you'll get compensated for your gas but you never see this compensation), and barely have enough money for bills/food/gas... then you may get along just fine. I, on the other hand, did not.

I was extremely nervous when I started at SmartStyle because I had just gotten my license and didn't have a lot of experience with clients. I had questions about certain haircutting techniques and my manager wasn't helpful at all, not to mention she wouldn't even let me attempt a color/other chemical service. She didn't show me how to ring up particular services, and barely showed me how to open and close the salon. I got criticized and made fun of because I was slower than the other stylists. Slowly I began to get better, and our old manager was replaced with someone who deserved the position. Things ran smoothly until I transferred to another salon. I worked under three managers in the course of a few months, and was told by several people the area supervisor did not like me as a person. I got in trouble several times for having my cell phone at work, when I only used it in the back and/or on my break, and had my hours cut for no reason whatsoever. I was told I needed to be more productive... I was averaging $150-200 a day in service sales which I thought was good enough... not compared to a coworker who often did $400 a day in services whose haircuts took five minutes and were of low quality. I did redo's on several stylists and did not receive credit for them. Upper management kept finding reasons to get me in trouble, so I packed up my station and left one day. One of the rules is that all returned products were to be taken home or disposed of, not used on clients because they might have been tampered with... I took several returns home and was told the company would seek legal action if I did not bring them back, along with stylist samples (which were sent to us by various product lines AS GIFTS) and products which I had paid for myself. It has not been fun. I regret working there and wish I would have started out with a private salon. I came home tired and cranky every night from working my butt off for peanuts. I gained weight from eating fast food because I was never home long enough to cook a decent meal. I stayed stressed making goals for myself so that I would have money for bills and to live on. They tell you you are guaranteed minimum wage if it equals more than your commission, but also tell you to clock out at times during your shift if it is slow because if you are "out of commission" more than 2-3 pay periods, you will be fired. This company is very unfair, likes to get rid of its most dedicated workers, and upper management is a joke.

On Feb 26/11 I decided to treat myself to a nice set of blond highlights throughout my head. My husband worked some overtime just for this occasion and I have a family reunion in 2 weeks time. Since the stylist I normally see wasn't available I made the poor choice to visit SmartStyle in Walmart #292 Painted Post. I specifically asked for a stylist who was an "expert at doing highlights". I was told I would be seen by such a person. After I was asked to sign a form to "allow them to do a color treatment on me" the beautician whisked away the "form" aka waiver while I was asking questions about it and I was never given a copy. I am not even sure what it entirely said--when I asked about it she asked for it back from me, took it from me, and said "oh don't worry about it, it isn't important". I should have run away at that point.
So I sit down. I show her what I would like--somewhere between a pretty strawberry blond and a nice natural light blond--not white but NOT brassy orange (like it turned out). She asks her fellow co-worker for advice as how to "mix the colors properly" She starts at the back of my head and I feel the cold, strong smelling bleach on my scalp--I have NEVER felt highlighting product ON my scalp before--this sensation continued over sections of my entire scalp. I don't want to say anything or embarrass the beautician so I sit there, nervous. I noticed the usual "weaving" of the comb/foil tool isn't happening as I am used to, also making me nervous, but again I don't want to cause a scene. She is taking larger sections of hair parting it and highlighting whole patches--not what I have ever experienced, but again, I think "maybe she has her own technique?" Then I lean my head WAAAAY back at her request (which was very uncomfortable) so she can finally finish the top & sets the timer for 30 mins.
By this point the back of my head where she started is itching and burning but I don't want to make a scene so I sit and endure it. I realize now I should have spoken up. The lady next to me noticed my discomfort and we both begin to look for my stylist. She isn't there. "Maybe she is in the back", she says? So, after 30 mins I am ready to cry and finally she reappears and washes the stuff out and offers a $3 conditioner (heck yes please stop the burning!!) which she takes about 10 seconds to apply and immediately rinses it out--so much for the 1-2 minute treatment I am paying for!! Unfortunately she didn't rinse the chemical processor or the conditioner off since I had some white processing bleach particles still in the front of my hair and a large patch of sticky conditioner (?) in the back right hand side of my head. After a blowdry I see orange brassy uneven highlights and I feel like crying but I pay her anyways as not to embarrass her and even pay a tip to be polite (which she looked annoyed that it wasn't MORE!!!).
I go home and show my husband who wondered what they had done other than give me an orange highlighted bright pink scalp? We took pictures of it. I washed my hair (since it was sticky) and put some conditioner on and slept with a bag of frozen peas on my head to stop the burning. While the pinkness of my scalp subsided some, the searing hot lava burning sensation did not and I visited the local ER in the morning for a large dose of steroids and was told to come back if it didn't subside. I went back to the salon and asked if the manager would come and rectify this terrible situation immediately. I did not yell, I did not call names, I was obviously upset and on the verge of breaking down into tears after being in pain for the last 20 hours and being told "call the 1-800 line and you will get a refund we can't do anything for you". I ask for some treatment--ANYTHING--to stop this burning. Nothing. My husband calls them and was told that his wife was "nasty" to them. He was disgusted and demanded a full refund of we'd call an injury attorney--his wife had every right to be UPSET after just returning from a trip to the ER!!! I did receive a refund after he called them but I had to go home and apply my own aloe vera gel. It has been 25 hours and my scalp is in searing pain. I have no rash, no sign of an allergic reaction (as one of the unhelpful stylists tried to imply and even suggested it was "normal" to apply bleach directly to the scalp!) but I do have obvious patches of my scalp which have been processed (bright orange blond) and patches of hair where the foils bled under leaving patches of orange brassy chunks. NO decent stylist would EVER suggest that bleach for foils should EVER be applied directly to the scalp. Even on home hair dye kits it states "DO NOT APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE SCALP"!!! No kidding?--Do you think it might BURN??? Hmmm...
So bottom line---NO pretty strawberry light blond highlights here--I look like a brassy ugly orange vomitted in patches on my skull--and it feels like I have been branded in those patches with hot lava--WORST FOIL JOB EVER!!! I will NEVER ever go back there. No wonder they make you sign a waiver--BUYER BEWARE!!!
I added photos unfortunately the flash washed out the pinkness of my burning scalp, but it is there, and hurts like crazy!! One thing to note, the highlights do not go all the way down my hair but I do have vertical "bands" of brassy orange blond, so now I have to go to another salon and have it corrected (when the burning finally stops) so I don't have an unsightly band of brassy orange as it grows out. ALL my previous foil jobs (and I have had all positive ones until now) have had an obvious section of "natural" hair where the scalp was not bleached or touched by the product. Not so this time!!!

A quick pampering for myself while the kids are in school turned out to be a nightmare in hell. Around 11:34 yesterday I went into Smartstyle to get my eyebrows waxed and a haircut that took ten minutes or less. Every person receives a hair washing and conditioning that YOU pay for. (I did NOT get the washing). The lady sat me down with dry hair and used a flat iorn for a comb, needless to say my hair doesn't curl right and is zig zagged. My eyebrows well to be nice as my husband puts it "I have the look that I was in serious thought or constipated" because one eyebrow is twice the size than the other. The young lady did NOT give me a mirror to even check to see if I liked the results. When I replied that this was the fastest cut and waxing I ever received she told me she liked to stay on top of things. (I had NO clue about the eyebrow until late last night).
Today I went back and another young lady fixed my lopsided eyebrow that was twice the size than the other and commented that eyebrows was the other ladys specialty. (I hope everyone is cautious unless you want to look constipated). The other lady who righted a wrong was very friendly and made things right for free and she doesn't get paid for fixing other peoples booboos. I hope she finds another job soon!

I went on 7/9/10 to get a perm. I still have the receipt...it really says perm. Where is my perm? No one could even tell I got a perm much less paid $44.95 for it. I went back the next day, the girl that did it, Ruby, said come back Tuesday, the manager is not here. Went back Tues well this Dizzy manager said lets give you a conditioning treatment and see if it helps. Never heard of conditioning treatment to make a perm take, but okay, lets try. NO DIFFERENCE!!! I'm still not happy with the results and no money returned. Called customer service and because Melissa the manager called them before I did they said sorry...we can"t help you. Well I have been telling everyone I know about this, so I hope you read and decide never to go. Thanks for reading ! Leslie Wright
Lincolnton, North Carolina

my boyfriend and i went in to smartstyle so he could get a haircut before returning to school we got there and we asked how long it would be first the woman said an hour once we picked out a hairstyle not too short just down to his chin she then said oh ok your next.so we think wow ok well he proceeded to sit down first she took a clipper and just went around his whole head it was uneven and just plain messy, then went to shampoo his hair. finally she gets done and sits him in his seat first she starts getting distracted with other workers then people just walking around. finally she gets to cutting his hair and she trims it and just carelessly kept on trimming it and cutting it shorter when his hair was done it was very short and didn't look at all like the style he picked the woman kept insulting him through the whole thing. it was just a horrible experiance his hair is very short and he is very upset with the haircut all around. i would not recommend them at all, to blowdry your hair its and extra 3 dollars! its expensive and very inexperienced work.