TikTok user says salon charged her $88 to trim her fringe after offering her free hair services

Sponsorships don't always mean free.

TikTok user Amanda01wong found this out during a recent trip to a hair salon that had reached out to her to offer her "hair services" in exchange for a post. 

On Saturday (Sept 10), Wong shared her story on TikTok of how a hair salon had reached out to her to offer her "hair services" in exchange for a post.

"What they offered me was basically a one-time hair-colour treatment and a trim, said Wong, who has close to 51,000 followers on the video-sharing platform.

@amanda01wong

Most expensive haircut in my life….

♬ original sound - Amanda

At the salon, Wong told staff that she wanted to keep the length of her hair and only wanted "curtain bangs". She was told that "there would be an additional cost to cut my fringe".

Wong agreed, thinking "how expensive can cutting your fringe be, right?"

She then shared that the stylist told her that she would be trimming some ends of her hair as they were dry, and "to make it look neater", to which she reminded them "not to cut too much".

After her hair colour was done, Wong shared that the salon staff asked if she wanted a hair treatment to be added due to the dry condition of her hair. They also offered an "express treatment" option as Wong told them that she didn't have the time for it.

She swiftly declined, however, when she found out that the treatment would cost $176.

"So I told her never mind, it's okay, maybe I'll just pay for the haircut."

That's when she was told that the haircut cost $88.

"And then I was like WTF. Because I thought the bulk of the cost would come from the treatment, not really the haircut."

Wong explained that as she was "freaking pai seh (embarrassed)", she chose to keep mum at the time, and also because her hair looked "not bad" after the blow-dry.

"But after a while, my haircut started to look really weird," she continued, as Wong began receiving comments from co-workers that the cut was "uneven and choppy".

Wong's friends too expressed disbelief that she had "paid $88 for that' after she sent photos of her fresh cut to them.

"They gave me a wolf cut, I think, but it was really not what I asked for," said Wong, adding that the "curtain bangs are so bad, seriously".

Wong then complained to the salon that she was overcharged for the fringe cut, to which they replied that it was because "the director cut your hair, so those are her rates".

Wong noted in the video that it was the salon that made the appointment and "if I knew her rates were $88 I wouldn't even have gone for it".

Wong's main grievance it seems, however, was that "the cut is so bad", complaining that it was "supposed to be $18 only based on their rates".

"And now I have to pay more to get it fixed," said Wong, adding in her post that it was "the most expensive haircut in my life".

Commenters were sympathetic to Wong's situation, and while she was asked to name the salon, Wong has so far refused to for fear of getting into trouble.

"I just wanted to share my experience to let people know always to ask what's the additional cost."

Others, however, noted that it's "a common tactic to reel customers in".

candicecai@asiaone.com