A TikToker’s uncomfortable experience at a hair salon led to her leaving no tip—and she felt it was important to explain to viewers exactly why that is.
Giordan Simone (@realgsimone) told TikTok viewers that she loves how her hair, which was styled straight at the time of her video, turned out after a $60 service.
Things went well, she says, until the woman doing her hair got to the point where she was detangling it. Simone has a 4C hair type, which L’Oreal defines as having “a mix of waves, coils, curls, and zigzags throughout their strands.”
“It does take a little extra effort to do my hair in its entirety,” Simone admits. “But as she was doing my hair, she was making comments like, ‘oh my god,’ ‘oy vey,’ huffing and puffing.”
Things escalated when the hairdresser began complaining in more detail about the TikToker’s hair to one of her co-workers, right in front of her, because she wrongly assumed Simone didn’t understand Spanish.
Even though she didn’t call the woman out on the spot, the experience made her uncomfortable in the moment. Moreover, it made Simone reflect on how it might have impacted someone else with a similar hair type put in that same spot.
“She could have done that to the wrong person with 4C hair, and that might have made that person go get a perm. That might have made that person go get a keratin treatment,” she says.
Black women have historically faced widespread discrimination over their natural hair. The House of Representatives voted in 2022 to pass a bill that would prohibit “discrimination based on an individual’s texture or style of hair.” A 2023 study reported that Black women with “coily/textured hair” are twice as likely to deal with microaggressions in a work environment than Black women with straight hair.
Simone said that she considered leaving a small tip despite the way the hairdresser reacted to her hair, but ultimately decided, “One, you’re not going to disrespect my hair texture, and two, you’re not going to disrespect my intelligence because you think that I don’t understand you.”
Unsurprisingly, Simone found that she was far from the only person to have this sort of experience at a hair salon after she posted the video to TikTok.
“My curly hair stylist’s assistant made comments about how much hair i have the entire time she was working on my head,” one viewer wrote. “Needless to say i’m never going back to them.”
“Same with some nail salons, they really act like people can’t understand or don’t pay attention when they’re saying rude things,” another added.
“My hairstylist did this too she told me ‘you need to condition and comb’ lmao but i still tipped,” a third admitted.
“For so many reasons I don’t go to hair stylists anymore for my 3B hair,” said a further user. “My hair is fine and knots instantly. My curl pattern is just now almost completely back from my last venture to a ‘pro.’”
One commenter pointed out how difficult it is to find a trustworthy stylist when you have 4C hair, while another person commented that their salon actually started charging her an extra $10 because of her hair texture—so she walked out and never went back.
@realgsimone I wish I felt safer getting my hair done. #hairstylistsbelike #gettingmyhairdone #4chairclub #4chair ♬ CARNIVAL (feat. Rich The Kid, Playboi Carti) – ¥$ & Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign & Rich The Kid & Playboi Carti
Simone says that she ultimately explained to the woman why she didn’t tip for the service, but it sounds as though she was only met with excuses and an attempt to “flip the script.”
“Regardless, this is my first time letting somebody else do my hair in three years, and it just reminded me how difficult it is, and how unsafe it is for Black women to get their hair done,” she says. “At this point, I just want to do my own hair for the rest of my life.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Simone via TikTok comment.
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