How Social Media Can Change the Game for Bad Hair Service

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Del Sandeen

Del Sandeen is a writer, blogger, editor and social media coordinator. From 2009-2017, she was the Black Hair Expert at About.com. After wearing relaxed hair for 19 years, she big-chopped in 2000 and hasn't looked back. She lives in Northeast Florida with her family, where the humidity tries to mess with her hair, but she loves it anyway. Connect with her at toni & alice.

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When popular YouTuber Jewellianna Palencia put out a video entitled “PISSED! Stylist Cuts 9 Inches off my Waist-length Natural Hair“, she probably had no idea of the firestorm that would ensue. There’s been a ton of support as well as debate over her experience. In today’s world, social media — particularly the backlash that can happen across various platforms — can often cause people and brands to change direction or do damage control. How can we use social media for our, and others’, benefit when hair service goes bad?

Back in the day, if you got a bad haircut, you maybe told your immediate circle. Today, you can tell the whole world about your bad experience. Because of this, you’d think hair industry professionals would take care to manage their reputations more closely. Many stylists are savvy about this, but in this case, things quickly went from bad to worse.

Social Media Makes Word-of-Mouth Far-Reaching

Jewellianna never named the stylist who gave her a botched cut on video, but eagle-eyed viewers were able to identify the person based on shop decor (really, some of these viewers might want to take up private detective work with these skills!). Because the stylist is white, some comments revolved around race, such as “Why would a black woman with natural hair trust a non-black stylist?” Others wondered why she wouldn’t name the stylist so that other women could stay away. On the one hand, she didn’t want to destroy someone’s reputation, but some loyal viewers felt she owed it to potential clients to serve as a warning.

If you ever suffer bad hair service, how should you handle it, especially if you have a social media platform? It’s really up to each individual. Jewellianna tried to handle it with grace and class, but some viewers weren’t easily satisfied, although many were very supportive. Yes, stylists have reputations to uphold and shouldn’t be dragged across the Internet because they have a livelihood to maintain. But with ever-increasing visibility — in and outside of the natural hair community — they also need to be mindful of just how far-reaching word-of-mouth can be these days.

Author: Del Sandeen

“Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural.