Post by @shanellebasma

Not everyone posts about days like this. We post the transformations, the beautiful reveals and the perfect after photos… but we don’t always show the days behind the chair that completely break us down. And I think we should. 🤍 My beautiful client originally came to me a few months ago after her hair had been severely overprocessed by another stylist. Her hair wasn’t just tired — it was EXHAUSTED. She originally loved cooler tones, but after what happened to her hair, she was traumatized and scared to go back there, so we went a little warmer. Then she missed the cool. Then she wanted silver again. Truthfully, she didn’t know exactly what she wanted yet — she just knew she wanted to feel good about her hair again. And that’s okay. Her expectations were also a little higher than what the current condition of her hair could realistically give us right now. But that’s where communication matters. We talked. We listened to each other. I explained what her hair could and couldn’t handle, she explained what she was seeing and feeling, and we understood each other. Today was supposed to be a few-hour appointment. It became almost 13 hours. Her hair was so compromised and porous that certain areas started grabbing tones completely differently. I neutralized, reformulated and toned again, but those exhausted ends had a mind of their own. Her top and ends were lighter while a darker area remained through the middle. I refused to immediately reach for bleach just to force a result. Her hair had already been through enough. After CPR, multiple adjustments and A LOT of thinking, I carefully added only a few foils where we needed to break through that darker area. Thankfully, we got through it, softened the unwanted tones and reached a color that we both felt comfortable with. But here’s the part I really want to share. I cried today. I walked outside more than once because I needed a moment. I was mentally exhausted. Physically exhausted. My brain had been working nonstop for hours trying to understand what her hair needed from me. And for a moment, I felt defeated. Not because I didn’t care — but because I care so much. When you truly love what you do, it hurts when something doesn’t go the way you pictured it. This is my work. My name. My reputation. My passion. And most importantly, there is a real person sitting in my chair trusting me with something that affects how she feels when she looks in the mirror. If I could have given her everything she wanted in three hours, I would have. I would NEVER choose 13 hours. But sometimes hair history shows up. Porosity shows up. Old damage shows up. Chemistry surprises you. And experience doesn’t make you immune to difficult days. Experience teaches you how to stay when the day gets difficult. It teaches you not to panic. To think. To adjust. To protect the hair instead of protecting your ego. And sometimes it teaches you that you can be an experienced professional and still walk outside and cry. I’m incredibly grateful for my client today. She was patient, calm and understanding. We communicated through every part of it. There was no blame and no anger just two people trying to understand each other and find the safest, most beautiful outcome possible. That meant more to me than she probably realizes. So when you see a hairstylist post a beautiful transformation, remember there may have been hours of thinking, stress, emotion and problem-solving behind that one picture. And to every hairstylist who has ever gone into the back room, bathroom, car or outside and cried for five minutes before coming back to finish the job ! I see you. We are artists, but we are also human. 16+ years behind the chair and I’m still learning. Still being humbled. Still caring. Still giving everything I have to the person sitting in front of me. Today her hair wasn’t tired. It was exhausted. And by the end of the night… so was I. 🤍 But we didn’t give up on her hair. #fyp #greyblending #k18results #haireducation @house of foils @K18 Hair