Halloween hair horror stories

"I recently appeared at a business seminar in Vegas, but on my way I got held up on the motorway and missed my flight. I ended up flying to LA then getting a transfer - only to find that my bag of equipment hadn't made it. I had to buy a new laptop, and spent the whole night setting it up for my presentation. With no sleep, I finished everything with one hour to spare. The best bit? My original case showed up 15 minutes before I went on stage - I cried!" 

"At Salon International one year, my earpiece wouldn't fit properly. Just as I walked on stage, the show's producer decided to whisk off my glasses to rectify the problem. Unfortunately, I couldn't see very well, and cut my thumb quite badly within minutes of being on stage. With blood pouring down my arm, I had to sidle off for medical treatment, and spent the rest of the day in hospital. A memorable event, for all the wrong reasons."

"I was hired to do a stage show overseas shortly after I'd started out. Something got lost in translation, and when I arrived they expected me - a fairly inexperienced hairdresser - to do 20 models, alone. I knew my reputation was on the line, and that if I couldn't do it my career was over before it had even started. I was in tears getting the models ready, but I did it. When I saw the reception they got, I was hooked on stage work, but I still remember the fear like it was yesterday."

"I had a client come in for a cut and full head of highlights, but when she arrived she was extremely drunk. I did the hair with no mishaps, but one week later she came back, requesting a cut and highlights. She had completely forgotten that she had been in for the appointment already, due to her intoxication, and just put her good hair down to luck. She didn't believe us, until a receipt was produced as proof."

"I had just started as a junior stylist, when I was asked to do my mum's hair. I prepared three bowls of colour and was about to start, when I realised I didn't know which was which. I threw them away and started again, but forgot for a second time. I didn't want to waste any more colour, so I got on with it anyway. After applying a full head of highlights, I applied the tint, only to realise I had managed to mix up the bowls, again. In a panic, I took the colour off. Not only did my mum have the wrong colour highlights, her tint hadn't developed either. Seeing the mess of grey, blonde and yellow, I went into the staff room and cried. It took another two years before I touched my mum's hair again." 

"Shortly after starting out, I cut my step-mother's hair. I had cut it before, so knew it was very thick, wavy and coarse. It was shoulder-length with short layers and loads of natural lift. Quite a challenge for somebody at my stage, but I went at it with vigour, eager to show what I could do. After cutting it, I decided that it was going to need a really good thin out. Starting at the back, I went through section by section making it lighter, and although it made a difference, it was still very thick; so I went through again, taking more and more weight out.

While cross-checking it, I spotted a small section at the front which was a little long, so changed my thinners over to my normal cutting scissors, whipped it off, and I was done. I ran my comb and fingers through, feeling pretty pleased with myself - then I noticed a fairly large section on top, which still had too much weight in it. This was it - one last exuberant, confident slice with the thinners and the masterpiece was finished. 

As I had been thinning out for quite a while, I wasn't aware of the fact that I was still holding my cutting scissors. Consequently, that last triumphant section came off in one clean, sharp and terrifying cut! Half an inch from the scalp section was completely gone. The realisation that I had done something irreversible quickly set in. To her credit she took it very well, and said that she could change the parting to cover as much as possible, but it was still really obvious. Just remember - check which scissors you are holding before you cut!"