That prom night bleach fail in 2019 still haunts me

I was working at a small salon in Columbus, Ohio, and this high school girl came in two days before prom asking for a platinum look. Her hair was a box dye disaster underneath, but I thought I could lift it anyway. About 20 minutes into the bleach process, her ends started turning mushy and I had to rinse everything out fast. She left with a honey blonde trim that saved her length, and I learned to always do a strand test no matter how tight the deadline is. Has anyone else had a near catastrophe like that with a rushed client?

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jasonc501mo ago

“Two days before prom” gives me flashbacks, man. I had a similar rush job where the client insisted on going lighter and her hair was already fried. I ended up doing a quick protein mask mid-process and backed way off the developer strength, like 20 volume instead of 30. She walked out with a warm caramel shade instead of platinum, but her hair didn’t break off and she still got her photos. That strand test rule is real, I’ve skipped it once and regretted it for weeks.