Booking a hair appointment is usually hassle-free. With a finger tap or a phone call, you can have a professional create your dream hairstyle. But excitement turned to anger for one woman after a string of suspicious and scammy behaviors sent her over the edge.
“I’m so f–ing mad right now,” she says. “I don’t have time and I don’t have money to throw away,” Texas TikToker Breeshae (@breeshae1) says, seething with anger. “I don’t know why people think it’s OK to play with other people’s lives.”
Then, she gives a frustrated recap of the incident to more than 513,000 viewers.
What happened with this hair stylist?
“I made an appointment to get my hair done,” the content creator says. “My appointment was supposed to be at 3 p.m. today. I got up at 12. I washed and blow-dried my hair straight.”
Two days prior, Breeshae had to place a $50 deposit to even book the hairstylist. Once the day arrived, she drove an hour from Prairie View to Houston and arrived at the appointment time sharp. When she reached out to the hairstylist, the first of many red flags waved.
“‘I just got back from the hair store, and you need to send me $25 because this is not my shop. I’m working from somebody’s shop,’” the content creator recalls the hairstylist’s reply.
Initially, she didn’t bat an eye at the $25 chair fee. After all, it’s not uncommon for hairdressers to pay a weekly or monthly rental fee for their booth, which is what Breeshae attributed it to and sent her the money.
However, the extra fee the stylist attempted to tack on raised her eyebrows. “‘I forgot, but you also have to send a $15 sitting fee,’” she remembers the stylist adding.
The straw that broke the camel’s back
Now, Breeshae was fuming.
“Mind you, the appointment for the cost of my hair itself, the total price was only $140. I already sent you $50. You said that was gonna be deducted from the total, which makes the total $90,” she says. “Then I sent you $25, which I’m expecting it to be deducted from the total and she tried to get me to send her $53 to get the hair when she told the hair was included.”
As a result, she felt this was money down the drain on this hairstylist she allegedly found on TikTok.
“How the f— am I supposed to trust anyone on this app when you have b—s scamming motherf—rs?” she says. “I gotta go back to work tomorrow. I don’t have money to waste. This is my only day off this week.”
“I wanted to try something new but she had to go and f– up my experience,” she vents, on the verge of tears. “I drove an hour to her and sat in the car waiting for her for a whole 30 minutes, waiting for her to tell me what the f– is going on. I’m livid!”
‘This smelled fishy from the beginning’
In the comments section, many heard the saxophones get louder from the start.
“I’m on your side boo but why tf would you [pay $25] just to walk in the door?” one viewer asked.
“Wtf! $50 + $25 + $15 more. This smelled fishy from the beginning. Omg!” a second remarked.
“Girl you should’ve left the second she asked for more money and you aren’t even in the chair,” a third said.
“Sounds like the scammers that send you to a fake spot,” a fourth stated.
“Too many people have been scammed on tiktok by these fake hairstylists,” a fifth agreed.
How to prevent falling for the TikTok hairstylist scam
Social media is widely popular and influential, which can easily make it a cesspool of scams. AI, catfishing, and stolen portfolios can make these scams more believable to reel in unsuspecting victims.
In August, Salon PK workers in Jacksonville’s Southside experienced over a dozen people showing up at the salon, claiming to have booked, paid a deposit or the full amount to a braider on TikTok who worked there when they didn’t, according to WTLV.
Last year, Northern Liberties, Philadelphia residents noticed at least 20 women had fallen prey to a similar hair stylist TikTok hoax. A male resident told 6ABC that these women paid a deposit via Cash App and referred them to his address.
Because these scams have been occurring for quite some time, Phia Salon posted tips on how to avoid fraudulent hairstylists in 2021:
- Check the salon’s website and see if the stylist’s name you’re talking to is on it
- Cross-check the estimates online with the one they gave
- Check the website’s policies versus the one the stylist gave
- Reach out to the salon directly about your appointment
@breeshae1
Subplot reached out to Breeshae via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
