Hair Ethics

In December I got my first perm, and my hair has been falling out by the fistful ever since. I tried to rationalize this problem by telling myself this is probably just what happens when you get a perm, and I tried to not think much of it while unclogging my shower drain on a daily basis and vacuuming up enough hair to knit myself a new coat.\nBut a couple months ago I got a haircut at a different salon, and the lady cutting my hair shrieked, “Oh my God! Who gave you your perm? I can see where she put the rollers in all wrong! You have lost so much hair!” Throughout the rest of the haircut she kept shaking her head and sighing tragically, “You have such beautiful hair. This is such a shame.”\nSo I called the place I had gotten it done to politely bring this to the haircutters’ attention. The receptionist told me to call back the next day to talk to the manager. But an hour later I got a phone call from Liz, the skinny blonde chick who had given me the perm.\nThis caught me off guard, but I respectfully tried to explain what I had been told by my other stylist. Liz became increasingly angry and defensive: She kept insisting that it is my own fault that I am balding.\n“That perm was months ago,” she finally said. “You can’t possibly expect to get your money back, so I don’t understand why you called me.”\n“Actually,” I said, “You called me.”\nShe hung up.\nThe next day I called the manager to discuss the situation. \n“I’m sure it wasn’t Liz’s fault,” the manager said. “We’ve never received any complaints about her or any of our other stylists.”\n“OK,” I said, unsure how to respond to this weak argument, “But that’s not true anymore.”\n“The lady who cut your hair had no right to criticize Liz’s method. You probably aren’t aware of this,” she said condescendingly (and I am not making this up), “but that directly violates the hairdressers’ code of ethics.”\nI laughed out loud and conjured up an image in my mind of a group of hairstylists swearing over a Bible to abide by the “Hairdresser Code of Ethics” during a candlelit ceremony.\nI couldn’t imagine what would be included in this ethical code. I’ve listened to hairdressers bash other hairdressers in front of clients. I’ve had a hairdresser hang up on me. I’ve had a hairdresser confide in me that she uses hermit-crab sponges instead of tampons. \nBut according to my Google search there is, in fact, a hairdresser code of ethics. And it does state that “A member should not speak disparagingly of the work of any other hairdresser.” But another ethical code I found states that, as a hairdresser, one must “be willing to address any service complaints that have occurred due to poor service on the part of yourself, or any of your employees.” \nSo you tell me: Which hairdresser more severely violated the ethical code?