Who is the hairdresser on TikTok?

Hairstylists on TikTok have taken to the clock app in droves to spill all the major tea on some of their worst clients. No shade to any of the stylists, though. They just want to set the record straight on how stressful cutting and styling hair can be. In fact, these videos are primarily light-hearted, usually in the form of a reenactment or storytime delivered straight to the camera. (The so-called "bad client" is never actually in these videos.)  

The hashtag #WorstClientStory has over 61 million views on TikTok and #HairstylistStories has drawn an audience of 7 million and counting. Allure asked two hairstylists to recall why they decided to tell their client horror stories in the first place. 

Ever look back on a stressful situation and wish that you could've used that energy to just have a laugh? That "aha" moment is what prompted Dallas-based hairstylist and makeup artist Michaela Paskell to recreate an unfortunate encounter with a client — played by her sister — and share it on TikTok. 

In the 45-second video, Paskell reenacts giving an ungrateful client a blowout and a pair of false eyelashes while recounting the client's deluge of complaints. "Once I start curling her hair, she starts complaining that her hair's not soft enough, that I put too much product in it," Paskell says in the video. After the services are complete, the disgruntled client tells Paskell that her salon setup is ugly and begins to rearrange it. To anyone who needs to hear this: Don't be that person. 

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Paskell created her video mainly for entertainment purposes. It may have been slightly therapeutic, too. Paskell tells Allure that she saw similar videos on TikTok and decided to hop on the trend as well in hopes that her story might help other stylists see that sometimes the only way to get over an entitled client is by having a good laugh.

That's partly why North Carolina-based hairstylist Madison Gegland shared her experience, too. Gegland's three-part odyssey is about one very demanding client. The story begins when a woman walked into Gegland's salon and asked if she could get a haircut on the spot, with no appointment booked. Gegland agreed to take the walk-in but was still tending to another client's hair. The client started to barrage Gegland with questions about when the cut and color would be done. 

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As if the non-stop pestering wasn't already bad enough, the client eventually took the foils out of her hair and "started scrunching the bleach like she was putting mousse in her curls." The debacle continued at the washing station, when the client took the shampoo nozzle out of Gegland's hand. 

The stylist then went back to her first, non-problematic client, but in her absence, the woman began to blowdry the toner in her hair. When Gegland rushed back to start the cut, the client took the clippers out of her hand. It only got worse as the woman started running her fingers through her hair — in the video, Gegland admits that she came very close to accidentally cutting her finger.

TikTok content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

TikTok content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

If you weren't aware that the hair service industry is full of clients wanting to call the shots, then you do now. Let these stories serve as a friendly reminder to treat your hairstylist with the respect — and tip —  they deserve.

While the main path to fame as a hairstylist was once through working with a famous client, TikTok is creating a new class of celebrity hairstylists. Those who rise to viral fame are seeing their businesses transform overnight, attracting a flood of young clients traveling cross-country and even internationally to get the perfect viral style.

Chicago-based sales engineer Manal Faraz, for example, flew in from Chicago for an appointment with Toves-Vincilione after booking a month out via the Ulta Beauty platform. She came across one of his videos searching for “70’s haircut” on Instagram Reels. While Toves-Vincilione has also amassed 158,000 followers in the past six months on Instagram, he said most of his new clients generally say they found him on TikTok, however.

“When I would go to hairdressers and ask for this type of haircut, they’d be like, ‘No, that’s ugly. I’m not doing that. I’m not putting my name on this haircut,’” she said. “When I messaged Justin, he was very welcoming. I just got the vibe that he’s going to listen to what I want.” She flew to L.A. specifically for the appointment, making a weekend trip out of it. 

TikTok has helped to inspire a wide range of haircut trends over the past two years, from the famous “curtain bangs” to the resurgence of the “Rachel” to the “wolf cut.” 

“TikTok is accelerating trends,” said Ontario-based barber Mylz Carlos Miraflores, who began posting haircut videos on TikTok in July. He now has 1 million followers. “Everyone sees it; everyone’s going to start doing it.”

Miraflores’ initial claim to fame on the platform was a video showing how to style straight hair to make it more textured. After it earned 3 million views, “People were booking me because of that haircut,” he said. While his clientele was previously local to his city of Mississauga, where he works at Identity Barbershop, he saw new customers from across Canada and the U.S., including Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Calgary and Montreal, as well as Miami, North Carolina and Queens, New York. He estimates that 60% of his clients are now those who found him through TikTok. 

Fully booked three months in advance, Miraflores raised his rate for a haircut from $33 (45 CAD) to $58 USD (80 CAD), giving his existing clients a code for his old rate. ”My regular clients wouldn’t even be able to get an appointment, so I had to make it more exclusive” by upping the price, he said, adding that he has plans to raise the price to $72 (100 CAD) soon. 

“I’ve had a huge influx of clients, to the point that, at 24 years old, my books are closed for new clients completely,” said St. Louis-based hairstylist Siiri Parks, who has over 3.6 million followers on TikTok; she is known for her colorful dye looks. She also has had multiple clients coming in from out of state to see her, as well as customers from Canada and England who flew in. She said TikTok “makes stylists and their work so much more accessible to such a vast group of people, [beyond] wherever said stylist’s salon is located.” 

While many TikTok hairstylists have found fame due to their viral styles alone, association with TikTok influencers is also driving a craze in the traditional celebrity hairstylist sense. 

Hairstylist Glenn Ellis said that he has received an influx of clients after working with Instagram influencers such as Helen Owen in the past. But shoutouts from his client Tinx on her TikTok “brought in a whole wide range of people,” he said.

“Doing Tinx’s hair during the pandemic helped bring my career to the next level,” he said.

Ellis has also seen clients fly in from across the world, with the farthest coming from Thailand to L.A. solely for a hair appointment with him. 

“TikTok has a massive influence on hairstyle trends. Influencers set the stage more than celebrities. At this point, they are the new celebs,” said Linh Phan, co-owner of L.A.-based salon PhanHaus. Co-owner Maggie Hancock added that TikTok has “definitely opened us up to a whole new audience.”

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