- A hairstylist gained traction with a video showing her dealing with a bridesmaid's super long hair.
- She said she wasn't informed ahead of time, although she later told BI that was her own fault.
Heather Balaam, a hairstylist and makeup artist from southern California, took to TikTok to share a frustrating wedding experience where she wasn't informed ahead of time about a bridesmaid's long hair. The video sparked debate in the comments about whose duty it is to confirm whether a customer has long hair, with many people saying they would never think to mention it to a stylist.
In the clip, which has been viewed over 15 million times since it was posted on November 5, 33-year-old Balaam shows herself quickly styling the client's long hair. Balaam was working for a wedding, which took place in Fullerton, California, in early November. She was on a tight schedule and had to style multiple bridesmaids, she said.
@hb.makeupartist in the end everything was beautiful, the decoeations, hair & makeup. When things are easy its just not fun… you know? #hbmua #makeupartist #bridalhair #bridesmaidmakeup #bridesmaidhair #hairstyle #grwm
♬ original sound - Heather Balaam
"I had to pull the camera back to get all this hair in the frame," Balaam said in a frustrated-sounding voiceover, showing a woman with hair that went all the way down her back. "Was I informed before the wedding that I was gonna be dealing with this much hair? No," she added, laughing.
While styling the woman's hair, Balaam urged viewers to let their stylist know "if someone has extremely long hair or they're bringing extensions," because then she would "build more time into the schedule."
Balaam told Business Insider this week that the mishap was actually her own fault "100%," because the information that's normally in her styling contracts, like whether someone has long hair, hadn't been included.
"I thought it was, but when I went back and double-checked it wasn't," she said.
In the video, Balaam started by crimping the root of the hair and braiding it, and then pinned the braids to make a structure around the back of her head. Balaam then curled the dangling strands of her hair and looped them around the braid bun, leaving some twisted tendrils to fall down her back.
"It looked stunning," Balaam said. She finished the styling in 39 minutes.
"I will tell you, I was sweating like a pig, I had to go home and clean up," Balaam said. "I was putting in work that day."
The comments were mostly positive, with people congratulating Balaam on the job well done and sympathizing with her about not being informed. One user received over 88,000 likes on a comment saying they always tell their stylist they have hair that goes below the waist.
"The way I would absolutely faint if I saw that as a bridal hairstylist," one top comment said. "I would have cried," another person wrote.
Still, there was a contingent of viewers who said they never would have thought to inform a hairstylist before, and recommended that Balaam provide a questionnaire.
"I think the stylist needs to prompt the bride to tell you about their hair and extensions of the party," a comment with over 1,800 likes said. "I wouldn't know to tell the stylist."
"I don't think someone would just assume they need to tell a stylist they have a lot of hair," another person said.
One person wrote that whenever a hairstylist comments on their long hair, it makes them never want to come back.
Balaam told BI that she doesn't believe the client was to blame, and she has deleted mean comments people have made about the woman.
She explained that she believes it's a "joint responsibility" of the stylist and the client to ensure the stylist knows what to prepare for, especially in the context of a strict wedding schedule. Long hair can take extra time because there are "more strands per capita," she said.
But in the end, she said it's her responsibility to be able to get the job done.
"It is and has to be within my toolbelt to be able to deal with these types of situations," she said.
Balaam said she's enjoyed seeing the video go so viral and having people be inspired by her work.
"I've gotten so many clients and inquiries for weddings, so that's been really cool," she said.