Woman unleashes on dodgy hairdresser after hair extension disaster
In videos posted to his hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, Melbourne hairdresser “Alan” usually loves the spotlight – just not when confronted by A Current Affair.
The stylist, who installs hair extensions from a city high-rise, pulled a hoodie over his head and sprinted from our camera crew.
None of Alan’s clients A Current Affair has spoken to know his full name or whether his business, called Melbourne Hair Extensions, is registered.
Customers are instructed to transfer money to him under the description “gift” and sometimes ordered to give him a “card-less cash” pin – generally used by people who misplace their bank cards – so he can withdraw money directly out of their accounts from an ATM.
Beauty therapist Melissa, who’s been growing her hair for a decade, said she has now had to shave her head.
She paid Alan $750 to install hair extensions and said she felt unsettled from the moment she met him.
“He gave me a different address and came out of nowhere and got me,” Melissa said.
“Took me across the road, into some alleyway and into these apartments.
“At the end after the extensions he stood behind me and played with my extensions.”
Melissa said Alan then asked her to record a video testimonial for his Instagram page.
“(He said) ‘if you can do a video and say you’ve been here before and how good the experience was,'” she said
“A few weeks later I noticed the glue started to bind with the other bits of my hair.
“(Alan) didn’t reply to any of my messages.
“I went to my hairdresser and he said, ‘he’s used gorilla glue … it’s impossible to get out’.”
Melissa was forced to chop off her locks
“He just needs to be stopped,” she said.
Tara* said she too was left less than impressed.
“Towards the end of it he had me sit down, and he gave me kind of a script which he wanted me to go off, like told me what he wanted me to say and he hit record (on the camera).”
When confronted by Melissa near his Flinders Street studio, Alan pulled a wad of $700 from his pocket handed it to the beauty therapist.
“I’m happy I got my money back but I have no hair, so girls look out for him, do not go to him,” she said.
“He’s the worst hairdresser.”
A Current Affair has provided evidence it uncovered to the Australian Taxation Office.
*Name changed.
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