Buyer Beware
I am a woman in my early 50s and noticed hair thinning. I have naturally curly dark blond hair. I have been interested in extensions for awhile and decided to make an investment in myself. I looked for salons that offered hair extensions in the San Francisco Area, and Bond Hair Bar in San Mateo looked promising from it's website. I did not seek a personal referral. I had a big weekend coming up and wanted to have great hair!
I made an appointment for a consultation ($100) and told Jill I feel like my hair is thinning all over. She said I needed a hair system. She went and got a rack of hair systems (hair topper) with brown/red hair types. The first hair piece she took off the rack, she put on my head and told me it was perfect match. She told me it was very high quality and the price was $4000. She was the expert and since she said it was perfect and high quality, I said ok. She never examined my scalp to actually see where it was thinning nor made any professional recommendations. She was an upscale expert, so I didn't question her judgement. She dyed my unprocessed natural hair red-ish. She wanted to glue the hair piece to my scalp, and I fortunately said "no". She sewed clips in the hair piece, for an additional ($125, I think - but I never was offered or given a receipt). She had overbooked several clients so she was running from person to person. When she had time for me she asked if I wanted to cut the hair piece. I said I wanted to make it look more natural. I did not understand that it would never look natural because I had too much hair on top of my head (it was a medical grade piece made for people with no hair). I also have red toned skin, so the color she chose was not complimentary. I should have slowed down and pushed back. She started making suggestions about how it would look better and more natural. She suggested trimming the bangs because they were hanging heavy over my eyes. She cut the bangs short and uneven. I had NO IDEA she was cutting my natural hair under the extension. She did tell me or ask for consent before cutting my own hair. I didn't realize this until I got home and took it off, I was horrified to find uneven micro-short bangs in my natural - former shoulder length hair with long layers.
Jill sent me home without styling the hair - which was weird for what I paid, but fine. The next day I put it on, all excited and then I styled it with a straightener. That is when I started to panic. It looked very unnatural (as I have too much hair on top for a hair topper). I was told by my daughter that it looked ridiculous. I called Jill and she told me to come back in and she would recut it, so I came back. She did not have a stream of customers and she took her time cutting it. It was just "too much hair" for any cut to make it look natural on me. She ended up cutting it into a short bob. I did figure that she cut my natural hair length that time, however she never asked me for consent to cut my own hair (never get your natural hair cut when the person cutting it can not even see your hair!). She then went at it with thinning shears, again trying to make it look more natural. I found out later she also thinned my natural hair which is already very thin, and now it looks frizzled and fried. I asked if there was anything she could do about the bangs and she said not really. Two of the clips I paid $125 fell off after the second wearing. I then went to my long time hair dresser who was disgusted. She took videos of how uneven the hair piece was cut and how my natural hair was destroyed. She told me it looked like something I bought off of Amazon for $35 and that I cut it myself after several glasses of wine. She refused to touch the hair piece as she though Jill would need to refund that. She did what she could with my hair, but it is chin length with 2 inch bangs cut off center, and fried by thinning shears. Again, I have naturally curly hair, and will need to blow dry and straighten every day (lord knows what I will do on raining or foggy days). Currently I have worn my sunglasses as a headband every day since Jill cut my hair.
I reached out to Jill again with photos and videos documenting the damage. She dismissed my concerns, accused me of lying, and refused to make any concessions. Her only offer was to re-sew clips and re-dye the topper — something that wasn’t even possible due to the previous processing.
It will likely take 12–18 months for my hair to recover from the damage caused by this experience. I’m sharing my story so that others can avoid going through the same heartbreak and expense. Please do your research and seek personal referrals before trusting someone with your hair. I wish Trust Pilot would let me most pictures to tell the true story!
October 10, 2025
Unprompted review
