A TikTok creator who posts under the handle @athirdofme said she went to an Ulta Beauty salon hoping to donate her hair, and left the store so upset that she recorded a video about it in the car. She said in her first clip that she brought a reference photo with her to the appointment. According to her account, she asked the stylist a direct question before the cut began. “I’m thinking of donating my hair. Do I have enough length for it to look like this?” she said she asked, adding that she showed the stylist a picture of what she wanted. She said the stylist responded, “Yeah!” The creator said the result was different enough that an employee raised it at checkout. “The girl at the cash register straight up asked like, ‘Do you want to talk to the manager so you don’t have to pay for that?'” she said. She said she declined because she was close to tears, adding, “I literally just want to shave my head at this point. Like, I would rather be bald.” The creator says Ulta offered her a refund or a fix, but not both In a follow-up video, the creator said she had not expected the first clip to spread the way it did. She said she originally posted it the night it happened, where it drew a few hundred views, then shared it to a subreddit for bad haircuts hoping for jokes. She said the post then reached Reddit’s main page. @athirdofme Story time of what happened. Video I sent my bestie right after it happened. @Ulta Beauty #Haircut #botched #ULTAmatebotchjob ♬ Swan Lake “dance of four swans” – Kohrogi She said she called Ulta the following night and spoke with a manager, who asked her to email photos. According to her account, he told her, “we’ll let you know what we can do. Like, we’ll give you a refund and maybe we’ll waive the fee for like fixing it.” She said the word “maybe” frustrated her because, in her view, the cut is uneven and needs correcting. The creator said a second representative called afterward and made the terms clearer. She said she was told it was an “either-or situation,” a refund, or another stylist attempting a fix that she believes would leave her with a pixie cut she never asked for. She said that approach struck her as unreasonable, adding, “it just makes me think this woman has never worked in customer service because that’s not customer service.” She also said the company’s size factored into her frustration. “Ulta’s like, I don’t know, I don’t want to say billion-dollar company, but like, I’m pretty sure they’re high up there. They can f—ing afford to give a person a free haircut because they f—ed it up,” she said in the update. She said she told the company the video had gone viral, but that it “didn’t seem to matter.” @athirdofme Replying to @Jessica Singh Update on what’s happening #Haircut #botched #ULTAmatebotchjob @Ulta Beauty ♬ original sound – athirdofme The creator said she went to Ulta because she could not afford a salon elsewhere, and that she paid using a birthday gift card. She said a refund would come back as a gift card, which she said would leave her unable to use the money at another salon. She said she has a hysterectomy scheduled and lives with POTS and Ehlers-Danlos, which she said contribute to her financial situation. Her financial frustration is part of a wider pattern of salon pricing disputes, such as when a woman was appalled after a nail salon charged her 60 after quoting 35. She also explained a personal reason behind wanting to donate her hair. She said it reminded her of her grandmother, who she said died of cancer almost seven years ago, and that she has been struggling to recall stories her grandmother told her. She said she has had four falls that led to concussions on the way to her POTS diagnosis, and that she thought donating her hair again might make her feel closer to her grandmother. She said she is not sure the cut left enough length to donate. The creator addressed one other recurring comment in her update. She said she was not driving while filming, explaining that she was rear-ended by a drunk driver in 2015 and rarely drives, adding that her husband drives her and that she is “a passenger princess for life.” The comment sections under both videos drew a mix of suggestions and reassurance. One person wrote, “Do a cute little half bun thing until it grows a bit maybe…” The creator replied, “I can’t put it up this is as close as I got and my face is the reaction to it,” alongside a photo. Others weighed in on how Ulta should respond. “they should refund and fix,” one comment read, with the same user adding, “for no charge.” Disputes over hair services can lead to refund requests, as a New Jersey woman recently sought her money back when her hair looked nothing like what was agreed upon. Another commenter asked, “Since when tf does ulta cut hair????” A reply explained, “I’m pretty sure most Ultas have a full service salon at the back.” Several commenters offered compliments instead. “I think it looks cute here! Honestly, you are beautiful, I would NOT be able to pull it off,” one wrote. Another suggested, “side part helps it look better!” A third simply said, “It looks cute here!!”