So it's the day of your big date. You've been looking forward to this for a week now. You get up, head to the salon. You want to look your best for tonight and finally decide to give into the "honey colored highlights" your stylist has been raving about. You sit and wait. Two hours later your honey highlights are more like the color of burnt cookies. What do you do now!? Relax! Things will be fine. First and foremost, do NOT panic. Even permanent color is not forever. If you are unhappy with the color or cut you just had done, tell your stylist, or the receptionist at the front desk if you are worried about talking with your stylist. Nothing can be resolved if you don't speak up.

Try to be as calm as possible, it doesn't make you work any better or faster when someone is yelling their lungs out at you, does it? Definitely convey your unhappiness about the situation but save the scream fest for a better time.

Explain what it is you are unhappy with. If the color is too dark, or to light, or just plain unflattering, say so. Do NOT, and I repeat, NOT go home and try to fix the problem yourself. These are trained professionals who spent time and money learning this trade. The average Joe on the street, a.k.a. you, is not going to be able to do anything other than make it worse. Box coloring the part of your hair that doesn't suit you will only fry your hair and make it impossible to fix.

Similarly, if you think just trimming the side that seems a little longer will make it better, plan on wearing a hat for the next season. There is no salon that will tell you to just deal with something you don't like. You are a walking advertisement of that place's talent, or lack thereof. Any salon or spa that has a reputation worth anything will be more than happy to repair any mishaps. If you tell someone at the salon that you are unhappy with your results, you should expect to immediately have the problem corrected.

If for some reason things look fine in the salon but you get home to discover a problem, call right away. Many places will be happy to accommodate you and correct the error, but only if you make them aware of it soon.

Do not expect that two weeks after having your color done, you can complain that you don't like it. You will probably just be written off as someone looking for a free color service and nothing will be resolved. Limit yourself to one week. If by the end of a week from the time you had a service done, you aren't happy, call and make arrangements to have things fixed.

Hopefully, things will always work out for you and my suggestions will not have to be employed. If you do have a hair nightmare on your hands remember to relax and tell someone. Your hair, or any other service done for that matter, will be fixed right away. Nothing is more frustrating for everyone involved to hear that you hated something but dealt with it to avoid confrontation.

Tabitha is writer for http://beautykazoo.com and is a working professional at http://www.salondestino.com in Strongsville, Ohio