Left to ‘get purse’: Edel Vesey leaves the Dublin District Courts where she was charged with making off without paying for her hairdo. Photo: COLIN O’RIORDAN

A beauty salon customer who absconded without paying for a hairdo claimed later that stylists had ruined her hair, leaving it a "ridiculous bright orange".

College graduate Edel Vesey (31) initially told salon staff she was "delighted" with the results of a three-hour, €130 hair treatment, but ran off after asking to leave to get her wallet and then claimed her hair had been burned.

Judge Timothy Lucey told her he would jail her for two months if she did not pay twice the cost of the hairdo in compensation.

The judge said Ms Vesey had lied and he was "suspicious" after noting differences between pictures of Ms Vesey's hair taken by the salon and others taken by the accused herself. Ms Vesey, of Clonmore Villas, Ballybough, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to making off without paying for services.

Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at Nabella Hair and Beauty, Dorset Street, Dublin, on September 21, 2017.

The owner said Ms Vesey had asked for a wash, cut and highlights. She paid a €10 deposit on the €130 price, giving her phone number and the name Michelle O'Connor.

After the treatment, she was shown the back and sides and was "delighted", the owner said.

When it came time to pay, Ms Vesey said she had forgotten her wallet and that she had to get it from her car.

The owner said Ms Vesey had told her: "I'm going to get my purse, I'm not that kind of bad person, I will pay you, I'm a good girl. I am not running away."

After she left, she sent a text message saying she was not happy with her hair. The owner offered to fix her hair, but she did not return.

In cross-examination, the owner denied Ms Vesey had been dissatisfied with her hair in the salon, saying the accused told her that was "the look she wanted". She denied Ms Vesey had told her that her hair was "burned and ruined".

Ms Vesey said in evidence that when she was giving her name, the staff member did not understand and she eventually said: "OK, Michelle."

"I said 'are you sure that looks alright?'," she told the court. "I said 'are you sure that is blonde?' I wasn't happy with it because my hair was bright orange and all patchy. It was ridiculous looking."

She claimed the three salon workers locked the door, were "surrounding" her, and she "panicked" and said she had to leave to get her wallet. This was denied by the owner.

Judge Lucey said if Ms Vesey paid €240 to the salon he would dismiss the charge under the Probation Act.

Irish Independent