‘She was literally racially profiling me from the moment that I walked in’: Ulta customer catches worker sneaking in charge for service she didn’t need

After a traumatizing experience at Ulta, this Black woman says she was racially profiled and charged extra because of her hair type.

In a viral TikTok, Maxine Tennant (@maaxxinee_) explains her experience at Ulta. Though she had gotten her hair straightened at Ulta frequently, she says she had never been met with this kind of reaction from a hairstylist before. She says the minute she walked in, the hairstylist warned that she was not going to be able to straighten her hair as straight as Maxine wanted it. Maxine says this comment rubbed her the wrong way because it seemed like the stylist was quick to make assumptions about her hair and made it seem like something was wrong with it.

Next, Maxine says the stylist insisted that she needed to blow dry her hair before flat ironing it because her hair was still wet. Maxine says her hair was not wet; it was just cold. Still, she says the hairstylist insisted and blew out her hair before straightening it. Maxine says she was surprised when she went to check out and found that the total was $42, although she usually pays $32.

She says that as she explained her confusion to the stylist, the woman raised her voice and told Maxine she could take it up with a manager. Maxine says she told the manager that the stylist should have let her know it was going to cost extra to blow dry her hair, especially since she did not want or need it. However, the manager reportedly sided with the stylist, which clearly distressed Maxine, as she was crying and rubbing her eyes in the video.

"This whole experience just made me feel really like degrading as a person. And as a young Black person, I felt like she was literally racially profiling me from the moment that I walked in," Maxine says. "My hair was like nappy and poofy, and I come in to get my hair straightened, and she goes, 'It's not gonna be as straight as you want it,' and I'm like, you don't even know my hair!"

As of this writing, the video has 4.5 million views and more than 22,000 comments.

@maaxxinee_ Ulta beauty PT.1 || I have never experienced this thpe of experience at ulta beauty before in my entire life. I will not be back to ever get my hair done again! #ultabeauty #horribleexperience #worstexperience #racialprofiling ♬ original sound - maxine tennant

This is not the first time the Daily Dot has covered Black women feeling discriminated against at hair salons. In a recent article, a Black woman says she was charged more at Drybar for the extended amount of time used on her hair. While many of her viewers recognized surcharges for textured hair and extra time as the norm, they also recognized how unfortunate it is that Black women need to pay more for hair services in several places.

While Maxine says her experience at Ulta was traumatizing, she also says it led to a lot of support from the community online and that she is grateful for all the Black women who showed support in the comments. Numerous viewers tagging Ulta got the company's attention, and it reached out to her. Maxine says Ulta offered her a $150 gift card in response to her experience. Additionally, she says that several brands have reached out to her to send her hair products. In a different video, she unboxes items sent from Pattern Beauty.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Ulta for comment via its site and Maxine via email and Instagram direct message.

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The post ‘She was literally racially profiling me from the moment that I walked in’: Ulta customer catches worker sneaking in charge for service she didn’t need appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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