Vivo Hair Salon Sylvia Park — Attraction in Maungakiekie-Tāmaki

The salon I usually attend had recently put their prices up so when I saw Vivo's package deals advertised I was keen. I saw so may photos on Instagram of perfectly blended balayages and as that is what I usually get I had decided to book a 'classic balayage' package at your sylvia park salon in Auckland. The description was fabulous, not only would it include the cut and colour but an olaplex treatment also. Well it couldn't have been further from the truth, the advertised price was approx $228. The stylist I was assigned to told me that would only be about 6 foils, wouldn't include a treatment or the proper amount of toner I would need on my mid length hair. I should of gone with my gut and walked away at that point but as a busy mum this had been my only opportunity to get my hair done in around 4 months. I was there for 4 hours and my hair just over 2.5 weeks later looks like it did before I visited only massively overprocessed with bleach been used at the ends and dark wonky roots. My hairs condition is now like straw and I am absolutely gutted. There is so much yellowing. I was charged $384, my cut was nowhere near what I had asked for because the stylist had ran out of time. After 4 hours I also had to leave to pick up my son so it was a quick trim and not what I had shown in pictures. We don't have a lot of money so I am paying this colour off using humm and now somehow I need to find money to get my colour corrected/redone. The same stylist has offered to fill in the roots but to be honest I don't trust that a good job will be done. Only positive was she was friendly enough. The loss of money is a big deal to us as a family and now I don't even have nice hair as a positive. I have seen many similar reviews on google and only wish I had read them beforehand. The false advertising of your 'so-called' packages is shocking and you know draws in people who can't afford $400 salon prices. I want compensation back, I want my money back to allow me to have my hair corrected at a reputable salon. I have had numerous emails back and forth about this and now am just being ignored. Do not go here! 31/8 Update: STILL NO ONE HAS CONTACTED ME...

I visited Vivo Sylvia Park for the first time, hoping to get a keratin smoothing treatment ($199) and a haircut, but it turned out to be an unpleasant experience. I spoke with Joash on the phone beforehand, and he mentioned starting with a consultation. When I arrived, the consultation dragged on for almost 50 minutes, during which he repeatedly mentioned his experience and made dismissive remarks, like asking why I was “panicked” or interrupting him.

I explained I had a special event in two days and wanted a haircut I’d be happy with, but instead of listening, he suggested I “take a day or two” to decide if I even wanted a haircut. After going back and forth, I finally asked for a long bob or face-framing style (as I have a round face), leaving room for him to improvise if necessary. However, he kept focusing on how I hadn’t brought reference photos and questioned whether I was sure about my choice.

Joash suggested layers and quoted $95, though I noted discrepancies in pricing, which he brushed off as related to his experience. As the haircut progressed, he cut my bangs too short despite my request to avoid this. He became defensive, claiming that’s what “framing” meant. I don’t think a person with 15-16 years of experience would claim such things. He disputed the $199 keratin package price listed online, only confirming it after speaking with the receptionist. The overall end result of hair length is uneven, with one side longer than the other, and I had to curl the longer side myself to make it look presentable for my event.

The entire visit lasted almost 4 hours, far longer than expected, and left me frustrated and disappointed. For someone already self-conscious about hair loss, the experience was upsetting and dismissive. I won’t be returning and will stick to my regular vivo salon. Also I read later in reviews how they charge extra for their own mistakes. I hope to get some amount of refund and I don’t trust them at all...

I’m sorry I really wanted to like my haircut but I really don’t. I booked a new client package (half head highlights & cut) last minute on the Friday and was able to get an appointment here for 10.30am on the Saturday - to start with, I would have rather them turn me away than have someone who was working on 4 different clients all at the same time. I had 3 different people work on me. The drying process took a very long time because the person I was initially booked in with was working on two other people. So they stalled the drying process as much as they could .. it took 30-40mins. She came back and cut my hair while it was dry - I don’t know if that’s a common practice but no one has ever done that on me. It felt like she rushed it all and it was like a quick 5 minute cut. She was rough and cut my hair in chunks and I knew this was gonna be very uneven because I had thick hair. I decided to look past it because I just wanted to get out of there. She got a newbie to curl my hair while she went and worked on another person, but it took longer than it needed to be. Because of the curls I couldn’t see how my hair was cut - I re-washed my hair and had a proper look at it and the layering is horrible and there is little to no blending. I got my hair layered a couple months ago and it was nothing like this.

I thought with these prices, the services would be good quality but I was wrong. $160 for that? Not worth it at all. I paid for a new client package $190 (half head highlights + cut) I was talked out of highlights and only got the cut, so now I’m left with store credit that I’m not going to use because I’m not going back there again.

The ladies were lovely but the work...