House of Lange Hair Design - Irvine Spectrum Center — Attraction in Irvine

Here is my honest, non-paid, review of this salon. After reaching out to voice my dissatisfaction for the expensive and ineffective treatment I received, at the recommendation of one of their salon stylists, the owner proceeded to tell me:

1. the treatment actually worked (it didn’t)

2. I chose the wrong treatment (I took the recommendation of his stylist)

3. and that they don’t stand behind the quality of their service.

See the owner’s attempt to apologize?

“Thank you for reaching out. We understand if the results that you received did not match what you were hoping for. We would normally offer a complimentary adjustment in situation where the results are not as desired. However, after reviewing your photo’s we can see that the treatment has worked as it was meant to. It has smoothened and tamed the natural texture.”

Me: Not only did this treatment not work, but how would he know that my hair had been tamed and smoothened? 🤔

“While we understand you may have wanted it to completely straighten the hair, keratin and smoothening treatments do not guarantee a stick straight result. In order to change the hairs texture to that degree you would need to have a treatment such as a Japanese straightening treatment or relaxer, which actually alters the bonds within the hair to restructure the hairs texture. During your consultation the stylist did make it clear that none of our smoothening treatment options would guarantee a completely straight result if you just wash and go; and that the treatment would make it easier to straighten the hair further.”

Me: I did not ask for completely straight hair at any point. My goal was to get an effective treatment to smoothen my hair and make it easier to style afterwards. Based on this desire, which I explained to the stylist, she recommended the keratin treatment. Your stylist also mentioned that after the keratin treatment my hair would be smoother and that I would only need to blow dry it. WRONG! It took me the same amount of time and effort to straighten my hair as before the treatment.

“We do understand that you received a treatment at another salon that gave you the results you were looking for; unfortunately, every smoothening treatment is different and provides varied results. I would at least recommend reaching out to that salon to see what brand of treatment was used and any specific details of the treatment process that may have applied to your service in order to replicate those results.”

Me: at least he is acknowledging that other salons have treatments that work as promised (not this one).

“Unfortunately we can’t provide a refund for services rendered and hope you can understand.”

Me: I just want to make sure that I understand—after receiving an expensive and ineffective treatment that was recommended by your “expert” stylist, you do not stand behind the quality of your product. Did I get that right?

Unfortunately, zero stars was...

I've been here a handful of times, each with a different stylist. They are all super nice, but I didn't necessarily feel like my original stylist really knew how to work with my hair. I'll acknowledge I do tend to ask stylists for advice because a lot of cuts that I like don't work with my hair on the daily. But I didn't really feel like my original stylist knew how to cut it based on what I do with it (air dry with product) so I ended up with a few cuts designed to look really good if I styled it, and less so if I air dried it (despite me telling them that I never style it). So I tried another stylist, and she was better, but the solution was more or less a blunt cut, and it wasn't the worst cut I've ever had, but not the best either. Might be my fault for not being a hair styler, maybe there's only so much they can do if you don't want to blow dry, curl or straighten. My other issue is that I've left there multiple times with styles after cuts that weren't that nice looking - e.g. my hair was frizzier after they styled it than it was when I got there with air dried hair, and then as my thin hair does, it dropped the style pretty much as soon as I left the salon doors despite the efforts of their hair spray. I've definitely gotten hair stylings done before where the stylist was able to achieve perfectly silky smooth, soft, lovely hair that stayed in the style they gave it, but just not since I've been coming to House of Lange. For some reason their hair product selections and methods don't seem able to achieve that.

The nail in the coffin for me was going to get my hair styled for a date, again decided to try a different stylist. He used so much heat on my (very fine) hair that it caused some serious damage. Even after wash & deep condition #5, it still smells burned and looks frizzy / has definite breakage visible especially at the top and ends of my hair, and some of my strands are permanently (at least for now) straight, which is not how they naturally are. Basically my hair looks battered and confused, and I'm trying hair masks galore to help repair it, but I think it's probably just going to have to grow out. I called to ask about that, I'd never had this happen to my hair before so I didn't really know how to fix it or if it will go away eventually. The lady who answered the phone just said "so what do you want to do" and in my head I was kind of thinking... wait a sec, shouldn't you be telling me what I should do now to recover from the damage one of your stylists caused?? I honestly ended up getting more information / help from people on reddit on what to do now to fix it.

All in all, I've given multiple stylists at this place a fair shot, but I don't have the courage try House of Lange again, so I'll be going...

I was really looking forward to my appointment at House of Lange, but unfortunately, my experience was disappointing from start to finish.

Poor Communication & Lack of Hospitality

I arrived on time for my appointment but waited 20 minutes without any update on when my stylist would be available. There was no communication whatsoever—not even a simple acknowledgment that they were running behind (which was a red flag).

Additionally, I later realized that the salon offers complimentary drinks like coffee and wine, yet I was never offered anything. I only noticed when I sat at my station and saw a drink menu, along with other customers enjoying beverages.

Unprofessional Haircut Process Not Even Close to What I Asked For – I showed my stylist a reference picture of long curtain bangs that flowed seamlessly, but what I got was fringe bangs all across my forehead—completely different from what I requested. No Attention to Hair Parting – My stylist never asked how I part my hair. She automatically parted it crookedly in the middle, and I assumed she would fix it when cutting my curtain bangs—but she didn’t. Choppy, Uneven Cut – I asked for a simple trim to remove dead ends, but my hair was chopped at uneven lengths. This became painfully obvious when I put my hair in a ponytail the next morning and saw how poorly it was cut. No Final Check or Attention to Detail – After blow-drying my hair, she immediately took off the bib and walked me to the front. I tried to re-part my hair and fix it, and she clearly saw me struggling, yet never bothered to ask if I was happy with the cut.

Uncomfortable & Unprofessional Atmosphere

The overall experience felt awkward. I tried to engage in small talk, but she wouldn’t keep the conversation going, which is fine, but she also never introduced herself, which came across as unprofessional.

Not Worth the Price or Hype

I had higher expectations for a salon at Irvine Spectrum, a busy location with many people coming in. However, I was completely wrong—this experience was such a disappointment.

I paid $110 for a haircut and walked out with chopped, uneven hair and completely different bangs than what I asked for—something I could’ve gotten at a beauty school for a fraction of the price. The quality did not reflect the cost, and I definitely would not recommend this place.

⭐ 1/5 – Absolutely...