Estelle Hair Studio — Attraction in New York

Not even sure how to rate my experience because I saw Stellas efforts but did not like my overall experience with Nina. I went in for hair botox & root touch up. Prior to starting I explained to Nina my concerns which Ive been experiencing hair loss or hair breakage since this pandemic hit and since I’ve never done hair botox wanted to know if it would nurture my hair back to health so that I can continue with my blonde baylage in the future.She eventually asked to see my hair I felt as if she felt discouraged and wanted to get out of dealing with it. My hair is very dry wavy/curly mess, typical Spanish Dominican hair. Had I seen reviews from here I would had gone elsewhere. Since after today, seems they only prefer to manage “softer” texture. I had high expectations but left the salon on the verge of tears. Nina first did my “roots” she had me choose my own color as if I’m the professional and then when she applied it she somehow applied it all over my blonde highlights so now I have no highlights she completely covered them. Had I Known I would had done it myself with more caution. And save myself the money. I also felt like Nina talked me out of straightening my hair. Seemed she wanted to leave early or just not deal with my hair at all. I’ve seen countless of videos on hair botox and each of them has the stylist carefully drenching the sectioned hair with the botox treatment while using an applicator brush where as Nina applied the treatment with her hands and sectioned my tangled hair with her fingers which hurt. I then asked if I can get a brush to detangled my hair she made a smart remark and grabbed the brush and passed it along my badly tangled hair from root to bottom ...I saw the hair breakage on the brush which she covered with a towel. It only took her about 5 minutes to finish applying the treatment and she was so quick to get me off the chair until Thankfully Stella told her no, I needed atleast to go under the drier. Honestly, at one point prior to getting me off the chair she spoke to Stella in their language I got the impression that Nina made it seem as if it was my idea to leave with the treatment and skip the straightener, which it was Nina who continuously suggested. And in doing so I felt discouraged didn’t think she would be able to straighten my hair nicely so I gave up. I paid $110 and even tipped Nina $20 (out of courtesy since my mom once worked as a hair stylist and I know the struggle) but I spent that money and left unsatisfied and with wet hair wrapped in plastic. I just feel if the hairstylist does not know or feel comfortable with ethnic or curly hair then be vocal about it or switch with another hairstylist. Or if Stella would had taken me and straighten my hair I’ll probably would had had a better experience....

ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS ABOUT PRICING! I have naturally curly hair. I was interested in doing bayalage or ombré and called to ask if my hair needed to be straightened before my appointment. The manager asked me over the phone to text a picture of my hair and a picture of what I would like done. I sent him a picture of my natural hair, a picture of when it’s blow dried, and a picture from their Instagram page as to how I want it styled. I was told the stylist prefers to have my hair straight for the appointment. I also asked how much would it be and I was told $200 no more than $250 for bayalage. So a few days before the appointment I got my hair straightened. I went to my appointment today and the stylist was very nice. Did a bayalage based on how I style my hair most of the time (curly or straight). I asked for the ends to be cut and he did a nice job. The color and cut came out beautiful. When it was time to pay my bill the manager said it’s $340! I said why?! I was told by you that it would be no more than $250. So he listed what he’s charging for. He charged extra for olaplex (which I didn’t even ask for. The stylist just did it and I was not told it was extra). Then $30 for the cut which The manager asked me over the phone if I was interested in a cut too and I said yes. He didn’t mention a price for that either then. Then the big extra charge was charging me $60 FOR THE BLOW DRYING! He said I have a lot of hair and that why it’s that price (AKA CHARGING EXTRA FOR THE HARD LABOR). I have never heard of any other salon that charges extra for blow drying. Blow drying is part of the service! Everyone in there leaves with they’re hair blown out along with their color. I FELT DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. I HIGHLY doubt other clients with non curly hair are charged an extra fee for just blow drying. It just doesn’t make sense. The manager then discounted just $40 and charged me $300 plus tax. Tax was supposedly $10. For the girls out there that have curly hair like me and are interested in the services of this salon be aware that they will try to play you for a fool when it comes to pricing. It should have just been the 250 plus extra for a haircut only. Management and as well as stylists should mention prices for all these things before it’s done on the client. Let me repeat the stylist was great with me and did a wonderful job. This complaint is towards management and leaving out...

⭐☆☆☆☆

I was on FaceTime with my best friend throughout her entire appointment, and I was absolutely appalled by the way she was treated—especially as a loyal, returning client. She came in for a complimentary service to fix a previous mistake caused by one of their stylists. She clearly explained her hair goals in advance, yet they completely ignored her and did the exact opposite of what she asked.

She specifically said she did not want a balayage—and what did they do? A balayage. Her hair was fully natural except for a small portion at the ends, making it a clean, workable canvas—contrary to their exaggerated claims. They even told her when booking, “We’ll fix your hair for free and achieve any color you want.” That clearly wasn’t the case.

When she arrived, she was met with nothing but aggression and dismissiveness. They constantly told her what she wanted was “impossible” due to her natural hair color. If that were true, why wasn’t it communicated in the initial consultation before starting the service and delivering unsatisfactory results?

What really rubbed me the wrong way was how passive-aggressive and impolite they were throughout the appointment. At one point, they even started speaking in their native language while my friend was expressing her concerns—how is that okay? It only made her feel more isolated and disrespected. Who’s to say they weren’t talking about her?

To top it off, the owner attempted to guilt-trip her after the service by saying, “There are 11 hairstylists that work here and a bad review hurts all of us. We all rely on this salon to provide for our families.” That was such an unnecessary, manipulative comment. If you genuinely cared about your staff and clientele, you’d train them to be better—not emotionally blackmail your customers into silence.

This place is clearly more concerned about money than customer satisfaction. They’re not particularly talented or versatile either, and it shows in both their work and their attitude. My best friend walked out feeling unheard, uncomfortable, and disappointed all over again. Do...