Modern Art of Hair — Attraction in New York

It took me a long time to post this review because I know how damaging bad reviews are to small businesses, but I feel the need to share this. I really wanted to give this salon a fair chance, but after three visits and nearly $1,000 spent over six months, I can confidently say I won’t be returning.

I first visited in October, paying $430 plus a 20% tip for blonde highlights on my previously dyed black hair. I fully understood that reaching my desired blonde would take multiple sessions, so I agreed to come back for a toner in a month and then a second bleach application months later.

During my toner appointment, I felt resistance from the stylist regarding the color I wanted, but I let it go, trusting the process and understanding that my hair needed more time. Six months later, I reached out to confirm whether I was ready for another bleach session, and the salon agreed. However, when I arrived, Jeffy repeatedly told me that what I wanted wasn’t possible and that I could only achieve a caramel blonde—not the ashy blonde I’ve consistently had in the past.

Despite his initial doubts, he did a test strand, saw that my hair lifted fine, and proceeded with the service. During the process, he asked if I usually wear my hair up or down, which seemed like an odd question at the time. I now regret not asking why. When I left the salon, I initially liked how my hair looked, but when I got home and tied it up, I realized the highlights were completely hidden. It looked like I had dark roots with blonde only at the bottom, which was not the look I was going for.

I reached out to Jeffy on Instagram to discuss it, but instead of receiving any suggestions (even paid options) to fix the issue, I was met with snarky responses. If you read the way he responds to negative reviews, you can get a glimpse of what my Instagram messages with him looked like. I personally would do anything to make my customers happy within reason - especially repeat customers who are good people…but I guess that’s just me.

For over 12 years, I have been to several salons, so I know what to expect when lightening my hair. Compared to my past experiences, this salon felt very rushed, like they just didn’t want to put in the work to achieve what I was asking for. Instead of collaborating with me to get the best result, it felt like they were more focused on finishing quickly and convincing me my expectations were unrealistic - even though I’ve had the exact results I wanted before in just two sessions.

Additionally, every time I’ve paid, I’ve been questioned about how much tip I’m leaving, which I find both offensive and unprofessional —especially coming from a business owner. I always tip, but no other salon I’ve been to has ever pressured me about it. The whole experience gave off strange vibes, and in hindsight, I should have trusted my instincts from the first visit when I felt so much pushback about my hair goals.

Unfortunately, this place just isn’t willing to put in the time or effort to achieve what clients want nor provide a remedy for the service when reaching out to get it fixed the day after. I regret giving them multiple chances and won’t...

Updated since salon replied:

I am very dissatisfied with my hair color and hair quality so very disappointed that I need to cut all my hair off now.

I went to this salon on New Year’s Eve 12/31/24 wanting a refresh on my blonde balayage hair. I’ve been blonde for 13 years plus. So I booked half head balayage, olaplex treatment, haircut, blow dry and curls w Jeff’s. During the consultation Jeffy suggested I do something different. He mentioned doing Highlights with few lowlights for better dimension

I was looking through Google for a good hair salon and went to this one because of the reviews. I got a haircut with Julia who was very kind, helpful and knowledgeable on how to cut my hair specifically. God bless her. Unfortunately the general manager of this place was very rude and highly unprofessional. At first I came in and was told to sit on the chair to start my hair cut and he said if I was going to do wash and blow dry and I said, no I just want to cut my hair. Then Julia proceeded to cut my hair. As she was almost finished cutting my hair he came up to her and repeated various times that next time she had to wash my hair and blow dry it because this was unacceptable. She told him that the costumer chose only to do a haircut and he said no I don’t care if she doesn’t want to do it all then you deny her your service, that’s it (saying all of this out loud, right in front of me, singling me out and making me feel bad that everyone in the salon also noticed and were looking at us). He then called the next costumer and told me and Julia that our time was up while she was still in the finishing touches of my hair. He didn’t even care, he rushed her to attend someone else and for me to leave that I literally almost left with the cape on. I was appalled of how disrespectful he was. Speaking in such a condescending tone to his employee Julia and to me. That I was rushed to pay for an unfinished service and he told me the same thing he told Julia AGAIN while I was paying, then said Tips, through zelle or cash? I said cash and gave it to Julia so uncomfortable in the situation he put us in. Then I asked him how much would it cost for a wash and blow dry and he even had an attitude with answering that question and said $95 in total. Then he said okay next time, I am going to let this one pass. As if I did something wrong or as if he were talking to a child. I am the costumer, I choose the service I want to pay for with my own money. You don’t force people to pay for extra things in the end when I am almost finished with my haircut and stop your employee from finishing her service with me out of nowhere because you just feel like you want more money. The employees were afraid of him and weren’t happy with his behavior either, as one of them told to me in a low voice “he is mean” with a frightened face. This says it all. It’s so sad to see great employees working under a horrible manager that is actually working against the business. I won’t be returning nor recommending this salon to anyone because of this horrible situation. I like to have peace in mind knowing that I am receiving a great service when I am paying for one. Thank God we are in the city of New York and there are lots of professional salons to...