Depasquale The Spa — Attraction in Parsippany-Troy Hills

The perfect haircut.... if it was 1978 and I was in 7th grade.

So my mom gave me a $400 gift cert to Depasquale for a cut and color. Great, I thought, I don't usually splurge on myself, so I was looking forward to having something different done. My hair being pretty washed out blonde at the end of the summer, I told Samantha that I wanted low lights and high lights, something chunky. Extra time was booked for this. She insisted on doing my roots a little darker instead and putting blonde highlights around my face, not what I asked for, but I figured she knew what she was doing and maybe it would be awesome. Or maybe it would turn out to be exactly the same color I walked in with. After some curt conversation and using pretty aggressive foiling techniques (she was a little rough while teasing and separating my hair for the foils), I was left on my own to relax before round #2....

When Samantha took me over to rinse my hair, she left me sitting for about 10 minutes while she prepared a gloss (semi-permanent, and again nothing that I originally came in for and now I get to wash my hair in cold water so that it lasts longer, hooray!). After rinsing, she started yanking a comb through my hair, which is very fine, so it tangles easily. I can't imagine how much of my hair she had in that comb by time she was done, but it felt as if she left a bald patch and no apologies. She then proceeded to wrap a large hot towel around my head and disappeared. I waited, waited, and waited some more... while the towel grew cold, heavy, and started to drip down my back. No one came over to check on me, ask if I needed something, or offered to change the towel. I thought about grabbing someone, but the impression that everyone there is running around like a bunch of headless chickens, didn't make me feel that anyone would welcome the interruption. Finally Erica came over to tell me that because my color didn't take as long as anticipated, not even close, I would need to wait an additional 30 minutes while she finished up another customer. Ugh. I just played on my phone like the other mindless neglected customers around me.

Finally Erica came to get me. I had booked a very expensive haircut for curly hair which only she is certified to do there, so I was excited, I needed a change. Especially after the disappointing color experience. Nope, it was simply not meant to be. I asked her to cut the back short, and keep the front longer, so as to have a noticeable diagonal taper. I asked her not to blow dry it so I could see the results, but she proceeded to whip out the hairdryer and told me to let her diffuse it. I need to stop being such a team player, because my hair looked ridiculous, flat against my head in the front with a weird little mountain of curls toward the back, which may have been a style in the 80s for a minute, not sure, but certainly forgettable. Which is what I wanted nothing more to do at that point... forget the afternoon, go home, wash my hair and have a glass of wine. I've attached a picture of me (and my dog) taken a couple of weeks ago. At the time, my hair color was actually much lighter, but it was dark in the car, still, certainly easy enough to see that there is virtually no difference between my hair in either picture.

Not a single friend or family member noticed my $400 hair cut and color.

If you read to the end, thank you for your time and allowing me to vent. I'm sure typing this is 20 minutes of my life that I'll never get back, but it felt good to purge the experience.

Depasquale has lost the personal touch, the appeal of being able to chat with your stylist without being dismissed. If you're just going there for the bougie experience, you're at the right place, but if you want a really awesome haircut and color, there are plenty of less expensive and more experienced (and friendly) stylists in Morris County.

P.S. I noticed that hardly any of the bad reviews were addressed......

I went to Depasquale for highlights all throughout high school and remembered it being the best salon in the area (this was 15+ years ago). I went there again end of July this year to get highlights done before a trip, and I showed the stylist (level 1/2) my platinum blonde hair that I’ve had in the past and she recommended highlights/toner and a root budge to achieve this. Once complete I ended up with a lot of warmth (think: orange/copper color) in between my natural dark root and the highlight (which looked like almost an inch of growth even thought I had just done my highlights), basically giving a reverse ombré look which looked muddy and cheap. Not only was this not at all what I asked for (based on the photos shared and my explanation to her), it was actually more of an issue because now this additional orange color was added to my hair and I knew right away this would be difficult to remove.

The managers were very nice about scheduling an appointment free of charge to fix the color (even when I needed to wait a month to do so) and they set me up with one of their best stylists who is a level 5. This new stylist said the original mistake was the root budge because it added the orange/warm color to the hair. She goes through and does another highlight to try and cover up the warmth. The blonde color overall was ok (more yellow than platinum but overall it was livable) but to my surprise there were very aggressive foil lines all along my roots (to the point where I couldn’t adjust my hair part at all without seeing the lines, they were everywhere). Additionally, she focused mostly on top of my head and a little bit of the middle so I ended up with a very blonde color at the top/sides and then the back/ends looked golden/copper and just much darker (so again with another strange reverse ombré look but now with foil lines along my roots throughout the head).

I tried my best to deal with it but decided to go back in again showing them how objectively bad it looked. They kindly agreed again to put me with another stylist (level 3) but emphasized that this would be the last time they would allow a fix free of charge (as if I am enjoying this process?). She did a good job fixing the ends to be blonder to match the top and she put in a toner/gloss to fix the foil lines (which she also agreed were an issue and said it had to do with technique) but unfortunately I am back to the original issue of having that orange/brown color between my natural root and the highlight, except for some reason it’s even worse now and looks like I haven’t gotten my roots done in months.

In pretty much all cases the stylists/managers tried to downplay it by saying it’s the lighting or that it will eventually look better after a few washes. However, I expect to walk out of a salon with hair that looks good in any lighting (natural outdoor lighting/indoor office lighting/etc) so it felt like they were gaslighting me by trying to convince me something looked ok when it just did not. Even after 3 visits (the original one plus 2 fixes) the issue has not been resolved so I will have to walk around with this botched orange hair color on my roots and will have to wait months for it to hopefully fade before I can find another salon to fix it. I also have to part my hair on the other side of my head (which is annoying because it isn’t where my hair naturally parts) to try to mask it.

All that being said, I don’t recommend this salon for blonde highlights, especially for those who have a dark base but want an ashy blonde look that blends well into your natural color. This is a skill that I assumed any stylist at Depasquale should have (and they did in the past) but it seems their quality has gone downhill. Given that bleach is something you shouldn’t have done often (to avoid overprocessing), I wouldn’t recommend taking the risk here.

See photos for the outcomes (these are all immediately...

I visited this spa on a Thursday evening after a long work day. I found it easy to make an appointment & after confirming I actually called & changed it to a 'Couples' appointment just as easily. The receptionists who assisted me were very helpful & patient with me. When we arrived for our appointment, we entered through the main Spa Lobby & were immediately greeted by warm smiles, friendly atmosphere, & a light pleasant scent in the air. Several women behind a tall counter greeted us by name & checked us in. We were then escorted through two tall doors into a subtle hallway that led to the changing areas to prep for our massages. The atmosphere, lighting, aroma & even sounds were all so relaxing. As our escort led us though the hall to our first stop, I heard the light trickle of a brook. We stopped in front of a nicely lit doorway were she explained about the complimentary robes & slippers, drinks, finger foods & were I would find my male companion once I was changed. I then watched my companion & escort disappear down the hall as I entered the changing area. My first impression was Wow, just beautiful. To the left was a wall of wooden lockers with keys and wristbands, to the right was what appeared to be my dream bathroom; off of an episode from HGTV! The place has a row of tall seafoam glass doors, green marble every where & towel warmers inside each individual shower 'room'. There are complimentary skincare products, hair care items & even disposable razors on the counter space to help yourself to ladies. But nothing blew me away like when I opened the locker & wrapped the robe around myself! NOW EVERY 1 OF MY SENSES ARE ENGAGED. This is truely a spa experience. The material that these robes are made of is so soft and comfortable it made me feel like I was getting a nice warm hug from my Mom. You know that feeling....there's nothing more warming or comforting! HOWEVER, the slippers were not so great. Be prepared for cold, hard plastic...but understand that with a Spa, these items need to be able to be washed, & sanitized & the material has to be durable--so they work! Once I was prepped I made my way back into the hall, down a few steps past a beautiful water feature & through a big glass door where I saw my spouse all wrapped up holding a cappuccino & smiling. The lounge we were in had a wall couch that was comfortable, a cute cart that was stocked with fruit infused water, finger sandwiches, hot water, tea bags-several flavors, & several ladies came in to refresh the supplies as we relaxed to wait for our appointment time. Our massuses arrived together & introduced themselves. They led us to a room, explained the basic Spa info, & the services were outstanding. After my massage, I took a nice hot shower and used some of the Spas shampoo & body wash. The line was litely scented, lathered up very nicely & rinsed well. It reminded me of something I would purchase from LUSH. Although my spouse felt this Spa was one of the more pricier we have visited, he expressed that the services, atmosphere & amenities that you have access to make it well worth it, so...