Japa Salon — Attraction in Stillwater

At first, I wrote a terrible review of this salon bc of the horrendous haircut that I received from my stylist. I've been meaning to edit my review because of the manager, Stephanie, (I think she's the owner,actually. She called me quite a while ago to apologize and I can't remember our exact conversation. Anyhow, Stephanie called me and apologized repeatedly, telling me that is not how they run their salon and that she would be talking to the stylist who did my hair immediately after the phone call. She offered to give me free hair services for the next year and offered to have me come in right away so that she could fix it herself. She was so nice and sincere, I had to change my review. It's not fair for the entire salon to suffer.

The one star review was for my specific sylist and not the entire salon. Now, he (my stylist) DID butcher my hair. I originally wanted two inches off but was willing to do up to 3 inches. He cut off 5-6 inches in some places and 7 inches in others (yes, I measured). The reason why I have different lengths that were cut off is because my hair was not cut straight. I had random chucks that were a good two inches longer than the other hair. I really have no idea how that could happen. Also, I asked to frame my face and the "framing" looked like steps going down, not the typical smooth framing. I have wavy hair so I didn't notice this right away. However, when I straightened my hair and checked to see if I'd missed any pieces, I saw the horrible vary lengths of chunks of my hair (and I'm not talking about layers, the very bottom of all of my hair kind of reminded me of the top of a castle, lol, up down up down up down).

I didn't go back in to have my hair fixed, because I didn't want anymore cut off. I decided I'll just wear my hair wavy and in a ponytail until it grows out. Since I didn't want to go back in, Stephanie sent me a gift card for $250 and a bottle of Kerastase Shampoo along with a Kerastase masque that smooths/nourishes hair. If you know about this particular product, then you know how unbelievably expensive the products are. I couldn't believe that she went to all of that trouble! Wow, that is a great owner/manager!

So here's my new review of the salon:

It was easy to make an appointment and they were great about rescheduling my appointment. The salon is easy to find and there is plenty of parking. When you walk in you will notice that the place is kept very clean and well decorated. You will, also, notice how friendly the staff are. They even gave me a glass of wine while I waited and while my hair was being colored. I can't review all of the stylists because I only had the one, who (as I've already stated) mangled my mane. Having said that, the rest of the stylists must be decent or this place wouldn't be able to stay in business. I haven't heard anything similar to my situation from anyone else. The owner/manager is very invested in making sure customers are satisfied and goes above and beyond to ensure this.

I'm now giving the salon a 5 star rating because one bad stylist shouldn't represent the entire salon. Yes, he was terrible and I'd never let him near my hair again. However, once my hair grows out some, I will give the salon another chance. Stephanie told me to ask for her, and I definitely will.

So that's it. My long winded but thorough re-review of Japa Salon.

Thank you Stephanie for everything you did to rectify...

As a new mama, I was so excited to do something for myself and get my hair done again. I booked online for a Dimensional & Root color; however, I told the stylist right away that I wasn’t sure if a Dimensional was what I’m wanting and then I explained exactly what I want as well as showed her inspirational photos. She was kind but didn’t do a very good job at explaining anything throughout the whole process. I’ve been a blonde for most of my life - my hair was (and still is) a light / medium brown and has never had any issue lifting color in the past or going from a dark brown back to blonde. When she showed me the end result, it truly looked almost NO different to what my hair looked like before the appointment and NOTHING like any of my photos I showed her. When I expressed this to her, she acted confused and had just an odd response. After explaining some more & being disappointed, she finally offered to “fix” it and told me I wouldn’t be charged again. I literally cried in my car afterwards out of disappointment & then my whole family asked if I had even got my hair done when I showed them. I came back to the salon the next day, explained again what I want as well as showed her a photo again, and spent another 3 hours there. She told me she wasn’t gonna tone it unless it comes out “yellow” looking then we could tone it but I’d have to pay the $60 again. So we washed & dried my hair and then I told her I want the toner due to it looking a little brassy (I have never gotten my hair done where not doing toner after going more blonde is even recommended by the stylist?). So then it took at least a whole hour more to re-wash my hair with toner and dry again. At the end, it was a little lighter but still NOTHING compared to the photos or what I explained I wanted. And I had to pay for part of the service again (toner) which I feel is unfair after having to come back for her to try to make it better and spending a total of 6-7 hours there for me to still be disappointed. Then for the second time around, my family said it barely looked like I got my hair done. I paid $210 for my hair to look nearly the exact same and not at all what I wanted - again, I’ve never in my life had a problem going more blonde before. I feel like the stylist didn’t listen to me or care much and it was just poor service / professionalism and communication...

THIS PLACE IS EXCEPTIONAL!! I called many places trying to get an appt to get my hair done for my granddaughter's wedding. Coming in from out of state, it was difficult to find a place during Covid and on a Sat. I called Japa and from the minute I spoke to the receptionist, Megan, it was a fantastic experience. She squeezed me in on the schedule but it would have made me extremely close to getting to the wedding on time. She called back and got me an earlier time, quite impressive follow through. My hair was done exactly how I wanted it by Grace who was also just amazing in every way. She changed her schedule around without knowing me, just my situation. If I lived here, this would be where I would go. Due to health issues, it is very painful to blow dry and curl/flat iron my hair. Thank you Megan & Grace, it added to such a beautiful day!

I would rate this place a 5++++ and I am very particular...