Hype Hair Studio — Local services in Vancouver

First photograph: exact picture that I showed as a reference to Selah. Second photograph: my hair immediately after the appointment.

I booked an appointment with Selah at Hype Hair Studio on August 22, 2025. I showed her multiple photos of the haircut I wanted — long layers while keeping my length. I have fine hair, but a lot of it, and she said the style I wanted was achievable. At the end of the appointment, when she showed me the back of my hair, I told her I didn’t see any difference — there were no visible layers. She could tell I was unhappy and offered to fix it. But during the second round of cutting, she began telling me I “don’t have enough hair for layers,” which confused me and felt like she was blaming me for the result.

What was most frustrating is that she didn’t mention any of this until after she had already cut my hair. If she had explained those limitations earlier, I could have adjusted my expectations, changed the style, or gone elsewhere. At that point, it was too late.

She cut more in an effort to improve it and then suggested I go home, style it myself, and see how I felt. I took pictures as soon as I got home and was even more upset. I had lost all my volume, but still didn’t have the layered look I’d requested. My hair looked thinner and more fragile than before. I reached out to the salon right away. They offered a follow-up appointment to fix it, but given my experience with Selah, I didn’t feel comfortable going back to this salon. I requested a full refund, but the manager, Marc, denied it. He then offered a 50% refund, which I accepted.

While I appreciate that the manager offered a 50% refund, I was disappointed not to receive a full one given how poorly the cut was handled. The issues could have been avoided with clearer communication from the start, and I left with hair that looked thinner and nothing like what I requested. I hope the salon takes steps to improve consultations and customer care...

This was my first time visiting Hype and having my hair done by Jessie. I'm a natural brunette but had been highlighting my hair blonde for a year or so and it took its toll on the health of my hair. I got a quote for colour/highlights/cut over the phone and while it was expensive, I'm comfortable going all out on my hair twice-ish a year as long as it doesn't require a ton of upkeep.

Jessie went over a lengthy questionnaire (3 pages!) before she touched a strand and I'm so thankful for it. She asked about everything - words that I wanted to describe my new look, how I rated its current style/health and what I wanted improved, how I style it normally, how often I wash it, yada yada yada but by the end, we both had a very clear understanding of what I wanted to achieve and how we would get there. She also gave me a clearer idea of the cost (cheaper!) and suggested I get a conditioning treatment since my ends were on the crispier side.

Jessie stuck the landing on the cut and colour. It's been almost six weeks and I'm still getting compliments on it. Washing and styling it at home always reveals a shoddy cut job but Jessie's cut is fantastic. Health-wise it's not 100% where I want it to be but it is much-improved and I'm sure that we'll get it back to the shiny, soft tresses I know and love.

Jessie was great to work with and I'm happy that I've found a stylist I trust with my hair after bouncing from salon to salon for four years. The salon itself is clean, bright and inviting and everyone I spoke with was warm and made me feel very comfortable. I would feel confident sending my BFF to any stylist at Hype but I'd put in an extra good word for Jessie R....

I really, really tried to give Hype a chance, but after four appointments I had to walk away and go elsewhere in search of good value for service. And because I believe that inexperience and a degree of professional immaturity was ultimately the cause of my issues, I do not want to name the stylist; everyone deserves a chance to improve.

The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was being called just before my appointment and told to come in a bit later. The cause? Well in both cases it was that someone known to the stylist was slotted in for a last minute appointment. Not a huge issue and being flexible as a customer is part of the deal, but when your booked in advance appointment is then so rushed that you leave with grey peaking out from spots of your newly coloured hair and you're told (for the second time) that 'they will catch it next time', you feel like you are being taken advantage of, especially when you pay over $150.00 for the services.

Yes, I suppose I should have spoken up and said something in the moment, but sometimes you just don't want to rock the boat, especially when you are trying to build a relationship with a new stylist.

Bottom line is that service is about substance, not just flash and it's important to ensure that every customer leaves feeling like they got good service and not just...