Assort Tokyo — Local services in Tokyo

First of all, allow me preface this by saying everyone at the salon was very friendly and welcoming. That said, I'm afraid they are not equipped to accomodate curly hair clients to the same extent as other clients.

My hair was cut wet, as the stylist commented how my current length was uneven. This made me nervous because, as anyone familiar with curly hair knows, the hair looks very different wet as opposed to fully dry. Not every curl has the same pattern or tightness, so it is difficult to judge evenness and length while wet.

Part 1 of "styling" was a drug store leave-in conditioner. Nothing against Shea Moisture because it is a lovely brand, but I was not expecting this at a professional salon.

Part 2 of "styling" gave me slight hope when I saw the stylist reach for a Bounce Curl Define EdgeLift brush. However, my hopes were dashed by the quick brush through. The stylist didn't even try to bounce the curls back after raking through each section, so they lay limp and undefined. I tried to touch up a few, but the stylist said he would fix them later. This never happened though, because after the rake-sans-shake he reached directly for the diffuser. Seeing my lifeless, unstyled, product-lacking hair, I foresaw disaster, so I stopped and asked if he was going to use gel or anything (curl cream...). He replied he rarely uses gel, and doing so would defeat the purpose of the treatment I had been given earlier.

Still giving the benefit of the doubt, I let him proceed, but my heart sank when he turned on the diffuser and immediately thrust his hand into my hair, lifting and shaking it all throughout the drying process. Again, anyone who knows curly hair knows you CANNOT touch it after styling while it is wet. The little definition I had after the brushing was completely destroyed, resulting in a stringy, frizzy mess.

I am no stranger to inadequate curly hair treatment at salons (is any curly?), however, what bothered me most was when the stylist and I were discussing how difficult curly hair can be, and he commented that there are not enough seats (i.e. time) to accommodate the special attention curly hair needs.

This... hurt. It seemed like the stylist did indeed have some knowledge of curly hair, but no time and/or desire to apply it.

At that point, I looked around at everyone in the salon being made beautiful, knowing they would walk out feeling refreshed and full of confidence with new-me energy... And all I felt was embarrassed and ashamed of the curls I usually take such pride in, as well as dread for the impending commute home. Thankfully I had no other plans!

While certainly no ill-will was intended, this casual statement was a clear message that I was not valued as a client, nor as a person, in this salon.

Again, this is not a unique experience to Assort Tokyo. Plenty of salons, both inside and outside Japan, cannot accommodate curly hair. However, I paid close to 20,000 yen for this experience, the majority of which was for the one senior stylist who handles curly hair.

With regard to the cut quality, I honestly will have no idea until I fix everything myself. I pray it is even. The stylist even admitted it would look better once I fix it myself. While undoubtedly true, again, I was paying a hefty fee for a senior stylist to cut and style my hair, not for me to style it myself.

As for the TOKIO treatment, it was lovely and made my hair feel soft and light, however, as I have to redo everything, it was altogether wasted.

To the salon: If time constraints really are an issue and you cannot handle curly hair from start to finish, that's perfectly fine and even understandable. However, please do not set false expectations and please do not charge the same as other customers who are able to enjoy the full salon experience. While there are surely far worse curly hair horror stories, I'm afraid my experience at your salon was quite demoralizing.

Photos: Disregard color and length. My undefined Assort Tokyo hair. Example of how defined my hair typically looks after a professional...

I love my hair so much!! Got a haircut, bangs, layres, Japanese straight perm, and hair treatments. I am from LA where there are many salons but I'm so glad I waited to visit Assort in Tokyo, I love my hair so much!! I also paid a lot less than I expected to for these services, the pricing was super fair for such top quality work. I couldn't imagine taking it anywhere else.

I have had curly hair my whole life that I have never worn curly. I flatiorn almost every single day. I was so excited to find out about a Japanese straight perm because hair relaxers would be too much for my hair type but Brazilian straightening wouldn't last long enough for how much id be spending. I was reluctant to go to anyone in the USA for it because it was such a new treatment there and I knew I could really trust Assort to not overprocess my hair or tell me honestly if my hair could handle it. My stylist, Wataru, gave me really helpful input about keeping my hairs integrity And aftercare/upkeep and what kind of face framing layers I should get with my bangs. He made me so comfortable and I was in very good hands!!

I had been following Assort on tiktok before even knowing I would be visiting Japan. I loved to watch their hair transformation videos. So when planning my trip to Japan i booked my appointment online & already knew I wanted to book an appointment with Wataru!!! I love his incredible work and he really has an eye for style !!!

The stylist are all so so talented! The staff there speak multiple languages and I was so surprised that everybody spoke English really well. Even the woman who checked me in at the front desk spoke English, and my stylist, Wataru Speaks perfect English so I was able to communicate Nuance things about my hair such as wanting bangs but having a widows peak and my hair history , and what would happen during the process and the after care.

In my appointment Wataru kept checking throughout how my hair was doing that it wasn't breaking that it was still healthy. He was thoroughly checking throughout the whole process that my hair is OK.

They have a full café there so I was sipping on tea and coffee my entire hair appointment. I felt so pampered and it was such a nice day to relax on my vacation.

At the end of my appointment my hair was so shiny and straight and everything I could've wanted more!! It has been a week since my appointment, and my hair looks so amazing even after showering. It is low maintenance and beautiful. Wataru gave me the best haircut I've ever gotten in my life. SO happy I got the straightening treatment, It is actually life-changing Because I used to spend so many hours a day on my hair. I'm already thinking about how I'm going to plan another trip to Japan to get my hair touched up in the future. Assort Tokyo is the best salon full of extremely talented, expert trained trustworthy professionals, Who are kind knowledgeable, and gave me the best experience!!! Everyone there was so wonderful . Thank you Wataru !!! I feel so beautiful and can't stop looking at my hair 😍. I definitely recommend comming here to everyone!! 10/10...

To start off, I want to talk a little about my stylist Haruka and everyone else at the salon.

This was my first ever experience at a hair salon, nonetheless one with such a high reputation. While I didn't get her name, the worker at the front counter was very friendly and made sure to make you feel comfortable. After waiting only a few minutes, I was brought to my seat. One of the first things I noticed after sitting down was the amazing and unique styles everyone had at the salon. From everyone's hairstyles to their fashion styles, they all looked amazing. This gave me a good first impression on everyone's creativity, which I think is necessary when working at a hair salon.

I was a little nervous with this being my first time doing anything with my hair, but Haruka immediately greeted me with a smile, which helped to calm my nerves. While her english may not be as good as others from the salon, that didn't stop us from having many genuine conversations. From the information I provided during booking, we talked a bit about what I was looking for and the best approach to achieve that. To be honest, I didn't exactly know what I wanted, but I did have a couple of inspiration photos. When booking, I thought I wanted a digital perm, since my little amount of research told me that they usually last longer, but she suggested I did a cold perm instead since my hair was quite short. I knew the length of my hair would be a bit of a challenge going into this, but this didn't discourage her. I honestly put a lot of trust in Haruka and let her do whatever she thought was best; I'm glad I did. My hair came out so much better than I could have ever imagined. With the current state of my hair and the style of hair I wanted, she suggested that I continue to grow out the sides of my hair in order to achieve the look I want.

Aesthetically, I don't look drastically different, but that's kind of the look I was trying to go for. My biggest gripe with my hair was the fact that I have very thick, straight, and stubborn asian hair. Even if my hair is 2-3 inches long, it still sticks straight out. However, once it is long enough to weigh down on its own, that makes it a problem in of itself. When dry, my hair would just be super flat and would not budge. I don't like using strong products such as hair wax to style my hair and like to keep a more natural look. However, in my experience it's very hard to have a natural look and one that will last all day simultaneously; it's either one or the other. After getting this perm, I can finally achieve both.

The entire experience was amazing and at a very affordable price (compared to the US). While I would love to have Haruka as my hair stylist, she is unfortunately, but also fortunately for her, relocating to a different salon. I will forever be grateful for the service and experience she provided for me and wish her nothing but the...