P.S.Gemmie English speaking hair salon — Local services in Tokyo

Firstly so sorry for the late review! It’s been about a week and a bit since I got my hair done by the lovely Narumi and all I can say is that she’s amazing and definitely skilled! (Which she was definitely not afraid to say!). I had made a very late reservation the night before and was trying to see if there was any available slots in other salons which there wasn’t (understandably) and came across this one. Never did I imagine I could actually get my hair done the next day! When I first came into the shop, I was welcomed in very kindly by all of the stylists and they were all very respectful. When I sat down, Narumi had definitely eased off any nerves I had going in by myself as a foreigner and we quickly got super comfortable with each other’s presence, so much so that even the owner apparently asked her how many times I’ve come in before as her client! The whole process was amazing and narumi kindly talked through what she was doing. In the end I’m so glad that I left it all up to narumi. Yes the length of my hair and colour was slightly different from what I had originally pictured, but I really loved the way it had turned out in the end and I’m so glad I trusted her as a stylist! However, the only thing I will say is that the colour had faded pretty quickly even without washing it, in just a few days the colour had faded to what was almost like an ash blonde and ash grey from the purple and darker purply blue I once had. To wrap up this really long review, all I want to say is that regardless of whether you’re a foreigner or not, MEYTOKYO offers exceptional service and stylists, and I could not be more happy than I was with Narumi! Next time I go there I hope I’m able to share even more stories with her and enjoy each others company many more times. Also thank you so much for the umbrella as it really saved me from the oncoming flood that happened as soon as I stepped out...

Edit: I initially gave 5 stars because I loved the immediate results of my hair. Despite requesting a cold perm, I was given a cream perm (without my knowledge) and that ended up costing more. And when I say without my knowledge, I quite literally mean they didn't tell me they gave me a cream perm until l paid. BUT I don't mind paying more, as long as it gives me the results I want.

I waited over 48 hours before washing my hair (as per typical perm instructions) and the bottom half of my hair came out straight even after applying curl cream. I think it’s also important to note that 2 different people did my hair - one permed the top half (the stylist I booked) and the other permed the bottom half. I DM'd them on Instagram and they asked me to come back to fix it (which I appreciate) but l'm not even in Tokyo anymore. Then my situation was passed off as "Well your hair is naturally straight so because the bottom half is close to your neck it is easy to fade out"... l'd understand if it was a couple months later but this is immediately after.

In the end, they just explained that the perm solution they use in Japan is different from the U.S… I did my research and I knew going into this that the material they use is different from the U.S but my hair SHOULD NOT be straight IMMEDIATELY after doing a CURLY perm. Especially because the top half is still curly???

Overall, I’m a bit disappointed in the final result but I’m lucky that you can’t really tell as long as my hair is down. If I put my hair up then you can see the bottom straight parts. I would be hesitant to come back and unfortunately, I will have to live with my half straight, half curly hair for the next few months because I can’t even immediately re-perm...

I got a haircut and balayage and couldn’t be happier with the results! Yuki did an excellent job listening and making my hair dreams come true. His haircut allows for me to part it any way. He also thinned out my hair which made it so light and bouncy. Perfect for the upcoming summer months. Nico was very precise with applying the bleach. Yuki stepped in to finish up the front pieces and applied the toner. Airi and Sohey washed, blow dried, and styled my hair. I couldn’t believe my hair could be so soft. The whole process was very efficient and organized. It took about 5.5 hours to complete.

I was very well covered with towels and saran wrap to prevent any bleach or water from accidentally touching my clothes, where in other salons only a cape was used and I left with bleach spots on my clothing. They also had plastic ear coverings which is so ingenious. The chairs at the hair washing station became lie-flat which made it so comfortable and didn’t hurt my neck. My eyes were covered with a paper towel so I was able to relax and catch some Zs.

Everyone was so kind and spoke English really well. I was offered a drink and yogurt snack. It was such a fun experience. Yuki mentioned they are rebranding in the next few months. I’ll definitely be coming back to a new name and same...