FÜMA Salon on Melrose Hair Lounge — Local services in Los Angeles

I'm writing this review after sitting on my experience there, and giving my hair a chance to grow out and see if that would help . But it hasn't, so here goes: curly haired people beware. I really wanted to like this place. It's convenient for me, everyone was nice, and I had a great cup of tea there. But the woman who cut my hair just didn't do a good job, unfortunately I don't remember her name. Based on other reviews of Fuma it seems other people here are wonderful, so I really hope other people have better luck than me.

I realize my hair (curly, thick, lots of it) is difficult, but for the experience level of my stylist I expected much better. After getting my hair washed, the stylist asked me how I normally style my hair, and how I wanted her to style it that day. I specifically said I almost always wear it natural, and I wanted her to style it natural as well. She goes about cutting it wet, fine no problems. I thought she was finishing up because she started drying it - but then she plugs in her flat iron. I asked her what she was doing with that and she said she was going to straighten my hair to finish cutting it because she's a perfectionist and wanted to make sure she didn't mess anything up. Now my former stylist back where I moved from (god I miss her) never straightened my hair to cut it, and it always looked amazing. In fact I can't remember a time since I started wearing my hair curly that someone flat-ironed it to cut it. You should not need to flat iron curly hair to cut it well, full stop.

So here I am, having specifically asked to have my hair left natural, apparently still mid-cut, getting my hair flat ironed. The stylist then goes on to remark that my hair simply does not want to straighten, and she's never dealt with hair like mine, even though she has other curly haired clients and teaches - this did nothing to settle my now mild panic at what was happening to my hair. She finishes cutting my hair, and says she doesn't like my hair straight and I'm like "uhmm...yeah, I wear it curly so..." and she uses the flat iron to get some weird, wavy kinks in it (to be fair, this looks cute on other people, but it doesn't hold in my hair). Finally, she's done. I should have been honest about my misgivings from the moment I saw her plug in that flat iron, but what are you supposed to do mid-cut? I probably should have been honest immediately after my haircut, but I just wanted to get out of there.

On top of all of this, I spent almost 2 hours at the salon for a basic haircut. I planned to be a little late to work, but I was a good 45min later than I intended to be. Because she took off length from straightened hair, it was too short when I wore it curly again. Not helpful when I'm trying to grow my hair out. After a couple months, the cut has grown out poofier than I'm used to. Overall, the stylist was very nice but I absolutely regret letting her cut my hair. I will not be trying out other stylists at Fuma, because who wants to be the person leaving a bad review who goes back to the same place? The search for a new...

I really was enthralled with my hair on February 5th, however, since I cannot get anyone to call me back, I'll post my issue here. Perhaps someone will return my numerous calls after this is read. He applied a Demi-color,, washed and applied a "free 1st time conditioner" that made my hair bone straight and I still cannot coax my hair back to it's utmost curliness. He flattened my hair and said that my hair would hold a curl because it is too healthy. Huh? Whatever he applied to my hair, be that a straightener, glosser, whatever he used, will not allow my natural 4C curl to return! I see what the young lady said "curly hair girls" beware. I have made at least 6 calls, and one email on their website to the manager, however, to this date, after a month and a half, no one has returned my calls nor my email. I gave him a tip and I sent him a thank you card, which is what I normally do, thanking him for making my hair look good. So my daughter said after I wash my hair, condition and apply my product, my hair will get the natural curl back. It did not come back and hasn't since. After my hair is washed and conditioned, it is straight and stringy, as if a relaxer was applied. Was it? We never discussed applying a relaxer like I think happened after he applied the "special" conditioner. All I wanted to find out was what exactly what it contained. When I left my hair was bouncy, straight and soft. I usually let my hair drip dry but I allowed him to straighten my hair just because but. I hadn't had my hair flattened since 2007, for my daughter's wedding. Terrell, if you are reading this, please, call me, don't make me wait any longer, to find out what is in that conditioner and what I can do to turn this around. My hair is still not the same with my 4C curl and I imagine that it is going to take a long time for my call to return. I see a glimpse of a curl but that is it. At least you can do is return my calls and email. I deserve that as your client.I love your work, you are a very personable human being and my regular hair guy in Seattle approved of my hair when I sent him photos. Sadly, if you continue to "ghost" me, I won't feel comfortable about returning to you for my hair needs. At least the manager should call me to inquire about my hair as a...

I debated writing this review, but after so many months and the money I’ve spent fixing this salon’s mistakes, I feel it’s necessary to share my experience.

I went to this stylist because they had a similar hair texture to mine, trusting they would understand my needs and help fix a bad dye job from a previous booking. I wanted to go blonde and was only about three shades away from my goal, but the experience turned into a complete disaster.

During the first session, they didn’t bring the color close enough to my roots, so it already looked grown out. When I politely asked for a correction, they responded with unnecessary sass but eventually agreed. After the correction, I left with wet hair to avoid further damage, but once it dried at home, I realized it was a dirty, grayish color—nothing like the blonde I wanted.

When I reached out, they told me to leave it alone, saying the color would "wash out." After a week, nothing changed. When I followed up again, they said they could try something else but warned it might cause more damage and insisted I leave it as is.

To make matters worse, they sold me shampoo and conditioner that were completely wrong for blonde hair and damaging to curly hair. A curly hair specialist and colorist confirmed the products were inappropriate, and the stylist failed to provide basic aftercare advice, like recommending bond-building treatments or leave-in conditioners.

Since then, I’ve spent thousands on extensions, color corrections, and visits to real experts to fix the damage and achieve the shade I originally wanted. My job is face-forward, and this ordeal caused unnecessary stress and frustration.

I trusted this stylist because of their similar hair texture, but this was one of the worst salon experiences I’ve ever had. They were dismissive, unprofessional, and didn’t seem to care about the health or appearance of my hair. If you value your hair, I strongly recommend...