City Curl Studio — Local services in New York

I went to City Curl Studio with my girlfriend and had a very unpleasant experience. We were asked if we were a lesbian couple. I scheduled this appointment for her birthday to get her hair cut with Melissa. I was rudely asked to leave because I was considered a guest not 'paying for services.' I actually was paying for services, just not for myself, as I was paying for my girlfriend to get her hair cut. They have a 'No Guest Policy,' meaning you'll be rudely asked to leave if you're not paying for services. I was told they have this policy because they're 'so busy,' but my girlfriend reports that the seating area was completely empty during her entire appointment... They also failed to inform us about their 'No Guest Policy' before the appointment. They claimed to have sent a text message before the appointment, but no such text message was ever found. Once I pointed out never having been informed about this 'No Guest Policy,' no apologies for the inconvenience were made, only laughter was received, which was not appreciated. Not being from Staten Island, I sat in our car, just waiting for my girlfriend to finish getting her hair done. We would have just canceled and left, but this salon also has a hefty cancellation policy where they claim to charge your card on file if you cancel outside of their cancellation hours. We were overcharged, and on top of it all, Melissa was 20 minutes late for the scheduled appointment. I strongly feel we received this experience for being a lesbian couple and I would never recommend City Curl Studio to anyone. My girlfriend ended up hating her haircut and said her appointment felt rushed. We ended up having to pay to have my girlfriend's hair re-done in the city.

Response to owner:

Your response could not be further from the truth. Please stop using COVID as an excuse to allow non-inclusivity at your salon. The waiting area was completely empty. No one was sitting in it throughout the entirety of the appointment, and your own staff wasn't even wearing masks for COVID even though all clients were wearing masks. Also, I mentioned many concerns in this review, and only one to two issues were brought up in your response, both with untruthful justifications. This salon is very unprofessional...

I came in to have my hair highlighted here but left with blotchy, poorly applied toner with bleach blonde near my roots/back of my head, and mixes of orange and ash tones near my ends. I texted the salon to explain (and provide photos of my hair) that I would like to be refunded at least 100 dollars (of the 330 I paid with tip) to get my hair fixed locally, because I was not able to return to Staten Island in the coming weeks. They insisted I come in the next week to have an adjustment (in the middle of the day), rather than go to another salon. I thanked them for the offer but I explained again, that I would not be able to take time off to go back out to SI and have an important event coming up - so I need to get my hair fixed immediately. I mentioned I was not trying to be complicated, and didn't intend to write any bad reviews (which I genuinely meant) - I just simply wanted to be compensated so I could get my hair fixed locally.

HOWEVER, I was then called by the stylist (Rachael) who aggressively picked apart my concerns I wrote via text and accused me of threatening her?! Even going as far to call out that I had mentioned via text that it was the stylists responsibility to check the hair thoroughly before allowing them to leave and I didn't feel like it was done, to which I responded "yes, I do think it is the stylists responsibility - I can't exactly inspect every part of my hair with a handheld mirror". She responded with, "and you expect me to?!" Yes. Of course I do, and anyone with decent eyesight could see that my hair was incredibly uneven - the back of my head is white blonde. She offered to send me a check in the mail for 50 for the toner.

Honestly, I never been treated this way by a salon - and I truly did not want to be controversial. Unfortunately, I feel the stylist was incredibly unprofessional and immature in the way that the she addressed my concerns and acted as if I were personally attacking her rather than just simply and privately voicing my concerns (via text) about my obviously botched hair job.

You can keep your 50 - but I would advise you not be so aggressive towards your clients in the future, especially when they are respectfully voicing their...

*THEY ONLY KNOW HOW TO WORK WITH WAVY HAIR *

I went this last weekend to get my hair done by Rachel and I loved how the color came out and how she asked me loads of questions about my hair etc she also spoke through what she was doing and I’ve been to her before so I trusted her to do what she thought was right for my hair, however when i was brought to my stylist (a different person) I made it clear that I did not want Deva products used in my hair, and because I was getting my hair washed i didnt see what was being used.

I was under the impression I was going to get washed then seated and THEN styled in front of a mirror, however I was styled in the wash area. After she left me I felt my hair starting to burn, I dont have any allergies or anything but my hair felt like it was on fire. I thought maybe peppermint oil was used in my hair and thats where the burning came from but when she told me to come sit before putting me under the dryer. It was then that I seen that she did use Deva products on me after I clearly asked to not use them. I wanted to cry but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t overreacting I enjoyed how my hair looked but not how it felt, I wanted to wait a day to see if my scalp calmed down, however that same night it was tender to the touch and yesterday I had to wash everything out and seen that my scalp was red.

Not only did the use of these products cause discomfort, but it also meant I had to spend additional time and effort after returning home to wash, treat, and style my hair with my own products. Considering I paid $450 for this service, I am deeply disappointed that my preferences were not respected, and I am left dealing with the aftermath of the experience. I would have rated my experience 5 stars if it wasnt for the stylist using products that I specially requested not to use causing the burning , and if I didnt have to rewash and style the next day.

I would like to request a refund for the service, as it did not meet my expectations and caused me unnecessary pain and inconvenience. I hope the salon can address these issues promptly and make amends for the discomfort and dissatisfaction I...