Hair Village — Local services in New York

I used to come here for 8 years. I stopped 6 years ago. Went back today and my waist length silky hair that never even had split ends is DESTROYED. I was there from 9:30 this morning until 9:00 pm when she decided to just leave my hair half done despite assurances I'd leave with beautiful hair. She did the same procedure twice but did it differfent both times and half assed both times. I had it done elsewhere before so I know how it's supposed to go. She insists I use bleach on my dark brown hair. Not sure how that is even possible but from the panic when she tried to scrub the stuff out of my hair after using the wrong stuff I'm sure that was just an excuse. Then she decided to do something completely different than what I asked for without informing me. I asked what she was putting in my hair, she told me it was conditioner. It was NOT. She decided on her own to do a keratin treatment. I was then told by the shampoo girl I needed to pay for both botched procedures neither of which I asked for in addition to a $35 tip. I told her I wasn't paying a dime to anyone for anything they did because I didn't ask for those things nor was I told they were doing them before they applied the chemicals to my once healthy hair. Mimi then offered to "fix" it by chopping my hair off!!! Well I had already seen the cuts they did on others and told her I'd stab her with her own scissors if she came near my hair with them. I was sobbing so hard for most of my time there that a stranger who was there with her friend came over to pray for me. I have not had to cut my hair since 2009 and now it looks like my roots are permed and my ends are fried. The hair inbetween is a frizzy mess. I am filing a complaint with consumer affairs and anyone who will listen. Other women left there with beautiful shiny hair. Even women who had bleached hair. Luck of the draw I guess. I used to love this place. Now I want to...

I don't understand all the hate for this place. I've been coming here for close to 15 years now if you include the old location and this is the only place I trust to Japanese straighten my hair.

Yes, you will have to blow dry your own hair if you come when they are insanely busy and you could wind up there for 8+ hours. If you go during the busier times the place will have a hectic assembly line feel to it. I avoid these issues by simply not going first thing in the morning and avoiding weekends. I show up around 5pm on a weeknight and I'm in and out in less than 3 hours since they can usually have two of the ladies working on the flat ironing at the same time. To try and save a bit of time you can wash your hair beforehand shampoo only and make sure its 100% dry before heading in and then they can start with chemical application right away.

From my experience Mini knows what she's doing as far as which chemicals to use and how long to leave it on. You do have to keep track of the time yourself though. There is a bit of a language barrier sometimes and it doesn't feel like a warm and fuzzy spa experience but if you look at the prices you're paying its strictly for getting the service done quickly.

You do have to pay almost right after they start your hair. I don't know why this is a thing but it doesn't bother me since I'm a repeat customer and have never had a problem. They also want cash payment only these days and have an ATM next to the register.

These ladies get the job done and I walk out with perfectly straight...

i usually get my japanese straight perm done in japan but i live in new york so i was in the market for a place to keep up my roots in new york. these ladies fried my hair. i only got the solution put on the roots but i walked out of the salon with my whole head of hair damaged. my lengths were riddled with mechanical damage from them ripping through my hair with combs (even after i begged them to let me comb it because i noticed they were being too rough) and the top of my hair where the chemicals were applied was absolutely fried. i also kept getting scolded by basically the whole staff that the job will be "difficult " because i didnt dye my hair before coming but i told them multiple times i'm trying to grow out my hair & i wont be dying it anymore... ?? which i also find funny because any hairstylist i had in japan never complained about the color.... at the end of the service i got a memo written in korean from the woman, minnie, to give to her next to her next time so that she remembers my hair is "weak". i translated the note on my phone and it read "hair is weaker than i thought. apply medicine weakly next time." i feel that as hair professionals you should be able to tell the first time how to treat a clients hair not after you severely damage it... i mean if you have coarse thick hair you may get a decent result but if you have fine curly hair like me youre gonna hate it. they dont know how to handle our...