Mark Ryan Salon — Local services in New York

After seeing the awesome reviews, I decided to try this salon. I was paired with a bubbly stylist that was full of promises in the beginning. I now have to wait several months and splurge another $300 to repair her "masterpiece." After having actually been here, I now see that this establishment is a case of The Emperor Has No Clothes. Egoic fluff and no true substance. Upon entering, you are greeted with either overinflated egos who clearly do not know how to pair new clients to the right stylist or you are greeted with someone who is too afraid to say something. You are also greeted with ripped robes and a stench that is hard to get rid of. I've gone to the neighboring salons, it's not alright to have such horrible odor, even if dyes are used. Also, the salon is over crowded. I asked for a soft wash, the expert had no idea what that is. Then came my haircut. I asked to keep some of the long stands as I am tracking my color change. The stylist stopped short of calling me a weirdo, but said they do other weirdness. Tracking natural color changes is what I was taught to do by a smart stylist in the neighboring salon. After being laughed at under her breath, the stylist cut a few strands and was like ok, you are done. Are you joking? I provided a picture AND had a full discussion with her about exactly what I wanted. Nope. I had to direct her to cut here or there and she barely did anything. Also, sometimes I'd ask questions about this or that and no response. It's like she was out for coffee mentally. Promised to show me on Amazon which brush she used, nope. Also, my appointment way way too long and to have such a terrible result really is unfortunate. Two stars instead of one because I asked for my hair to be brushed gently, which really should be understood, and she did check in with me to make sure she was doing that. So not all was unfortunate. For those who have true understanding of what beautiful hair entails, I'd look elsewhere. There are two other salons on the block, I've used both. Both are better than this smelly, ego...

I did my hair color a while back with Mardi. It was a bright chestnut with highlights, which was beautifully done and lasted for a long time (see attached photo 3, face edited by Meta AI). People literally stopped me in the street to praise my hair. I would totally give her five stars!

However, when I came here for another pink violet color with Lucille, it turned out quite disappointing. It looks more brown/chestnut than red when it first came out and she tried to convince me that’s how it should look like. I spoke to their owner, Mark, who later agreed to add a pink gloss to it after trying to convince me they couldn’t achieve what I wanted without bleaching.

For background, it is a trendy color (see attached photo 1) in Asia that doesn’t need any bleaching according to thousands of social media posts. Mark tried to ask for the unique Asian products they used but turns out they only used Schwarzkopf to achieve it. What’s missing from the process is the right recipe for color mixing, which should include more purple than red to give it a cool tone instead of what I had as a warm tone. Despite that I translated the recipe into English and showed it to Mark, he disagreed and refused to do it…So I ended up with photo 2, which is still a reddish brown. They didn’t end up charging me for hair coloring.

When I consulted other hair colorists (in the same neighborhood), they agreed with the recipe I provided to achieve what I wanted, especially adding purple to make it a cool tone.

I think people at this place are nice, but they need to have a growth mindset, especially in admitting things that they don’t know about to begin with. Working with Asian hair seems to be their blind spot, although they can do other blonde styles proficiently. I’d suggest they take more time from their busy schedule to learn and experiment with new hair colors they’re unfamiliar with, if they thrive to be on top of this...

My first visit in a US salon since I moved from Paris. So I cannot really know if this is a country difference or specific to that salon. The staff and colorists are very nice and propose a nice refreshments. But then I am really not happy with the experience hair care wise. I can only compare to France. First the price is insanely high but I knew it before coming the Nyc price range is way higher than Paris. For that high price I was expecting a top top quality service. I expected all the little extra things. In my previous salon in Paris city center I used to pay 200/250 all included and for that I had a great blond balayage + blending the roots + top hair massage with a hot towel and very nutritive hair masks. The chair was either massaging or at least you could have your feet lifted up. I had a tea with a little sweet treat. It was very relaxing. But at this Nyc salon your on a very very basic seat there is no special additional extra care at all, your feet are standing in the middle of the corridor people are often bumping on it. The balayage/color blond technique is super different. I felt it was not blending at all especially in the front we can very much see the color straps, the roots are way too dark too visible and the blond looked almost a little greyish. But also thought my hair were not revived at all meaning that they were not extra soft, super nourished as I used to feel after a hair appointment. Here just as dry as before the care. Also the products used have the most chemical and worst smell ever I thought they were putting straight out a powerful toilet bleach on my head. I came to the address not knowing where to go and wanting the best of the best willing to pay for it big price. I did pay the big price for sure but did not thought the service was at the top level...