Nica & Sam Hair Salon — Local services in New York

First, let me start by saying that the receptionist and the women who shampooed my hair were extremely nice and welcoming. I’ve also received two phone calls, including from the owner himself, just to hear about my experience. He also apologized and offered to compensate me after I told him that I wasn’t happy with my haircut. I think that good costumer service is hard to find these days and I truly do appreciate it. For that reason I will probably comeback and give this place another chance (just with a different stylist). So thank you Sam for making an effort.

Here is what I wasn’t happy with and where I think you could do better:

Be consistent- if one of your staff says Something than it shouldn’t be contradicted by someone else from your staff ( like wheather or not it is recommended to apply conditioner on your scalp).

Provide guidance- don’t just be robots. You are the experts! I want to hear what is your professional oppinion. Make me feel confident in your skills and knowledge! This was probably the 5th haircut I was given throughout my life so I don’t know what are my options or what might be a good haircut for my type of face and hair. I know that I am the one making the decision, but the least you could do is help me understand my options or make a suggestion.

Communicate better- before you start cutting, take the time to truly talk to the client and understand what they want.not everyone who comes in is a returning client who goes to a hair salon every week. Some of us need more time to make sure that we are on the same page and at the end of the day I didnt get what I wanted. I asked for LAYERS and for a LAYERD side fringe. I got no layers whatsoever( just shorter length and shorter than I wanted side bangs).

Don’t blame the client- saying things like “this is not my fault” after I’ve expressed that something is not to my liking, DOES NOT HELP. Instead, you can ask- how can I fix this for you? ( better to do this on the spot than on a phone call when I’m already upset). If I was asked that when I was still there than I’m sure the experience would have been much better overall.

Again, on a personal level everyone were wanderfull and it’s obvious that the staff cares about their clients. I guess most of my issues were with that specific stylist who cut my hair, and I hope that my review will help improve the service and prevent another client from having the same...

I decided to go to this salon based on the reviews I had read here. I have long curly hair that is dark medium brown of which the lower ends were a warmer brown from oxidation. I only wanted a single process color to cover some grays at my root area and near my ears, and asked if a toner could be applied to help with the warmer ends. Vandio was my colorist and he did an ok job. The receptionist when I called and Vandio both asked me if I needed a blow out, which I told them I did not want. I just wanted my hair to be dried curly. After the color was complete Vandio asked again if I wanted my hair blown out and I said I would like it dried curly. He said ok, went and got the diffuser and dried my long curly hair for approximately 5 minutes and turned it off and said " Ok, thank you, enjoy your day". My hair was still very wet on the top half. I was in shock when I paid $156 ( not including the tip, which I still gave to both Vandio and the person who washed my hair.) for a single process color and a head full of wet hair. I have been to all types of salons and stylists over the years from inexpensive to expensive and they have all dried my hair completely before I left their chairs. While I will not return to this salon, I will say to others going to make sure to request either Nica or Sam who seem to have the most postive reviews here.

Responding to your follow-up, It is always helpful to communicate to new clients what your pricing policies are when making a reservation, especially if you don't have a website for clients to obtain information like costs for highlights, single process, etc... While I do understand that clients are charged for blow outs, it was never communicated to me that diffusing is an additional cost. I never even thought to ask as I've never been charged for having my hair diffused in all my years of getting my hair cut or colored. You mentioned I wasn't charged for diffusing my hair which I am happy about as it was still wet when I left.

When trying new place there is always a risk it won't turn out as you hoped. I tried your salon and it wasn't a good fit for me so I...

I really dislike leaving negative reviews, but my hair was botched so bad I wouldn't want to wish this on my worst enemy-- so PLS READ before visiting.

I had 4 short days in NYC and wanted to get my split ends trimmed. I made an appt with Nica & Sam Salon after seeing the glowing reviews. They took me in the same day with an older Russian lady named Nicole.

Nicole was stoic, inexpressive, and dismissive, even when I tried to make small talk (but that's ok I thought--not related to quality or haircuts).

I requested for toning + cut. Nicole cut my hair rather quickly and then proceeded to do a blowout (+heated curling iron) without asking me. By the time I noticed, I asked her to stop since I didn't request that, and she said that she already did half of my hair so just let her finish. It looked good but I just didn't ask for that... and usually after getting a haircut I'm used to seeing the hair straight to see how it was cut.

So she ended up charging me for the blowout that I didn't ask for-- which I ended up being OK with since it looked good, but in retrospect that was sus.

But after washing my hair and seeing the cuts without the curls, I immediately visited my hair stylist after returning to California to fix the mess she made. These photos were taken in my California salon. The layers are not symmetrical at all and they are so choppy and random. There are gaps in the the cuts -- it's just very poorly done.

I can't speak for other stylists since I only had experience with Nicole. But stay away from her...