wilki niko
2/5
First of all, allow me preface this by saying everyone at the salon was very friendly and welcoming. That said, I'm afraid they are not equipped to accomodate curly hair clients to the same extent as other clients.
My hair was cut wet, as the stylist commented how my current length was uneven. This made me nervous because, as anyone familiar with curly hair knows, the hair looks very different wet as opposed to fully dry. Not every curl has the same pattern or tightness, so it is difficult to judge evenness and length while wet.
Part 1 of "styling" was a drug store leave-in conditioner. Nothing against Shea Moisture because it is a lovely brand, but I was not expecting this at a professional salon.
Part 2 of "styling" gave me slight hope when I saw the stylist reach for a Bounce Curl Define EdgeLift brush. However, my hopes were dashed by the quick brush through. The stylist didn't even try to bounce the curls back after raking through each section, so they lay limp and undefined. I tried to touch up a few, but the stylist said he would fix them later. This never happened though, because after the rake-sans-shake he reached directly for the diffuser. Seeing my lifeless, unstyled, product-lacking hair, I foresaw disaster, so I stopped and asked if he was going to use gel or anything (curl cream...). He replied he rarely uses gel, and doing so would defeat the purpose of the treatment I had been given earlier.
Still giving the benefit of the doubt, I let him proceed, but my heart sank when he turned on the diffuser and immediately thrust his hand into my hair, lifting and shaking it all throughout the drying process. Again, anyone who knows curly hair knows you CANNOT touch it after styling while it is wet. The little definition I had after the brushing was completely destroyed, resulting in a stringy, frizzy mess.
I am no stranger to inadequate curly hair treatment at salons (is any curly?), however, what bothered me most was when the stylist and I were discussing how difficult curly hair can be, and he commented that there are not enough seats (i.e. time) to accommodate the special attention curly hair needs.
This... hurt. It seemed like the stylist did indeed have some knowledge of curly hair, but no time and/or desire to apply it.
At that point, I looked around at everyone in the salon being made beautiful, knowing they would walk out feeling refreshed and full of confidence with new-me energy... And all I felt was embarrassed and ashamed of the curls I usually take such pride in, as well as dread for the impending commute home. Thankfully I had no other plans!
While certainly no ill-will was intended, this casual statement was a clear message that I was not valued as a client, nor as a person, in this salon.
Again, this is not a unique experience to Assort Tokyo. Plenty of salons, both inside and outside Japan, cannot accommodate curly hair. However, I paid close to 20,000 yen for this experience, the majority of which was for the one senior stylist who handles curly hair.
With regard to the cut quality, I honestly will have no idea until I fix everything myself. I pray it is even. The stylist even admitted it would look better once I fix it myself. While undoubtedly true, again, I was paying a hefty fee for a senior stylist to cut and style my hair, not for me to style it myself.
As for the TOKIO treatment, it was lovely and made my hair feel soft and light, however, as I have to redo everything, it was altogether wasted.
To the salon: If time constraints really are an issue and you cannot handle curly hair from start to finish, that's perfectly fine and even understandable. However, please do not set false expectations and please do not charge the same as other customers who are able to enjoy the full salon experience. While there are surely far worse curly hair horror stories, I'm afraid my experience at your salon was quite demoralizing.
Photos: Disregard color and length.
1. My undefined Assort Tokyo hair.
2. Example of how defined my hair typically looks after a professional curly hair cut.
