I went to the Riah Salon after doing some heavy research through lifebooker . I wanted to find a new place that had gotten good reviews but where I could also get a good discount since I'm unemployed and I have to say, every review was outstanding. Ladies & Gentlemen: I've found an exceptional salon!
I've exhausted countless salons in NYC and am extremely picky about my hair b/c it's thick, wavy and a pain to maintain. I'm always trying to get a certain bob/shag haircut that has a lot of layers, is angled, thinned out and must be very evenly cut, but most of the hair stylists I've been to have messed up achieving this kind of cut for me, and I've always left these salons, (keep in mind we're talking high-end, expensive salons as well as just the average salons) very frustrated with the results.
Back to Riah... so I had Devon as my hair stylist, (not Ann who's the owner and was busy working on other clients) and I must say Devon was a wizard with the scissors, razor (for thinning out spots) and good conversationalist. She asked me important questions about how I usually style my hair and what styling products I use. This impressed me b/c she was cutting, drying, then cutting my hair dry too, (which is helpful in my case) b/c it's all about how it'll look the next day when I'm the one styling it, not when most stylists overly style your hair so that you can't really tell what it'll look like when you're left to do your own maintenance, and then you look in the mirror and see your style looks different than when you were at their mercy. In other words, she had a realistic approach to cutting/styling my hair and I liked that. And she was a really nice, down to earth and low-key person who really knew what she was doing with my hair.
I'm very happy with the cut, (even after styling it days later) and with a lifebooker discount, it was very reasonable, ($60.00) though I guess for being a funky, well-known (by some celebrities too) salon in the Soho area, their regular prices aren't over the top either.
I would definitely go back to Devon (or Ann) again and I look forward to it. I'll need a hair coloring too and I hear that they only use holistic and safe kinds of hair coloring products so that's good to know. They both made me feel very relaxed and welcome and I'd say it was the most unpretentious and mellow salon (for that area) I've ever been to.
I would've given my review 5 stars but I took one off for the space of the salon and to me it was the only downside... Folks, it's a really tiny salon which surprised me and I'm not sure how they maneuver themselves around, but they do with the 3 chairs that are in there. I understand the salon has been there for years so that's the way it is, but I bet If there were more space in there, you'd be waiting for your appt. amid a long line of customers. I might be giving away one of the best kept secrets of a good hair salon in NYC and if I praise them too much, they might end up having a long line of people wrapped around the block waiting to be clients of these two stylist gurus. Devon, you really rock... thanks again!
Pros: Very experienced stylists
Cons: The salon is very small
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