04/04/09

what happened to Yuki?

by RoganParvin

I went to Hair Mates regularly when I first moved to New York in 1997. Back then, a quiet and older japanese hairstylist named Yuki cut my hair. It was the best haircut ever. Noone I met later in my life cut hair like Yuki. I have lost touch with him and would like a haircut from him. Back then he wore a marijuana-leaf pendant around his neck and was a smoker. He was very quiet and at first did not speak English well (now he does). His was a small-medium built and he was thin. After HM he started working at a salon on Lafayette street for a while. He even made house calls, and then we lost touch after I went to buzz cuts and did not really need him anymore. Now, my hair is long and I need Yuki. Please help me find him.

02/10/09

Hairmates is the best salon in ny

by tw25

i just got back from hair mates (midtown area). Lucy cut my hair and it came out great! i will definatley go back and if you are looking for a hairstylist that knows what they are doing, i highly recommend Lucy.

• Pros: great service, friendly, expierenced,
• Cons: hard to find parking

09/13/08

Used to be good now it's bad, oh so bad

by TeaRosie

I used to love this salon because it was cheap ($40), good and cool with hip Japanese hair stylists. Not anymore. They raised their prices and I got the least hip person on the planet to do my hair. I have dark hair and previously tried to dye my bangs white but they just turned blonde. I told this to my stylist and said I wanted them white white white and could she do it? Yes, no problem. Well, I left there with blonde bangs and my eye burning from chemicals being dripped in to it. When I told the assistant doing my bangs that the solution had dripped into my eye and it was burning and I needed to rinse it out NOW, she said, "OK, let me just finish this." This place is bad. Unprofessional, clueless. I'm never returning. Go to Supercuts. Or the Aveda Academy.

• Pros: None.
• Cons: Worse than Supercuts

09/08/08

Low key salon with a great outcome

by premier

Checked this place out after getting a few recommendations. Stylist asked me how I wanted and he delivered. Doesn't talk much but neither do I so that was fine. A couple of things that might deter some, the stylist only cuts your hair while someone else dries it & styles it, Men's haircut that is. 2 different girls washed my hair, one was an attractive number, so I didn't know who to tip.

08/31/08

If you are expiremental with your hair and don't mind a bad haircut....

by msny

Downtown location. I brought in a picture of a style I wanted but the stylist not only made my hair look completely different, she actually made my hair look like a 5 year old cut it. It's been two months and people are still greeting me with "oh you got a haircut.....silence..." Only my closest friends have the guts to say, "It's such a bad haircut." When I spoke to the manager, he said I should probably make an appointment with Tomo because he would be the only person who can really do a good job. But even Tomo wouldn't be able to fix this one. It's finally growing out so I can now go somewhere else to fix it. Also, the stylist dropped her scissors many times throughout the cut and wasn't very apologetic at the end. In fact, she said it was probably due to the nature of my hair. Last time I checked, my hair looks just like other asian people's hair. All for $50.

08/26/08

the worst place in nyc

by soy110

I hate this place so much. all the hairstylists seem don't know english. one guy cut my hair so short without saying " sorry" . bad hair cut and service. fake smile, i will never go there again.

07/21/08

Great, low-key salon

by hcdnyc

I've just been to Hair Mates for the first time (the Midtown location -- 114 E. 40th St., between Park & Lex). I was curious what the stylist would make of my long, slightly wavy but fine Irish hair (the positive reviews I'd read about Hair Mates seemed to be mainly about Asian hair), but I got exactly the cut I wanted. I've been to a lot of different salons, and while this one didn't have much in the way of amenities, they got the important things right. The stylist was very considerate of what I wanted, and we spent a lot of time talking about the cut at the beginning of the appointment (during the cut, he didn't speak at all, which was fine by me but I know wouldn't appeal to everyone). One negative was that there weren't any assistants working when I went in, so the stylists had to book appointments, etc., while working with clients (they were pretty great at multi-tasking, actually). Overall, I'm really pleased with the cut, and plan to return to the salon for my next one.

07/03/08

Beware: Rushed service

by 654MJT

Potential customers beware:

Hairmates' time per customer policy: 30 minutes for men, 45 minutes for women

Tomo was my stylist. His cutting would've been satisfactory had he actually spent the time and energy cutting my hair. Instead, the assistant spent 5 minutes washing my hair before and after my haircut (total time thus far: 10 minutes). When Tomo finally did get to cutting my hair, 15 minutes into it, he tells me that he has to attend to his next customer and seats him down in another chair and discusses what he wants. This next customer arrived at least 10 minutes before his appointment time. Then Tomo very quickly "finishes" my hair and asks the assistant to wash my hair, and he's already cutting the next customer. When I come back, he doesn't even look at my hair to finish it up. Instead he tells the assistant to style it, which she botches. Total time that Tomo spent cutting and styling my har: 20 minutes. When I tell Tomo politely that I was insulted that he started on his next customer without finishing his first customer, he doesn't respond. It was actually I who told him "I'm sorry," to which he just nodded. When I told the people at the front desk about it, first they told me that the next customer was scheduled for 12:30 (which would be 45 minutes after my appt). Then when I asked why Tomo started attending to the next customer at 12:10, they said his appointment was at 12:15. They said they would try to make sure this doesn't happen again next time, but it wasn't very convincing.

To make a long story short, if you're fine paying boutique prices ($45 for men and $50 for women) and getting quickie service then this place is for you. But if you expect at minimum of 45 minutes for your haircut, which you should be getting for that price range, then go to Momotaro or some other salon.

It's clear that the people here care more about money and high customer turnover rate than providing professional and courteous service.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Over priced rushed inattentive service; lack of professional courtesy

04/28/08

great for asian hair

by spidermonkee

i've been going to hairmates since i was an undergrad. i moved to cali for a few years and would come back every so often to get my haircut by jin. after he left, i had not found someone as good but the other stylists have been pretty darn close. now that i live in the city again, i will only trust my hair to them. they seem to understand asian-type hair (i am east indian so my hair is similar to east asian hair). as for other ethnicities, i'm not really sure.

• Pros: good value for a nyc salon
• Cons: not all the stylists speak english fluently

04/04/08

Highly Recommended Hair Salon For Sure

by kamillas

Just wanted to say that they do amazing hair jobs there. My hair stylist is Kozue, she is amazing, she can do something out of nothing. I have been coming to HairMates for the past 2 years, at least once every 2 months. its cheap its great and its a very chill hair spot. Definatly check it out :)

• Pros: everythin that has to do with hair