Devachan

09/17/2008 Posted by MarisaMK

I wouldn't give this salon or it's stylists ONE star - What a total and complete DISASTER !!! I walked into the salon on a Friday morning - First of all, the salon itself is nothing impressive - Second, I should have known better and I partly blame myself b/c I DID notice that every single woman in there had the EXACT same hairstyle and again, I was less than impressed ........ I walked in with LONG curly hair, a little on the dry side b/c I needed a cut and had some bad split ends, but perfect ringlet curls ..........I was very specific with my space cadet stylist Luciana and told her I am NOT comfortable with my hair short or shoulder length - I like it long, I want to wear it long, I just need a good shaping so I don't look like 'triangle head' - She nods and starts cutting, and cutting and cutting - basically just lifting my hair curl by curl and cutting some off here and there .......I wasn't 100% sure about her technique, but I'm not a stylis so what do I know? - Well, she chopped about 5 inches off of my lenght and completely butchered my cut ...........- She then washed me - and used regular conditioner and about 5 gallons of gel to 'style' my hair .......and stuck me under the dryer - I left that place with curls that looked completely 'fake' and NOTHING like my own signature ringlets - I noticed as I walked out that everyone looked the same as me .......... I thought maybe I just had to rewash and style myself - Nope. Still horrible - Ok, maybe I needed to give it some time to grow in to the cut ...........wrong again, 2 MONTHS later my hair still does not fall right, the texture is awful now do to the the botched cut, it is a total and complete mess ........... I don't know WHAT these people are thinking at Devachan, but their 'philosophy' on curly hair is lame - They cut and style EVERY single client's hair exactly the same - No one's curls are exactly the same - Mine were FINE, cared for perfectly - and she completely ruined them !

Pros: None

Cons: TERRIBLE cut, worse style technique, Every client walks out looking exactly the same

09/09/2008 Posted by nhk2102

I've embraced the 'curly' technique for a few years, but had never actually had a curly cut. I went to Deva with my sister a few months ago. When she walked in she had a full head of curly hair. A little dry, minimal frizz. She walked out with hair that was flat, with a light wave in it -- and the cut was all wrong. We kept joking that her stylist gave her a mullet. Incidentally, her stylist also told her that 'no hair is perfect'. Anyway, a few months after that I decided to give Devachan a chance. I knew I wouldn't go to the same mullet-stylist my sister had gone to, so I made an appointment with Judy. She was nice enough, but she kind of did the same thing. She cut all the hair on the top layers short, and left the underneath layers long. So I have a mop of short curls on top, and then long straight hair underneath...It's a mullet! Needless to say I'll be straightening my hair until it grows back...

Pros: Best mullets in town

Cons: Mullets

08/25/2008 Posted by enelya12

I was recently in NYC & went to Devachan. I told the sytlist, Jeffery, that I didn't want to go short & that I liked my style the way it was, but I was also ready & wanting to mix things up. He told me he wanted to get rid of some sections of my hair & it'd be done in a 2 step process, some cuts before a wash & some after. He trimmed my hair to start with. I was kinda impressed to start off with. He'd step back from my hair & would look at it from afar, appearing to be thinking about the cut. I had never seen that before & felt confident that I was in good hands. Then it was onto Heather at the wash station. I was really excited about this, I had heard so much about the heavenly head massages you get. Well, I didn't get one. Heather washed my hair 3 times, then they threw on a ton of product & set 2 hair dryers on my hair. For the second cuts by Jeffery makes 1 snip here & one there & he's done! The second cut took about 20 seconds! The back of my hair, admittedly looks much better. The curls are fuller & there's less frizz. But my front / top looks wet (from all the product) & my scalp is itchy (product sensitivity). But being a bit frazzled, I paid & walked out. It was a hot day & I was walking around outside for about 2 hours. By the end, my hair had gone flat. I guess all the product they used couldn't withstand the summer heat. The next morning I washed my hair, so wanting to get the product out! But I couldn't find my gel & wound up having a giant poof ball on my head all day. It was cut too short and now my hair wasn't able to grab the curl. I quickly found some gel & washed my hair again. With the gel my hair was able to curl again, & the poof ball was gone. But now my hair looked exactly the same as it did before. It's a bit shorter, but hardly noticeable. I'm home from my travels now & no one noticed I had gotten my haircut. I spent $100 in order to have my hair look the same.

Pros: Nice atmosphere, free drinks and I felt the staff was courteous

Cons: Overpriced, overuse product, don't ask they customers enough questions to do something realistic for them

07/02/2008 Posted by ADS2

My experience at this salon was wonderful. The receptionist and my "cutter" were less than friendly, which was a nice balance between my colorist and the assistant who were over the top friendly. I use all of their products and get my hair cut locally by people who trained with Lorraine et al at the salon in NY. If I find myself in NYC again I will definitely book another appointment-- for the scalp massage and the tea especially! Hotcurlz... can you post that tea recipe?

Pros: they really understand hair

Cons: appointments can be lengthy

05/19/2008 Posted by hubriis

I have long, highlighted naturally curly hair and live in Seattle. After being up here for two years, I still hadn't found a stylist that I LOVED in Seattle so I decided to give the NYC curl salons a try the next time I was in the city. I checked the reviews for Devachan, Curlisto and Ouidad. Upon learning that Curlisto was founded by a former Ouidad-ite, I narrowed it down further and then decided upon Devachan. When I walked in, my beau's comment was "it was like you walked into the mother ship"; everyone there had and embraced their curly hair! Keith, my stylist, was a bit of a hoot - very serious and intense, to the point that he came to appear in my eyes as the Frasier Crane of hair. He asked many questions prior to picking up the scissors, and continued to ask questions and listen to my responses while cutting. He was amazing with the scissors, whipping them out and back as if his next appointment was a throwdown at the OK Corral. He zeroed in on individual locks and when he was finished, put me in the capable hands of my colorist until after my rinse. Larry, my colorist, was amazing....and the anti-Keith (but both were great in their own way!). Open and approachable, with a winning smile and a great sense of what I was looking for in my hair color. He obviously loves what he does and it showed in his attention to color. He took the time to listen to what I wanted and also made great suggestions. My "shampoo" (no-poo, really) woman was Analiese. She gave me some absolutely wonderful advice while as-gently-as-possible trying to remove knots and snarls from my long hair while wet. While I briefly came to view her as the Marquise de Sade, in the end her fabulous advice and counsel regarding how to properly care for my tresses came shining through and positively colored the entire experience. Curly girls, this is home.

04/25/2008 Posted by hotcurlz

I was eager to try this salon because I have curly hair and most stylists aren't trained specifically to cut curly hair. I heard good things and must say I was happy when I left. I found the staff to be very nice, courteous. My appointment was with Jackie whom I thought was a really nice, talented stylist. Tony washed my hair and explained everything to me. He was great. He brought me out their iced tea and it was wonderful. He even wrote the recipe for me which I really thought was sweet of him and completely unexpected! I will be back. I even found a parking garage nearby that cost me only $12 for the time I was in the salon (which is awesome in NYC). My hair looks and smells good and I am a satisfied customer!

Pros: down to earth friendly staff

Cons: aren't any

02/16/2008 Posted by autumnk

I'd like to put in a good word for this salon. I have been coming here for 2 years and it has completely changed my hair. I used to have to make the choice between soft frizzy hair or defined crunchy hair. Now I get defined soft curls. My stylist Jeff is great and always gives me a great cut and the scalp massage is heavenly. Don't be scared away by the bad reviews.. I have recommended this salon to at least 3 friends and they have all loved it as well. I constantly get compliments on the smell of my hair from the products.

10/14/2007 Posted by swfinnj

First off, I will admit, I made mistake driving in to NYC for my appt. But it seemed the faster way, since the salon is so close to the Holland Tunnel and the train connections would have taken over an hour. But when I got there, I could not find a parking space (most streets had no parking until 6 p.m and my appt. was at 6). Not wanting to be late, I parked in a garage - $25 for 2 hours. When I got to the salon, I was told my stylist was running late. I explained that I had paid $25 for parking to make sure I was on time, they could at least be as courteous. I ended up waiting 1/2 hour. The stylist told me she had been double booked. I said I did not like using tons of gunk in my hair and she told me there was no other way. Then she gave me a cut, sent me for washing. I was never told what was being put into my hair or why - no training in the "proper drying technique" etc. I was put under a dryer, fluffed up and sent off to pay. I was given "complimentary" product to "compensate" me for my wait, then charged $140. At close to $200 for the experience, I would not recommend nor return. I have to use LOTS of product to keep my hair from frizzing and basically have to re-do it every day. I had been to a Ouidad salon and at least their cut could be spritzed and it would return to a wearable look. .

Pros: None

Cons: Overpriced and a Front for Selling Product

08/17/2007 Posted by capelli

Carlos couldn’t be nicer, and I was hoping my search for a hair stylist would finally be over. In fact everyone was lovely there with the expectation of the very blonde receptionist . I really wanted love the place, to have a “life-changing” hair experience BUT in the end the haircut was problematic. Carlos cut my hair after his clip and serum and “shake it all about technique.” My hair looked cute but nothing I could think I could reproduce everyday (or want to reproduce it was too crunchy and contrived maybe for a night out but not for every day life). Yes he gave me the curly hair spiel it and though it was interesting and somewhat informative but nothing ground breaking ( I also have to say I didn’t like the Devchan products because of consistently and smell—to me the gel and shampoo smell awful!!!!!) I used the clips and quarter size glob of gel in my hand, and the towel blotting, etc and I ultimately ended with a not -so- special cut with some really wild and noticeably uneven piece(even if I alway styled hair curly but (god forbid) sometime I like to where it straight for change.) After I get the uneven problem hairs fixed (another 50 to 100 dollars which will make my cut significantly shorter. I wrote this a couple pf days ago and the results are more discouraging with each shampoo rghhhhh it is really un even!!!!!) When I have a good haircut (and yes I have had a few) I know it because I really don’t have to do very much beside a little “goo”, I dry it naturally (maybe some diffusing) and it looks nice (usually I get a compliments). But… since I have visited Carlos my prep time has at least tripled as I obsessively try and style the “probable areas” and sadly no compliments any more. Again despite the top notch customer service I received my quest for the curly grail has not ended. Like NYCA notes in the end I just want good manageable haircut over all the bells and whistles

Pros: Nice People, Beautiful Space

Cons: Bad Hair Days Ahead :-(

08/10/2007 Posted by ijustwannadance

Anyone with curly hair should have the Devachan experience. My stylist was really understanding of the issues and concerns I had and made sure to address them. She consulted me about how much length I was comfortable losing and listened to every request. The lesson on how to style your curls was incredibly helpful. I left the salon feeling amazing. The cut even passed the ultimate test when I was able to easily style it myself the next day. The Deva products are really amazing as well. Bottom line...if you have curly hair -- GO!

Pros: Cool atmosphere, talented stylists, amazing results