EDIT for 1.5 weeks later at end! Changed to 5
If I could give 4.5 stars, or maybe even 4.9, I think that would be a good rating for my experience. Overall, I would definitely recommend!
Backstory is that I got a pretty bad bleach job on my hair. It was damaged, tangled, and breaking. When wet, especially the back underside, felt like the stretchy string they use for cheap bracelets... I was distraught. I tried different leave-in treatments, hair oils, a fancy repair hair mask, a split-end and chemical damage conditioner and serum combo... it was not working. All this before my trip to Toronto. I knew I didn't want to continue with my hair like this so I looked for some Japanese hair salons here- I'm quite into Asian beauty and have never gotten the chance to try that kind of salon, despite even spending a while in Tokyo! At first I was just looking at solely Japanese salons but they didn't have any appointments and were very expensive (NC is actually out of my price range too, but it was on the lower end of expensive). I came across them because they do the Japanese NP3.1 extreme damage treatment and it looked really helpful to me... I was able to book pretty short notice, just 2 days before the appointment, for this treatment as well as for an NC cut with an apprentice stylist, Kelly. They offered the choice between her for $40 CAD and a senior stylist for $75 CAD, but as this is already much more expensive than usual for me I went with the apprentice, which I do not regret at all! The cut was $40 CAD and the treatment was $150 CAD.
Also, it says on their price menu on the website you can add an NC cut for $15 CAD to another service, I believe this to be probably only for coloring service as it didn't apply to me. However, the receptionist was up front with me on this when I made the appointment.
To the actual visit: when I arrived, I was so hot and sweaty from walking all the way there... I felt bad for them! They immediately had me put my stuff in a locker and put a nice little robe on me, which was very nice (but made me even hotter ). They then sat me down at Kelly's station where she looked at my hair and recommended the 3.1 treatment, but she said the majority of my hair was not too damaged. She also said it might be a good choice because the 3.1 comes with a take-home treatment too. I showed her what haircut I wanted (from NC's Instagram) and she walked me through it, and then we went to the wash station to do the treatment. It took like an hour, and it included steaming my hair, which made my face so wet! So don't wear a lot of makeup or make sure it's waterproof if you get this treatment. But it was kind of relaxing at first too. After that, she took me to the chair and cut my hair very quickly, and did it in a way I didn't get any hair at all on my clothes!! That's never happened to me before, so I was incredibly pleased. After that, she dried my hair, and I have to say, it's the best haircut I've ever had in my life! I've never loved the way my hair looks so much!
Results: my hair is still damaged, it was even tangling as she was drying it. It is also still breaking. It doesn't tangle as much but the most damaged ends have been cut off, so I'm not really sure how much the treatment did. I'm not sure if I would recommend the treatment because of the price. If I had known how my hair is now, I probably would have just gone for the olaplex... but hindsight is 20/20. I 100% recommend getting a cut here, though, especially with Kelly! She speaks in a rather monotonous way, but don't let that throw you off, she is quite nice and just the right amount of talkative. It's totally worth the $40 CAD price, and that's coming from someone who usually cuts their hair themselves or goes to a place like great clips or something because I don't like to spend money. The treatment didn't do wonders for me, but it may work for you. It might just be my hair. But I'm not sure if they all recommended it because it costs more when a cheaper one would have been just as good. But I can't be sure, I just worry about stuff like that. My experience there was still very good though. They did have some fruit snacks, hi-chew and mango Perrier for me at the station, but I didn't get to eat it...
It ended up being $190 CAD plus a $42 CAD (20%) tip. For my fellow Americans, that's about $178 USD with the current exchange rate.
I do recommend this place! Try them out! I would come back for sure. My hair color is still uneven as I couldn't afford for them to correct it. Maybe I will save up and get color during my next trip to Toronto, as the color I've seen them do looks really good. Thanks to NC salon and Kelly for making me look great!! :)
EDIT: After using the home treatment some and switching to a keratin shampoo and conditioner, my hair feels much better. Still tangles some but the difference is significant. Changed review to 5 stars. Just wish I could style it like she did :') read more