My experience was absolutely heartbreaking. I have given this a lot of time (7/16) before posting,…read morebut in the end, I decided that I do not want this to happen to anybody else.
This hair appointment was a special treat for my upcoming wedding. I always take great care with my hair--I cannot stand unhealthy, frizzy hair. For the past years, I have only air-dried my hair and never used products on it. I am blessed with straight hair that, when cut by a professional, falls just right and does not require additional attention.
When I booked this appointment with Arsen, I was told that I would have an appointment with a Master cutter and colorist. Given Arsen's Instagram posts and him being the owner, I fully trusted this statement. After paying a deposit via Zelle to secure the appointment, I was looking forward to the experience.
Jhese (Jessie) was this "master" hair cutter. When he got to me, he didn't even say hello or introduce himself; he just started with, "So what are you looking to get done?" I introduced myself and showed him photos of my hair done in the past, explaining that I wanted a similar result using the balayage method.
Once Jhese (Jessie) started to work on my hair, I was surprised as he used a hairdryer to separate the strands before slathering on the bleach. He then proceeded to matte my hair with a comb. I asked him about this method, and he said some people separate with a comb but that he believed in working smarter, not harder.
In hindsight, I really should have gotten up and left, but I trusted the process, and I had already paid a significant deposit. Things only got worse from there. An hour into this process, he had not yet reached the front of my head, and it dawned on me that the back of my hair had been festering in thick bleach for far longer than it should.
Once he finished with the front, he put me under a heater. After that, he slathered on toner or color--I'm not sure which--between the foil layers and let that sit. I say "slather" because he used a huge wide brush, and the liquid was flying all over the place. After it was washed out, he attempted to brush my hair with a completely nasty (dirt-layered) and clearly unsanitary brush. My hair was so matted that he used a lot of force, and I almost had to beg him to be gentler to avoid further damage to my freshly abused, bleached hair. I pointed out a huge wad of hair sticking out of the brush, and Jhese very nonchalantly said that we have over 3 million hairs on our head and lose hair every day.
By this time, I was beyond dejected. Next was my haircut. I offered to blow-dry it myself if he had a hairdryer with cold air, but he said it would take too long. So my "master" haircut was done with dripping wet hair, and it was so poorly done that I could have done it myself.
After observing the abuse my hair had undergone, I asked him to add some sort of treatment to help fix my hair and reduce damage. I specifically asked for Kerastase and was willing to pay the extra $50. His assistant put a mix together, but it was another product. I pointed out that I wanted Kerastase, but he said the other was better and that was what I would get.
I ended up leaving the salon with my wet hair (no need to make matters worse by blow-drying it) in tears. The result was yellow, dry, straw-like hair, damaged so badly that I dare not do anything else to it except cut off the worst damage. I messaged Arsen on my way home, and he assured me that Jhese could fix it. Not in a million years was I ever going to let him touch my hair again. How can you fix fried hair? My hair is fried, and it will take years to grow it out.
After many distraught messages and receiving a few calls from Arsen while I was at work, the messages stopped when I expressed that I was not comfortable speaking on the phone and preferred responses in writing. Only when I posted on Yelp did Arsen message me and agree to a full refund by the end of the day.
It was the absolute minimum in my book. As I now have to live with my hair and wait until it grows out. If I were financially better off, I would have sued, but I am not, so at the very least, I will post m review so this does not happen to another person. When I set out to get my hair done for my wedding, not in a million years, did I think I would end up with this result.
In my opinion, Jhese should not be allowed to do hair. I requested information about where he got his "master" certification but none was provided. When you charge these fees, you expect a truly schooled and experienced hairdresser.
Arsen might be such a person, but I can not say the same for Jhesie. I have attached images for reference; you can be the judge. If you love your hair, be warned and enter at your own risk.