Tonie is a sweetheart. I'm very picky with my hair, but also very cheap - a really difficult combo to work with. In that past, I've tried cheap shops that cost less than $20 for a trim, and somehow they've always ended up horrendous. On the flip side, I've visited bougie salons to ensure a decent trim... But they don't budge on that $70 price tag even though all I just want 2" off my hair. This is where Tonie is a nice medium! She is an absolute sweetheart who will listen to your personal concerns and then consult your hair and requests. I told her my ultimate goal is just to maintain health and length because I want to grow it out, which works in tension. Length but get rid of the split ends??? I paid $40 for my trim, which included washing & drying. The vibe of the salon is in between a mom and pop Asian shop and a more upscale Asian shop. I like it a lot. I cannot stress how nice it was just to have a conversation with Tonie. Tip: She'll be closing shop soon. If you'd like to follow her, she said she's moving to a salon on California near 6th. read more

Wonderful Service and Amazing work. I have gone to her for over a decade. She is very reasonable and does a great job.

The way Tonie chemically burned my hair, especially in the roots, I don't wish it to anybody. I don't have anything against her personally but I'm leaving my first negative review so other people don't go through the horrible experience I went through. Two weeks ago I went for a consultation and she examined my hair and said I was a good candidate for the thermal reconditioning since I haven't done anything on my hair. I explained that day that my hair was more wavy in the upper back than in other areas which she used as an excuse one week later when she did the thermal reconditioning to blame me that my hair didn't turned out "well" because of the texture of my hair. HOWEVER, she chemically burned my hair all around my head, the bottom of my hair where it was less wavy, she burned the front of my hair really bad, and basically everything from the roots until almost the end of my hair. I noticed that while she was applying the chemical that she was applying a lot of it from the roots until mid length and she did that first on the back of my hair, waited a while, and then did the same in the front, and we waited again while she kept talking. While she was doing this, I asked her a couple of times what was going to happen next because I've done thermal reconditioning two times 6 years ago and I didn't remember they applied the product that way or left it that long without a timer (the place I used to go moved out of the city so I decided to just have my natural hair). After she washed my hair, she blow dried it and I told her it looked burned but she kept saying it was the texture of my hair. The end result turned out so bad that she had to blow dry some of the areas again to smooth it out a little bit. I waited 3 days to wash my hair and I used a shampoo and conditioner especially for hair that have gone through the treatment of thermal reconditioning. My hair was so burned that even when I wet my hair to wash it I couldn't run my fingers through my hair, I had to press the shampoo into my hair and slowly run my fingers through it. The picture I included in this review is after the first time I washed my hair and I had already applied a hair oil. Now I'm seriously considering shaving my head but either way this horrible experience will take like 4 years to regrow my hair and I don't wish that to anybody. read more

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Tonie is the BEST. She KNOWS thermal reconditioning / magic straight / japanese hair straightening. My hair is long and she charged me $260. She's knowledgeable, asks questions about your hair to evaluate the condition of your hair and she will be honest about how to proceed. She won't even do it if she feels your hair is at risk so you know she won't rip you off. She's sweet, humble and accommodating. She prides herself in her work and it shows in the results. She's also Korean so she knows all about japanese hair straightening. I love my hair! It's so silky and easy to manage. It looks like those girls who flip their hair back in the hair commercials and it comes down in shiny waves. AWESOME! ----------------------------- UPDATE: Tonie is great with the chemical hair straightening! I originally gave her five stars for the straightening. But I have to give her two stars for the botched haircut and poor communication. Let me just say that I used to have super short hair. I wanted to look more girly-girl so I grew out my hair for three whole years of patient discipline and perseverence. It took FOREVER to grow out my hair! Now that it was at the perfect length I wanted, I came back to Tonie and just asked for bangs - just to refresh my look. - and reminded her that I planned to have my hair chemically straightened in a week (it's been about a year and a half since Tonie straightened it). She said she couldn't JUST give me bangs but that it needed to go with the entire look of the haircut. She wanted to do some framing with my hair, etc. Uhhhh, ok... I wasn't planning for an entire haircut and I wasn't planning on spending too much either. But whatever, she's the expert and she should know better, right? So we agreed that she would just cut off the split-ends of my hair (as it was looking damaged and nasty) and it would go along with my bangs. I showed her a japanese fashion magazine with asian female models sporting cute bangs just to give Tonie an idea. I totally trusted her! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! She kept on talking and talking and thinning and thinning. I was praying it was going to turn out ok! Instead of hair that was grown out to past my boobs, she gave me a crappy hong kong asian-do with freaking LAYERS starting from the top of my ears!!!! She told me in order to style my hair, I had to finger curl it and scrunch it with my palms. Huh?? She cut and styled it into a shoulder bobbed poodle-do! I hate my naturally curly hair - THAT'S WHY I WANTED IT STRAIGHTENED THE FOLLOWING WEEK. Tonie, what part of that sentence did you not understand?? I cried my eyes out the whole night. The way she cut my hair, only ENHANCES the curls. Did I mention that I hate my curly hair? And now it's short AND curly - a poufy ugly thing of a haircut. I don't feel feminine AT ALL. She tells me to go ahead and work with it. I'm sooo pissed.... Sorry, Tonie, but you've been officially dumped. And thus begins my new quest for another cool hairstylist. read more

Tee is AMAZING. I don't even know if I can do her justice with this review. (I don't see her mentioned on this page, I definitely got my hair done at this salon). Soo..quick background. I have thick-ass, frizzy-ass, half-heartedly wavy coarse hair that asian salons go like ????. As a result, every hair cut I've had has been a disaster, because they all straighten my hair several times before they cut it (realized this was not the norm recently), and despite my pleas of "for the love of all that is holy...please do NOT give me layers, it doesn't work with my hair, especially at this length" they always try to talk me into layers. The ending result is always a cut that looks okay (since it's been flat-ironed 390583098x + drowned in serums), that results in a weird asian puff ball situation after a shower. I booked an appointment with my friend and we went in on a weekend (I think she only works weekends here). Tee was incredibly nice + spent a LOT of time on each of us (she worked on us alternately, in intervals), and was very detail-oriented and professional. She was super patient and we never felt rushed at all, and actually listens to whatever input you have instead of putting you through a cookie cutter process. I also liked that she was honest let me know that my hair would not be the exact color that I wanted it to be because of box dye, instead of passing it off like "oh, of course I can do that". It was dark when we left the salon, but our hair looked booooomb. My hair cost a little more than my friend (we got the same thing), but it definitely was well-warranted considering she basically had to mix twice as much bleach and toner for me (Man, it took about an hour to curl my mane alone! Sorry Tee!!) than she did for my friend. Definitely the best salon experience I've had, and definitely will be coming back. read more

Tonie's - LOVE my hair color!! Thank you Tee you're the best! - Hair Stylists Near Me - San Francisco, California

Thank you so much, Tee. She did an amazing job with my hair. I think we were both surprised by how well it turned out. I usually go to My in Willow Glenn, but ever since I moved back home to SF, going to the south bay was a difficult trip for hair during the work week. She moved up my balayage/ombre. She did an excellent job at keeping everything blended. I also really appreciate her for using Oplex, which she explained to me was a product that does less damage to processed hair. I like to know that she cared about my hair instead of trying to turn over customers. It came out wonderfully. I'll be headed back for a hair cut soon. read more

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I came in to get my hair thermally straightened (Japanese hair straightening) after reading everyone's reviews, and most of them are true-- Tonie is amazing! Unfortunately I did not inherit the supposedly universal Asian trait of "perfect hair", so the natural condition of my hair is slightly wavy, dull, and prone to frizz. I get my hair reconditioned once a year, so I've had a wide range of experience at different salons. I would say that her price range for hair straightening is typical; with my long, thick, mid-back length hair, she charged me $290. But the end result by far was one of the best I have ever seen. Tonie is a really sweet lady. She accommodated me well and was such nice company during the five-hour process. She's lighthearted, friendly, and a delight to talk to. More importantly, it was clear to me that she knew what she was doing. Before she began, she examined my hair to ensure that it could withstand the chemicals and heat used in the process. She found that the ends were dry and splitting and also sectioned off the part of my hair that that was already straight (remnants of previous treatments). She trimmed off the dry tips and made sure to straighten only the parts that needed it. After the final rinse and blow dry, my hair was left silky-smooth, luminous, and frizz-free. The only part that I would warn you about is the pungent smell of chemicals left in your hair immediately after the treatment. The smell gradually diminished throughout the three days I left my hair unwashed, so it wasn't too bad. She did leave some conditioning product in my hair at the end, which left my scalp feeling greasy and the roots of my hair oily, but my hair looked nice regardless. read more

I had a thermal reconditioning process (also called Magic Straight or Japanese Straightening) with Tonie last June. The process took about 5 hours, and cost $320, which, if I had a perfect process, would have been a very bargain price, however, this was just unfortunately not the case. Tonie is a very sweet, pretty lady, the salon is just adorable, and yes, the price tag is very affordable, but unfortunately, this kind of straightening really is a science, and it just isn't her (or her assistant's) expertise. Although my hair was decently straight for 8 months, it was very damaged: Some areas were overprocessed (resulting in little fried areas), some areas were underprocessed (leaving some random parts wavy while everything else was straight), and they also broke a lot of my hair on top (either caused by chemicals getting on my scalp or a terrible flat-ironing job, which I think in my case was a combination of both). I had the exact same experience as Sammi C. with a very unpleasant and painful flat-ironing, and 10 months later, I'm still waiting for a lot of hair that was lost and broken and fried in the process to recover. (and just in case you're wondering, I followed each and every one of Tonie's recommendations on how to care for my hair in the days following the process, and this still happened). I'm sure Tonie is a wonderful person to go to for haircuts and coloring, but for this particular straightening process, not so much. I recently had my hair re-processed with the Thermal Reconditioning Specialists at 210 Post Street in SF, and although they have a higher price tag than Tonie, it comes with a much higher level of expertise, experience, care, and absolute love and perfectionism of helping people achieve perfect, healthy, undamaged, straight hair. If you're considering this straightening process, check them out. The price is definitely worth it to avoid the kind of hair damage that I'm still dealing with. read more

Eureka, I found one! I have been looking high and low in the city for a beauty salon that does that Japanese thermal straightening process (aka Magic Straight) for a decent price FOREVER! Okee, so here's is a really good piece of advice: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON FANCY SALONS WHO AREN'T EVEN ASIAN TO DO JAPANESE THERMAL STRAIGHTENING. I really recommend this place if you ever thought about defrizzing your hair and making it silky straight. I'm really happy with my hair which went from being naturally wavy to silky straight! The best part? I don't have to use a straight iron!!! Just wash my hair, blow dry and I'm done! Thank you Tonie!!! =UPDATE= 2008.02.08 I went to Tonie's yesterday to get a straightening after getting an ugly digital perm from another salon (I wrote a review about them, but they are not worth mentioning in this review) and my goodness. TONIE CARES!!! That should be her slogan! Tonie and her assistant did a thorough examination of my hair just to make sure they could do the chemical process. Tonie explained to me what would happen after I get the straightening done and I completely whole-heartedly trusted her. She knows hair. So now I am sitting here looking fabulous and typing to you on my laptop in my comfy leather couch. My hair is super silky and straight and I am so happy some of you out there have read my review and helped her business. THANK YOU! read more

Like previous yelpers, I'd been looking to get TR/Magic Straight done within my budget. I am so glad I found Tonie. I kid you not, she saved me $500 bucks!! Another "High End" Salon wanted $800! Oh hell no. She was very patient answering all my questions and super sweet. This is definitely THE place to go to get Thermal Reconditioning. The whole process took about 4.5 hours. Im so happy with my new shiny, straight hair! I should also mention that she gave me a great cut! My search for a great Hair Salon is finally over. Whew! read more

I must say, I was very skeptical about getting my hair chemically straightened. My hair is naturally very poofy, and thick, with loose curls and frizz to the moon, it is also very long making my head look like a big triangle. I went to Tonie for a estimate after reading reviews on yelp and since my hair was about mid-back length she said 400$, I told her I wasn't looking to spend that much and she looked at my hair more, told me most of it was dead, and said she would cut it to my shoulders and give me the treatment for 300$. Thats the best price Ive heard for my type of hair so I said yes! I called the next day to make my appointment and she had me in 2 days later. The process was very long, and parking around her salon is 2 hours so she reminded me and let me move it about 3 times during the process. The process went long into the day and offered to buy me lunch. During the whole 7 hours we talked non-stop, she is very down to earth and just wants to make sure you are comfortable. Since then my hair has been perfect. It dries straight, never frizzy, still holds a curl if i want to use a curler, not limp or damaged at all. Its perfect. I definitely recommend Tonie! read more

Without Yelp, I don't think I could have found this amazing salon that does magic straightening or better known as Japanese hair straightening. I agree with every review before mine. Here's my 2 cents: Since I have very fine hair, I wanted to make sure that the hair straightening process would not make me look weird afterwards. Tonie asked me to swing by so she could honestly assess my hair. She is very particular on what sort of hair she performs this process on because she only wants to exceed customer expectations. For example if your hair has just been chemically treated, she will let you enjoy your highlighted or dyed hair instead of putting your hair through further treatment. She approved my hair for the treatment and a cut for a mid $200-$300 price range. So I made my appointment 5 days out. Tonie thoroughly answered every question I had about the process and maintenance. Her unparallel knowledge and experience with hair really shines through in her responses. She has this humbled charm in the way she approaches the customer, and it encourages a bond with her and her clients. She really cares that you walk away with more than just being satisfied but rather in absolutely glee with your new hairstyle. read more

I made an appointment with Tonie based on the great reviews here on Yelp. I am so glad I found her here! I scheduled an appointment for a Magic Straight (Japanese Thermal Conditioning) and Tonie did an awesome job! I love my new, stick-straight hair! Tonie is very personable and friendly. I really enjoyed my conversation with her while I was sitting through this 4-hour procedure. Bonus: Her charge is awesome. Several years ago, I called around to some salons in San Francisco to ask about it. Prices I was quoted then were anywhere from $500 to $800. Tony charged me $270 for my longish hair which is a bargain! The charge varies depending on the length and texture of your hair which directly correlates to how long the procedure will take. read more

Went to Tonie's because of the reviews, and as a Korean American gal, I am always hesitant to go to a Korean salon for fear that I will leave with my mother's hairstyle. But Tonie is a younger, English speaking Korean hairdresser, so no fear there. I didn't work directly with her, but with Crystal who has a chair there in the salon. Her English wasn't as clear as Tonie, so if you speak a little Korean, she is just as great. They use the same Thermal Reconditioning stuff and philosophy, so either hairdresser is great. The cut was nice, razors first and then thinned down with layers as I have lots of hair to deal with, it is thinner than most Asian hair, but Crystal was able to adapt to my hair and also customize the straightening process to my style. I tend to get a little flat on top of my head and she noticed this and worked the chemicals a little lighter on the roots on the top of my head to keep the volume, but leave everything else nice and straight. That was great, little touches like that, plus the whole thing was $250. My hair is to the middle of my back and for all the work that went into the process, almost 4 hours!, the price is unheard of in this city. If you want a great treatment and want to try out thermal straightening, then this is the place to go. I walked in and made an appointment for the next day, fast and no fuss. Either Crystal or Tonie is fine, everyone in the salon is friendly and chips in to make the process faster. I was there so long, I even got dinner! Fun experience overall. read more

Tonie's is the BEST for Thermal Hair Straightening! She's also so awesome in every way....friendly, socialable, so nice and accomodating. She really cares about your hair and will take the time to examine it before she does anything. I had thermal hair straightening done there about a month ago, and I love it! I think it's the best one I've gotten! Her staff is wonderful too! I'll definitely be going back =) read more

Tonie is great - professional, friendly, and easy-going. I got the Japanese thermal straightening at her salon and was very impressed at the care she gives to her clients. She patiently talked to me throughout the whole process (it takes 5 hours!). I came out of the salon with straight, shiny and healthy hair. The only complaint I have is that the straightening doesn't last for too long. (It lasted about 3 months for me.) read more

This has been the longest relationship i've had with anyone...Tonie has been my hairstylist for 9 years and counting...i've tried to go to other people and i end up going back to tonie as she would do "damaged control" to the overpriced color and cut i would get from so-called super chic and hip salon. Cut & Style Sometimes quantity isn't always quality. You pay for a $100 haircut and you get some sort of butcher cut...I pay under $35.00 i get an awesome haircut, in my opinion and theory-you can always judge a good haircut when your "grown out" cut still gets compliments and looks good. Color I go through phases with color (perhaps like all women)-so i was on this J.Lo color phase circa Wedding Planner- I told Tonie I want my color to look like J.Lo and she made it happen. then again all colors ar e possible within reason. Japanese straightening I personally don't get my hair straightened because I have straight hair and I would always want curly hair- you know you always want what you don't have...anyhow, my sister has been going the same amount of time i've been seeing tonie. Tonie has been straightening her hair for 5-6 years and there have been times when my sister's appointment would go beyond closing so she'd have to come back for the cut. Straightening hair is a lot of hardwork and I admire anyone who does them. So my advise?! Make an appointment with Tonie in the morning and be prepared to be there ALL DAY, make it clear that you want a trim and ask how much everything will cost- there's no harm in asking as you need to know, esp. if you have a budget. But she does an incredible job anyways. Hair is a very personal thing- if this is your first time seeing Tonie, may i suggest that you make an appointment and go in and meet her and build rapport. anyways 9 years and counting that speaks volume. read more

Just got the hair straightening done yesterday. She was very thorough, the whole process took almost 5 hours. I have long, wavy, and very thick hair (making it worth my while to do this). The pricing was good, but when reading the reviews I thought it might be a bit less - hence the 4 stars for now. It ended up at $380, she helped me feed the meter twice (she's very sweet) and I asked her to put 76 for the tip (20%) but she only put an extra 70, not sure what that means, but she seems modest and down to earth in general. She was incredibly easy to talk to and get along with (5 hours worth of being with me). She was very comfortable with what she was doing and knowledgeable about how to care for the aftermath. (The usual no washing for 2 days, don't tuck behind the ears, don't put sunglasses on your head for the next 2 days thing, good shampoo and conditioner). She also asked me where my hair was waviest to best distribute it all. The experience was great, and if the hair comes out great after the 2 day transition, I'm going to try and remember to give her the full 5 stars. Edit - hair looks great, dries way quicker (air and blown out), love it! read more

Tonie/Euni did an AMAZING job with my thermal reconditioning/japanese straightening. I went to her in January super nervous about the entire thing, and she was very informative and patient with all of my questions. She was meticulous in following the steps and application of the product, and very process oriented. I have very thick (she said some of the thickest she has seen!) wavy indian hair and I left with super straight shiny, hair. Its been 8 months and japanese straightening my hair with Tonie was one of the best decisions I have ever made as a busy working mom of a toddler. My hair looks amazing, and I just went for a touch up with Tonie 2 days ago. Once again, she was meticulous, and great to talk to as well. To top it off, she does it all for an amazing price. Go to Tonie for your thermal reconditioning. read more

Tonie is great when it comes to coloring/highlighting your hair. I've colored my hair multiple times and it always came out perfecto! One thing i've learned in the past is not to cut my hair at Tonie's. Somehow it's always way shorter than I want so i've definitely learned my lesson to go elsewhere for that, BUT I will always come here if I want any kind of treatment for my hair. Not only is she great to talk to, she's also really friendly and puts in a lot of effort into what she's doing. She's often stayed late to work on my hair many times- thats dedication! read more

I realize this is a hair salon, but they pose as a nail salon as well. I decided to cheat on my favorite Salon Belle Linda on 6th and California and go here. As you can probably imagine from my star rating, it wasn't a pleasant experience. First off, the place seems very dirty. A lot of their tools have dust on them and their nail polish looks old and cracked. The lady doing my nails seemed very out of it and she didn't even use the right tools for things. I get acrylic nails, so I expect them to stay on for two weeks without breaking off or cracking, but by the looks of my nails I think I'll be going in sooner than that. This place should stop trying to be a nail salon and just stick to doing hair because they seem to be getting better reviews in that area. On that note, I'm going back to Linda where I'll pay $25 for a fill and be completely satisfied instead of $18 and leave disappointed. read more

I ended up going back to Tonie and was very specific about how much I wanted to get trimmed. She did a great job, so I'm giving her more stars. It's a great price for wash, cut, blow dry and style for $35.00. Tonie is very nice. read more

Crystal at Tonie's straightened my hair yesteday.... its magic! She and Tonie are so sweet! The place is bright and friendly and they seriously know what they're doing. Crystal tamed my desert & braid destroyed hair into the straightest I've ever seen it. And the price was just what I could afford: $310 (they charged me for the cut plus the treatment) w00t! read more

My wife love getting her hair done here. We have coming here for years. She got a Japanese straight here and colored she looks wonderful thank you so much read more

This is an update to my previous review about the permanent hair straightening I had done by Tonie. I feel like I need to be more honest about the negative things I experienced after my straightening procedure because my last review focused too much on the positive. After the treatment, a lot of my hair was damaged and broke off, either part-way through the strand or straight at the root. When I went in to my consult with Tonie she said the straightening chemicals would be applied at least a 1/2 inch away from the scalp/roots. But when I actually had it done, I remember they MASSAGED the straightening chemical cream into my scalp. At the time I remember hoping that they were just doing a deep conditioning treatment, but no, it was the chemical straightener. As a result, probably 1/5 of my hair broke off directly at the root. When I ran my fingers through my scalp a few days after the treatment, it felt like someone had just shaved parts of my scalp and the "stubble" was growing back. Note that this wasn't in chunks or anything that left holes in my head, rather it was evenly dispersed throughout my head and just made it look like i had zero volume to my hair. Even though I loved that I had straight hair, it made me sad that so much of it had broken off, leaving me with less hair and zero volume for about three months until the roots grew in enough to give me some volume back. It is probably for this reason that I will not go back to Tonie again: I just don't know if I am willing to lose so much of my hair just to have a straight look again. I should mention that I had virgin (never dyed or chemically treated) hair before Tonie did the treatment, so the breakage wasn't because of any previous work on my hair. Since having my hair straightened in June of 07, I let the waves grow out to just past shoulder length and cut off the straightened, dead portion (in Jan 09), and it looks better just being wavy or straightened with a ceramic iron that stick-straight and with no volume. I haven't had another straightening treatment since then. Even though I loved being able to get out of the shower and just go, I'd rather have volume to my hair. I also did more research and discovered that the procedure was not done properly on me, and that the chemical should have never been applied to my scalp. Also, there are alternatives to permanent straightening like "Keratin Therapy by Coppola" which I just had done at a different place and I'll post the review for that in a month after I see how it looks. All in all, I just wanted to let everyone know that this procedure is not a five-stars kinda thing. It does have its Pros (easier to manage hair, softness, shine, stays straight until it grows out) but its Cons (lots of breakage, split-ends part way through your hair and at the roots & no volume) should be considered. Also, if you decide to get the straightening done, make sure that during your consult the stylist does a "strand test" where they take teensy samples of hair from all over your scalp and do the straightening treatment to the sample to see how your hair looks after treatment. If they are not willing to do that, you probably shouldn't trust them with your hair. My most recent stylists (for the Keratin Therapy Treatment) did a strand test for my hair before agreeing to treat it, and that made me feel like they took it seriously. Also, they said they have seen people from Tonie's and other straightening salons in SF who had terrible outcomes after their straightening treatments, with lots of breakage. So please, be careful and do your research! Remember that it you get permanent straightening you have to wait a couple years for the hair to grow out again if you don't like the bone-straight with no volume look. Also beware--check the profiles of people who write reviews because some stylists write their own yelp reviews under fake names (can you imagine?)! So before you trust somebody's opinion, check to make sure that they are a real person and know how to write a critical review. That is just my two cents! This straightening stuff is expensive, so make sure you spend the money at a place that deserves it. I hope this helps you! read more

I found my salon!! I just moved to the city and its really hard to find a place to do your hair especially when there's so many to choose from. Well I decided to narrow it down and just look in my neighborhood. I decided that I needed a change so I wanted to perm my naturally straight hair. I was really nervous at first, but when I walked into Tonie's she was very calming and very knowledgeable about perms so I felt a lot better. She asked lots of questions in order to know my hair's history and my lifestyle. The process took about 2 hours but chemical time was only 18 minutes and it gave me the perect amount of curl. Tonie Knows hair and I'm glad I know Tonie. read more

Came here for a mani pedi, but ended up only having time to do a pedi. The Vietnamese lady was extremely nice, her spa soak was hygienic with the plastic wrap around it. She was gentle, efficient and on point. Her polish selection is up to date with Essie, Opi, etc but they look like they've been on the shelf for awhile. Will pay her a visit again. read more

I went to Tonie for Japanese hair straightening in the last week of August. I called her, asked when I could get in, she had no problem accomodating my tight schedule, and got me in on one of the only two days that were possible for me. This was my first time attending Tonie's salon for this treatment, but the fourth time over four years that I have had my hair straightened. I have had my hair done in Shanghai, Osaka (Japan), Irvine (CA), and now from her in SF. What a delightful 4 hours this was though! Tonie is so friendly, talkative, and good natured. Her assistant is a little dry, and it seemed not as thorough with her treatment as Tonie is, but i could not notice a difference in the end. Tonie was so nice, I had to park across from her salon, with a 2 hour parking limit. She was entirely happy to inform me of a bank off in the short distance where i could get quarters to feed into the parking meter every two hours. Whenever two hours was nearing to elapse, she let me go out and put in more money into the meter. She even offered to allow me to take off all of my salon garb I had on if i were to be embarassed about walking in public with it on. I was not, but i thought it was sweet of her to offer. Near the end, when we were almost done, we needed about 20 more minutes. Tonie ran across the street for me to put in the money herself. She offered to share her breakfast with me, or wanted to know if I wanted her to buy anything for me nearby, kept on asking if i wanted more coffee or something else. She has magazines if you want, but i liked talking to her more (when i was not nodding in and out of sleep, i had been awake by that point for a long long time, but she was quite understanding of it). She is filled with great anecdotes, and our conversations were entirely pleasant. Although it lasted about the same duration as all my other hair straightening sessions, it seemed like the shortest hair straightening treatment I have ever had in all. The other salons I went to, the people were not especially talkative (i am fluent enough in the native language of the countries i had it done in), and particularly in asia my experience is that you get worked on by teams, or get handed off throughout the process to different people who all are also untalkative. It was nice to have it done by someone whose company was enjoyable is what i mean. She was aware i had had the treatment done several times before, so there was no need for a strand test i imagine in her opinion. Unlike some of the reviews on here, Tonie did not ask me a lot of questions about my hair, maybe it has to do with the fact that this would have been the fourth time that i have had it done before, and it was obvious that this procedure could, in practice, be done on me lol. She knew the ins-and-outs of hair though as she was demonstrating through her short examination of my hair before we proceeded. She showed me where on my hair she had deduced was the transition point between my new hair (unstraightened) and the rest of my hair that had the treatment from the year prior so as to know where to straighten and where to touch up. Neither she or her assistant went too close to my roots, they did an absolutely thorough job, i love the result, and had a more than agreeable time. My hair is beautifully straight now, and i even think she did a better job than my previous treatments. She uses products from Korea. Other salons i have gone to in the past have used japanese or chinese products on me. Wherever the products come from, they all work out splendidly is the point i am trying to present (i know some people only want to go to japanese places, etc.). We talked about and looked at my hair before we started, and the amount of new hair i would have needed straightened was about 7-8 inches (my hair grows fast), and it ended up being $310 (due to the length and thickness). This is just a little cheaper than the price i am used to paying in america for this procedure, and was cheaper than other salons were saying it would cost in SF. What was one of the most memorable things for me in the end about Tonie is that she actually cared about my hair and what I thought about it. A great quality in a salonist. For reference to people who want to compare hair types, my ethnicity is Pakistani and my natural hair is very thick, mostly straight, but definately a little wavy. Anyway, I hope people find this review helpful and that wherever they get their hair straightened that it turns out well! I fully recommend people to go to Tonie for their treatments should they wish: She is pretty much as good as you can get. read more

I've had the japanese hair straightening here twice by Tonie. I must say, she is a favorite of mine, and her assistant has gotten mildly better since the last time. No, she doesn't do a strand test, but yes, I think she's knowledgeable and efficient. This last time I went, I wanted my hair less "stick-straight" since I hate the first month of the stuck-to-your-head look. So she deliberately avoided the 1 cm of roots. Also, my last straightening fried my hair and my growing out ends were a bit crispy- she was careful to avoid re-application here, since I am trying to grow it out and didn't want to trim it. (although, a week later, I succumbed and got an inch off since it was getting frizzy) She spoke to her assistant and showed her where to stop the treatments. And my hair turned out exactly as I wanted it: it's straighter and more manageable, but not stick straight with no body as it's been in the past. It can hold a decent curl (and ponytail dent), but it's also perfect for wash-n-go and looks more natural than before. It's precisely what I had hoped for. So why 4 stars: well, again, her assistant is not the best flat-iron-er or blow-dryer. She can burn yer neck/ear or pull a little too hard for comfort. Also, although I think she does a great job, Tonie does not do strand tests and I think just wings it a bit, which thus far has been fine. The price, though, is right. Not crazy expensive, I've paid about $270 before tip I think for both- just beyond shoulder-length very thick hair. No haggling, no trying to sell other products or add-on services. Offered to grab me coffee/breakfast/lunch, and always had water and tea on hand. Chatty, but not too chatty. Lots of magazines to peruse, but I usually bring a book. read more

I have been going to this salon for more than 6 years...even before the name changed. I have been going to Crystal for as long as I can remember and still am. Crystal has done everything to my hair from the magic straight perm, regular perm, coloring, highlighting, coating, layering, really short, or naturally long. Whatever the style, Crystal has made me incredibly happy everytime I leave. She's so great that I still go to her even though I moved to Sacramento. She offers great consultations, great prices, and will definitely leave you happy. I can walk into the salon and tell her I want a simple trim or I want a change even though I don't know exactly what I really want and she'll just do it. My hair always comes out exceptionally great. What makes it so easy is that I just go and she'll recommend a certain style or cut that'll frame my face and she'll even teach me ways to keep the style without the hassle. Really, if you want a good cut with a good price, go to Crystal! Call this number to get Crystal! (415)387-4728 read more

I will be forever loyal to Tonie as long as she is still in business. A year and a half ago, I had a Japanese Thermal Recondtioning that went AWFULLY wrong at a salon at Irving St. that left my hair fried and frizzy instead of straight and smooth! Fast forward to today, I decided that my hair has grown out a bit and perhaps is strong/healthy enough to endure some form of salon chemicals again. So I looked on yelp and found Tonie's Hair Salon and what people are saying absolutely true! Tonie IS AMAZING! I had her perform a Japanese thermal reconditioning on me while praying that it won't turn out like last time- and it didn't! My hair is smooth and straight just like a successful thermal reconditioning is suppose to do for you! Bonus points for her GREAT company while I was sitting there for 5 hours! She was so friendly, funny, and easy to talk to! Not to mention, she was educating me about my hair and what best to do for it to maintain it's healthier glow while the (still) fried ends from 1 and 1/2 year ago grow out. Tonie, thank you so much for restoring my faith in thermal reconditioning and making me a very happy customer! Money well spent!!! read more

I've been going to Tonie for over 10 years, since she used to work in San Bruno. Unfortunately, I had a terrible outcome with my highlights the last time I went, so I have decided to start going elsewhere. Tonie is friendly, personable and has very reasonable prices. Most of the haircuts and highlights she's given me have been good. But over the past few years, I seem to have been squeezed in between other appointments and walk ins. Because of this, I either had to wait longer with whatever it is she is doing with me and other customers, or her assistant had to take over. Sometimes I leave after people who have come in after me and/or had to run out to feed the meter again because it took longer than the 2 hours you get for parking. I think this is what led up to some really awful highlights I had the last time I went. I have dark brown hair that she highlighted previously and she was going to touch them up. After she applied the cream, I just sat and waited for the color to develop. By that time, she had moved on to another customer and her assistant had to do the rest. It ended up way too light - pretty much blonde - and she only applied the highlights from my roots down halfway of my hair's length. Didn't look good at all. Plus, her assistant was terrible at blow drying. I didn't realize how bad it all looked until I got home. I was almost ready to dye my hair back to dark brown. Overall, this place is OK but after my last experience, I am ready to find a new salon. Plus, it's hard to find parking on Clement on the weekends and you have to be sure to feed the meter. read more

Tonie was very nice and honest about what she could do and what the downsides could be for the hair straightening. My hair was wavy in all the wrong places, and tends to be a little frizzy. It was colored, and damaged at the ends because I once had it bleached (not really on purpose, long story). She said we could try it, but that the process takes out some color is it's dyed and that the ends were a little damaged, but should be ok. I love my hair now. the first day, my ends did look fried, but she said it would look better in the following 2 days, and she was right. The part of my hair that ws not so damaged before is sooo soft and silky now. the ends are a little rougher but hey, that's damage I did to it before, and I really can only wait and grow it out, and cut it. I would definitely do this again. I can blow dry it a little, but I don't have to try so hard to do piece by piece like you normally have to to get a straight result, and today I didn't do anything to it after I washed it and it's still soft and straight. She said because my hair isn't so curly that I probably won't have to do the regrowth for 6-8 months, so I think that that's not so expensive for me. I've ben told that if your hair is really curly the regrowth will be more obvious so you may have to go back more often. It took between 4-5 hours, and cost me $280. (Plus tip, I never know what to do when the person doing your hair maybe owns the place, but I mean, I've paid $175 for double process color that only took a couple hours, so I think $280 for almost 5 hours of work is pretty reasonable.) I'm very happy with it. I plan to do this again. I may just decide to dye my hair back to it's natural color, because I have it red now and that's already a hard color to maintain, and this straightening does take some life out of the color. You could re-color your hair a little while after getting this process done, depending on the condition of your hair, but maybe I'll choose to straighten rather than color so much. * after I read the other reviews of people that went here and another straightening place, I realized that maybe my hair wasn't supposed to be so damaged at the ends with super-experienced salons. In 6 months or so, I'll try the Thermal Reconditioning Specialists (if I'm not dirt poor) and I will see! read more

Tonie is a great hairdresser. I come here to get my bangs trimmed and the price can't be beat!

update- May 27- 3.5 months later my original hair started to grow.. so now my roots are curling a little, but the rest of the hair is streight. mostly. it became a bit wavy (I'm not talking about the new hair...), and it is lest soft then it was right after the treatment... I think I will go again in couple of weeks to touch-up the roots, will update on the price and the process :) I did the streightening on Feb 7th, it was friday, and Tonie agreed to make an appointment for 3:30 pm (they close at 6 usually on fridays, but I was there till 8 !!). She also helped me to feed the meter for my car :) The process is long (my hair is beneath the shoulders), took about 5 hours. Tonie was very patient with me and explained everything about the process. I got out of the salon with straight hair, then washed it 2 days later , since you cant wash for 2 days- take into consideration when making appointment. You also can't do a pony tail or anything to the hair- cause the hair is still taking it's form. And it was totally wash and go. Didnt even use a blow dryer and was happy with it :) of course if you want it straight 100%, you would want to use a dryer, for some small spots... The price was 310 (added 20% tips and bought the shampoo and conditioner). Bottom line- love the result, loved the place and Tonie! will update later, to say how long it lasts :) read more

Thanks everyone for the great reviews and turning me to Tonie's salon! In the past I've spent anywhere from $550 - $700 on the straightening process and doing this twice a year just seemed ridiculous! I finally found a place that is affordable (plan on spending 200 less than my lower quoted price above!) and done with high quality. It is clear Tonie has a lot of experience with thermal reconditioning and did a great job on my hair! I have extremely thick hair and the entire process took about 6 hours, and she stayed late on a Saturday night to make it perfect! AND, still charged me a very reasonable price! I will definitely be back for my every 6 month touch ups! read more

I've been going to Tonies for years now, in fact shes the only person who has ever cut my hair professionally. i have wavy/curly hair, and the first time she cut it she cut off SO much! But i ended up loving it! every time i go back i go shorter and shorter! i've been growing out my hair now and its super long and thick. i cant wait to go back and cut it all off in the summer! i also love the way she thins my thick hair with the blade. Besides Toni herself... i also like the environment. its very quiet and soothing. its usually just the pedi lady and Toni herself, so its nice to get attention and not just be another person with an appt at a busy salon. the parking sucks, but its worth it! don't forget your quarters when you go! read more

I just got my hair straightened for the 1st time with Tonie, the owner and namesake of the salon. Like others, you are probably deciding between a couple places. (my hair is medium length, had some color in it, and I mainly was concerned about its frizziness and coarseness) So why did I pick Tonie's over other places? You can't get better results for the ridiculously low price she charges. You can tell right away that she's a PRO. During the informal consultation, she's very honest and straightforward about whether you are a good candidate for the straightening process. You know exactly what you are going to get. Ultimately, you should pick a stylist you feel comfortable with. Tonie is so sweet & puts you at ease. And I'm now joining the many who love her work! read more

Thanks so much for providing info on Tonie's!! I plan to get an appointment soon.

I got my hair (Japanese straighting) here. The girls are fab there. Crystal did my hair. She is very attentive and nice. The whole process took approx close to 5hrs. Another salon in the city quoted $550 this place quoted $280 ($310 with hair cut), so the choice was easy. My advice: When you go in for your initial consultation, get the price written down and whether it includes a cut or not. and ya, take food with you or buy from near by before you get there. 5 hrs is a long time. Crystal actually ordered and picked up a sandwich for me. I'll be recommending crystal and this place to my other fuzzy haired friends. read more