Ignite Hair & Beauty Lounge

I have been here three times just because this place had good Unilocal reviews. On my first visit, I went from super-​long hair to a shoulder-​length cut and I loved how I looked with the shorter haircut. The next two visits, I went back to get the same haircut but ended up being disappointed with either getting too short of a haircut or an uneven haircut for a fairly expensive price. Overall, I think this place is both over-​priced and over-​rated.

Getting the hair cut/​style that you want, as opposed to what the stylist wants, is harder than you’d think in fair Vancouver.
I’ve tried, with varying success (from decent to outright catastrophe), five salons in Vancouver before settling on Ignite for the past year.
The team there are all very friendly, efficient, and wine is on the drinks menu, which is an important touch for this consumer.
But the success of any salon comes down to which stylist you get. I can’t recommend Sandra enough. She’s cut my hair for the past year and is fantastic. She listened to I wanted, did it, but also improved on what I was looking for over time. She’s the first stylist in Vancouver, after three years of trying, that I go back to without fail!

I have now been to Ignite 3 times and waited to write this review until now so that I could see how my hair stood up. So far so good! I have done 2 cuts, 1 balayage and 1 Keratin Smoothing Treatment. I also did a in-​salon treatment with one of my services AND tried the Thermo-​cut.
First off, Emily is great. She is an Aussie so the accent is super cute and she is friendly and helpful. I don’t do anything drastic with my cut so I can’t comment on that too much but she is great at styling and gave me some great loose waves with the flat iron!
My balayage was nice and subtle which is what I was looking for and I had shown her pictures and I’m really happy with it! The Kerating Smoothing Treatment took a long time (3.5 hours? But I guess that’s normal to get it right!) but the salon is great at offering you drinks (tea, coffee, wine!) and refills, also plenty of magazines to keep you occupied! The treatment has been a huge time saver for me as it shortens my drying time and my frizzies are a lot more manageable! It’s not a straightening treatment so definitely don’t expect that, it just makes your hair easier to deal with!
I would say one of the highlights for me was when they are conditioning your hair, they take this hot wet towel that is scented in lemongrass (?) and wrap it around your head and shoulders… so comforting and it smells so good! I look forward to this!
Your first appointment you get $ 10 off and at the end they give you coupons to use for subsequent visits!

DO NOT GO HERE!
If I could I would give this place no stars! I was a client of theirs for over 5 years and I spent thousands of dollars there. I got my hair coloured every 6 weeks and I got my hair styled there once or twice a week.
I went to get my hair coloured in August right before my sister inlaw’s wedding and the girl just ruined my hair. I just needed my roots done and she took me from being a blond to having green shit brown hair. Not only that but she damaged the hell out of my hair!
When I was leaving the salon I told the receptionist to have the owner call me because of the terrible job she had done. She charged me $ 300 for the mess she had created!
The next day they called me back to the salon and the owner was no where to be seen. The receptionist took pictures of my hair to send to the owner and when I asked her what I was supposed to do with this hair and how I was going to show up at the wedding she had the nerve to say to me: «well you shouldn’t be getting your hair coloured before a big event» they didn’t offer to fix it for me they told me to go elsewhere and have it fixed because they didn’t have time.
I went to another salon and the poor girl did her best to fix the colour but there wasn’t much she could do and the damage was irreparable. I ended up going to the wedding with green hair. Did I mention that I was a bridesmaid?!
I finally spoke to the owner a week later and I was absolutely disgusted with her attitude. She said that she wasn’t going to refund me for the horrible job they did and that my hair looked fine. I told her that the reason why my hair looked «fine» was because I went to two different salons to try to have it fixed. Not only did I spend $ 300 on the crap job that her salon did but I also spent another $ 150 trying to fix my hair.
She then went on to say that I’m a difficult client and that no one at her salon wants to do my hair and to not come there to get my hair coloured anymore! She didn’t have a problem taking my money for 5 years but now I’m a terrible client?!
Her attitude was despicable and very unprofessional. When I went to her salon to speak to her face to face, in the middle of our conversation her friend walked in with a box of pastries and without even excusing herself she turned away from me and started eating pastries and chatting with her friend. She completely ignored me and when I said something to her she said well she’s my friend I can’t be rude to her!
I’ve referred so many people to that salon and I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of money there and the way she treated me was just disgusting.
Her best stylists, Bonnie who is now at iDaburn on Cambie and Curtis who is now at Moods in Yaletown, left because she was so terrible to them. By chance I found out that Bonnie works at iDaburn and I’ve been seeing her again. The owner was telling all of their clients that they were no longer doing hair!
The stylists there are all subpar and none of them know what they’re doing. Not only that but she charges ridiculous prices.
They’re a complete rip off and the owner needs to be investigated by Canada Revenue Agency.
I was such a loyal client and the way she treated me was inexcusable. I can’t believe I spent so much money there all these years just to have her tell me to basically F off.

I love Sue and I totally trust her with my hair!
I am in the process of transitioning from dyed brown hair to silver/​white blonde hair, and I love the attention that has been given to the integrity of my hair. Products are not pushed on me, but I am given all the information I need to make informed decisions about the processes done to my hair and the products used.
This is now my home salon and I already feel a deep loyalty to Ignite and to Sue specifically. Friendly and helpful front desk staff, too!

Curtis is Fabulous! I had a strange request. My hair is long ut due to a very intense surgery my hair had to be shaved by the surgeon to open my neck all the way down. My hair was just a mess when I was on vacation in Vancouver. I did my research online and found Ignite and the thermal cut which I knew nothing about and I live in Laguna Beach Southern California. Curtis was loving, and a true professional. The best hair cut I have had in a long time. Please check him out if you have a chance he is just the best in the industry. On another note if anyone close to where I live can do the same Thermal scissor cut as curtis please contact me via my website
thank you again Curtis love you your salon and the staff Sharm Cressey

I’ve been going to this salon for the better part of almost 3 years now. It’s about time, I say something!
This place is so inviting. Always spotless and so nice and bright. All of the staff are pleasant and treat me very well from the moment I walk in door. Nothing like being offered a nice glass of wine to start the pampering experience just right.
Curtis, my stylist, is amazing. He is so knowledgeable about his art form and works so hard to ensure you are happy with the results. He also gives THE best scalp massages!
Whenever I get the chance, I always recommend Ignite to people looking for a better salon experience.

I signed up for Unilocal SPECIFICALLY to give Ignite a review. I’ve been there a few times now and I’ve never loved my hair more. I’ve been growing it out for a while and my previous stylist (at another salon) was great at styling it short, but as it grew out, I began liking my haircuts from her less and less. That’s when I decided to look for a new stylist and discovered that Ignite had great Unilocal reviews, so I called and booked an appointment with Larissa. I’ve never had a stylist who REALLY understood hair as well as she does. She knew exactly what to do to create the look I wanted. Every time I go, I leave feeling like my hair looks the best it’s ever looked and, when I style it myself, it STILL looks great! I’m really happy with my decision to try out Ignite and ESPECIALLY happy with Larissa. She’s just wonderful. Another bonus about this salon is that they really pamper you. I like having a glass of wine or a cup of coffee while I get my hair cut. Also, Larissa takes her time wishing your hair. She gives a full head scrub and massage followed by a lavender hot towel. It leaves your hair smelling divine and feeling silky soft. I’ll never go anywhere else as long as I live in Vancouver.

Curtis at Ignite Hair & Beauty Lounge saved my hair.
After reading all the fabulous reviews about his colour and cutting techniques, I wanted a try. I had suffered a bit of damage to my hair after lightening and was on the verge of going back to black, but I saw a review about a color job he did for a girl with dark hair going to platinum, and I figured I’d give it a try. Am I ever thrilled that I did! My hair looks amazing, it’s a beautiful warmish platinum that’s as soft as it was before I ever touched a bottle of colour. I didn’t think it was possible for my hair to be this soft after a round of bleaching. It’s pretty incredible.
He took the time to ask me what I did and didn’t like about the colour I had, he took the time to explain his technique and made a few new suggestions that made the process easy and discomfort free.
I recommend Curtis 110%! He is awesome. Talented and professional, you wont be disappointed.

I came here twice already for hair treatment. It’s amazing !! I had Leanne & she is great I got a really nice blow out too every time & the head massage was really comfortable I wanted to fall asleep!
Will be back again

So I switched to Curtis and he is a bob GOD.
I heart him so much!!! I split my time between Toronto and Vancouver and ALWAYS wait until I am back home to get my hair cut because he is THAT amazing. My cut always takes at least an hour — other stylists cut my hair in 25 minutes but Curtis makes my bob perfect and swingy and super cute. The best part is when I style it at home, he’s made it easy! I mean I am not salon perfect, but I have the swing and bounce that my chemically treated hair normally does not have.
If you are in search of someone to give you a super cute bob — go here.
There are just not enough words to express my Curtis love.

I got a hot scissors hair cut and a mask. I have hair that is extremely prone to split ends so I thought that hot scissors would be something interesting to try. I went in as part of Groupon. I can now safely say that the hot sccissors are not really worth it, it didn’t make any difference for my hair — it still started splitting 2 weeks after a hair cut. The cut itself was great, albeit I had several styling products put in my hair and it was perhaps too much. Good place for a basic haircut — if it were a little closer to me, I would probably go back!

Curtis is AMAZING! He did cut, colour and style. He was fantastic and very friendly! He definitely knows his stuff! I also got the cut with the heated scissors and made me a total believer. Night and day how my hair feels after. You HAVE to try it!

I went to ignite today for the first time and I have to admit I’m VERY impressed. I had Stephanie do my hair and she was super nice, great personality and she did an amazing job on my hair. I was in desperate need of a haircut with oodles of layers and she did just everything i asked for and then some. Fabulous scalp massage, clean and quiet salon, just perfect!

**NEWS FLASH** I know, I know, where have I been you ask? Never mind that, life has been busy and while I still peruse Unilocal I have been total crap at writing any recent reviews BUT this one will surely satiate the avid readers of my reviews (THANK YOU!).
ANYWAY — I am here to tell you all about the newest and most awesome hair tool gadget that the fabulous and talented IGNITE Beauty team have acquired.
Curtis has been cutting and styling my hair for nearly 3 years now and he has NEVER let me loose with anything but a fab new do. My latest is no exception and for kicks, I had the opportunity to try out a VERY new and EXCLUSIVE gadget from Germany company Jaguar, who specialize in top quality shears and scissors. They call it the *Thermo-​Cut System” and I was introduced to it as a *Wellness Cut*.
So what the heck is it?! They are a pair of scissors connected to a power source and the blades heat up to desired and customizable temperatures. With conventional scissors the hair strands remain open to damage from everything you can imagine; with Thermo-​Cut, the heat actually seals the hair ends while it cuts, keeping the hair in its natural state of excellence, sans damage, shiny and full of volume.
Sound crazy? Believe it people! I have fine, wispy, frustratingly damaged hair and these scissors have done wonders. The lovely folks at Ignite charge $ 30.00 on top of the regular cost of a cut, and with lower than average prices on normal cuts, it is STILL more affordable than MANY salons in the city who DON’T have the Thermo-​Cut system.
Ignite is currently the ONLY salon in Vancouver to use the Thermo-​Cut system = EXCLUSIVE!
If you don’t already go to Ignite for your beauty needs, now you have one more awesome reason to get your lovely head of hair down to Abbott Street, pronto!