Hair Metal Salon

Hair Metal is my jam! I’ve been going to Molly for over a year now, and she always leaves me feeling fresh and chic. My haircut runs about $ 70 a pop (rare in Williamsburg!), plus a complimentary neck trim in between cuts. Molly is always fun to talk to, but not overly chatty if I’m not in the mood. She gives me great advice on whatever hair issues I have at the moment (split end repair, faster growth, removing brassiness, etc). However, as much as I love this place, I will say that they are always running a good 15 minutes late. I’ve rushed like a maniac from work many a time, only to wait on the couch for 15 to 20 mins.

Enjoyed my cut at Hair Metal. Everyone was super sweet.
My stylist and I had a good laugh at how hilariously awful my last stylist from another local «cool» shop messed up my hair (I have long hair and my previous stylist cut a chunk in the middle of my head about 3 inches long, Alfalfa style, because she was chatting it up with stylist next to us).
The stylist I had was named Krista Amira (she gave me her card). I’d totally recommend her and plan to ask for her again, but I’m sure they have other good stylist too.

I went in for a consultation and discussed with the stylist that I wanted to lighten up my balayage (my hair at the time was in good shape, just wanted to bring out some of the more golden/​honey hues). I mentioned wanting a natural looking gradation a couple of times, that I didn’t want a severe root or transition from dark to light — the stylist seemed confident that wouldn’t be a problem.
Sadly, the outcome of what she did to my hair was very far from looking natural. I think actually I would have been okay with it not looking super natural if everything was done well, but that’s not what happened. I was left with two completely mis-​matching colors (the lightning up of my roots had changed my hair from rich brown to a dull flat on the verge of red light brown). There is absolutely no natural transition to warm blondes… instead it goes straight into grey ash blonde (this looks ridiculous against the reddish brown). Incredibly, the stylist thought it looked good, and assured me it was the lighting in the salon that was making my hair look red and grey. Looking at it in other lighting, I can confirm it actually is red and grey/​ash blonde. Also, it is splotchy and uneven, which when paying over $ 300.00 for your hair should not be the case. The stylist clearly does not know how to do balayage — and should not pretend to. The whole process was done incorrectly.
Following my appointment at Hair Metal, I immediately went to another salon (recommended through a friend) for a correction consultation. Upon seeing my hair, the correction colorist was shocked by what she saw, and less shocked when I told her I had gotten it done at Hair Metal, which I can only assume means that she has seen this before.
If you want a natural and technically well executed ombré /​balayage please do not make the same mistake I made.

I’ve been to this salon twice before since moving to Williamsburg. Each stylist I’ve had has made my experience incredible while satisifing my inner punk and outter yuppish personality. Salons in the past have always made me feel uncomfortable with a similar feel to that of visiting the dentist. Hair Metal had found a way to intergrate me to a world of «cool»…until now.
I made an appointment for a Friday afternoon a week in advance. I understand their cash only requirement, but the potential threat of Hurricane Joaquin just decided to make not only the trip to the bank but also to the salon difficult. Are they at fault for the weather? Absolutely not. But It does add some extra effort on the patrons part, which I hope the stylists know. Apparently not this one I had.
The last two stylist I had who were amazing (bad with names, forgive me). One had me prepped for a Navy ball all while giving some amazing layers and another one fixed my pathetic attempt at cutting my own hair. I owed those girls my life. This one I had this particular day was at the chair across from reception. She wore a beanie, tank top, covered in amazing tattoos, and seemed pleasant enough at first.
She gets to business, asking what I was looking for. I told her a small trim to cut off dead ends (but not lose the length), some framing of the face, and relayering starting from there. I told you, yuppy outter shell. She seemed, I dunno, displeased with my request? She held up a large chunk and said, «All this needs to go». Whoa there, can we meet in the middle? I had a flash back to going to Supercuts as a kid and getting about a foot chopped off my length because the barber said it was all dead. She said she’d make sure it was a small trim.
«When was the last time you washed your hair?» I love and hate when they ask this question. I had stupidly washed my hair that morning forgetting that this was going to be asked. Yeah, it’s for haircare and whatever but I work out daily and wash my hair DAILY. I told her I had done so that morning because running ha ha.
«How about a dry cut?» Wut. More flashes of sitting in a Supercuts as a kid. I’m not about to haggle the price of a haircut before the stylist starts (I’m fairly frugal expect for my twice a year haircut) and I said I would like that she at least rinse and conditions my hair before she gets to work. It’s a nightmare out there. I don’t trust New York rain water. «Sure, I can do that. Is it because you didn’t condition this morning?» I feel like I’m on trial for committing all sorts of hair sins. What I wanted to stay is, «I’m paying $ 70 + tip for a traditional haircut in a nice salon, not a dry cut at some walk-​in salon.» Instead I said, «No I would just feel better if you did» in a fairly passive voice.
She did as I had ask. We made some small talk. I brought up running and the weather. How this hurricane is gonna make tomorrow’s run wet. Ha. Ha. Awkward chair talk as usual.
She moved fairly quickly through my hair. I was surprised. I have a lot of thick hair and seen it take some people longer than half the time of the appointment just to get through the layers. When she declared herself done, she asked me to «feel my hair» and «did it feel right». It was still wet so I awkwardly ran my fingers through it. I said it feels nice and light, but I won’t be able to tell until its dry.
«I could dry your hair or diffuse it. I would hate to put the heat on it since you’re gonna be running around in the rain tomorrow.» To a normal person who is lucky if she brushes her hair, this sounded like she didn’t want to dry my hair. What the hell was diffusing? I decided to opt for that to avoid an arguement and try something new. Whatever. At this point I was done with being this woman’s patron.
When she declared herself done, I put on a happy face and said thanks. I could still feel a little dampness on the back of my neck. My hair was limp and the layers looked cut straight across. No finish, no nothing. I paid and tipped, leaving quickly. I felt like a turd who had just been polished and rushed out. I went home and threw my hair in a ponytail to forget about it.
A week later, while getting an updo at a salon in Atlantic City, I apologized in advance to my stylist if I seemed jittery because of a less-​than-​great experience the week before. As she started working her way through my hair, making me feel comfortable and well taken care of, she help up a few layers and said «what did she do to your layers? They’re all uneven.»
Wow. Thanks.

Very good hairdresser with stylish and nice people… Prices are reasonable and you get what you Want in. Terms of quality

I went here because my roomie got an incredible cut, unfortunately I didn’t have such luck. I wish I remembered the name of my stylist, but I have no idea, probably because she didn’t say more than two words to me the whole time I was there. The receptionist chick is sweet, but past her, everyone is rude, stuck up and super judgey. If you don’t fit into their alternative vibe then they’re super rude and dismissive towards you. No-​one offered me water/​anything and I felt super uncomfortable the entire time i was there. Like I had walked into an emo VIP party and wasn’t cool enough to be there.
I gave my stylist a lot of freedom with the cut, I just asked for her not to chop off too much length and limit the layers and face feathers… she basically totally ignored what I asked for as I walked away with a full on Rachel cut… albeit a pretty decent Rachel cut, it’s the total opposite of what I asked for.
Icing on the cake… my stylist put my gold earrings on her station, and I forgot them when I left. I called up 20 mins after I left to ask that they put them aside and I’d go collect them… they said my earrings were nowhere to be found.

Great, really happy with my men’s cut. Reasonably priced, friendly staff and nice atmosphere. They’re the top rated in the area on Unilocal for a reason. Cash only but that’s new york i guess. (i think my stylists name was Laura. she was tops!)

Have been three times
— the first was great — very alternative vibe, nice enough staff
— the second — my hairstylist cut my hair WAY shorter than I had asked
When I decided to make an appointment for a third try — it was cancelled just an hour before the appointment time, after already traveling to make it there on time.
It’s time to just look elsewhere

Love this place, the atmosphere and Krista! She is the only person who has cut my hair in the past two years and I love what she does for my appearance. She always knows exactly what I am looking for and is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The price for a cut, shampoo, condition, style and dry isn’t bad at all, especially for the quality and the great experience. Making appointments is easy and I have only had to wait a few minutes past my scheduled time once before. Otherwise, they are always on time. I would definitely recommend (and trust me, I have!) this establishment to my friends!

Karina! Karina! Karina!!! I had a terrible breakup and took all my rage out on my poor hair– started with trying to lighten my ombré and by the time I was done my hair was processed almost 4 times and it was brass city!
At the last minute before flying back to San Francisco I asked one of my friends who always had wonderful colorful hair where she got hers done and she suggested hair metal
For real I hadn’t walked into a salon in nearly 7 years because people would get too excited and cut all my hair off– but as soon as I met Karina I had all trust that she knew what I was going for
She spent 5 HOURS with barely any breaks perfecting my hair– I will also add that she even skipped her 15 minute break for her next client because after all that work we had to see what it looked like blown out!
It was also the first time getting my hair colored to a bright non-​natural blue and it was a bit of a shock (as it clashed with most of my wardrobe) but once I got my whole look down it was legit one of the best decisions I ever made!
She also didn’t just put one wash of color but multiple layers of purple within the blue and every time I washed my hair you would she these beautiful strands of violet with different levels of blue!
Almost every time I washed my hair and styled it — the minute I walked out the door someone. even the crazy crackheads would tell me how cool it looked.
For real natural beauties if you want to step into the wild side Karina is my new number one! My hair legit has its own entity and she’s probably the only other person I’d let touch it!

All 5 stars here are for Krista. She is my hair stylist goddess and guru. I haven’t let anyone else touch my hair in almost two years. I even followed her from her last salon to this one. She is extremely skilled and intuitive with coloring jobs and she fixed up my initially shitty bob. She’s too good really. She cuts and colors so well that I don’t have to go back more than once every few months for touch ups. The cut and color always grows out really nicely. I highly recommend her!

I’ve wanted to get some color into my hair for a long time, but I had no idea where to start! I walked into Hair Metal after brunch on a whim one day and asked for a consultation. I was matched up with Karina and asked her lots of questions about dying dark blue highlights under my hair.
She was very encouraging and knowledgeable, so I booked an appointment to get them done later that same day. Bleaching and applying the blue took some three hours, altogether longer than I had expected. We were the last people at the salon, but at no point did Karina’s work feel rushed or like she wanted to finish quickly. She put the same care and time into my hair that I imagine she would have done for the first client of the day. She was also a pleasure to chat with, making those hours pass quickly :)
Hair Metal’s pricing is also competitive and I will definitely be back for more color and cuts!

I have seen Krista A today for a single process and I can highly recommend her. She did a great job with my hair and was very kind, sweet and professional. Hair Metal Salon is a very nice boutique salon with unique atmosphere and despite of the so-​called «metal» style not only young crowd is welcomed. I am very happy to discover this place, will be back soon for sure. (minus one star for Krista‘s far too loud, too talkative co-​worker, some people just do not know when is the time to stop talking)

I went to hair metal when my stylist left the salon I normally go to. Shelly colored my hair and put in beautiful highlights. I really like rock and roll hair and the last time I went in, she trimmed me ends and gave me the lift and edge I need while growing it out. Shelly is rad!

I woke up one morning and decided, I need my hair short and ASAP!!!
I was able to be taken that day by the lovely Shelley. Deciding on the Jawline Bob, she took care of me right away.
Wash, cut and style. Shelley did an AMAZING job! I love it and look fabulous! Thanks Shelley and Hair Metal!

Very uncool experience here with Shelly.
I considered not writing a bad review because Kristina, the manager, is actually super kind and eventually refunded me my $ 300 after a bit of back and forth — but I decided to write this anyway because Shelly can’t treat someone like that and get away with it. Also, the salon did not refund me my 20% tip of $ 60 on top of the $ 300. Out of principle, considering the situation that went down, this should have been given back to me, and I’m still annoyed that Shelly got to keep that.
I had just moved here and didn’t have a stylist yet when I went into Hair Metal. I went in with platinum medium length blonde hair, requesting a bit of darker blonde just at my roots, to sort of break up the platinum. I am naturally a very light blonde and had only dyed my hair a silvery platinum over the summer (first dye job ever), to try something sightly brighter. I had explained to Shelly that I just wanted to move away from the white/​silvery platinum, and do a gradual blonde ombré back to my natural blonde. I had also very clearly stated that I wanted to grow my hair out, and that I hated layers on my hair, so I wanted to stay with a blunt cut and keep the length. I must have said that at least 3 times.
First, the cut: Shelly went and cut my hair into short choppy layers, which sure enough, poofed out into a «Mom» cut, just like layers always do on my head. I couldn’t believe she did the exact thing I asked her not to do. She also cut way too much length off considering I told her I was growing my hair out. I felt defeated after having grown it out for the past 5 months. That alone was maddening.
But then, the color: Shelly legit made me a brunette that day. I have no idea what she was thinking. Not only did she not keep the darker blonde specific to the roots area as I had requested (pulling the color down all the way to my tips), but she didn’t keep it at blonde at all. She went straight brown. I had never walked in there asking to be anything but blonde, nor did I want to be. Furthermore, the dye job was not good at all. She gave me patches of dark brown hair, with other areas of lighter brown hair, and then she left my ends bleached out. It was a nightmare.
When I exclaimed that it was really dark, Shelly said after a few washes it would tone down. I think I was in utter shock when I left. I immediately went home and started washing my hair obsessively. After washing it 6 times in one day, it was still uneven dark brown hair which clearly would in no way resemble what I wanted. I called the salon and asked if she could she fix it. Shelly replied that she was going on vacation for a week but if I still didn’t like it when she was back, I could come back in – but she would have to charge me.
After a few days of generally feeling terrible about this new look, I called the salon back and explained that I didn’t really want to wait for Shelly to come back from vacation, and can someone else please fix this color. Turns out, Shelly hadn’t even left for vacation yet + the manager booked me with her that evening. From the get go she was defensive and rude. Shockingly she said, «This color isn’t brown, it’s what you asked for.» I felt like one of us was insane. The color was so obviously brown that there was no arguing with her. (I had brought blonde on blonde photos to the appointment and had met with her for a consultation prior to the cut, so there was no confusion as to what I wanted).
Shelly did a clarifying shampoo which lightened it slightly, and then said that it was done. At that point, with little difference, I said if she can’t get the color right than maybe she could just bleach it back to platinum, even though that’s not what I wanted, but it would be better than brown. Shelly’s attitude turned from rude to nasty. She said she’d have to charge me another full rate and she didn’t have time to do it then (her boyfriend was waiting for her + she was leaving for vacation the next day). She raised her voice so the entire salon could hear, saying she «did exactly what I asked for and it wasn’t brown!» I was calmly saying she did not do what I wanted, clearly, and pleading please just dye it back to blonde. It was ridiculous. Eventually I walked out– brown hair still wet– out $ 360 — haven just been yelled at — with no idea what to do.
The bottom line here, is Shelly did not listen to what I asked for at all. She did what she wanted to do on my head, with no consideration for my personal style or specific requests or even photos I had brought in. I had no connection to the look she gave me. Not sure what is worse though — that, or her absolute refusal to fix it when I was so clearly unhappy, and her utter rudeness toward me in the entire debacle. It was 4 days of pure stress in my life and is by far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a stylist and a haircut.
(See my review for Exhibit Salon, who miraculously fixed this).

Be prepared for major attitude from stylists and from the reception desk.
During my first experience my stylist Alyssa was pretty rude when I wanted her to go shorter with my cut after it was blown dry. This rubbed me the wrong way but she did a good job so I decided to book again when I needed another cut.
The second time there was a mix up with my appt and they booked me at the wrong time. They kept telling me I was late but I had a voicemail confirming the time. They were on the defense the entire time. No one apologized or offered a solution, Alyssa just kept saying well it’s not my fault, I didn’t tell you the wrong time. Totally rude. Instead of rebooking I walked around looking for another spot. Ended up at cocoro on Bedford and 7^th. Super nice and professional there.
I will never go back to hair metal.

After some crazy, I got my hair bleached and dyed PINK. Yes that’s right! I’m a pink lady now. Molly did a great job. I have some pics I will post. Also, for what I had done to my hair it was pretty affordable. The coloring was so good people thought I was walking around with a sweet wig on my head.
Also, Heather, did a smashing job for my boyfriend Neil. He hates going to get his hair styled and now he sends me a ridiculous amount of selfies. He was one of those guys who would grow it out then shave it. Ty Jade for filling in for Heather last week. Neil is having a great week!
Also… dogs. I can bring my dog.

Have had my hair cut here twice. Really nice receptionist with rad pink hair, and the stylists I saw (different girls each time) were sweet. First one was pretty chill in a cool way, the other was pretty chill in a cool way with a hippie/​spiritual twist. No complaints.
The first time I went there to get my hair cut I felt like THEY CUT SOMETHING and was like «wow, what a sweet cut» but then this last time I walked out of there like «thanks for snipping a few hairs at the ends». Literally no difference than what I had when I walked out of there. Hahaha.
I’m not going to be mad about it. I just probably won’t go there for another $ 70 haircut. P. S. The first chick charged me $ 60.
Going to Dop Dop for a real cut tonite to make up for it and feel like I’ve made progress towards not looking like I’ve lost all interest in grooming.
Cheers!

I made an impromptu appointment at Hair Metal. I have a slight phobia when it comes to getting my hair cut. Long story short, Maria Tsaguriya, who I have never met before, cut my hair and did an amazing job. My hair is on the shorter side, but I needed a new style. The only direction I gave Maria was I don’t want to look like a housewife anymore but want my hair to grow longer… not very helpful on my part. Maria took her time and gave me a very thorough cut. She is very personable and knowledgeable offering me good hair care tips. I highly recommend Maria.
FYI, Hair Metal is a cash only salon.