Shiny Salon

I had been going to one of THE upscale and well known salons in New Haven. Life had gotten busy and I hadn’t had time to schedule an appointment in almost 6 months and found myself looking for anywhere that could squeeze me in– on a Sunday none the less.
I found Shiny Salon after doing a quick Google search, saw good reviews and decided to give it a go (although a bit apprehensive about trying a new place). Not only did the have a same day appointment (on a Sunday) they did an amazing job. Jack gave me one of, if not the best, haircuts and matched my color perfectly for my touch up. I’ll be back and I highly recommend you check this place out!

If I tell you that I visit CT from New York just to do my haircut, you’ll know how good Jack is! Jack has been my hair stylist since years back when he was in New York. After he moved to CT, I’ve tried so many other hair stylists, but I wasn’t satisfied with any. Now I go to CT from New York several times a year just to do my haircuts.

I’ve gotten my hair cut at Shiny Salon three times now. Twice, I’ve gotten the best haircuts I’ve ever had; this last time, I showed Jack a photo of the last haircut he gave me, and it didn’t look like the end result. Still, I’m happy that it looks pretty good. I was afraid that shorter hair would naturally flip out, since I don’t spend any time styling it, but Jack worked some sort of magic on it.
Don’t go in expecting to be wooed and chatted up. Jack and Sue are pretty quiet; it helps to be comfortable with that. It’s easier to communicate what you want if you bring in photos of what you want and/​or if you speak Chinese. (My command of the language is pretty elementary.)
The price is pretty steep IMO, but New Haven isn’t exactly the cheapest locale.

my experience was so bad here that makes me have to open a Unilocal account to post my first review…
If i could give zero stars I would. This place is terrible. Do Not wast your money going here! worst haircut, no greeting service, my haircut was less than 5 min!
Can’t get over how bad. Trust me!
I m so irritated I spent money here.

A friend recommended this place to me saying that Jack really knew how to cut Asian hair. He definitely does. I came to this place once a month for a year and was always pleased with my haircuts.
Now you’re probably wondering why I’m only giving 3 stars after raving about the haircuts. A few reasons.
1. Prices are pretty steep. It was previously $ 25 for a men’s haircut, but they recently increased the price to $ 30 (although the price does include a hair wash before and after the haircut).
2. It’s pretty hard to communicate. Jack’s wife speaks some English and she’s almost always there to translate how you want your haircut, but she wasn’t there a couple times and Jack just cut my hair with no input (the haircuts were still awesome though)
3. Another communication issue. I once called to schedule an appointment and Jack’s wife wasn’t there to pick up. Jack answered and I think he handed the phone to a customer, who also didn’t speak much English. Still, I thought I got my appointment scheduled but when I showed up, they had double booked and told me I needed to come back another day.
In conclusion, good haircuts, somewhat high prices, and make sure Jack’s wife will be there if you don’t speak Cantonese.

HE SNIPPED OFF A LOT OF MY HAIR. I felt like crying. It was very bad experience !. $ 40 for hair cut without shampoo and blow-​dry and it turn out like my hair piling off. I showed him the picture with medium shoulder length straight line style, but he cut it too short with so many layers. He cut my hair completely different with how I want it

Went there after reading mostly great reviews for Jack’s ability for asian hair cut. It turned out to be one of the worst hair cuts for me. Totally opposite of what I wanted. Jack didn’t seem to speak English much, and I thought his wife translated well enough to him. Guess not. If you speak Chinese (not sure Mandarin or Cantonese), then you might be ok. It just makes me so mad looking at my hair everyday and the worst part is that I have to endure this at least a couple of months to grow enough and trim… It would have been about the same if I went to $ 10 Supercuts.

I came in with the worst haircut I have had since I let my grandma give me a boy cut when I was 5. My attempted short, sleek bob cut has become the worst kind of throwback to the 80’s. The ends of my hair flipped out like a roller coaster, even after several attempts with the straightener. The worst part was that it was only the case for half of my hair.
Jack looked at my hair and said that he can possibly fix it. He said he can for sure make it look better than it was then. I was desperate and that was a good enough answer.
He gave me one of the most meticulous haircuts I have ever had. Every layer was cut with extreme detail and care. After almost an hour of cutting, I left feeling very satisfied. My ends were no longer flipping out. The length remained the same, just how I wanted it. Although the price of the cut ($ 40) was the most I have ever spent for a wash and cut, it was definitely worth every penny!

It’s hard to find someone who knows how to cut Asian hair. I rotated through different hair stylists over the last several years, but now that I live and work in New Haven (within walking distance!), Shiny Salon has become my hair salon of choice.
Every appointment is little stressful at first because of the language barrier, but I always get a great haircut from the hair stylist here. I bring a series of photos on my phone, and they can tell what I want. Only one haircut happens at a time in this salon, so I would recommend making an appointment. Also, it’s a no-​frills space and experience — just an uncomfortable sink and shampoo, then haircut and styling — so I wouldn’t expect anything luxurious. The price is very reasonable, and I like the haircuts I get, so I keep coming back.

This is the worst haircut I’ve ever had. I asked for shoulder-​length and he cut it to my ears. I told him after the first cut that it was too short and they said it’s «easier for styling» this way. And then he cut it even shorter. I’m usually very zen about hair – it grows back. But this cut is so terrible that I actually cried when I left the store.

Overally, I’ve been very impressed with Jack at Shiny Salon over the last year. The general asthetics ofthe salon leave something to be desired. But, Jack is great and does an amazing job with male haircuts.

I’d be closer to a 4.5 on this… I was a tad nervous because there wasn’t huge discussion about what would happen with my hair – and I was getting about 14 inches chopped off!
Jack was deft with the scissors and heard what I said when I was looking for: feminine, easy to care for– and he was thoughtful about the length in terms of being able to also pull it back.
All that kept me from the full five stars really boiled down to some discussion a priori about what to expect though I was happy at the end! Maybe I wanted a bit of therapy beforehand?
All in all — pleased with the $ 40 cut and would go back… and thank goodness for an Asian stylist given I wouldn’t trust my hair readily to anyone else.

Best haircut I’ve had in years! I’ve had the typical struggles of a girl looking for a new salon ever since I moved away from my salon in Jersey City NJ several years ago (studio 17– downtown JC) and never found a place that did my hair as good as they did –until now!
Definitely not a fancy schmancy place by any means but the stylist is definitely very talented. There is a language barrier but I read the reviews beforehand and had a picture of what I wanted (the lady also was there to translate for me) and the cut I got is fantastic! I’m half filipino and have thick semi-​wavy hair and I got a mid length sleek cut with side swept bangs. He spent a lot of time making sure each lock of hair was perfect.
In summary– talented stylist, bring a picture of what you want, and don’t be turned off if it doesn’t look like a super high end salon — I’ve spent much more at other places for cuts that didn’t look half as good as this one.

I recently moved here, went to this salon for the first time. The assistant and the hairdresser were both nice. However the hairdresser was a little over confident. I showed him pictures of my previous haircut and told him I want almost the same haircut except for a very minor length change in the bottom. He told me he will take care of it. But very unfortunately his work turned out to be nothing like what I showed in the pictures. It is actually pretty awful looking. And he couldn’t fix it because my hair was cut too short. Now every time I look into the mirror I feel so bad and embarrassed about this haircut. All I can do is to wait for my hair to grow a bit longer then go back to my previous hair salon to fix it.

I’m not very fussy about hair – I usually let it grow [really] long, then cut it, once every couple of years. I decided to try this place because the prices seemed really reasonable, the reviews were so good, and it’s on my way home on the bus.
I come in with about three feet of hair, not knowing what I want, except «short». I know some chinese, which helps, but Jack showed me some photos in a couple magazines and I pointed to a random one that looked low-​maintenance (not curly).
Although I don’t have a lot of experience with haircuts, I could tell that Jack was very careful, and did a very thorough job. I was a bit scared, because it’s been a while since I’ve had even remotely short hair, and I decided to go very short this time. I worried when huge swaths were being removed, but I shouldn’t have been!
Not only was I very pleased with the results, but in the few hours following the haircut, people I don’t even know have approached me and asked me if I’d gotten my hair cut, and told me it looks great!
I am such a happy customer in fact that I have such ordered my first ever hair dryer, to, uh, protect my investment.

I have never had a hair stylist put so much time and effort into cutting my hair until I visited Shiny Salon.
I am Filipina/​Chinese and have very thick hair that reaches my hips (well I did until today). I made a reservation yesterday for an 11:00AM appointment today. It was raining heavily outside so no other customers were in the salon when I arrived. Jack immediately shampooed and conditioned my hair even though I had just taken a shower beforehand.
Knowing he didn’t speak English very well, I showed Jack a few pictures on my cellphone and he got it perfectly. After 10 minutes of cutting he started blow drying my hair and I was concerned that it was already over, but I was so wrong. Jack cut my hair meticulously for an entire hour. It may have been because there were no other customers and the weather was bad outside, but he seemed to cut each strand of hair with diligence and a sense of perfectionism.
I like keeping my hair long so it still reaches my lower back after Jack’s cut. Now my hair has volume and feels much lighter. It ended up costing $ 37.00 with tax and I tipped $ 10.00, which was well deserved. You cannot just walk in or attempt to make a same-​day appointment because they are usually booked. It makes sense because it takes Jack an hour to cut one customer’s hair. I adored the level of care and amount of time he put into my haircut but it doesn’t make much sense business-​wise. On the other hand, Shiny Salon will be getting my repeated patronage so maybe their slow and detailed service style is their winning ticket.
The salon is located above a restaurant on the second floor. I recommend spending $ 1.50 an hour to park at the street meters.
Shiny Salon is an exceptional place to get your hair cut. Being of Asian descent, I trust Asian barbers to understand the subtleties of Asian hair. Jack’s fastidious technique is surpassed only by his skill.

Jack did a meticulous and fantastic job cutting my hair. I’m the type of person who is very wary of trying new salons, and after having just moved here, worked up the guts to give this place a try.
Keeping in mind that my hair is on the thick and coarser side, I lived in this fear that a new stylist wouldn’t be familiar or comfortable with cutting it. However, Jack and his wife were very very welcoming and knew exactly what to do. Jack expertly cut off the exact length I wanted and took his time giving me the most perfect layers that I have ever gotten anywhere. Best $ 35+tip I have ever spent!

I walked in (not knowing any Chinese, a minor language barrier) with a picture of a celebrity’s hair on my phone which I wanted. Jack delivered exactly what I showed him: cut, color, highlights. It was perfect.
No one does Asian hair like Jack and his wife. NYC quality without the NYC price. Jack is meticulous, will take his time to get all the edges and angles right.

I have been so scared to get my hair cut since moving to New Haven from LA. But, they nailed it! Such nice people too. Please, send them your business!

I was iiiiitching to do something brand new with my hair asap and did a couple of Unilocal searches for local places. Granted there were only three reviews for this newbie salon, they were all five stars. Call me judgmental but their site also featured chinese… put two and two together – I assumed they knew asian hair well.
I was the first and only one there at 9:30am on Sunday (duh, most people are sane and sleeping). Jack greeted me enthusiastically when he saw me wander in. I showed him a picture of my beloved goddess, miranda kerr, and asked him to perform miracles. It involved highlights and a wavy perm… and then the language barrier became an issue. He gestured to me and spoke chinese and I gestured to him and spoke english. I had plenty of time to spare so it was actually really funny. He ended up calling his wife and basically told her this girl is out of her mind haha.
I don’t have the typically straight and sleek vietnamese hair (gee thanks, ma). His wife explained to me over the phone. It was another while before we had anything established but basically he couldn’t do what I wanted because my hair won’t perm right. Anyway, I settled for bleach and color. It came out FANTASTIC… but completely different from the picture of Lauren Conrad… without the ombré effect. I ended up pretty much a dark blonde with some neat highlights. I had such a sinking feeling in my stomach when he didn’t proceed to add a darker color or anything. But I won’t deduct any stars since I really like the result.
In conclusion, please make sure his wife is there. She speaks some english so you can convey your wants better, otherwise you’ll just have to trust his talent. I ended up playing receptionist a couple of times when the phone rang since he really didn’t know english. It’s cool – no big deal.
They also have great coupons on their site so check em out before you come in. The entire double bleach and blowdry cost me $ 96. I’ll probably be back since I really like what he did.