The Beautiful Hair Salon

I came to this place today after I saw the good reviews on Unilocal.And the trip was so worthwhile – What a gem in downtown Manhattan! Don’t expect a full service salon that has stylish interior or serves you drinks… But for a $ 12 cut/​wash/​blow (for short hair), this is like heaven.
It’s super close to the B/​D train station, like 30 seconds walk from the train station. The salon is on a second floor, but it’s not hard to find (Google map!).
Mei cut my hair EXACTLY as the pictures I showed her (make sure to bring pictures of your own, the more detailed the better, since she speaks mostly Cantonese), made my super messy hair into a damn stylish pixie cut/​short bob. And she was super careful with every little parts of my hair! Afterwards, she told my how to style my new haircut, like how to dress it up and down. I’ll definitely make this place my go-​to salon in Manhattan!

Update…
So I went back to Mei 2 days ago for a wash, cut and blow dry. I was the first person there and had no wait.
As per Mei’s standard, she washed my hair, cut it EXACTLY as I told her, blow dried and styled and added some sheen oil.
When I asked her how much, she told me $ 12. When I protested she thought she had to defend her $ 12 price. I protested that it was too cheap. I paid her double as a tip. (I still felt like I was stealing from her)
I’m so happy with my new do.

It is a nice little hair salon place and the hair stylist, mei, definitely listens to you. The prices are great and she takes the time to style or cut your hair. I’m not sure how busy it can get but she is the only one there to cut hair so there may be a slight waiting time. For my length of hair, she charged me $ 16 for shampoo and cut

This was my first haircut after living in NYC and I am so glad I chose this place. After going through an endless list of places to choose from, I finally narrowed in on a groupon offering a haircut, deep conditioning treatment and full highlights for a very reasonable price.
I made an appointment on the phone which was quite easy actually. Remember to call well in advance if you need an appointment on the weekend.
Finally on the day of my haircut, as much as I hate it, I ended up reaching really late. I was dreading the looks I would get for being so late, but to my surprise Mei is the sweetest person ever. She was so warm and welcoming.
As for my haircut experience, Mei understood what I really wanted. My hair is naturally quite wavy and at most times unmanageable. Mei gave me a pretty haircut with long layers followed by the conditioning treatment and color. I was a bit worried about getting the right color since I didn’t want to go very light (FYI I have black hair). Mei found the perfect color for the highlights and she actually took time to find me a picture in one of the magazines to make sure I knew what color I was going to get. To sum it up, I would definitely recommend this place and would be pleased to go there myself even without a groupon. Why bother to break your head on finding another place when you have had a nearly perfect experience the very first time.

Mei is a darling and great work!

Do not go! I went there for a keratin treatment and after repeatedly confirming with the hair dresser (Mei) that she was using the right product, I ended up with a argon oil deep conditioner in my hair and a $ 50 bill for a service I did not want. As soon as there was a sign of disagreement, she lunged for the door, locked it, and literally held me hostage. I called the police out of total fear and approximately two hours later I ended up paying $ 25 dollars for a service I did not ask for. Her actions were illegal according to the police offer, and she has no understanding of business etiquette. This experience was a nightmare and left me scarred to say the least.

I got a beautiful haircut and blonde highlights!
My hair is curly blonde hair, presumably different from her usual Asian clientele, but she did a wonderful job cutting and coloring my hair.
I brought pictures to help demonstrate what I like, and she matched the haircut and highlight color perfectly!
I asked for a short, chin length cut with longer front layers, and have been getting lots of compliments! I also found the style is incredibly easy to maintain, and suited my natural hair without any salon products or styling tools.
She spends a lot of time with her customers, so make an appointment and budget extra time– maybe double what most salons require. It took about 4 hours for the highlights, conditioning treatment, and cut/​style.
I used a Groupon, and it was accepted without any additional charges (not even tax) — although I also tipped, of course! They are cash only!
I’d definitely go back!

I went here with a Groupon for full highlights, a deep conditioning treatment and a haircut. I had a really good experience. May was meticulous and did exactly what I wanted, and my hair came out looking great. Her English is good enough for her to make appointments, understand your instructions for your hair and chat a little, but I brought a picture with me to make things easier.
The only slight drawback was that I had to wait awhile for May to start working on me, and that it took 3 hours start to finish. But, for prices as low as hers, I’m willing to wait a bit.

This was such a typical Asian haircut experience. Hidden on the second level of a china town building. I went to see May without an appointment and ended up waiting for almost an hour as she finished on the customer that was waiting before me. Then after i got my hair washed and sitting in the chair, she went to eat some lunch before coming back to cut my hair.
On to the actual hair cut experience. She asked alot of questions, and showed me examples of how she’d cut my hair. She would check with me if the length was ok before she started snipping as well. For a $ 12 wash, cut, blow dry, May did a pretty awesome job.

Thanks to Unilocal reviews, I found this spot for a quick and cheap trim! My hair is naturally thick and wavy on the ends. In order to grow out any length, I have to keep it thinned out to prevent the helmet feeling. The owner takes her time to make sure the cut comes out perfect. I opt for the Scarlett Johansson chic bob which features an asymmetrical cut, with the hair shorter in the back and slightly longer in the front.
Except I told her not to leave the wisps of hair too long in the front as shown on Scarlett. I always ask to thin out more in the front since I have thick and abundant amount of hair (thanks to my part Mongolian roots). She left it slightly longer so it looks a bit thicker compared to Scarlett. And the back, she used a razor to slightly trim off excess to keep the hair neat and short. Personally, I’m not a fan of razor when it comes to haircuts. Razors should only be used for men and their haircuts. The problem with razors is it makes the hair sprout out thicker when it grows back. Unfortunately, this is not seen with celebrities who shave their head off (aka Natalie Portman or Anne Hathaway) and mysteriously grow their hair back with the help of celebrity hair stylists. However, you can’t really beat the price for under $ 15 for cut, wash, and blow. Pricing tends to vary depending on the hair type, length, and style that you’re going for. For ex. straightening, curling, and styling of hair can range from $ 20+ which is still a lot less compared to other salons in the area. The lady that wash my hair was ok, a bit of roughness with the scratching.
The owner spoke for a bit in English and asked if I was Thai since I reminded her of a customer that was Thai. And, I politely told her no, that I was not Thai. And, it was my first time visiting this salon. Def keeping this place for a cheap cut. My only recommendation for Fri and weekends is to make an appointment. I had to wait an hr and half since I was a walk-​in on a Friday evening aside from two other customers that were there.

If you have any doubts, don’t! My experience was great from start to finish. I purchased the groupon for highlights, deep conditioning, and cut. My hair is LONG and she took so much time with careful attention to detail for every aspect of my hair. From start to finish it took 4 hours but she accomplished exactly what I wanted. It was long but my hair was combed, conditioned (twice), warmed, steamed, colored, cut, and styled. Would definitely recommend just come prepared to take your time and bring a book or something to do. And read the other Unilocal reviews they’re helpful!

Myself and my husband been going to The Beautiful Hair Salon for a couple of years.
The owner very nice and very patient. She seems very experienced. We like her skill and we like she taking the time to cut our hair. I think she always try to give us 100% satisfaction. We also think that she is under charge for what she do for a living.
Anyway, we will be continue going back even she raise her price.

Oh man… someone actually has revealed my secret hair salon spot on Unilocal!
J/K…it’s a bit remiss of me to not have completed my own review, but this place and May (owner and hairstylist) is AMAZING.
Currently, my whole family (except my snobby sister — who is also my friend on Unilocal… LOL) is using her as our regular hairstylist.
It is true what other Unilocalers have said. Her English is not too good, but it is passable. She understands more than she can speak. My brother, who is a Chinese that speaks no more than 2 words of Chinese, goes to May religiously (and they communicate well with each other). He’s a college student who is EXTREMELY picky about his hair cuts and May treats him with great customer service attitude (very easy-​going and understanding given that he sometimes am not satisfied with the results yet doesn’t know what exactly he is having a problem with — May has to do a guessing game with him to figure out what might be his problem).
Performance: I’ve done my highlights, my curls perms, oil treatment, and my hair cuts here. I like how May is so attentive and she stays with you until you’re 100% satisfied with the results.
Costs: Prices here are below cheap! Of course… sometimes price doesn’t really matter when you get crappy hair results, but that is why this place is the BEST! Great prices AND great results!
Cleaniless: This is a must for me. I like how the hair salon is usually clean. Not many hair on the floor or flying around the place. Towels are neatly folded and placed on a shelf (so you know that you’re getting cleaned towels!).

May is absolutely excellent. She did a better job than other cuts I’ve had for $ 40+ or highlights I’ve had at sleek salons. My highlights came out looking really natural and very nice. The conditioning made my hair feel so light and smooth. And I loved my cut after, it was so easy to maintain.
One problem I have going to salons is that not all hairstylists understand Asian hair and cut expecting hair to move or stay a certain way. I especially appreciated coming here as I knew she has a lot of experience with how Asian hair works.
I came here on a groupon for full highlights, conditioning, cut, wash, and style. It was such a great deal. I would go back on full value.
Only thing I have to say is that you will have to take your time here as she doesn’t seem to have strict adherence to appointment times. If you go for multiple services, she may alternate between completing a service (ie. highlights) and cutting someone’s hair and then coming back to you. I had to keep reminding her I had a meeting to get to. This may not be as much of a problem if you’re only going for one service (ie. a cut). Also, she’s not fluent in English but can get by, but will be fine with a picture.

I bought the coupon on Groupon, thinking I got a good deal. But it turned out that the price is the same as what you normally pay at the salon. First disappointment.
I was pleasant with my hair so I tipped her generously. But then she asked me to tipp her assistant also. This is rediculous. You come to a restaurant, you dont tipp each of the waitress!!! Trying to be polite, I tipped the other woman but I came home feeling really annoyed. I will never come back here again.
Not sure if many people would feel the same way!

I was a little skeptical as this place super tiny. It’s a little like getting your hair done in someone’s living room. BUT I was pleasantly surprised at the great job she did! It’s true that she mainly speaks Chinese, so I would recommend you bring a picture of what you want, or have a pretty clear idea, when you come here. Also, again, unless you speak Chinese, bring your own magazine or book because all the magazines were in Chinese. I brought a picture and already had some highlights, so it was pretty easy to communicate the style I wanted. She matched everything very well. Also, if you have kids, bring them here! It’s less than $ 10 for a kids haircut, and she braided a little girls hair in a really cute style at no extra charge.

The process involves cutting hair wet, not my ideal way of measurement. The hair washing was weak. The hair brushes were all stacked in a basket. I saw no blue liquid. There are four seating arrangement and two basins. The hair cutter knows the hair style of the 90s since graduating from Long Island Beauty School in 1995. If you want any of those hair type, then stop by. The language for communication is Cantonese. I find it good, the hair cutter does try. Although one must update their knowledge with the latest hair styles. The price listing is outside the door.

One word to describe this place — HORRENDOUS. Avoid at all costs.
I went to get highlights and a haircut. I had to wait 45mins as she bumped someone (who came later than me) ahead of me. Then began the abuse to my healthy, well-​cut hair that simply needed a touch-​up of the roots. As she started my highlights, I couldn’t help but notice that she had mixed a powder bleach, which I’ve never seen before. I got a bit nervous with her messy job with the foils but kept telling myself that it couldn’t be that bad. One hour passes and then two and three… and my hair was still orange. With each check, the foils kept slipping further and further down. When I pointed this out, I was completely ignored. So then she did something I’ve NEVER seen before. She dumped more bleach on my already drenched-​in-​bleach hair. I sat for another hour. My nose and eyes burned as I was left under the heater for what felt like a lifetime.
When I finally got my hair washed (oh my god, was I finally done?!), I was MORTIFIED to see the results. I had patches of bleached hair throughout. Some strands were streaks of orange while others were blonde. My roots were uneven. I burst out in tears. Yes, I cried. I have never cried at a hair salon because even though I’ve had bad haircuts and colors, they have never been that bad. She stupidly stared at me as though my tears were non-​existent and proceeded to tell me that my hair turned out like this because it’s really dry and damaged. Excuse me?! I get my hair done every 6 weeks. It is quite healthy.
At any rate, she tried to fix the patches of bleached hair by dying them my «natural color,» which was far from the truth. So though the blonde patches were gone, she left me with light brown/​golden patches instead. By then, I had spent over SIX HOURS at her salon. My entire day was gone. I had gotten there at 10am and it was well past 4pm. Tears streamed down my cheek for at least 2 hours of this horrific experience.
Long story short, she asked that I come back the following week to fix my hair, which was today. Believe it or not, IT LOOKS WORSE. She dyed my roots a dark brown to get rid of my random colored roots. She then dumped more bleach on my hair. FOUR HOURS later, I was left with blonde highlights that begin as an ELECTRIC ORANGE color that is absolutely ghastly. My roots are so UNEVEN.
I am so incredibly upset at how horrible my hair looks. I am actually embarrassed to be seen publicly with it. I will have to either pay big bucks to get it fixed or dye my hair black to get rid of it all.
Oh, as for my haircut:
–UNEVEN
–Not what I asked for
–Shorter than what I wanted
–Did I mention uneven?! I had to use my own scissors at home to even it out!
Other things you need to know:
1. S… L…O…W service. Even the shampoo girl takes 20−30mins to wash your hair.
2. No one speaks English.
3. They’re cheap about turning on the AC so you will melt away especially if she places you under the heat.
4. The material they use (shampoo, dye, etc) is of poor quality. I don’t even think they’re even bought here in the States.
Of note, I created this Unilocal account today simply because of this experience. I know there aren’t too many reviews about this salon and I genuinely want to spare others the agony I’ve gone through. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so…

This lady is AMAZING! I purchased a $ 69 groupon for a full set of highlights, deep conditioning treatment and cut and style and omg it was the best decision I have ever done. My ends where severely fried and damaged due to all of the bleach and over processing that it has endured. and on top of that it was like 3 different shades of blonde. We looked at pictures until I found something that I wanted and she cut my hair with immaculate precision and attention to detail, all the damaged fried hair was gone and all was left was an awesome retro long bob that I could finally run my hands through! Next was the highlights and before she even started with the process she showed me pictures so I could choose the shade of blonde I want the highlights to be and even though it took forever (she really takes her time and makes sure every strand is done perfectly)… the ending process was amazing!!! You can tell that she really cares about her customers and doing a good job, I was there with her till past closing time and she wasn’t in a rush at all; her first priority was to make sure my hair came out great. Ofcourse we still had the deep conditioning treatment left, which she pilled generous amounts on my hair and made me sit under this heat vapor machine for 15 minutes … and I have to say that after she washed it out my hair was soooo soft I couldnt believe it was the same hair that I walked in with! I left walking out with a new and more confident me and I loved it! It was just the blonde I wanted, it was shiny, soft and healthy. My hair finally moves like in the hair commercials! Def recommend her to everyone.

Here we go, Unilocalers… the NYC Golden Nugget Secret of Beauty unleashed and even flaunted for the benefit of you all…
I would never normally want to spread such a goldmine willy nilly for all to see– I’m selfish that way, I want the fabulousness all for myself, but you don’t keep a whole lot of friends that way… and I simply HAVE to tell you for the sake of the absolute sweetness of Beautiful Hair Salon’s owner, Mai Hua Wu… so brace yourself…
Wash, cut, and blow dry of my down-​the-​middle-​of-​my-​back thick, curly, frizzy, arm-​workout-​just-​to-​tame-​them locks…
wait for it…
drumroll…
$ 14.
FOURTEEN DOLLARS.
! ! !
I am not kidding you. I swear I am not.
Tip her grandly, folks… she’s worth much, much, much more.
OH FORGET I TOLD YOU! She’s MINE, all MINE! I can just see the lines now, going out her door down Grand Street, The Today Show crowd hanging out front, Lady Gaga helming the masses… everyone clambering to get in and walking out with beautiful tresses and big smiles, and me, standing on the corner, ousted to the back of the line like a no-​name nothing. But I’M the Diva!!! I was THE ORIGINAL!
Oh hell. you all owe me for this. Every stinkin’ one of you with your soon-​to-​be-​gorgeous and affordable ‘dos.
Don’t forget little ol’ me.
and in all seriousness, a couple of extra tips:
Call her ahead before you want to go (347) 866– 2227. Keep it short and sweet, as her English exceeds my Cantonese by all of 15 words, and I don’t speak any Cantonese. I usually say, «Today? 3PM? Courtney?» and somehow we get by.
If you bring in a photo of what you want, you’ll be just fine.
She sometimes makes suggestions, take them. she knows what she is doing.
Her place is clean (immaculate, really), but it is located on the 2^nd FL above a Chinese market, you know, the kind with the fish on the sidewalk. There is a STEEP and LONG stairwell. This is NOT a universal-​designed/​handicap-​friendly building, so be prepared to climb, and don’t take your grandmother.