For my birthday I treated myself to a Japanese blowout because of my coarse / thick hair it was getting heavy and in Hawaii heat I was struggling to manage it. And when I say thick I mean I use to use jumbo hair ties lol. Filipino and Japanese hair type. But Yumi changed my life, I feel much more confident and getting ready is 100% easier !! she was so thorough, she asked the important questions of my hair history , she was so kind, and I'm very very satisfied with my results!!! I specifically flew out from another island just to see her and I chose the right person. read more

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Yumi is so sweet, but with highlights I never really had a permanent straightening with her but at same price. It is more like a Brazilian. Needed to blow dry and after 6 months my curl came back. I finally found a place for blonde hair and permanent straightening - check out salon Ava read more

Yumi is the Japanese Straight Perm expert!!!! I highly recommend her! Excellent communication, super flexible, super friendly and down to earth. Reasonable price & took a little less than 3 hours, yay! Hair is not at all damaged. Love the results from Yumi's magic!! read more

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! SO HAPPY my hair is straight again! For a Japanese straight hair perm, YUMI IS THE BEST!!! Professional, personable, and friendly. Where most salons charge a lot more, the price can't be beat...only $250! And, she only uses the best products! She's easy to find...located in the Hee Hing Plaza bldg on Kapahuluu in Billy Fong Studio B. The sign out front says "Walk-ins are welcome" but I would recommend calling ahead to make an appt for availability. Parking was free in the basement of the building. read more

It's been a few months since I got my hair permed and Yumi has done a fantastic job. I had so much doubts with my hair and so did the rest of my family. I was certain that it'd be normally frizzy and curly within a month or two. Let me just say that I will ALWAYS come back here. My hair is more healthy, nice, and STRAIGHT than it has ever been. Thank you Yumi! Update: September 7, 2016 It's been over a year since I've got my straight perm. I haven't gotten a touch up, even for my roots and so this update is for my "old" hair. My old hair is still PERFECT. It's as straight as it was, and it's still amazingly healthy. I barely feel the need to trim my hair because it is still just so perfect. As for my roots, they grew out as expected and I do need to get a touch up. I've just been procrastinating as the location is a bit out of my way and I need to make time for it. I assure you, I won't even hesitate to come back. I'm so impressed by Yumi and if there's anyone who needs a straight perm, I'm referring them to her. My sister is actually going to get her straight perm here after seeing my perfect hair after a year. A great price and great results, for sure. read more

Yumi has straight permed my hair for 7 years now. Yumi can do it in under 3 hours. Yumi is flexible and comes in at odd hours to accommodate my disorganized life. Yumi does this for $250. I love my hair and I love Yumi. Yumi makes me tea. Yumi brings me magazines. Yumi rubs my scalp when she rinses out. She's super nice, super funny, adorable, and is simply the best. Yumi is magic. If I ever get famous, she'd be the first person I hire into my entourage. read more

I've been recently thinking of Yumi! She was my go to for Japanese hair straightening for a few years. I moved to the mainland & thought about going back home to do treatment (and visit family) she's so quick with the whole process and it always comes out flawless. I'm Filipino Puerto Rican & my hair def picks up the PR side (not even those nice curls) it's bushy, frizzy, and thick, they curl all in the weirdest areas. I now do my hair in Austin Texas, she's good no complaints but not the same as Yumi and Yumi's price is nowhere near to what I'm paying. Misssssss her!!! She's the best hands down read more

It is not an understatement to say Yumi has changed my life! I've been going to her for a little over a year now. Before Yumi, I had crazy curly/wavy/puffy hair, and I had to straighten it everyday. My hair had gotten so damaged that it stopped growing. Since my first time at Yumi, over a year ago, I'm happy to say that I haven't used my straightener once! My hair is remarkably healthier, and the longest it's ever been. I don't need to worry about allowing extra time in the morning to deal with my hair anymore. On top of all of that, Yumi is extremely reasonable compared to other salons! I'm so happy I found Yumi and would recommend her to anyone!! read more

Yumi is my lifesaver! I was suffering for 30 years with my natural hair which is sooo poofy, coarse, thick and wavy- I would never go out without straightening it, but it's so much hassle and takes a lot of time! So my coworker knew of my distress and recommended Yumi. From the first meeting, she was so friendly, easy to talk to, gives good advice. I have a lot of hair and was expecting it to be more expensive and take a long time, but it was very affordable (more than $100 cheaper than other salons) and took about 3 hours. Yumi is very professional, gets her products straight from Japan, and takes her time to give you the best hairstyle. Now, I'm so happy with my hair and I get lots of compliments that it looks so silky and shiny! Unfortunately for my 12 year old daughter, she inherited my hair, and it was getting so unmanageable. She wanted to look nice when she started intermediate school, plus I was getting tired of flat-ironing it all the time, so we went to Yumi. At first, I wondered if she was too young, you know, but I fully trust Yumi and she did an amazing job. Yumi straightened her hair so that it got rid of the kinkiness and poof, but it still had nice waves, and she totally fixed the botched haircut from some other place. My daughter's friends were so amazed at the difference and guess what?! At the end of the year, my daughter's class voted her "Best Hair" and we owe it all to Yumi! read more

I am so thankful for Yumi! I used to get straight perms elsewhere & I would still have to flat iron my hair. Thanks to Yumi I don't have to anymore. She is the sweetest person & I love my hair when she's done. I save so much time when I don't have to flat iron now. Thank you Yumi! read more

Yumi is great! I found her on yelp and I have been going routinely (every 3-4 months) to get my hair straightened ever since! I save so much time and dont have to worry about dealing with my frizzy/curly/wavy/crazy hair anymore! I LOVE IT! by far one of the best decisions i have every made, it changed my life for the better; I LOVE MY HAIR :) read more

Yumi... What can I say... She's awesome. Very personable and friendly. Her work and talent speaks volumes as she's thorough, efficient and on point. Japanese straight perm... I wouldn't trust anyone else to do my hair but Yumi. Her prices are totally reasonable and better than some of the higher end salons out there that may not give you the results you expect for the price you pay and she works on weekends... What a plus. She's definitely someone I would recommend to anyone interested in getting a Japanese straight perm. I had my hair done about 4 months ago and I'm back today for a touch up and leaving with flawless hair again. Worth it to have someone I trust get it done and make it worth while. Thanks Yumi... You rock! read more

I will say, I have very curly hair (3c), but I have been getting the Japanese straightening for four years now and even though it is not perfectly straight, it works for me and I love it. My other lady moved so I looked at reviews and decided to go to Yumi. The day before, I deep conditioned and detangled my hair to make it easier for her. I had more than enough growth to get a touch-up. When I came in, I had to wait half an hour despite having an appointment; some appointments take longer and I do not hold this against her. Yumi was polite at first but took several opportunities to insult my hair color (I spend a lot of time in the water and sun so it is lighter at the ends). She eventually got to washing my hair twice, and then told me she couldn't do my hair because "it would never be perfect, like White or Asian hair". I told her that it didn't need to be 100% straight, that was alright it if wasn't. She then spent about three minutes holding a blow dryer about a foot away from my head, making more comments about how people my race have difficult, weak hair and she how sorry she felt for me. As my hair was still sopping wet she said she was done. The ends were fried, the roots were tangled and dripping wet. I walked home in tears, but a week later found someone else and they did and excellent job applying a Japanese perm, with no damage, proving that it can be done on curly hair and I had enough length to do so. I suppose Yumi is fine if your hair is already perfect and you don't mind blatantly racist commentary, and insults. read more

I haven't straightened my hair for years but decided to try again. Yumi did a really good job on my hair. She was really fast. I would highly recommend her if you want to have smooth hair with no more blow drying or flat ironing. She is very personable and I really enjoyed talking with her. Thank you Yumi read more

I've had numerous straight-perms in the past, but they don't always work on my hair, and I usually still need to run through it with a flat iron. Sometimes my hair is left over-processed, so I was very particular about where I was going to have my hair done. After searching Yelp for someone who did Japanese straight-perms with great reviews, I called Yumi to express my concern and ask her some questions, and she felt confident that she could give me the results I wanted. After doing my hair and washing it twice already, I am very happy with the results. My hair is smooth and straight and I do not need to flat iron it. She does a very good job, and recommended I cut my hair (which I was planning to do anyway) in order to make my hair look even smoother (since the ends were very damaged). read more

I just had A Yumi do a Japanese straightening perm & I am so happy with the results. The whole experience was positive. Her prices are reasonable,& she finished in 2 1/2 hrs. She was very professional. She explained the process before she started & what I needed to do to get the best results. Yumi is extremely personable, so much so that by the time I left I felt like I had known her for a long time. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone. read more

I have thick kinky Hawaiian-Portuguese hair that I have felt cursed by my whole life. I was referred to Yumi for a Japanese straight perm in 2002 and have never stopped seeing her...she really is the BEST. But don't take my word for it. Because I have so much hair I had been going to the same hairdresser to wash and flat iron my hair for years. After Yumi straightened it I continued to see my other hairdresser weekly to wash and style. She was blown away by how soft my hair was and how much healthier it felt. Years later someone came to her for a wash and cut and told her she had a straight perm. By the way her hair felt my other stylist asked if Yumi had done the straight perm and the woman said yes. Her salon was in Kaneohe and Yumi's in Kapahulu, they had never met and with the hundreds of stylists doing straight perms she was able to identify Yumi's excellent work by the texture and health of the hair. That says it all. Also the company my original hairdresser worked for sent all of their stylists to be trained to do straight perms. After completing her training my stylist said i should continue seeing Yumi because her products and process was far superior to anything she had seen. In addition Yumi is fun to talk to and takes an interest in my life. She really is the BEST! read more