Stella is the best eyebrow waxer, not just in Halifax, but possibly Canada. It's been 3 years since I left Halifax and I've yet to find a better brow-shaper in Toronto and beyond. I'm super picky when it comes to eyebrows. Not just because it's such an important expressive facial feature, but a bad eyebrow shape or colour is just such a terrible, terrible thing. It's blinding, you can't look away! It can ruin an otherwise good-looking girl or guy's face. (Sidenote: Men, don't over-shape your brows. It's very noticeable.) If you're not convinced about the importance of a good eyebrow shape, that suits your face, then I give you this: http://www.wackyarchives.com/bizarre/you-think-unibrows-are-bad.html My own can take over a year to recover from a bad over-waxing or an asymmetrical shaping, so that makes me very hesitant to just put them at the mercy of any overzealous waxer. That will never happen if you visit Stella. She has a real talent for shaping eyebrows to make you look better than you ever thought you could look. I'm talking about 'receiving compliments on how nice your eyebrows look' kind of good-looking. She's also like an eyebrow doctor for people with broken eyebrows. She'll tell you how to work towards repairing and growing into a good eyebrow shape, even if you've been waxing them to high heaven for years. She's worth every penny! I always joke with friends that I would fly back to Halifax just to get my eyebrows shaped but I'm not sure that I'm actually joking. Update: After receiving input from Sara K.P. I feel compelled to share with you a gallery of men who have styled their eyebrows, then fallen in a tank of spray tan, among other atrocities. Men, do not do this to yourselves: http://cavemancircus.com/2010/05/19/a-gallery-of-orange-colored-guidos-to-point-and-laugh-at-of-the-day-1/ read more

If you have relaxed, curly, frizzy hair read on...I'm of mixed origin and found it very difficult if not impossible to find a good stylist in Halifax. I heard that Christine at Sykea was the best curly hair stylist in Halifax and and decided to give her a try. All I can say is "Thank You" to the previous yelpers for recommending this salon. I can't say enough about the great cut she gave me. She understands curly hair and preforms magic in minutes. Her calm demeanor and totally professional approach made me feel at ease as soon as i sat in her chair. I left Sykea and Christine looking and feeling like a million dollars for under $60. She should be on Newbury Street in Boston....really she's that good! read more

I have been here twice, once for a pedicure and once for a haircut. My husband and I both had a pedicure for our anniversary we booked for simultaneous appts but apparently they don't do that but they didn't tell us until we got there. So it took over two hours for her to do us both, and we missed our dinner reservations. I also did not appreciate looking at her cleavage the whole time. And, because I am short the chair was basically lying down and I was quite uncomfortable, and she apologized when I mentioned it but nothing was done. Then, she didn't change her tools (or clean them) between us and I know it's not SUCH a big deal when we're married but it made me feel sick. It also cost almost $200. Then I thought I would try the hair salon as the "curly expert" got good reviews on here. She was AWFUL. She didn't cut it curly or dry. I chopped off 13" and she refused to cut it dry even though it was being donated and that's essential. Then she tried to give me a blow out and I walked out of there with a red Afro. It was so bad. Then I had to pay $80 for the worst hair cut of my life. read more

This is certainly the very worst salon I have ever worked with. I made an appointment for myself and my bridesmaids and my mom for the day of my wedding more than 1 year in advance. Not only did they lose my appointment initially (thank goodness I called 6 months prior to confirm), but then they ended up sending me a very brief email 3 weeks prior to my wedding date saying they could no longer accomodate my group. Rude, rude, rude. Further, they only emailed me after I had sent them an email with updated contact information. The staff is friendly, but very incompetent and they do an awful job of communciation. If you are counting on your salon service, I would definitely book elsewhere!!!!!!!!!! read more

Christeen at Sykea is the only person in town I will let cut my hair. After years of hating and fighting natural curls, with Christeen's expertise, I now love them. If you want someone who knows how to really work with your natural curls, without requiring much fuss, she's your gal! Christeen is a great conversationalist, too. Excellent service, and friendly staff. I would most certainly recommend Sykea! read more

Sykea performs a multitude of services including: hair cutting, waxing, tanning, spa (manicure, pedicure, facials), along with spa hair colouring. I'll admit that i've never tried the hair services at Sykea, but I have tried the spa services. I stopped going to this spa when I noticed that I was being charged too much. I know for hair colouring and cutting the prices can often be sort of ambiguous- ie: $75+ for foils, simply because hair thickness and length can vary. This philosophy ought not to apply to spa services though, especially not with a set menu of prices. I do still go to Sykea in order to purchase a volumizing gel that I love: L'oreal texture expert. One small container has already lasted me 6 months and works wonderfully! I'll have to head into Sykea sometime to try their hair services. I have heard good things about that side of the business. I should note that Sykea keeps quite long hours, and is even open on Monday. Most spa's in the city take their weekend on Monday and Sunday so that's a bonus of going to Sykea. read more

Sykea has generally been my go to spot for hair cuts since I arrived in the city. It began because a friend of mine worked there and was looking for clients, but it continues since he moved away. I have jumped between stylists since he left, much to their aggravation I imagine, but I am happy to report that they have all been top notch and left me happy with my hair. I'm one of those annoying people with cowlicks and double crowns and funny bits that do their own thing. The nice thing is that the staff pays attention and works with what you tell them. You feel as though you are in very skilled hands when they go to work. If you're looking for a quick trim, this probably isn't the place for you, it's a little pricey. But if you're looking for a solid haircut, this is the place I go...so it might as well be the place you go! read more

Ok, I must preface this review with the fact that if I could rate my stylist, she would have gotten 5 stars. I received many compliments on my highlights that she did and enjoyed chatting with her very much. That being said, it is not her fault at all that this salon is poorly run. The furniture is old and I found stains and rips, to point that I didn't enjoy sitting in the waiting area at all. There were very strange dominatrix pictures on the wall and the decor left a lot to be desired. The bottom of the mirror was covered in tiny hairs and was not cleaned properly. The worst part about my experience was the fact that this poor girl was working there all by herself! I'd never seen anything like it! There was not one other worker or client in the place. So every time the phone rang, she'd either have to ignore it or leave me in the chair waiting while she went and booked appointments or answered questions. At one point, she was washing my hair in the sink and a woman just walks in the back asking about getting her brows waxed and the stylist left me in the chair, wet hair and all, to go book her appointment. Again, I want to stress that the stylist was lovely and very friendly and was being placed in a poor work environment, The owner here should realize that it takes more than one person working to properly run a salon. I truly hope they read this and make a change. It was very unprofessional and very much took away from my enjoyment of the overall experience. I was very surprised that a salon in the Westin would be so poorly run. I expected more. The fact that I was using a Team Buy ticket for the service should tell you that they're trying to drum up some more business. This isn't the way to do it :( read more

I wouldn't even give a single star, the review won't show up otherwise. I went to Sykea a couple of day ago and had an appointment with the so called "curly hair specialist" because of her "good reputation". I told her to cut off the brocken parts, keep one length, and not to take too much off. None of mine requirements were fulfilled. She took off more than 5 inches and said: "oh usually I would never do that, haha but this looks great". Good for her, I was shocked and didn't like it. There is one part she didn't see, its my original length and the rest ist a bob. I missed that because I was shocked by the result, but how could she miss that?! Its a nightmare and a really really awful. Bad attitude and lack of any quality of customer service! Worst haircut I ever had!!! read more

I went to Christine for about a little over a year because of the reviews here that she is amazing with curly hair. And she was with my first cut and probably even my second I think, but I also had it blowed out after. the last 2 times I decided to have her style it curly and the cut was ok the first time but she left my hair damp and it frizzed out by the time I got home and I had to restyle it. The last time, she cut it quick it was the worse haircut I've had in a long time, I usually get the end rounded and she cut it straight across which is huge difference. And the layers were horrible step deformities, even on skype my family could tell! My hair was wet, not even damp when I left and again frizzed out. When I had got home my neighbour in the hall asked if I had gotten a cut which was obvious, and then commented that usually when people go to the salon they leave looking better... I'm not going back and I can't believe I paid $70-80 for that! If you're looking for curly hair experts there's vibe salon in bedford and they are pretty amazing. Just for ease of location I'm going to try bowtique next time and then decide between the 2. read more

Absolute WORST spa experience ever. My husband and I went to Sykea for mani/pedis for our fifth anniversary. Our booking was wrong, it was WAY over priced, the employee was dressed unprofessionally for someone leaning over, and she did not clean the instruments between my husband and I. Maybe she thought it didn't matter, but appearances matter to me. The decor is tacky, polish color selections were minimal and it took 2 hours for a basic mani pedi. For each of us because they booked us back to back, rather than the simultaneously as we had wanted. Do not go here. Go to Embrace Salon Spa at the Quality Inn. It's professional, classy, relaxing and reasonable. read more