In December 2022, I came to the salon based off a recommendation. This review took so long because this was a painful process and I'm in a better place to discuss it. The environment was professional, clean and provided that luxurious feel usually Manhattan salons provide. I was greeted by the only person in the salon, Shamilka. She was very attentive and we quickly got into conversation about our shared identities of the Black Diaspora. She asked me why I came here and I told her I was told they worked well with natural hair and this was my first silk press in over 4 years. I'd been natural for 5 years. She agreed that it was important for proper upkeep as she was Dominican and knew how these salons poured chemicals or used excessive heat. She did a steam treatment putting various liquids in my hair. I didn't smell anything suspicious and of course because of everything she just said I began to trust her. We did a protein treatment before she blew my hair out. After she took the flatiron and I noticed her doing multiple passes especially at the top, before at the end going in with a hot comb. I've never flat-ironed my hair myself, but I do at least blow dry my hair really well monthly for protective styling. I felt as though the constant passes were too much because of the common phrase "one pass is enough", but she was the professional and seemed to know what she was doing. I loved my hair. The trim was well done and the silk press kept up. After 2 weeks I noticed my hair hadn't frizzed up, and I was like wow Shamilka did a bomb job. Obviously, too good of a job. 3 weeks later Jan 7, I washed my hair but my hair wasn't reverting and was shedding horribly. I didn't panic I knew it took a couple of washes. Tried various treatments before calling the salon for help. Ashema answered asking for photos (screenshots attached). She audibly gasped and told me that whoever did my hair did it incorrectly and my hair look damaged. She told me if I had already tried Aphogee then it was irreversible. She gave the manager Marlin and assistant manager Angela my number. Angela called me hours later and I could tell this was a white woman as she explained her hair texture wasn't the same and she wasn't experienced on it. She said she trusted Ashema's judgement and asked multiple times if I had done a touch up at home with a flatiron, which I denied. I knew better than that. She said she would push this up to Marlin. Marlin called me on Sunday evening frustrated as though I was bothering him. He sounded Caribbean and his customer service was extremely poor. I told him I need full compensation and would like the salon to give me a 2/3 protein treatments to try to repair as much as possible while my hair grew out. He said he can't lose money over this and the salon can't afford that. He would give me partial refund. I told him that's unacceptable as a black women who has spent thousands of dollars in treatments & hair products for this to happen. I was only requesting for the issue to be rectified & wasn't threatening a suit. He kept saying there had been a case the month prior and so maybe there was a malfunction with the hot tools and that the Spanish lady who this occurred to was happy to settle with 2 protein treatments. Aside from the disgusting attitude of the boss, it's telling of how they deal with issues. As a business owner myself, I understand that you can have small and major issues. It's how you respond and rectify it. I never received any apology which would have gone a long way. In the end, I got my full refund. I went three months later after covering my hair in wigs. My hair was still shedding with consistent protein treatments and flaking. The stylist I went to told my scalp look as tho a treatment as been left on. She neutralized my scalp and cut my hair. I've had healthy hair since. I hope Shamilka never does this to anyone again and that she was retrained on proper silk press procedure. read more