Dominican Salon Review: Magic Touch Salon

So this is my first Dominican salon review after about almost two years. I'm sorry I haven't done one in some time, but when I asked you guys what you missed on the site, I got so many e-mails asking me for the reviews back. That makes me so happy that you guys liked them. I almost forget how popular they were. Hell, even Vogue featured the one that supermodel Liya Kebede goes to and about four reporters I know troop miles to get their hair done by Dominicans.  So I've re-started them. I started doing the reviews differently this time. I don't ever let the salon know that I"m reviewing them. So this salon I went to had no idea they were getting reviewed, and all the pics that were taken, were with a hidden camera. lol Let's begin:

A few of you readers had asked me to review Magic Touch Salon. Located on 115 and 1^st ave, in the heart of Spanish Harlem. Many of you had heard about it though word of mouth and wanted me to get the deets. What my readers want! They get! 

Decorum: As I walked into Magic Touch, I’ll be honest, I was not impressed with the decorum at all. There is nothing “beautiful” at this salon. You can tell this place is strictly business and that's it. They really don’t care about the salon’s appearance. That’s fine for some, and unacceptable for others. For me, on that day, it was ok. (On another day, I might have just walked out.) I needed to get my hair done and fast .If you’re looking for pretty place…keep looking.

I was pretty shocked at how many dryers and chairs they were able to fit for such a small amount of space. I literally saw 13 dryers there. The salon is tiny. And they also had about seven hair do stations. Only 3 hair wash stations though. 

Customer Service: When I walked in, it was Thursday around 11:00 am and there were eight women already getting their hair done. I had to be somewhere at 1:00 so I was a little nervous  that it would take forever, but immediately as I walked in the salon, the woman in the front told me to walk to the back and wash my hair. The girl did a fantastic job on my wash. She massaged my scalp and washed my hair three times with the shampoo, and then conditioned it and used the comb to detangle. It was done very gently.

Products: Now, as I was getting my hair washed, I observed their products. I did see an empty bottle of Ojon but honestly they pretty much used L’oreal, Silicon (Dominican products ) and other products called Luna.   (I would probably just bring my own products here.) 

Hair: The girl used the huge gray rollers to do my hair, and stuck me under the dryer (no ear covers though, I think i'm going to buy some and start bringing them). As I was under the dryer, I observed around six different women from all ethnicities, coming in, getting attended to immediately. The women here are all business. They want you in and out in no time. After I finished drying (their dryers are so good, I was done in 30 minutes) Idalina, one of the hairdressers spotted me and led me to her table. She asked me what I wanted. I told her I liked my hair with a lot of volume but not too much heat.  She then asked me if she should just blow dry it up, (which is exactly right) I told her yes, and she began working her magic. Many times I've gone to other salons, and they've used the curling iron after blow drying my hair. No good! I don't llike that much heat on my hair.  She began working her magic, blowdrying the hair in an upwards motion, then pincurling it, Walaa! in 15 minutes, my whole head of hair was done. I was so impressed at what an amazing job she did and how fast I was done. I was out of the salon at 12:30. I had gotten there at 11:00am. That's almost unheard of.

Cost: But then, she revealed the cost, and I almost had a heart attack. When I asked her how much, and she said doce, which means $12.00, I almost threw my shoes off and did a backflip. I asked her to repeat herself, and she said twelve dollars in broken english. Well holy crap, I gave her the $12.00 and a $10.00 tip.My hair came out so beautiful, and lasted so long. 

Listen this may not be the prettiest salon, but if you want your hair done beautifully for next to nothing, go here. Special thanks to Akmed from down the street for taking another pic when I asked him to. I think he liked me. 

Out of a 1-5, this salon gets a solid 3.5. Although the products and decorum, need a lot of work, the service is fast, hair looks amazing, and in this recession, it's very important for a salon to be inexpensive. At $12.00 this is downright cheap! 

Hope you enjoyed this!

Hugs, 

DE