I've just been to Hair Mates for the first time (the Midtown location -- 114 E. 40th St., between Park & Lex). I was curious what the stylist would make of my long, slightly wavy but fine Irish hair (the positive reviews I'd read about Hair Mates seemed to be mainly about Asian hair), but I got exactly the cut I wanted. I've been to a lot of different salons, and while this one didn't have much in the way of amenities, they got the important things right. The stylist was very considerate of what I wanted, and we spent a lot of time talking about the cut at the beginning of the appointment (during the cut, he didn't speak at all, which was fine by me but I know wouldn't appeal to everyone). One negative was that there weren't any assistants working when I went in, so the stylists had to book appointments, etc., while working with clients (they were pretty great at multi-tasking, actually). Overall, I'm really pleased with the cut, and plan to return to the salon for my next one.
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