Earlier this month, I traveled to New York City with an agenda containing one item: I had to try the viral $25 blowout as soon as possible. I had seen numerous videos on TikTok about some salons in Chinatown that only charged $25 for their service, but none of the videos featured women with thick, curly hair like mine. This lack of representation made me incredibly curious, and slightly concerned once I was in the salon chair, about how the process would go. Here is how it went.
The Wash Experience
When I walked into A 髮型 Hair Salon on 135 E Broadway at 5:24 P.M., I was immediately ushered to a salon chair in the back of the room, where a woman started washing my hair. This is usually my favorite part of the entire hair salon experience – relaxing and spa-like. Unfortunately, this time was a little bit different.
The woman had razor-sharp nails and scratched at my scalp for 6 minutes straight. It was honestly painful enough in some spots that I worried my head might start bleeding. For the next 12 minutes, she alternated between scratching and massaging my head, which I definitely enjoyed more, while she washed the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair.
Next, I was sat upright and given a shoulder massage that also unfortunately had me wincing out of pain. Now, I want to be clear: I am not a physically sensitive person, and my scalp is not sensitive at all. I would also like to add that my experience with the wash station was not all bad, and that while it may have been a bit rough, I may not have ever had my hair cleaned so thoroughly.
The Blowout
When my shoulder massage was finished, I was led over to another chair where I met my stylist for the evening. Full disclosure, I did have the stylist cut my hair, as I had some gnarly dead ends and it had been years since my last cut, so the price of my visit to the salon was more than $25; however, there was a sign above the wash station that stated the service was the promised $25.
After a few minutes of discussing what I was looking for, the stylist began drying and blowing out my hair. This process took roughly 30 minutes and was a wonderful experience. The stylist was friendly and talked to me throughout the process, was very communicative about what he was doing and what I wanted, and left me very pleased with my appearance.
When he went to style my hair, I asked him to do a big, bouncy, curly blowout. I appreciated that he did not use too much heat, and he was even thoughtful enough to leave the curls unbrushed so that they would last until I could brush them out later that night when I attended a Broadway show.
Overall Thoughts
I will say that I wish the wash experience was gentler, as it did put a sort of taint on the whole process for me. Again, I feel the need to reiterate that I do not have a sensitive scalp and have yanked my own hair out trying to brush it as a child, so I was a bit surprised to feel pain during the wash.
In the end, I paid $60 with a tip – incredibly affordable considering I had my hair washed, cut, and styled. One thing to note: the salon is cash-only. I wish I had known beforehand, but there was an ATM on-site, so it wasn’t a major inconvenience.
I was also surprised to find that my curls lasted all night and through the next week, since curls usually fall out quickly when my hair is styled. I managed to stretch this blowout for nearly 2 weeks, using overnight sock curls to keep everything together.
Overall, I rate the experience a 7.5 out of 10. My only complaint is the roughness of the wash, so if I do return, I may just ask for something a bit gentler. I do think that for the price and the longevity of the styling, I would recommend trying out this salon!