The Paint Box

I NEVER cry, especially not in public, but today I left this salon in tears.
Coming in, I had some grown out blonde balayage/​ombré with my natural light brown ash roots. It looked ok, but I’ve been trying to make my hair healthier (avoiding bleach for almost 2 years and no heat styling etc.) so I wanted bring down my roots into the blonde to break it up a bit and add dimension. I asked for my natural color as low lights. If this wasn’t clear enough I also printed out some brown/​blonde photos to match.
I met with Mayumi who at first seemed to understand exactly what I wanted. She carefully painted brown into the blonde parts of my hair and put something semi-​permanent on the roots to help make them shiny (her words). All was going well until while washing she asked if I wanted a copper toner. I should have just said no but instead I asked «what will that do?» — I’ve had toners in the past that did basically nothing — she responded it would «help to make the color deeper» so I said sure… She had the toner on my hair for less than a minute before she verbalized «wow it looks so different» and washed it out. When she started blow dry I was like what the fuck??? It was red. She asked me if I liked it and I said I didn’t expect red, at which point she told me «it’s not red its copper» o₀ What happened to everything we talked about regarding blending my natural color??? My hair was red and the blonde ends had turned pink/​orange. She then went into color correction mode and washed my hair with bleach (I assumed she would use cleansing shampoo but I could smell the bleach… I’m sure that was great for my long fragile hair) and then put some other kind of toner or dye after the bleach. She asked what color (??) and I again showed her the pictures I brought with me.
At the end (after bleaching) my hair looks exactly like it did when I walked it in except my roots are slightly darker (not what I wanted), my ends are orange tinted rather than blonde (definitely not what I wanted) and it has zero dimension (the reason I made the appt). The quality of my hair feels awful and dry — perhaps the most heartbreaking part considering how hard I worked to keep it healthy. Overall, my hair took a big step backwards from where I was when I walked in and it cost me more than $ 200! (really $ 177 for the hair and $ 35 for tip).
The girl at the front could see me crying and told me to call back later but I’m afraid to go back after this 3 hour fiasco.
I came here because of the great Unilocal reviews but I now realize there are only 13 reviews on here… Look elsewhere!

I can’t believe it’s almost 2 months that I came to get my hair color done by Jenny and I have yet to rave about her and this hair salon !
I first went for a consultation and she totally got my vision, she booked my appointment and the anticipation for her magic hands to touch my hair began !
The day of my appointment was so much fun ! The energy the staff and clients had was amazing. The décor is beautiful and Jenny is so fun and she listens to what you wants and gives you a clear professional breakdown of what she’ll be doing. Her passion and love for what she does is obvious when she gets inside your hair.
The results? She got me lighter than I’ve ever been with no trace of orange… two months later, I’m still obsessing over my hair ! It was still healthy and was manageable. I started off with an auburn base color and like orangey ombré that I wasn’t a fan of but she got me blonde. Like light blonde. Lol. She has mirror everywhere but I did not peek because I wanted to see the end result which I knew would be perfection !
The products they use smell amazing and made my hair feel soft and Gahh, smell heavenly ! I only got the Balmain Argan oil but I need to get all the other stuff on my next visit!
Thanks again Jenny I still absolutely love, love, LOVE my hair !!

I went to see Mayumi for a hair cut. My hair is fine, very wavy, and always frizzy. She cut my hair in a way that looks amazing both when naturally dried, as well as blown out. She made my life much easier.
In the past, whenever a stylist suggested layers I was always extremely hesitant (after having a mullet-​like experience that scarred me). However, the layers Mayumi gave me were tasteful and beautifully placed. She’s a master of her trade and very nice.

I had my hair colored by Jenny yesterday and I couldn’t be more in love with my new color! I went from platinum blonde to a more beachy natural blonde and it looks AMAZING. The whole Paint Box experience was wonderful. Every girl that worked in the salon was genuinely nice. Typically when stylists are really great at what they do they tend to get full of themselves… not the case here. Jenny is probably one of the best colorists around and not once did I ever get a hint of attitude. The whole ambience of the salon was so comfortable, it felt like everyone there was friends hanging out doing hair. Dana did my blowout, and typically my hair falls flat quite quickly… I’m on day two and it looks even better than yesterday! I can’t say enough great things about this place! Thanks to all the fabulous ladies at The Paint Box for giving me the hair I’ve always wanted.

jenny is amazing! she hairpainted my hair to a lighter blonde. She took her time talking about different options of what we could do. She also looked at some pictures I had and gave me exactly what I wanted! She was super friendly and the entire salon was super relaxed/​trendy. All of the girls were nice and the shampoo/​conditioner massage was sooooo good! My blonde came out perfect! She exceeded my expectations and I love it!

Loved my experience with Mayumi, who is kind, efficient and did a beautiful job with my color. The service was courteous and my appointment started exactly on time after Mayumi’s previous client — an impressive feat considering the time and care that goes into hair painting. The price was very reasonable too. Highly recommended!

So this is my first Unilocal review ever at any location. I am a huge foodie and sort of a snob when it comes to service in all realms of customer service and hospitality, but The Paint Box was definitely a win.
I think this is the first haircut in my adult years where I walked out with EXACTLY what I wanted. You know when you show a picture and request that same style and cut? Well, Mayumi did just that.
I also used a GroupOn.
I believe I am right in saying that beauty salons with GroupOn tend to hit below the belt when it comes to levels of expectation. Well I definitely cannot say that on behalf of The Paint Box. My expectations were met to the highest level and I could NOT have been happier.
To start I was greeted warmly by the owner (whose name I forget); then I was offered water tea or coffee, and they hung my coat for me.
My appointment was for 6:30 but they took me early and brought me over to get my hair washed at 6:20. This was not your regular hair wash. The temperature was perfect and the deep scalp massage almost put me to sleep. It’s as if I was meditating in pure salon hair washing heaven. Then to the cut, Mayumi told me she would cut off about 2 inches and then asked if she could use a razor, which I was more than happy to approve. She worked slow and precise and gave me choppy layers exactly how I requested. Then the cherry on top of this hair appointment, when I was expecting an general blowout (ya know, since I was paying half the price with a Group On) Mayumi styled my hair to perfection giving me beautiful, wavy and natural looking curls.
Once I can afford to pay full price for a Haircut here, I will no doubt be coming back!

Went in yesterday for a hair cut with Mayumi & I am so so pleased!
I have really fine hair and I’ve had a difficult time getting a hair cut that makes my fine hair look full and not-​boring. Mayumi looked at the pictures I showed her & what I described and gave me the perfect cut! She also took the time to explain how she was styling it as she dried & styled it and I was able to recreate the same look the next day. I think it’s the best cut I’ve ever received. Super happy & totally recommend this place. Thank you!

I got my haircut here a couple months ago by Mayumi. She was absolutely fantastic. She’s super cute and friendly and really knows what she’s doing.
I had an asymmetric bob and I went in wanting to get it evened out and have layers put in because I felt my hair had gotten too flat and boring. Mayumi cut it exactly how I wanted with very little direction from me and styled it perfectly.
Also, they offered me water/​tea which came in a super cute little mason jar. It’s little touches like this that make this place extra great. I remember going to a salon in LES where the haircut was over $ 250 and they served me hot tea in a paper cup which I remember thinking was the dumbest thing ever. You can tell The Paint Box put in a lot of time and effort when thinking about how to design and decorate their salon. It’s very trendy but still inviting and cozy.
I would 100% recommend this place!

Mayumi Maeda found me on hairapprenticeNYC and reached out to me via e-​mail. She told me she does color training only on Tuesdays so I booked her about 3 – 4 weeks ahead of time.
Afterwards I did a lot of background research on the salon and stylists, coming to the conclusion this place should be perfect!
I work in Williamsburg and I’m just horrible at directions so this Greenpoint salon was no exception lol. To the normal eye it’s honestly easy to find, but I’m just an idiot when it comes to new places haha. My appointment was at 10am but getting lost and stuck in the G train I arrived at 10:30 feeling very apologetic. They were nonetheless amazing and I was also greeted by Jenny’s french bulldog!
Having Asian hair it’s always difficult to style and color. I had previous balayage and highlights that were too streaky near my roots and Mayumi basically had to do color correction. She did a freehand technique called color painting and my hair turned out amazing! She was very patient, did a great head massage and was super amazing! She made sure to tone my hair to match my skin tone whether it was cooler/​warmer. (My case warmer)
As a hair model I paid $ 60 for products and tipped her. From about 10:30 my hair was done at 4pm. It was worth the time! She asked if hair products were wanted, what to style, and etc.
Seriously best salon service and premier talent! If Mayumi is this amazing, of course I will assume Jenny to be as substantial with her being the owner and more experience coloring.

Jenny is a true artist. I am not exaggerating when I say that every day of my life since she started doing my color, people compliment me on my hair. Red is the most difficult color to make look natural, but she nails it every time. The painting technique she uses brings such dimension to the color, that everyone thinks it’s natural. I wish! And it grows out beautifully — I really only have to get the roots done every 10 – 12 weeks, and painted highlights twice a year.

I was at The Paint Box today and I cannot express how amazing Jenny and Mayumi are. I came for a hair paint and cut and left with a smile on my face (I could not stop looking in the mirror!). They are the hair «dream team». I left the salon relaxed with absolutely gorgeous hair.

I started going to Jenny on the recommendation of a friend a little over a year ago. Since then, we’ve both sent tons of friends over there, too! To say that Jenny is masterful with color is a huge understatement! She’s the absolute best. Whatever vision you have for yourself in terms of color, she executes to perfection. And even better, she’s delightful to hang out with while you’re sitting there getting your hair done. I can’t recommend enough — get there!!!

I was booked two weeks in advanced to be a color model for one of their apprentices. I asked her twice what time I should be there but there was never one given. Less than half a week before the appointment, She finally responds to me to tell me that they couldn’t use me… Then why book me in the first place?
Don’t waste people’s time if you aren’t going to need them.