Riah

I’ve been coming to Riah for ten years and continue to come back even though I moved to San Francisco two years ago. Ann does the best coloring and over the past year has started doing Hair Dream laser extensions. It is an incredible real-​hair product that lasts up to 4 months. I can’t say enough good things about it or Ann’s work. She’s truly transformed my hair! Best hair extensions in all of Manhattan!

Ann, the owner, is a real gem of the East Village. It’s rare to meet someone with such care and compassion for what she does. And she gives a great blow out!

i am so happy I found Riah (hair spelled backwards!!) I’ve been getting my hair cut and colored here for 5 years, I was drawn in by the affordable prices. I always get compliments after my hair cuts up until I’m ready for the next one because of the long-​lasting quality of the cut and the free trim in-​between appointments which really is important when you have short hair! Ann does my hair now and has been cutting hair in NYC since the 80s in the art, music and fashion scenes — she knows cool hair! I personally love a small salon, it is quiet and intimate, I’m treated like a real person here and not just another head of hair. Devon was my first stylist who consistently gave me great cuts/​color, she even did the up-​do for my wedding and then later she gave me my first awesome edgy short-​hair cut when I was ready for a big change!

All I can say is this is great salon, and all of the reviews are true except for one… MEG S. wrote a review on 6÷13÷2014 about Devon that was completely fictitious. I have not worked at Riah since August 2013, and a year prior to that I was not taking on new clients. So, needless to say I am 100% sure this event between «Meg» and Devon never took place. Since Unilocal,Meg S, and Ann have all decided not to rectify the situation please let me make this crystal clear, this review is FALSE.

Ann is a fantastic hair dresser, and I completley trust her with anything and everything she does. She is honest, truly listens to what you want, and really takes her time with each of her clients. My mother, sister, and several of my friends (including members of their own families) all go to Ann. Her prices are very fair and am never dissapointed by her work. My cut and color always come out amazing and natural looking. My whole famliy goes to her, even some of my friends and their own families. It really doesn’t get much better than her.

Ann is by far, the most talented hairdresser in NYC and reasonably priced. Her haircuts are always on trend and color/​highlights are always beautiful. I love the hair products too! I never leave RIAH disappointed!

It’s really hard to find a not outrageously priced haircut in this city. I had previously suffered at the hands of a scissor happy woman who gave me what started out as an angled bob, and grew out into a horrendously shape. Because it was so short, I had to wait through months and months of bad hair before I could even get a haircut, and I decided on Riah because of all the good reviews.
Devon, first of all, was completely unfriendly, perfunctorily asked standard hairdresser questions and clearly didn’t care about the answers which I felt obligated to give. She also gave the impression of being in a big hurry. Maybe this was because I was a Lifebooker customer? I explained that I wanted to EVEN OUT the angles and choppy layers so that I could grow my hair back out. Devon nodded sagely, feinged outrage at my previous cut which seemed to be uneven, and said she would cut it so that it could grow out for a while, and I wouldn’t have to wear it up all the time. I felt like she understood.
She then proceed to ATTACK my hair with the scissors, cutting out the weird shaped volume — yes — but creating EVEN MORE choppy layers which were even shorter than the previous ones had been! The end result was something which sort of worked for 3 weeks, and then looked irreparably shitty. So now not only do I have to wait EVEN LONGER for this awful cut to grow out, but it doesn’t even look good up anymore!
Bad haircuts make me really angry. I wouldn’t trust this place with fixing anything, they may be okay for simple cuts, I don’t know. I certainly won’t be returning or recommending it to anyone.

Passed by here after reading all the good reviews. It’s not enough to give a good cut– you have to be nice to potential clients.
I didn’t even make it inside the salon, I went to open the door and it was locked, the guy who came to open it rolled his eyes before doing so. I assume the manager was sitting at the front desk and she dryly greeted me with «how can I help you” — I asked if they took walk ins and she abruptly told me she was all booked up.
She must’ve noticed my expression (I was taken aback between the rude doorman and the dry concierge) she quickly slipped me a card and told me I had to make an appointment. I won’t. Even if it was free.

Love Ann. I can’t remember how many years I’ve been coming here, over ten for sure. I’ve strayed at times, (given free cuts at ‘fancy pants’ places) but when I come back, I am always like – what was I thinking? She has given me the best cuts of any of them, always sensitive to my needs, will never let me do something I’d regret, and I can trust her never to anything that would upset my vanity. She has a fabulous eye and a great hand and a great price, and in my neighborhood. She earns every bit of those five stars.

What can I say? Only one person has cut my hair for the 13 years I’ve lived in NYC. And that’s Ann. I’ve never needed to think about finding anyone else because she does a great job. I have always loved the ‘buzz’ that comes with the price of a full cut. You can go back in after a couple of weeks and get a trim, gratis. Life being what it is I rarely take advantage of it, but it’s a great service to keep her clients looking their best.

Fantastic experience! I get headaches from strong chemicals, and that includes hair coloring products. Ann, the owner, spoke with me about the type of coloring they use, which does not have ammonia, peroxide, alcohol or perfume. She was so helpful beforehand, so I decided to give Riah a try.
Not only was the whole experience fantastic (first time ever, that I didn’t even get a small headache — and I have tried a lot of natural brands. And, how wonderful, to walk into a salon that didn’t reek of chemicals!), but Ann also gave me great advice about the color itself, helping me decide on a shade of rich, chocolate brown which would really compliment my skin.
It came out perfectly, and Ann and her assistant were so warm and lovely, and also wonderful to chat with.
I also normally do not like blowouts, I am an artist and designer and I like a little edge to my look, so blowouts always look too «done,» to me — but when I told this to Ann, she styled my hair to look natural and just beautiful, it managed to look cool and gorgeous at the same time. A number of friends had told me about Riah in the past, and I am now kicking myself that I didn’t get over there sooner.
I can’t say enough about this place. It is always important to me to support a local business, and it is even more rewarding when that business is owned by such a lovely person, who really spends time with their clients, and really listens to what they are interested in. I’ll definitely be back!

I refuse to let anyone but Devon cut/​dye my hair, Ive been going here for the past couple years and can’t say enough good things about Riah. Definitely one of the best salons in nyc

I have gotten several great cuts in a row from Devon. I have hair that is deceptively hard to cut – it looks straight, but has some weird curls that cause it to flip up and under in odd directions. My hair is always tamed by Devon’s cuts – a nice, sleek bob. I always get compliments on it, and it grows in well – I can go 3 months between cuts.

well. this is my 3^rd time with devon for color. since previous review. my hair grown out super fast– and without my better judgement, while i was getting haircut at another place, i told them to just do a root touch up. bad choice, the color didnt come out at all– since my hair is virgin black–
so, i came back to devon again!
she did my hair single process match it with the color that she did on me 4 – 5 month back and add few pieces of highlight
the end result looks awesome!!!
don’t you just love it? when u went to a salon and get exactly what u want and look great in it!
anyway, devon is hand down for color!
i would recommend her for any asian girl hair type (virgin-​black)
ask for devon! she can actually make it happen!

I booked the haircut and blow-​out loot through Lifebooker where gave all good reviews about this salon at $ 50. The first cut was and blow-​out curly was on 10/​18, the second day, my hair got extremely itchy, I washed it, and the hair was shaggy, uneven. 1 week later, she did the second cut to fix it, it got worse… bigger gap on the sides, and much shorter. The salon was tiny, she sounded mad in the beginning and in the end: «I give you money back, and we are done.» No apologies. I posted a review on Lifebooker, but Lifebooker removed it. I just talked to them on the phone, asking why they only put good reviews there which is cheating customers… they hung up my phone. I would never book through Lifebooker, nor go Riah Salon in my rest life.

I’ve been getting my hair cut by Ann since the early 90s. She’s great. I still have woman stop me on the street to tell me they love my hair.
For a long time she also colored by hair, with great, gentle on the scalp color (I think it’s had no ammonia). When I wanted to stop coloring my hair, and did a great job cutting my hair proving I could be funky with gray hair. She also really takes into account how much effort you put into styling your hair — and cuts it accordingly.

Best hair cut and color so far in NYC!
After trying out several hair salons that were expensive and left me frustrated with the cut and color, I decided to try Riah after a friend recommended it. I’m so happy I followed her advice! Ann and Devon will give you a great hair cut for a very reasonable price. And if there is something you don’t like about the color and style, then let them know, go back quickly and they’ll fix it for free!

I had a really good time getting my cut with Devon. I’m pretty simple, I wasn’t really going in to lose a lot of length, or to do anything that wild. She was able to give me what I wanted, and also give my look a fresh feel. Hair looks great, I love it. I also left with my dignity and without a disgusted look on my face. Honestly, some salons in the city? I leave feeling worse than I came in, which is completing ridiculous when you’re paying someone for a service that’s supposed to make you feel great!

I have found it so hard to get a good and affordable haircut in NYC. So much so that I either went to the Aveda school in Union Square for two hours or just picked anywhere and didn’t care how it looked and that led to some pretty crappy haircuts. With that said, you can probably tell that I’m not someone who is loyal to my stylist but, after my experience at Riah, that has changed.
I discovered Riah Limited and my new stylist Devon through Lifebooker. Their cuts usually run about $ 100 but through Lifebooker I got mine for $ 50. Located in SoHo, I had a little trouble finding the place because it’s small and I have no sense of direction even after living in New York City for 10 years but, I found my way into the tiny hair shop that holds only two chairs and one sink for washing hair. Devon was finishing up with a local regular who comes in to get her hair blown out twice a week and while waiting, which I didn’t mind, we chatted about the new iPhone 4 and computers.
Devon did a great job on my hair. I explained that I wanted to keep it long and I wasn’t sure about my side bangs because I felt they looked funky. She explained it was because they were cut like a full set of bangs not side ones and she fixed them right up. She also showed me some hair tricks to keep my hair from going crazy in this humid weather and lifted my layers giving my hair fullness and body that stays throughout the day.
Another point to note, all of the products used here are organic which was a surprise but for some reason makes me feel safer about putting chemicals in my hair. In short, I’m in love with Riah and I’ll definitely be back.

I’ve gone to many salons here in NY and even given some second chances and I haven’t been able to find a stylist that I like. I’m one of those people that goes in and wants the stylist to tell me what will look good and this takes artistic ability and creativity. Which I feel like a stylist should have. I’m not to fussy with my hair, in that i know it’ll grow back, btu I do expect it to look good. Devon was able to see what I couldn’t. She gave me bangs when I had no intention of getting them. I told her to make a choice and she did. She told me I was going to get a straight fringe. I love her courage and confidence. My hair looks great and EVERYONE has said they love it. I love her and will definitely be coming back. We even talked about how to color it when it starts to grow out! She makes me feel confident that I’ll be getting a great haircut when I sit in her chair.