Big and Skinny

I came here for the first time and didn’t request a special hairstylist. I was told Michelle (think that’s her name anyway) would be free at the time I asked for. She doesn’t speak a lot of English but the guy at the counter was helping translate what we each said. In the end I showed her a picture and she ran with it. I have super thick hair and asked for layers and a short cut which is tricky to get right — usually it looks better in the salon and the next day it’s an untame-​able mess. Long story short I love my hair! Recommend this place and Michelle!

Charged me $ 145 for color and cut. Fine… Normally Korean salons throw in the cut for free, especially since I have short hair to begin with, but whatever… Cut was sloppy (to say the least – see picture for reference), guy nicked my ear. Color came out redder than expected to which colorist replied: «that’s how Korean hair is, I cant help it»…

As a Caucasian girl with curly hair, I am always ambivalent about going to hair salons. I am always too scared to get a «real style» and so I opt for basic trims. Until today, I have never had a cut that I hated, but I have also never had a cut I was really happy with. This morning I woke up and decided to be bold and get thick, Zooey Deschanel style bangs cut, fears be damned!
GO TO THIS SALON! Even though they are predominantly Korean here, the staff and hairdressers speak perfect English, and are friendly, helpful and good listeners. Mina cut my hair, and she was sweet, confident, and above all, very precise.
I have been to salons where they used razors on my thick, curly hair (a big no-​no), where they put in weird layers (also looks terrible on me), where they cut off more than I wanted, etc. Not here. After about 2 minutes of talking to Mina about my hair, I was so confident that the words: «Just do whatever you think needs to be done!» came out of my mouth.
Long story short, my hair looks great and I’m thrilled to have had my first good haircut ever. Mina explained to me that she cut my hair so that if I decide to start growing the bangs out instead of trimming them, they’ll grow into nice side-​swept bangs very easily. This remains to be seen, but I’m pretty confident.
I should also mention that they were able to take me at an hour’s notice and fit me in, and that the salon was very attractive and clean.
I will definitely be back to Big and Skinny!

I trekked to Jersey early Saturday morning to get my hair and makeup done at Big and Skinny for a friend’s wedding. When I walked in, all the makeup artists and hair stylists were ready to go.
There happened to be 3 different wedding parties booked to get dolled up for photos. Luckily, they were really organized and had a very efficient system to make sure that every person was attended to.
Having been in a few bridal parties, I’ve definitely have seen both good (natural looking) and bad stylists (caked on makeup and out-​of-​date hair style). But the stylist they had here were so good. The bride looked flawless!
Even though a few of our bridesmaids got stuck in traffic, they had us out in time to be right on schedule.
They definitely know what they are doing here.

Back story: Up until I was about 18, I’d only had one hair cut in my life. One major one, at least, and I think I was about 9. A few inches were cut, and my hair was then about shoulder blade length. Fast forward nine years, and my second hair cut occurred. I had found someone in Park Slope that did a great job once-​a-​year (or so). Then she moved to California.
After some intense worrying and debating about whether or not I should just grow my hair super-​long again, I decided to ask my bffl for a recommendation. She’s far more adventurous when it comes to haircuts/​styles/​colors than I am, but I figured that she wouldn’t lead me wrong.
That’s where Big and Skinny comes in. Now, you might think that I’m crazy to travel all the way from Park Slope to Fort Lee, but let me tell you… it was worth it.
I brought in a picture of what I wanted done, and Min and I spoke about it for a bit before he started to do any cutting. I was a little nervous because he didn’t ask many questions, but my worrying was for naught. My hair turned out great. How great?
Well, let me put it this way… I work in a garage, filled with dirty, stinky co-​workers (that are mostly men). I could probably accidentally chop off my arm, and they might not notice, but… a good half, maybe, noticed my haircut. And gave me compliments! Quite a shock. Not because my hair turned out good (which it did), but because it turned out good enough that they noticed.
Now, you might be asking why I’m only giving this place 4 stars? It’s just because getting to Jersey is a hassle. However… since I’m mostly a one-​haircut-​a-​year kind of gal… I think I might be able to handle that sort of hassle on a yearly basis.