Whistle

You can’t go wrong with the hair stylists here. I’ve seen four different ones over the two years I’ve been going here, and I’ve always gotten a fantastic cut.
I’ve even continued patronizing Whistle after I moved to Astoria, Queens! It’s worth the 50-​minute trip, down the N/​Q, over the L, and through the East Village.
Things to like:
* you can give them minimal instructions, and they’ll make all the right choices along the way; you don’t need any oversight; just relax
* you can have a complementary water, tea, red wine, or white wine
* you can book them for any day of the week; their hours are accommodating
* the prices are reasonable, given that their business in a trendy (high-​rent) area and all the stylists know what they’re doing
Lots to like!

Why are you still using «gay» as a pejorative?

I just got an amazing haircut from Eric! It looks great and he is super nice! I would totally refer this place to a friend. Can’t recommend it enough.

I haven’t had my hair professionally cut in years and wanted to treat myself. I went through countless reviews of various salons on Unilocal and was able to make an appointment for Whistle later the same day. Everyone was so friendly and I got free wine while I waited. Eric was my stylist; I told him my thoughts and he listened and offered his own suggestions, to which I agreed. I loved how my hair turned out. I was nervous about the price, but it was worth it (and probably about standard for the city).

I got my undercut touched up and layers added to my hair from Travis. All the staff was super nice and I’m very pleased with my cut! I would definitely refer a friend!

just an update. Aaron Lafrenz moved two years ago to Portland to …
so if you find yourself out there… get a hair cut for me.

Walking my dog I came across Whistle on 10 St. The place looked nice and seemed to have a good vibe, so I walked in and made an appointment for mid-​day for the following day.
Upon arriving, I was greeted by friendly staff. I really liked the interesting décor and art work on display.
Ray my stylist discussed my haircut with me. He gave me a great consult. I wanted a versatile and low maintenance style. He definitely understood what I was looking for. I was very pleased with the end result. Ray was attentive, but also gave me time to relax while he was cutting my hair.
This place is great. My only suggestion would be a more comfortable shampoo chair. On the bonus side, they offer complementary wine! Thanks Ray, looking forward to my next visit.

My first visit with Lizzie Leigh was amazing. She listened and knew exactly what I wanted.
I tried to rebook with Lizzie Leigh, but she was all booked up and I had a vacation the next weekend. I figured all the stylists would be great considering the price and the thoroughness with which they work, so I booked with Ray for a cut and color.
I brought in a photo of the exact ombré style I wanted and the exact cut I wanted. I specifically said I didn’t want to go fully blonde because I have naturally dark hair and didn’t want to have to be held hostage to blonde highlights since the maintenance can be very expensive. I also asked for my hair to be cut to my collar bone since it grows so quickly.
Ray then spent a good 15 – 20 minutes going through his OWN phone to find another picture to go on. He showed me a shade of blonde I liked, and I said explicitly to make it an ombré.
He said he understood, then proceeded to do LITERALLY WHATEVER HE WANTED.
He took me fully blonde which turned out to be a nearly 5 hour process. It was a very drastic change for someone who has never colored their hair and has had dark hair their entire life. He also would not cut my hair to the length I asked. Instead of to my collar bone, he left my hair about two inches longer than I wanted.
He then styled my hair without asking how I liked my hair to look – it looked like I was wearing a wig. He then didn’t even give a mirror to see the back of my head which, as it turns out, is still mostly brown.
As he looked at the results and noticed I was visibly shaken, he said «Well, it’s a transformation!»
Uh, yeah bro.
I will say the highlights and cut are really well executed, but literally like NOTHING I asked for. And any time I told him how I liked my hair, he would say that it was «not good for my face shape.» Maybe not, but that’s how I like it.
Ray’s assistant, however, was EXCELLENT. Truly professional, warm and welcoming.

I’m so excited and impressed by my highlights that I’m writing my first Unilocal review to prove it! I’m quite particular about my hair (as most girls are) and these highlights are some of the best, if not THE best, I’ve ever had.
My stylist understood exactly what I wanted and had me leaving the salon feeling great! Any jitters I had about trying out a new place were completely eased.
Prices are great and lower than expected– I have paid much more for lesser quality. I was also excited that a toner and blowdry were included in the price.
On top of that, everyone in the salon is friendly and warm– wish I could rate even higher! Whistle will be my new go-​to salon.

Stylist: Dani
Service: Cut
Just received (seriously 2 hours ago) one of the best haircuts of my life. Dani was my stylist and she did a superb job. She took the time to ask me how I normally style my hair, my likes and dislikes of my current style and the type of cut I was looking for. I asked for a one-​length cut, which from what I’ve been told, is one of the hardest cuts because of the precision required to achieve style. Before the cut, she made sure we went over together the style and length I agreed to.
During the process, she was attentive and completely focused and her passion for her craft was undeniable. She also gave me tips on how to enhance my natural waves and recommended types of products that I could use. And, not once did she try to deliberately push the salon’s products.
Due to fear of a bad haircut, I’ve always flown back home to my long-​time stylist on the West coast. But, I’m happy to say that those days are over! If you want a stylist who takes great care with your hair, I highly recommend Dani.

I struggle to find anyone to cut my hair. I have fussy, semi-​straight, bristly hair that grows in weird directions. I love Whistle and am happy to hold-​off getting my hair cut in my home-​town for my ~6 monthly NYC visits. It gets super-​shaggy between cuts, but it’s definitely worth it.
Heather cuts my hair each time, and has never done a bad job. She really gets what I need. I’m heading to NYC next week and haven’t had a haircut since my last visit.

It was my second time and last time being there. I usually dont write neg reviews, but as i found this place from reviews i felt responsible to give a feed back! First time I didn’t get the style i wanted and i assumed it’s bcz i was confused about the model. So, as Lizzie Lee was so patient and nice, this time i went there fir a pixie cut!!!
Its not at all what i asked for. Ince i was trying to tell her at sides i want it more pointing, she stopped me and said wait fir the result! I’m not finished yet!!!
And the result is awful.
Fortunately i have a type of face that even very short hair goes with that, So i went to another salon ask them to trim it to an acceptable, decent cut! 200 $ in one day for getting the shortest pixie ever!

Been going here for six years. After Aaron left I was despondent. But I just found Heather and she was amazing. Really took the time to get to understand me and my hair. Left feeling adorable. Seriously. It was exactly what I wanted, and she gave me great styling tips that make sense with my wash-​and-​go (read: lazy) lifestyle. Can’t wait to show this shit off.

I really do love this place. I just came out of there, Ray cut my hair. He is amazing and I will request him again. He knew exactly what to do with my overly dry, fine and a bit too long hair. He gave me a great and manageable style that fits with my running/​triathlon training lifestyle!
I of course wish the prices were better, but I guess the overhead of an E. Village location is what causes the high prices.
But in the end it’s totally worth it. I’ve been going here for years and never had a bad experience.
Thanks again Ray! Oh, and I do appreciate a stylist that doesn’t feel the need to engage too much, he had the right balance. I just wanted to relax and close my eyes for a bit. Perfect.

Went here for the first time today! I was 15 minutes late due to train stupidity, but luckily Lizzie O. still could fit me in an gave me an amazing haircut.
I went from super long to an angled bob, and Lizzie did a great job making sure I was getting what I wanted and was very meticulous about her work. She is super friendly (as is the entire staff, I should add) and very good at her job. I will definitely be back!

PINNEY! I wish I would’ve met her sooner and I couldn’t have spend 6 grueling years in NYC with mediocre haircuts.
She layers may hair in a way that when it grows out it looks even better than when it was first cut. She’s personable, funny and engages in convo– unlike some other stylists I’ve encountered. I have hair down to my midback, thick with waves, and she knows how to handle my hair… I’m mixed spanish and asian– so anybody out there who has this problem– PINNEY can spruce you up!

Lizzie O. Is a magician. I decided to get a pixie for the first time (I’ve had long, wavy hair since forever) and needed a new cut. She sat with me and discussed some good looks — and then we got started! She is ultra stylish, patient, kind and above all — talented! I was super nervous, but she calmed all my concerns and gave me a fun, hassle free cut that I LOVE. Shoutout to Nelly as well, for the awesome wash + head massage :)

This is a looong long review so if you dont want to read it all, here’s the bottom line: this place royally fucked up my hair and was super pretentious about it. I had to spend a boatload of money to get it fixed.
Let me preface this by saying that I am normally quite the happy camper, and have never really been dissatisfied with any hair services I have received in the past. Although this may seem melodramatic– this experience here happened a full 3 months ago, so the initial shock has well worn off. I am also not the type of person to get overly upset about my hair-​I have never cried after having too much hair chopped off and am pretty low maintenance when it comes to my hair.
I have brown hair that had never been colored except for a little blonde on the tips, and wanted to lighten things up, so I made a last minute appointment with Sun for balayage and a haircut. I told Sun that I wanted very natural, sun-​kissed, honey blonde balayage and she went to work. Sun was free-​spirited and sweet, and I let her do her thing without paying much attention. Apparently she wasn’t paying much attention either because after the highlights had set, she looked at my hair with surprise and quickly mumbled something about fixing it with toner. She then informed me– «by the way I don’t have time to cut your hair-​sorry!» without offering an alternative solution– I was no longer her problem.
I was frustrated since I had initially made the appointment because I really needed a haircut– and the receptionist then informed me that they were training a new receptionist who had put it in the system incorrectly, and that I could come back tomorrow for a haircut. Not a huge problem-​but then I caught a glimpse of my hair color after the toner was washed out– there were thick bright yellow/​almost platinum blonde stripes in my hair, with huge splotches of my natural brown color where the color had not been applied within the lighter pieces. Also, the tips of my hair that were previously a warm blonde tone had turned a bluish grey color-​NOT exactly the «natural look» I was going for.
I asked to speak to a manager about my hair, and explained what I had asked for and what the results were. I was pretty upset at this point, and was freaking out a little. She initially insisted I still had to pay $ 200 because of the stylist’s time and supplies used for this hack job. She was extremely rude, and only after speaking to the owner did she pretend to play nice and tell me I did not have to pay and I would receive a phone call from the owner to schedule a complimentary fix.
I never received a phone call. I had to spend literally $ 400 and 6 hours at a DIFFERENT salon (where the stylists looked at my hair and said «WTF happened here???) to get my hair restored to a color that exists in nature. I REALLY wanted to like this place… it is funky and cool, and clearly my experience is not typical as I always see happy customers with beautiful hair when I walk by. Not to mention it is literally NEXT DOOR to my apartment, which is kind of awkward. But they really messed up this time, and it cost me.

I can’t believe I paid $ 80+tip to look like a toddler attacked my hair with a pair of scissors.
I asked for a cut at around my collar bone with subtle layers. I emphasized that I always air dry my straight, fine hair. My hair was curled at the end of the session, and I assumed that my haircut was fine because it looked okay curled. Big mistake.
I felt confident that the stylist understood my type of hair and what I wanted during the consultation. I’ve previously had my hair cut with a razor at The Little Hair Shoppe in the East Village and loved it.
However I was a bit alarmed that the stylist would stopped mid-​cut with a razor, turn around, and joke with other stylists about the music in the salon. Is this why there is a large chunk of hair missing by my ear? Is this why the layers aren’t subtle at all, and look completely random? Is this why the stylist didn’t cross-​check my «layers?» Is this why there were three, THREE sections of hair an inch longer than the rest of my base length?
I have never been this mortified after a haircut. Quite frankly I’ve had better haircuts at Walmart in high school and Supercuts in college. AVOID.

Okay people, take a seat and listen up! I am like a little kid going to the dentist when it comes to hair salons. Finding new salons scare the pants off of me.
1-​Because I have a black streak birthmark in my hair (that literally every hair stylist says to me they have never seen before) which can turn orange or break off easily so the color that one uses must be top of the line
2-​Colorists tend to never know EXACTLY what you want. It doesn’t matter how many pictures or explanations you give them, they always tend to mess it up. Fact.
3-​I hate getting my hair done and on the phone hear the dreadful «_​_​_​_​$ and UP» and then you get done with your hair and it’s like 4x the amount you thought it would be and you just had a not-​so-​great experience at the salon but leave spending like… rent money there.
I just moved back to NYC from Miami, where, the salons weren’t exactly «the best». I did find one or two that I «liked» but didn’t LOOOOOOOOOVE. I haven’t had an «oh wow my hair looks da bomb» moment in many many many many many x1000 years.
I did my research extensively online. I tend to stick with Aveda salons because the color works great for my hair. However, I wanted to get my hair done Saturday morning and all Aveda salons were booked. I did some googling and found an article on Racked about Whistle. Then I came to my trusted Unilocal to verify this article and alas, saw the heavenly Unilocal reviews. I called exactly when they opened at 10:00 am on Saturday morning and asked to get an appointment for a half a head of highlights and a blow-​dry. She said «$ 100 AND UP». The dreadful words. I was like ughhhh, fine. I’ll go in and try it.
Eric was my colorist and even though I read on the website he is an apprentice or something (which made me so skeptical because of my previous experiences), I still decided to be brave and give it a shot. I explained to him that countless times before I have told colorists I want my hair «blonde blonde» only to be left with ashy dirty blonde hair. He said he would make me golden and he would definitely do his best.
UMMMMMMMMMM drum roll please… this freakin’ salon rocks. Like, what? My hair came out the best it’s EVER looked. My blonde goldy locks look PERFECT. I was like staring in the mirror today trying to find SOMETHING… ANYTHING wrong with my hair and I can’t.find.anything.wrong. This is DEFINITELY going to be my go-​to spot. He did a ridiculous job and how much was it for the «$ 100 AND UP» service you ask? Half a head of highlights + included blow-​dry?
$ 100.
.Them.Now!