Tomoko Shima

Feb 03, 2025

Tomoko has completely changed my hair and scalp over the last year. Before I met Tomoko, my scalp was dry and itchy, I had dandruff all the time and my hair was falling out. After meeting Tomoko, getting a scalp facial from her and listening to her advice, my hair and scalp have done a 180. My hair is thicker than it’s been in 10+ years and my scalp is no longer an itchy mess. Forever grateful for this amazing business!

Feb 01, 2025

Tomoko has been my hair stylist for nearly 5 years for all my trimming and coloring needs. Her professionalism, meticulous attention to detail, and kindness are the reasons I keep returning to her salon! Highly recommend booking her or any of her seasoned stylists for your next hair appointment.

Jan 30, 2025

This is the best hair salon!!! Tomoko trains the hairdressers and everyone is so great and caring for the well-being of the customers and healthy hair! My hair never looked so good. NYChair

Jan 30, 2025

Tomoka is a talented stylist who can handle my messy thick wavy hair. Her shop is cute and comfortable exuding a calm and peaceful atmosphere. I get the step bone cut with ash gloss that darkens the gray and gives out a beautiful shine. In the Spring I do the vegan keratin treatment to keep my hair smooth in the humid summer weather. It last for months.

Jan 30, 2025

Tomoko was terrific! Highly recommend

Jan 23, 2025

Amazing cuts and amazing personnel!

Jan 23, 2025

I absolutely love Tomoko shima salon! The headspa plus a blowout and style is my go-to way to relax and look great before a special event and I’ve had lovely headspa experiences with many different stylists at the salon. I highly recommend Tomoko for keratin treatments! The vegan smoothing treatment makes my hair look great and doesn’t have terrible fumes or toxic ingredients like other straightening treatments. Tomoko is an expert and my hair looks so much better and healthier since I’ve been a client of Tomoko shima! I highly recommend them for beautiful hair and happier, healthier scalps!

Jan 23, 2025

I go for hair spa regularly. Every time my hair feels so soft and clean after the spa treatment. The process is very enjoyable too!

Jan 23, 2025

I’ve been going there for years, and they are wonderful and always listen really closely to what I want. I will never go anywhere else!

Jan 23, 2025

I’ve been going to Tomoko for hair services for years. She’s the absolute best at what she does. Highly recommend.

Jan 23, 2025

I’ve been returning to see Tomoko at her salon for my Step- Bone Haircut for several years now because of the perfection of the cut. Tomoko is highly skilled and knows the best cut for your hair type, length and what styles best fit with your face shape. She also offers a scalp treatment and headspa, which is the most relaxing thing you can do. There’s also the option to examine your scalp if it’s your first time there. The place is small but so serene. The products the salon uses are top of the line -many of which are flown in from Japan. If you drive, there’s typically street parking if you can spend a few minutes looking before your appointment.

Jan 23, 2025

Tomoko was great!! She did a very nice job with shampooing, which felt and smelled amazing! After a few months of needing a haircut, my hair felt so great after the chop, and the style was so clean + exactly what I wanted :) Highly recommend Tomoko and her salon!!! ♥️

Jan 16, 2025

Great haircut with MIG!

Jan 16, 2025

Tomoko Shima is by far the best hairstylist in NYC. I’ve been coming to her for 14 years and can’t imagine going anywhere else. I bring my family and friends here as well, and everyone is always happy with her services. Not only she’s good at what she does but she’s a sweetheart of a person. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Dec 06, 2024

Booked an appt for haircut. First shampooed way too hard for 15 minutes. It was not a wash with scalp massage but felt like scrubbing with fingernail wash. Hair that is colored should not be washed in such a way especially in hot water. When asked for a trim and style it in certain way she instead chopped my hair off and gave me a short haircut. The hair I grew for past 3 months are shorter than before. For $200 plus haircut not worth it.

Dec 06, 2024

EDIT: I updated my review from 2 to 4 stars due to the kindness and professionalism of Tomoko, who offered to redo my haircut. I really appreciated how she kept me super informed throughout the cut, explaining what she was going to do and why, so that I was aware. She did a great job fixing the haircut, and I'm much happier with it now! -- Unfortunately I didn’t read the reviews on this place before I booked my head spa, cut and color with Mig. He was friendly but the cut was regrettably just bad. The “long layers” he cut me were completely uneven, but because of the blowout I couldn’t tell until I got home. You can tell how choppy the “layers” are in the picture. The head spa also was pretty mid, basically an overpriced shampoo & wash..

Sep 06, 2024

I had a haircut with Mig! He’s new to the salon but says he has lots of experience that he brings with him to the UES. He was lovely to talk to and had lots of hair tips for me. He added in some rollers for the blow out which was great. Unfortunately the cut was not really what I had wanted but even worse, it was very uneven, with one side longer than the other. I went to another salon and got it fixed. He fit me in last minute on a Sunday when no where else could, so what else can you ask for I guess. (Also on their social media they took credit for my highlights which were not done by this salon)

Aug 06, 2024

I booked the new designer's cut (guess his name was Mig) and it was the worst experience ever. He dropped the scissors and brushes every minutes, not organized at all. Spent almost an hour for the blowdry, doesnt know how to use a dryer for the blowdry. My hair was uneven, i went different hair salon and the designer was so surprised and asked if I paid for this haircut. (Please see attached photo for how uneven it was. I straightened my hair to see the unevenness) I wonder if the owner hired him after watching him do any haircut. So disappointed.

Jul 06, 2024

Mara is fantastic! My first several appointments were for haircuts. Mara talked to me about my expectations and made sure that she knew exactly what I wanted before starting to cut. The results were terrific: perfect length and the perfect amount of long layering. Once I developed trust, I confided in Mara that I was eager to have highlights done, but reluctant because of two negative experiences at other salons in recent years. She patiently looked at the photos I showed her and explained in detail how she would do highlights differently to achieve the results I wanted. In order to reassure me, she described every step and technique of the highlighting process from lightener to toner. I felt completely confident and calm as Mara started the process, and the results were amazing! Natural, subtle, and the perfect shade of blonde. I am so grateful, and I look forward to my next hair appointment with Mara!

Jun 06, 2024

Left feeling extremely disappointed, now I have to deal with this. I mean first of all, who uses heat tools without asking?

Jun 06, 2024

Seriously this salon knows their craft. Each stylist specializes in particular services delivering guaranteed satisfaction to all their clients.

May 06, 2024

Wonderful experience! I had an Organic Head Spa with Mara. It was amazing! She asked me questions and took the time to understand my situation. The whole process was very relaxing and addressed my concerns about hair loss and wanting to de stress. Mara also gave me advice how to shampoo and rinse my scalp evenly. She told me to stop using the Argon shampoo I was using because it was creating a lot of buildup which I saw with the camera used on my scalp. It looked like I had not washed for days..when I had done so the day before my appointment.. She gave me suggestions on what products to use instead. Thank you Mara for an awesome day!!

Mar 06, 2024

Do NOT book in for the headspa with Mara! I don’t ever write reviews but we were so disappointed in this experience and would like to forewarn others before booking. Had been anticipating a headspa experience for months with my mother visiting the city. I was lucky to have Masaki and you can tell he’s very skilled. However, my mother was booked in with Mara and I felt so so badly. No deep or skilled massage whatsoever, used an electric massager instead of hands, no neck rub. Truly was just an over priced shampoo. Did not feel like any care was put into the service. She left feeling so disappointed after 6 months of anticipating her first headspa experience. If you’re going to invest the money and time to do this, make sure to go somewhere else with more experienced service providers.

Feb 06, 2024

Booked a last minute scalp facial with Gon — and it was excellent. 50 minute head spa with blow dry. I have seen this online and finally decided to do it — highly recommend! He analyzed my (dry) scalp and got right into the treatment. It is several steps, including a steam portion. There is a lot of scalp massaging & it is incredible. He knew all the pressure points and relieved much tension. More importantly — my scalp feels so healthy! It is so clean, no flakes or itchiness. I can’t wait to see the results over the next few weeks. Note — wear a tank top, NOT a turtle neck sweater!

Feb 06, 2024

Head spa treatment with Gon was very relaxing.

Feb 06, 2024

Honestly I think this might be the best haircut I’ve ever had. Toki listened to what I wanted, then took his time to think about what would work best for me. The head spa add on was very pleasant too and my hair and scalp feel and look healthy. I’m really, really pleased. I would highly recommend.

Feb 06, 2024

I booked a Head Spa Scalp Treatment & Blow Dry service with Masaki. The appointment was really wonderful. I work with my hands and when I am experiencing a lot of fatigue and pain, it's really hard for me to wash my own hair. Not only was the wash extremely thorough, the Blow Dry was done with care and detail. Both the dry & wet segments of the head & neck massage were excellent. Masaki is highly skilled and I left feeling really good. I hope to return for the same service with Masaki next month.

Feb 06, 2024

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing a Japanese scalp treatment while I was visiting New York City, and I have to say, it was an incredibly calming and relaxing experience from start to finish. After seeing so many rave reviews on TikTok, I knew I had to try this treatment out for myself. Upon walking into the salon, I could tell that this was going to be a beautiful experience. And from the moment I sat down, I was blown away by the level of care and attention the masseuse provided. They began by analyzing my scalp before proceeding with a 30-minute massage, shampooing, and an invigorating steam treatment. I was amazed at how effective this simple yet luxurious process was at easing all of my tension and helping me unwind. After the steam treatment, my masseuse applied a variety of oils and serums to my scalp, which felt amazing. And best of all, after rinsing out the products, my masseuse continued to massage and blow dry my hair to perfection. I felt rejuvenated, and my hair looked amazing! In all honesty, my head felt a little sore in the hours following the treatment due to the pressure of the massage. But I wouldn't consider it a negative because it was such a positive experience, and ultimately, it proved just how effective and thorough the scalp treatment was. I even fell asleep twice during the process, which is a clear testament to how relaxing and enjoyable the experience truly was. Overall, I would highly recommend a Japanese scalp treatment to anyone in search of a rejuvenating and utterly calming spa experience. At $118, you really can’t go wrong.

Feb 06, 2024

I’ve been going to this salon for a few years now. Toki is a master in ombré/balayage. He makes my color look so natural, even as it grows out. He also knows how to cut my thick and ‘slippery’ Asian hair so that I don’t have to do much in the morning for it to look great. I usually do the first morning appointment, and I get to have the salon all to myself at that time. Tomoko of course is amazing as well - I had initially seen her pre-covid times for an updo for a wedding party and it was beautiful!

Feb 06, 2024

Masaki was great, professional, experienced. I asked for a shorter layered cut and I brought a photo to give an idea. He knew exactly what I was looking for. Masaki also has a calm nature about him that puts you at ease.

Feb 06, 2024

Terrible experience with Masaki 🥴

Feb 06, 2024

Toki is an awesome hairstylist. He takes everything into consideration. Your face, collarbone, and hair texture to help you decide how to cut your hair.

Feb 06, 2024

head spa treatment was amazing!