La Vii Beauty Salon

Howard, who was at La Vii in Chinatown, then in Daly City, is back in SF! You can make an appointment with him at Krave in the Outer Richmond by calling him at 415−310−2279.

For Unilocalers!
Exciting news! If you are looking for La Vii previous hairdressers: Jennifer, Cyrus & Grace.
All of them are located at SUNE: the deity of beauty!

(415) 681‑1188 (call them!)
Twitter: mysune
Facebook :
(Like them to update!)
I hope those information are helpful!

Howard has moved to:

This review is overdue, but I’ve came here twice for Yuzi, and I absolutely LOVED her. She was busy the second time I visited but it was worth it because she absolutely knows how to cut my hair. She was really nice to me, and I left the salon both times with gorgeous hair, exactly how I wanted it.
I’d definitely go back, but my friend told me she left the salon. :(Does any body know where she went?

I went back for the second time but the original stylist whom permed my hair left the salon. I was assisted by another and the experience was horrendous — horribly slow and impersonal service and regrettable frizzy results. It’s safe to say I won’t be coming back.

To preface my review, I have to state that I have typical crazy Asian wavy hair, where it basically takes any shape or curl that you DON’T want it to. As a result, I’ve had to tame my hair into submission since high school either through straight perms or daily straightening it myself with an iron. This ALL stopped last year when I came to Jennifer for the first time. I was a little weary since I’ve had more than enough of my share of bad Chinatown haircuts, but La Vii is way trendier, cleaner, and brings me back to any typical salon in HK (even the Chinese pop music/​concert playing on the TVs, and how everyone eats lunch behind the counter and shouts across the salon in Canto). Either way, I ended up with the first haircut ever where it went with the texture of my hair, and when it dried naturally, it looked like I had intentional waves. LOW MAINTENANCE HAIR, shampoo+massage, ALL for $ 20+tip! I was sold. I got two subsequent haircuts from Jennifer but unfortunately now she’s gone.):
I went to Howard last time and while I ended up with a good haircut, it is far from low maintenance, and HAS to be styled in order to look good. I’m debating whether I will stick with La Vii since Jennifer is gone now, especially since it’s quite a trek for me, but 5 stars when Jennifer was there, minus one now that she’s not.
Be warned that English is definitely a second-​language in that salon… if you’re not comfortable or used to that, then it might be best not to go. Cash only, btw. but they have a BofA across the street, and they’re totally cool with you running across to get some.

I wanted Jennifer to cut my hair; however, it turn out that she doesn’t work there anymore. =[ So instead I made an appointment with Cyrus. lol So far I had Yuzi, Jennifer and Cyrus that had cut my hair. I love all three of them and I trust them with my hair. Unfortunately Yuzi and Jennifer left and they were really good. So Cyrus is like my last hope. I enjoyed talking to him, while he was cutting my hair. He gave me what I wanted and I was satisfied with my haircut. I recommend him as your stylist!

I first started going to La Vii back in the grand old 2011. Boy that seem like a great time ago. Back then, I was young and full of optimism and life, thinking that I can look great having my haircut at an economical salon. With the full weight of Unilocal behind this salon, I waltzed into La Vii and asked for my hair to be cut to their highest standards.
What followed can best be described by an experience I had walking through the Taiwanese street markets. I remember when I was a child, I saw this machine where the butcher would throw a chicken into it, roll a big wheel, and the chicken would come out (almost) de-​feathered.
The hair cut itself is alright, I just wish it was more consistent. Getting the same barber, telling him the same thing, would actually guarantee you a different look each time.
Anyway, for $ 10? you can get a haircut and your scalp would be numb for a couple hours. A real slickdeal if you ask me.

It’s my fault for going to a salon where I can’t understand the employees and they can’t understand me.
I wanted my hair cut short, and I was okay with it even when my stylist cut off more than I had requested, but he gave me a bob cut that I didn’t ask for and tried midway to get him to stop doing, but he didn’t understand.
I will say that my stylist was SO nice and spent so much time with me trying to get it to what I wanted (after the fact…). But it was definitely a frustrating (and long, very long) experience.
If you think there might be a communication barrier, I would not recommend going here, unless you’re getting something really basic done. $ 20 is a great price, but if you end up with something you don’t want, it’s not saving you any money.
Cash only, btw.

I waltzed into the salon just before 6pm and asked for Howard. A friend of mine had recommended him. I didn’t have to wait even 5 minutes… apparently it gets really busy on the weekends and near the end of the week, so Mondays are a great night to go.
I got my hair washed, cut and styled for $ 20. Howard recommended I get the deep conditioning hair treatment. The treatment ran me another $ 35 but it was worth the price.
My hair went from looking like brown straw to angel hair! My hair has never been so soft, nor has it looked this healthy in a long time.
The staff is friendly and the salon ambiance is upbeat, but not overwhelming. A great place to treat yourself to a haircut after a tough day without breaking the bank.

Did hair straightening & hair cut with Jennifer. She was very thorough & also styles great!!! Compared to other salons in the city I’ve been to, she seems to be more «open» /​receptive to the style I really wanted & was very careful as she went along. Example when she was styling my bangs, she went slowly and would pull other strands in/​out to show me how it might look. She also gave a lot of helpful tips on how to style it on a daily basis + how to care for my hair when I exercise.
I also did the pedicure /​massage which was fine. The massage chair didn’t work but it didn’t bother me enough to remove 1 star — I came for the hair after all.
Bring cash! And they’re transferring location at the end of the year (no new location yet), so visit while you still can.

I absolutely HATE this place. I’ve been here about 5 times (I know, I keep trying to give it a chance because of the reviews and another place could be worse .) but each time I leave feeling disappointed.
— it is always super crowded and the wait is long, the staff doesn’t really pay you attention either
— i got a bob cut and it was CROOKED, and it was from Howard, who co-​owns the place so you’d think that he’d put more time into a haircut
— certain girls barely speaks english and they cut terribly, being that the cuts doesn’t look like the picture at all
it’s always a toss-​up at this place and i’ve either had decent or just really crappy cuts here. no bueno.

I went there for a digital perm last weekend. I was recommended to do a cold perm instead of digital so I gave trust to one of their hair stylists to do the cold one instead. Well, it came out not the style I really wanted. Now, I have to wait for a month to have another perm or to have a short hair style.
The person who manages there has bad — «cocky» attitude. In comparison, people who work there are nice and give good customer service. (0.5 point giving to people who work there)
Ladies…if you really want to get a perm there, think twice before you go there and try them out!
(Total point is 2.5 stars)

I’ve gotten a haircut here a month ago. I’ve never gotten my haircut in Chinatown before, but I decided to give this salon a go after reading Unilocal reviews. I requested for Jennifer, but it turned out she was out for the day. I chose to allow another stylist cut my hair. Bad idea.
Yuki was friendly; she could speak English. I told her what I wanted, and she listened. Too bad the haircut didn’t turn as well as her patience. The haircut was so bad that my friends asked if I attempted to cut my bangs myself the next day.
It didn’t help that the person blow-​drying my hair asked me why I had a lot of premature white hairs. (My white hair isn’t that noticeable unless you’re tossing my hair around– like when you’re blow-​drying my hair.) And he didn’t just ask me once. He asked me three times. Yes, that’s right. THREE TIMES– after I tried to laugh it off every time. Really now? He’s working in a hair salon, and he doesn’t even know what causes premature white hair? No, what is worse is that he didn’t consider that his words can be offensive to customers.
Maybe my experience could’ve been better if Jennifer was working that day, or if the person blow-​drying my hair actually had common sense. I don’t mind that I had to wait forever to get my hair cut (even though it was pretty late). I don’t even mind that the salon is disorganized, and seriously, I could care less about the cash-​only policy. But if you’re asking me to simply forget about the haircut that I’ve gotten here, I’ll have to pass. The only reason why I’m giving La Vii two-​stars instead of one is because Yuki was patient.
If you still insist on coming here, consider asking for the highly-​recommended stylists on Unilocal.Do not allow any hair stylist to hack your hair.

Spontaneously came in on Friday for a much-​needed trim. I’ve been here once before with two friends and we all got our haircut by Jennifer. This time I didn’t request for any particular specialist. A guy with short spiky hair washed my hair and for the haircut I got the guy with mid-​length bleached streaks hair. (Sorry I didn’t get their names!)
I just wanted a trim, more layers, and shorter side-​swept bangs so I told the guy that and didn’t have to provide any pictures. This was the quickest haircut of my life! It took him about 20 minutes to section off my hair and cut a few snips, then about 10 minutes to blowdry and cut my bangs. It turned out pretty great! I was really really satisfied with my haircut. From past experience, you just gotta be vocal about what you want and don’t want, even if it’s in broken Cantonese :)
Their shampoo/​conditioning is to die for! The first time I got more of a massage but the second time still felt ok. I really like the scent of their products. I guess you could say this place is pricier than other salons in CT which cost on avg $ 12, but I’d rather pay a lil more for a really satisfactory job! Plus, La Vii isn’t really even breaking the bank at all! $ 20 plus $ 3 tip and I left the salon feeling fab!
Maybe someday I’ll muster up the courage to get a digital perm… I have virgin hair and it’s really scared!

I’m usually skeptical about going to hair salons that are cheap. $ 20 bucks for wash, cut, and style? Should I?
Well, I went there twice. Both times just walking in with no appointment. I forgot who cut my hair last time, it was a guy with those emo Asian fob cuts. He’s pretty good in my opinion, I don’t know why I didn’t ask for his name for an appointment next time. I came with a friend, didn’t plan to get a hair cut at first. They were pretty packed on a Saturday morning, I waited for like 20 – 30 minutes until the next available stylist. They have a lot of magazines in the waiting area ranging from Japanese magazines, Chinese, and English. I chose a hairstyle from a Japanese magazine just for its bangs and just a trim for the bottom. He was able to cut my hair to look like the picture, adjusting it so it will fit my facial structure, took the time to straighten my hair to look like the picture, gave me tips on how to style my hair everyday. Pretty talkative.
The second time was a week ago. I brought my own magazine this time. Different stylist, I think her name was Grace. Not as satisfying with the cut. She had the general idea of what I wanted, but not so much on adding her own judgment on how to tweak it so it matches my face. I asked for an inch trim on the bottom just to cut off my split ends, but it seems like she had trimmed off three. Star gone for that. Star back for her styling my hair. At first she was going to just straighten it and let it be. I asked her about how I should curl my hair if I wanted it wavy like the picture. She explained it while curling each section. I do have a lot of hair even after a cut, so that took quite long.
I would definitely come back to find the first stylist.

First time at La Vii & the experience was great. I love my thermal reconditioning/​straightening treatment. It looks so shiny and healthy.
Came in around 1pm and the process took like 6 long hours. Got the $ 145 thermal reconditioning treatment that came with a haircut as well. My hair is super thick, dry and long down to my waist. I’m surprised how patient the stylists and assistants were at handling my hair. Even though I got passed around through 4 different stylists/​assistants, at least the end product was excellent. Cyrus was the main guy who worked on my hair. He was very efficient & super busy. My haircut turned out nice, but I should’ve let him work on the bangs a bit more since my bangs can never learn to be side swept (had forehead bangs before so my bangs were just a mess!!) Cyrus also got me a sandwich when I was hungry which was very nice. They also provide tea.
During the 6 hours, I watched hairstylists work on other peoples’ hair. Jennifer is amazing at her work, speaks English & she can definitely cut bangs. Cyrus is also good with guys’ hair, especially those with unique styles. I believe these hairstylists are all in their mid 20s!
The only thing that could be a problem is a lack of communication since they speak Cantonese/​Chinese. It also gets super busy, even for a weekday. Many young teenagers come to get their hair done so definitely come early or make an appt… and BRING CASH.

I’ve been shopping for a new hair stylist for quite some time now and I finally found her!
My friend referred me to Jennifer at La Vii. I got a hair cut and dye for about $ 80. The hair cut alone is only $ 20. She does quality work and its cheap! Totally worth it compared to my last guy which I wont bash on but I left him for a good reason.
They spent about 3 – 4 hours on my hair and even help me re-​dye the parts that used to be highlighted because it was a lighter shade from the rest of my hair. I had all my hair dyed a warm chocolate brown so it was important for me to have it even and one solid color. They made it happen here.
I love my hair cut! Jennifer gave me extra layers and we had a brief discussion about what it would look like and if I was sure of what I wanted before she started.
Just a heads up, this is located in the heart of chinatown so parking will suck. My friend said its better to come after 5pm to find parking but there’s plenty of metered spots around and that one parking lot where all the chinese seniors love to gamble outside.
I highly recommend Jennifer! She takes her time and she does quality work for a great deal.

I went here a few months ago in October to get a Digiperm from Jennifer. My boyfriend and I had just broken up and I wanted a change. I’ve had thick pin straight hair for my whole entire life! It’s so ridiculously healthy, that if I want to curl my hair with an iron. I have to burn it and kill it. I’ve been dreaming about curly wavey hair my whole life. Jennifer did an awesome job with my hair! I think I paid about $ 150 total? First she cut my hair, and let me tell you… I had second thoughts about getting a digi perm after the cut! But since hair does grow back… I felt like I should give it a try once in my life. I spent a total of 5 hours at the salon! It didn’t go by slowly because I had brought my laptop along to do some homework. They offer wifi! MAJOR PLUS!
I came during lunch time, and Jennifer asked me twice if I was hungry. because she would get me food. I declined twice, but that was very nice of her to offer! She also offered me a banana later on. She is such a sweetheart!
It’s been three months since I’ve gotten the perm, and it still curls perfectly! I’ve been using the product that Jennifer recommended also, it really helps with bringing out the curls.
The digital perm is honestly too much maintenance for me because I air dry everyday. I love it for the first two months, but I kind of want my straight hair back. I’ll probably be going in for permanent straightening soon. It’ll take me two years to grow all the curled hair out.
Forsure! I have found my hairstylist for the next few years though. I will bart and walk to Chinatown from Fremont just for a haircut from Jennifer!

Q. What is the number one most annoying thing about getting a haircut?
A. It only looks good for a time ranging a couple hours to about a week after
With this in mind I decided to wait a month after my cut at La Vii to Unilocal about it and am happy to report that it is still as great as ever! I’ll admit, I walked in with quite a snobby attitude with my nose turned up at the $ 18 price (cut + shampoo), expecting to come out with a fobby haircut and an «I-​told-​you-​so» to my roommate who’s been raving about La Vii for months now. I always like trying out those nicer salons just because of the ambiance but have realized that they really just don’t know how to cut Asian hair. So, for almost a quarter of the price, I got a haircut here that looks a bajillion times better =)
Granted, this meant that I had to sit there quietly while everyone around me gabbed about in Cantonese… but in retrospect the awkward moments were well worth it for a cut suitable for my hair’s texture. Lesson learned: Asian hair needs an Asian cut so if you are in the same boat as me I would recommend that you suck it up, say goodbye to the high-​priced salons and try to learn and accept that as an Asian you will always have your hair well taken care of for less than $ 20.