Celebrity Sew Ins

Well damn! I didn’t realize they had been closed.
Last time I was here was May 2015. My weaves always came out flawless. My main complaint is the braiding. On the two occasions I have been here, I felt like my scalp was melting off my head. You can tell the stylist all you want to loosen up the braid but I am thinking it just comes down to training. Headaches for days.
All in all, weave installs were life-​giving. I provide my own hair ordered from Aliexpress. Sad to see them go, I guess it’s a good thing since I am now addicted to wigs.

They don’t know how to manage white girl hair. My stylist practically ripped my baby hair out. I got little bumps all around my hair line and had to have the hair taken out so I could loosen my braids. My scalp was sore for the following 4 days. Not coming back.

I have been here before when I lived in NY and figured I’d return since I was in town. I noticed a sign on the door, but I didn’t pay it any mind and proceeded in. I asked about pricing and was told it would be the flat rate for the sew-​in, plus a braiding fee, plus styling fee, plus tax. I was also told that it would be an extra 15.00 if I requested a certain stylist. I did the math and found the price to be way too much; in comparison to same services I received last I visited CSI which was about 7 months. I decided to seek service elsewhere that was no affordable and something told me to look at the sign on the door. It was a Vacate notice from the Department of Buildings! It reads «VACATE — Do Not enter. The Department of Buildings has determined that conditions in this premises are imminently perilous to life. This Premise has been vacated and re-​entry is prohibited until such conditions have been eliminated to the satisfaction of the department. Violators of this commissioner’s vacate order are subject to arrest.»
I’m sorry no hair do is worth my life!!! No wonder the shop was so empty

Another flawless installment done by the ladies of Celebrity Sew-​Ins. This is my third time returning to the salon and I’m still caught in a spell of satisfaction. These ladies aim to please. I reused hair from my first installment and the stylist worked with me and did an amazing job on my hair again. The wait was longer this time around because it’s prom season so the younger ladies were in the salon bright and early but I still give credit that these ladies move fast and work phenomenally on their clients hair, quicker than any other salon I’ve ever been to in New York. These ladies are professional and about their business. Every young lady walked out of there transformed beautifully and so did I. Thanks again ladies!

Please be sure to read my WHOLE review to make a conscious decision to come here. I have been coming here for a while now and my hair is always perfect coming out, I went about two days ago at my usual time and they were pretty rude and agitated… they wanted to go home REALLY badly… all in all that was the worst experience I had with this place to date my hair came out great but I really don’t like dealing with «black women attitudes» take your chances I guess you might get someone nice. I recommend Trisha.

Shay you are awesome. I can’t say thank you enough for being such a professional. I admire the way Shay handles customers which is important. Equally important for customers to show respect as well you get what you give…
Thanks for sorting me out with a beautiful install. I would have liked my tracks to be sew in a little tighter but honestly the staff had been working nonstop so I totally understand running out of steam for the final install. I have been looking for someone to do my hair for so long without having to glue in & fix the install once I get home. CSI will be my weave spot. Keep up the excellent work. You all have it down packed…

I came in but walked out.
Not my cup of tea.
I was running around looking for a reasonably priced sew-​in for an event. My stylist was running late and i was crunched for time, so i stubbled in here.
When i first walked in i was greeted by a girl who was very knowledgable abt the services offered, and SHE was the only reason why i actually stayed as long as i did. She made a damn good first impression.
While i was waiting i scrolled through the mixed Unilocal reviews. And compared it to what i saw in front of me.
$ 80 base price, an additional $ 15 depending on the braids you want, $ 10 for a net (99 cent in the beauty supply) and i think additional for a «style.» One girl walked out paying $ 135 for the sew in styled with a bang.
YES It is sort of an assembly line
1. Someone Braids
2. Someone else sews in and then style
This is what got me.
A natural was getting ready to get braided. She told the braider how much of her hair she wanted left out. And — -the girl who was sewing, basically stopped the girl she was sewing to walk across the other side of the room to tell the customer: no — -if she does that shes gonna get in trouble. –_​–
That was my sign to go.
But i sat… Until previously mentioned stylist answered her phone with «whats cracking», and began a vicious phone conversation that I’m sure no one needed to hear.
There were 2 braid girls, 3 sew girls and 4 customers waiting to be braided.
While the braid girls were busy braiding away, 1 sew girl was sitting in her bar stool staring into space. Hmmmm… having customers wait for hours while some employees stare into space is not a good look. If you can sew, you can braid.
Lastly, i didn’t want to spend $ 100+ and be unsatisfied, and argue with a stylist abt my leave out. I spend $ 90 and am always overly satisfied.
These 3 stars was for the girl who greeted me.

CSI has become my regular spot to get my weave done. Tameka lays and slays the hair. I came here for my birthday and I got the royal treatment! Came back again and I got just about the same service. I’m here now in the V.I.P. room about to get my hair done! I’ll definitely be back.

I visited CSI back in April for the InstaGlam on a weave I already had put in. I arrived when they opened on a Sunday morning and was started within 30mins. The stylists seemed friendly and the salon was cute and not too loud.
The service takes longer than 45mins, due to time under the dryer. I was satisfied and would definitely return again.

Let me start by saying that I had a great experience at CSI! I did have my doubts but my overall experience was absolutely great. Fridays there are no appointments so my sister and I walked in around the time they opened and my sister was sat down almost immediately and I waited for maybe 30−35min. Anyways, Tara (she has dreads) braided my hair awesome. Btw, I have very THICK AND FULL hair and she really did an amazing job making the braids fall flatter than I’ve ever gotten. My sister on the other hand my sisters braids were sorta fat and thick so another stylist made her take them out and redo them and cause of the hassle on my sister she got a free net for her sew in. It wasn’t too much of a big deal but they make sure they do a GREAT job the first time which I like. Next, Nicky sewed in and styled my hair. I mean she slayed it!!! I loved my hair, couldn’t stop touchin it. The stylist are super funny and friendly and I just loved the atmosphere. Overall I paid $ 115 ($ 80 for VIP, $ 15 for Elgin style braiding & $ 20 for the style ‘Ciara’). My sister paid $ 95 ($ 80 for VIP, $ 15 Elgin braid). Definitely a regular spot that I can trust!
Ps: I recommend the Elgin braids and look at the website for the list of styles.

I was searching for a weave salon for a while and I came across Celebrity Sew In. Today I had my install done and I’m 100% satisfied! My stylist Shawanda did an amazing job and is very talented. Not only did she make my hair look fabulous, but she is very personable and friendly.
The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because my braider did not communicate the difference between a «standard» braid and the «Elgin» braid. Nicole did a great job, but it wasn’t until after I requested smaller braids… When she began to braid my hair, I noticed these large braids in my hair! Then she tried to convince me they were standard braids… After I asked her to take out the huge braids she was trying to stick me with I then became satisfied. FYI– request the Elgin braids! They’re 15 dollars more but it’s worth it because the smaller braids will allow your weave to lay flatter.

This place was horrible! My poor scalp is still recuperating from how tight they braided my hair (trust me I can take some pulls). The staff here was very unfriendly and uninviting. I sat down to get my hair braided and the girl who braided my hair (Tara) didn’t say two words to me. As I’m sitting there getting my scalp butchered (which I complained about) I noticed how filthy the place was. Dust everywhere and the white couches were more like grey. Mold and watermarks all in the ceiling, just gross!
When I went to get my weave installed, again the stylist just put in my hair and didn’t even talk to me. This place is more like an assembly line for weave. In and out and on to the next. I wouldn’t be complaining if they did a good job but they didn’t. I had to go home and sew-​in some of my edges which the stylist missed. I ended up taking the hair out in 1 week b/​c my hair started to thin and my scalp was literally bleeding.
Never again! I don’t get what all the hype is about this place it’s horrible! And to top it all off one of the stylist there did not hold back to tell us about her personal life, how she was going to punch her daughter in the face when she got home, and that she didn’t want to install any more weaves that night b/​c she had to get ready to go out. Come on!

Back again… I guess I’m the loyal type. Seriously though why risk going elsewhere when I can count on my stylist to do things right… Meeka doesn’t disappoint! Came in around 10:30am and was out in 2 hrs… not bad at all. My braider (Tara) did a good job… was friendly and checked in with me as to if I was comfortable or not with her braiding style etc; love that! She braids tight but I did inform her that I’m not tender headed which she asked so no worries here, and I can chew food today Meeka was quick and proficient as expected… the whole vibe in their yesterday was chill and I’m more than satisfied with my new do!

I have been getting weaves for many years now so I know a good weave from a bad weave and this is just a bad weave…
I went in for a full weave with a closure. The braiding girl Ro was very nice, but come to find out at the end of my braiding session, my part was crooked! It wasn’t just a little off, it was VERY off to the left so there’s no way I could have a flat and even middle part without seeing the braid!
Patricia the stylist was very nice and tried to make the best out of a bad situation, but I was not very pleased with the end result but tried to suck it up and hoped that it would grow on me over the next few days… Well it’s two weeks later and I’m still not happy! I went in wanting a natural looking weave and left looking like I had on a wig! If I wanted to look like I have a wig on, I would buy a wig!
Two weeks post install and the closure is very loose at the front, exposing the braids making it necessary for me to wear a headband to cover it everyday.
I was on a tight budget and decided to give CSI a try after crunching the numbers of going to my regular stylist of 10+ yrs vs the cheaper CSI. I should have sucked it up, skipped on a night out and just paid more to go to my regular stylist. This is a mistake I will not make again. Thanks for nothing Celebrity Sew Ins!

After scanning the site over and over again I decided to take myself over there and see what happens. I was greeted immediately with a friendly tone and everything was explained. I choose my services and i was in the braider chair in under 5 minutes. I am very pleased with the service at Celebrity Sew ins so why not 5 stars? Not everyone is a closure specialist and i know this so outside of not having a natural looking closure i was happy with the rest of my install. I am definitely going back.
Tip: Make sure you get the Elgin braids for a flatter install for straight hair.

No secret that the location of this salon is not the best but that aside, my experience here was pretty good! I just returned from abroad and had NO intention of dealing with my hair for the next several weeks. So I walked in without an appointment mid-​week at about 4:00pm and was promptly seated to be washed. Soon after, my natural hair was cornrowed and «the net» was sewn on. I carried my previously purchased hair and was surprisingly happy with the end result… a cute, curly blow out!
So I was out of the salon in about 1.5 hours total as a walk-​in and with a full head weave?! Unheard of! THAT to me was impressive. The price points are crazy reasonable also. My only complaint was that my «hairtender» was not super professional (side banter about work as well as personal stuff), but she was nice enough and quick! And totally deserving of her 20% tip.
The thing is, curly sew-​ins are much different than straight with regard to detection, so I cannot say whether or not my installer was the best or even very skilled at her craft. You can get away with alot of mess, so to speak, with curly hair… but in any event the sew-​in is still holding up at 3 weeks in plus I get tons of compliments. The tracks are actually starting to become slack, which is normal I guess. I have no intention of tightening since I will be taking this down at the 5-​week mark. This place has a few kinks to work out and although I am not a regular weave wearer, CSI has my vote for a quick fix. I would recommend.

I went here yesterday to get my hair done and was very pleased with the overall experience.
There WAS a big problem initially when I got there (they didn’t have any hair available there to buy!), and that was pretty frustrating. Their website specifically says that they sell hair there, which I was planning on doing so I could have a stylist help me pick out the best color for my hair.
HOWEVER, one of the owners showed up and actually drove me in her car to a nearby place to buy some hair, which I thought was excellent customer service and I really appreciated it.
I liked the girl that did my hair (Patricia), and she did a great job. I will definitely be back!
I WOULD definitely advise that if you are going, call in advance to see in they have hair, since I was informed by the stylists that this seems to be an ongoing issue.

The good: The stylist and mangers are all really nice, charismatic, and personable. The décor is cute as it’s set up as a «hair bar».
The bad: Considering that I’ve only had my hair done for 2 weeks and multiple tracks are falling out I’ll say that it’s pretty bad. I paid around $ 250 for weave removal, wash, hot oil treatment, and another installment. 2 people worked on me. One who washed and braided and another who sewed the weave in. The person who washed my hair didn’t comb it out well enough and that’s a BIG no no. We spend several hours detangling and rebraiding it. She even asked if I wanted to comb my own hair at one point. Fun fun. The person I saw to sew my hair told me it was her first time sewing a full head weave. Seeing as that’s what I was getting that comment was everything I wanted to hear from a stylist. (Sarcasm)
The ugly: Location. Terrible. I’m new to New York and as I was walking from the subway I thought I’d get shot. I’m not joking.
So to make a long story short, my advice is
unless you stay in the area and are looking for a quick fix, avoid. Even then there are several other salons in the area. I wanted to like this place I really did. But $ 250 for a weave with a 2 week life span is a deal breaker.

I’ve had an installation and two maintainences thus far. My stylist is Shawanda. She’s skilled, friendly, professional. I’m definitely going to continue as a patron of Shawandas. As with all businesses they have kinks to work out.
1/​2015, now that the policies have changed and I can’t choose my stylist on any given day I no longer patronize CSI. Shawanda is no longer there. But it’s ok because she is @hairbystc, thankful for social networks!

I’m walking down the block and I notice a huge sign with Elgin Charles face on it. «Hmmmm… I know this guy from somewhere» I said to myself then kept walking. I past by there again and then it hit me, Elgin had a show on VH1. After about a week and a half of passing there curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to stop by and see what this place was all about. I was immediately greeted by the receptionist. She was very professional and thorough with explaining how the salon operates. After having a 15 minute conversation I was sold! I made my appointment for the following day (well not really an appointment, they take, and encourage walk ins, so I told them the time I should be «walking in»).
Celebrity Sew Ins is an express extension bar literally. You come with your hair washed and blow dried (or they can wash and blow dry it for an additional fee) and they get right to work. I didn’t really have to wait long, which was a plus. The stylist was very professional and not very chatty (thank God). I hate having to hear what the beautician did, plans on doing or their drama from the night before. It was a very relaxing experience.
The salon was very clean (almost too clean) with pure white everything. I love that I didn’t have to walk into a cloud of smoke the minute you entered the salon nor did the smell of burnt hair saturate the air.
They sell hair which is a plus and they use the Elgin braiding technique which gives you a more natural looking weave. They also offer 10% off your sew in price when you purchase their hair.
I think its cute that they refer to their stylist as «hair-​tenders» because the salon is kinda set up like a bar.
Its located in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn (don’t get scared) so of course they don’t stay open too late (When I went they took the last person at 5pm but I’m pretty sure they stay open later than that on certain nights). It wasn’t really crowded when I got there but I’m expecting business to pick up very soon since they have such affordable prices (weaves starting at $ 55).
They didn’t braid tight, but it wasn’t loose either. The braids weren’t bulky which is another plus and they laid really flat. My tracks weren’t sewn in really tight (no headache for me yayyyy!). They were comfortable and felt secure on my scalp. I was able to go to sleep normally that night and not have to sleep with my head up like Halle Berry in the movie «BAPS». The next morning they were still secure and in place (doing my happy dance).
Overall: I definitely plan on returning! I just hope that I can still get an appointment once everyone finds out about this place.
Side note: I really appreciated the fact that they treated everyone the same. Not once did the receptionist nor the hair-​tenders mention Elgin Charles, Tasha Marbury or the show «Basketball Wives.» Usually salons like to brag about having celebrity stylist and celebrity owners. This salon lets their work speak for itself. Keep up the great work.