TONI&GUY Philadelphia Academy

This review is exclusively dedicated to Sardor Vafoev and some of his co-​workers
First impression: Mr. Vafoev is friendly, skillful, and professional. He gave a dope asS haircut to my teenage brother. Who is very stubborn and thinks he knows-​it-​all. Mr. Vafoev managed to pass my young brother’s defensive shield and convinced my brother to having haircut that actually looks good on his face.
Same day, I was in process of getting a haircut with another student. My haircut started as an experiment turned into a mistake. Second hairdresser: Jamal came to fix it but have to leave involuntarily before it can be completely finished. Jamal had a great attitude and he is there to help his co-​workers. No doubt.
Then came over Mr. Vafoev, to save the day for my «hair style.» He went over and beyond for the call of duty. This guy was about to go on lunch and Jamal was nowhere to be found (I think left for lunch). Mr. Vafoev came over and took time to fix my hairstyle. Given the fact that it was not his fault or responsibility to attend to me. But this guy looked out for his co-​workers, teachers (who suppose to be looking over their students work), and maintained academy’s reputation.
Second time: I scheduled two appointments for my brother and myself at the academy. But apparently, at nobody’s fault, there was a mix-​up. Mr. Vafoev didn’t get the proper memo about his haircut appointments. Regardless, Mr. Vafoev attended me and explained me the situation. Mr. Vafoev asked and recommended my brother to his brother «Shawn», who is also well talented as Mr. Vafoev. Before management can even get to me about any mix-​up, Sardor handled everything smoothly. Once again, my brother and I had a great time chatting and getting fabulous haircuts.
Third time and many more after that…
Mr. Vafoev has managed, without much effort, to keep providing top-​shelf services to his client’s and co-​workers. Mr. Vafoev has great personality, sense of humor, professionalism, and haircutting skills beyond any average student at the Tony & Guy academy. He is a true GEM of the institute. Mr. Vafoev has earned my respect and trust. Every time I go to Tony & Guy, for my appointment I tell Mr. Vafoev that, «My head is his playground for creativity» He can do any hairstyles he wants. I never get disappointed and walk away with the biggest EGO Bonner! This dude hooks me up with the most freshest and boldest hairstyles that align with my personality.
I love his honesty, as a student, if he knows that someone is better at one skill than himself ex. Hair highlights. He recommends his fellow students to me. I trust his recommendations. I will rather not have someone experiment on my head and prey for the best. I am a working professional not a high school kid. I was not surprise to find out that Mr. Vafoev is a student of Ms. Veronica Nunez, Tony and Guy instructor, who is major focus of my next review.
Psss… In my opinion, the only shortcoming Mr. Vafoev has is that he can’t give himself a DOPE– ASS haircut that he does for his clients.
Update: recently I learned that Sardor has been moved to night classes therefore he is not available during day time to do haircuts. This sucks! Maybe I will go on haircut strike till he comes back to regular schedule. We will see though.

It’s a hair school, but the instructors walk around constantly. Tough if you are natural like me, be specific and ask for a student who works with black hair. Very good place and I was surprised I got finished in less than two hours.

Memorial Day weekend! Hair ready! Hair styled by Miesha! Go visit her tell her I sent you!

updating my review to reflect the horrible customer service i’ve experienced since writing my initial Unilocal review. i received a voicemail from someone named ‘jackie’ who said she was the person in charge at the front desk. she apologized and told me that they wanted me to come back «as many times as needed» until my hair was what i asked for. okay… i get it… it’s a school, so they want to fix it before offering a refund or credit. i called back and got no answer, so i left a voicemail basically saying that this was over a week later & i obviously couldn’t go into work looking the way i did. i had already fixed it myself, and considering they have no nighttime hours & i live 45 mins away, it really wasn’t feasible for me to come all the way back multiple times to get my hair fixed anyway.
a few days went by, & i still hadn’t heard anything from jackie. called again with no success & left another voicemail. finally a few days later i decided to call the main number. the person who answered the phone promised me i’d get a call from someone later that day. i got a call from someone named ‘navly’ who kept trying to pressure me into getting another service done instead of getting a refund. she even suggested coming in to get an updo, which i laughed at because my hair is so short. and also, why would i drive 45 mins away on a saturday to get an updo on chin-​length hair?
eventually navly told me that she wasn’t able to issue a refund, and the only person who could authorize that was jackie… who still hadn’t returned my calls at this point. i asked navly to please have jackie call me asap to discuss a refund, & she told me she’d make sure jackie called. this was over a week ago, and still no response.
i understand that it’s a school environment and that mistakes happen. and honestly, i was able to fix my hair myself, so it’s not a total loss. the main reason i feel that i deserve a refund is due to the fact that i was asked to pay prior to the appointment being over, so i paid without realizing how bad my hair looked, and also because no instructor came by after the process to make sure i was happy… something i was told would definitely happen.
overall i’m not only disappointed by the dye job itself, but also with the poor follow up and customer service i received as a result. i guess the silver lining in all of this is that i learned a lot about processing and toning my own hair, and will probably just do it myself from now on!

I received a color & style from a very spunky student. She’s was very socially engaging and made me feel like she’s been doing it for years! I got a reddish color put in & the colors just blend so lustrously and natural. The salon/​school itself is very bright and clean. I would really recommend getting your hair done by Whitnee. She’s the girl that did my hair! The students are all over seen by there instructors and are around in case anything leaves you uneasy. Overall a great experience and Whitnee is a really sweet gal :)

I was called back because of the review I left here on Unilocal so they can help improve my experience.
I was given a purple ombré. We wanted some pink but that didn’t work out. I have dark purple hair and it looks very pretty.
Of course once again I had Adam do my hair again. It was fun and I was there from 10am-​4pm so be sure to go when you have a lot of time.

Ask for no one else but Pranvera!!! Again, I repeat… ask for Pranvera!!! She is brilliant with color and cuts. She is immensely competent in the beauty and styling profession. She is a true gift! I admire and love her work. Thank you, Pranvera. You are so AWESOME!!!

WOW– I don’t even know where to start. I will break it down step by step so I can touch upon everything.
When I arrived I had no idea what to expect but I was greeted right away and asked to sign in. I had an appointment set with Elle and I was asked to sit and wait a minute.
Elle came out and brought me to her chair– I explained to her that I don’t usually get my hair done (I have long hair and it’s way easier to go MONTHS without cutting than if I were to have short hair) so I asked her to be patient with me. I sat in the chair and explained to her my likes and dislikes and what I’d like to see in my hair. I really only gave her three outlines– no bangs, keep the length and don’t make my face rounder than it already is. With that, she pointed out several different things and gave me specific details about what she was going to do with my hair (WHAT a relief! It’s scary when the hairdresser just says theyre going to do what you want and you have no idea what that will be). I got a shampoo (heavenly– I felt like i was getting a scalp massage… sooo nice!) and not once through any of this did i feel rushed. Elle took her time on me and made me feel that she understood exactly what i was looking for.
She started cutting and talked me through the parts that I was nervous about. When she made the first few cuts she even SHOWED me how much she took off so as not to alarm me (as I was very cautious about the length). Even though I loved talking to her because of her friendly nature and ease to be around, it was so nice because the cut went surprisingly fast! Going to a hair school, I was expecting a ‘nervousness’ or hesitation in each cut from the hairdresser but Elle was fluid and acted like a complete natural.
Her chair was clean and comfortable and organized and she even swept the hair up before I got up! You can tell she takes pride in her work as well as the small details that go along with it.
Let’s jump to the best part ;) When she finished up, even BEFORE blowing it out, I had tears in my eyes. I struggle with self image and self esteem and this made me feel so incredible. It was dynamic and unique and I absolutely loved the layers and the length and the style– I couldn’t get enough of it! Elle took into consideration that I have «virgin» hair (never colored, don’t iron it or even really blow it out ever) and she remembered that so she made it a point not to use the iron. I really liked that part because in my experience when it comes to drying, the hairdresser usually just does what they want to do and don’t realize that it’s not something that I would necessarily want! She use the blow dryer a bit and finished up around my face and again– I was shocked and stunned and completely relieved. I feel GOOD about myself, what an AWESOME feeling :)
Ultimately I am definitely going back and will recommend Elle to my friends — I am no longer afraid of getting my hair cut and she made it the nicest experience I’ve ever had! Thanks Elle SOOO much, I am going to be taking selfies like a mad person!

Update– I was contacted by Toni & Guy after seeing I left dissatisfied to come back to get my hair color corrected. I am glad I did because I met an amazing and easy to talk to student, Adam, who listened to what I wanted done. Processing my jet black hair to a lighter caramel blonde took a little long, but definitely worth the wait if you are going lighter! I’m happy I gave them another chance because the staff/​instructors genuinely want you to leave satisfied and «smell» happy, haha. I am now obsessed with my new hair and plan on coming back for future touch-​ups! Eeeee!

I bought a groupon for $ 42 for full high lights, deep conditioning treatment and cut and blow dry. Awesome price and well worth it. The student who did my hair did a really good job and always made sure it was ok from the instructor first. The place is beautiful inside, all white everything.
The only reason I took a star off is because of the time length. It took 5 hours. I know they are students and all but it was a little too long.

I love going to Adrianna at Toni & Guy for all of my hair needs. The color always comes out amazing and it is exactly what I wanted! I would highly recommend her to anyone for color and cut!

I’ve been here twice. Both times were great experiences! If she’s not booked try to get Adrianna Vizzoni. She’s talented and very easy to talk to. Fair warning it is a hair school but the teachers come around and see the progress and offer insight. I think the best part is that they take their time you don’t feel rushed. Good price /​Great deal on #groupon