INARI Salon & Spa

Truly don’t understand all the hate for this place. I got a great cut/​style here last night. The blowout was one of the best I’ve ever had – the stylist, Israel, spent at least 20 minutes making sure it was perfect after he finished my cut. The shampoo by Blanca was also amazing! I will definitely be back. I don’t dye or otherwise treat my hair, so I can’t comment on that, but I would definitely recommend Inari to anyone looking for a salon downtown.

For several years I’ve been going to Inari, primarily to have my hair cut & styled by John. He is simply the best. And I love that whenever I call, I only have to give my first name, because the owner always knows it’s me.
This is a salon that is laidback, yet is always clean, bright and stylish. Treat yo self!

The ambiance here is good and they offer tea while you are waiting.
The chemicals present in the air during blowouts and so forth can certainly blow bystanders away.
I received one decent haircut here and 2 disastrous ones. Especially considering the cost, I would not recommend this place.

I booked my appointment a month before knowing that I was attending a function at the White House. The salon called to reconfirm, and I also stopped by to reconfirm in person the day prior.
A half hour before my appointment the owner called and said she «was trying» to reach me. Not sure sure what «trying to» reach me means? I had my phone on the entire time and there were no missed calls or messages.
She then proceeds to tell me that the stylist I had my appt with called in sick. Okay, stuff happens, but instead of apologizing and scheduling me with another stylist, she said there was no one else who can do my hair. This was at 10:00am and my function wasn’t until the afternoon. Considering they promote themselves as an «upscale» salon, one would assume that they would be able to accomondate as they cancelled on me. We are talking about a simple wash and blow-​out which would have taken about a ½ hour.
With bad salon management + bad customer service, Inari Salon wouldn’t last a day in my NYC neighborhood. Too many salons in DC to deal with this type of nonsense… find somewhere else.

I wonder why this place has 3 starts only. I love this place. Really clean, my hair dresser John McNett is the best (patient and makes sure I get what I want) and the service and attention are great. I definitely recommend it. Call in advance because they are always packed.

My INARI rating still stands. I haven’t been back, don’t plan to go either…
This update is just in response to messages I’ve received asking about the «salon in Vienna»…its called «Bellini»
Bellini
112 Pleasant St Sw, Vienna, VA 22 180
Phone number (703) 255‑2555

Here is a problem that I have not encountered in any other situation. So kindly bear with me.
I had put up with the obnoxious owner/​manager of this salon for a long time. Not sure whether it was because I am an emotional masochist, I am too polite to throw fits, or I am just keen on observing the diversity of the human nature.
Oni, is very self-​important, greedy, and lacks the basis skills of interacting with clients.
I can deal with self –importance.I find it highly amusing considering it can only be produced by mediocrity. She monitors her kinds depending on the clothes and designer bags you are wearing. This is just part of her wonderful simplicity of the mind. Greed, I am ok with it too. It is ugly, but hey, everybody is trying to make as much money as they can. But all of these unappealing traits however, time after time, being overcharged, etc… it starts getting old .
Now here is the twist! The staff is really nice. Especially Santos, Gary and Mai. They are professional, kind, friendly and my guts tells me they suffer too at the hands of their boss.
I highly recommend Santos for transitioning colors. He is really good and very cautious. So if you want all of a sudden change, he might not want to do it. He thinks of the health of your hair first. And that is more important than a certain color.
And if you’ve read all this saga, then thank you for your time :-)

Emily Duong and her expertise in lash extensions is incredible. She makes you feel relaxed, educates you on your options, and makes the entire experience painless. She truly is skillful and trustworthy in her work and understands and enjoys beautifying others so they could live more confidently with their new look. My lashes are very natural looking and many others have complemented me and seen the difference she has made for me. Definitely go try her out and see for yourself!

I wish it was possible to upload pictures on Unilocal so I could show people who are debating on going to this salon the burns on my scalp from the bleach, and the green tone in my hair! Save your money and your time!
I went in to get my roots done and some bleach run through my hair, during the process I kept saying my scalp was burning, but was told just to wait about 10 minutes longer for the color to process. Well when the salon was finished with my hair my scalp was on fire and I had burns all over! Not only that the toner was left on too long and my hair had a tint of green/​gray! Not being a confrontational person I left the salon wanting to cry, went to cvs to buy clarifying shampoo and washed my hair three times that night just to try to get the hue of green/​grey out of my hair! I also took pictures of the burns on my scalp and have reported it to the cosmetology board.
I called the next day to speak with the manager to tell her about this, and she told me to come in. Which I did, waste of time in traffic! To only go there and for them to tell me the burns on my scalp were my fault from washing my hair after it was done that night. WHAT?! No, the burns were on my scalp at the salon. They also told me my hair looked fine and only offered me half a refund on what I paid almost $ 300 dollars for! The owner/​manager is extremely rude and doesn’t care about her clients, and the stylist. I want to say her name is michelle didn’t even show her face when I came back into the salon.
Needless to say, I want to warn people NOT to go here!!! Its a waste of time, money, and your hair will be in worse shape than before you walked in!!!

Ugh! Are there any decent hair salons in this city?!! Just spent 100 bucks to have my roots done?! Are you serious? The dye is still stained on my ears and forehead. She spent 5 minutes scrubbing my forehead which was a hell of a lot longer then she spent on my hair. Amature hour! Glad this was just the test run. She couldn’t even spare a hair tie?! Honesty? Is this happening right now? It could have been worse! Avoid this place, save your money.

Still the GOLD STANDARD for
a) Lashes by Mai (xtreme Lash)
b) Keratin straightening by Donna
NO OTHER SALON can rival Inari in these two categories — trust me — I get around :)

The hair stylist kept me waiting for about 25 minutes but then gave me a great head massage. I was not very impressed with the outcome of my hair but the location is great. That being said, I found it quite expensive!

I have been seeing Melissa at Inari for my last couple of hair cuts and she is awesome. She is friendly, efficient, and thorough. I always love the results and feel really good about the experience. We’ve talked about getting a Brazillian blowout, but she’s never pushy and even encouraged me to wait until the summer months when frizz is the worst.
The manicurist, Nora (I believe?), is also the nicest lady. She always manages to squeeze me in and is kind and quick!
I’d definitely recommend them both.

If you decide to get a brazilian blowout, make sure your appointment is with Dana (or is it Donna. I really need to remember to get her card so I can get the correct spelling!)
I had my hair done right before my sister’s wedding in October: I wanted to tame my dried out, frizzy, coarse Filipino hair and turn it into a silky, bouncy, Pantene commercial hair. I was worried that it would be too flat and make my hair look thinner than it already is, but I was so pleased with the end result. It was pricey, but SO worth it.
Dana/​Donna warned me that my hair will be a little flat during the first few days, but that I’d get my bounce and body (with no frizz) back in no time. Sure enough, I was a little flat, a little greasy for the first two days. But then, suddenly, I was like a Pantene commercial. It took no time to dry my hair, I didn’t need to do anything special, and suddenly, I had hair so smooth and pretty that even my guy friends at work noticed.
I also like that Inari salon staff never tried to do a hard sell with their products: Onie pointed out the Brazililan shampoos and conditioners, but also recommended that I just need to make sure that my haircare products were free of sulfates and sodium chloride. Also, make sure your body soaps/​scrubs are sulfate and sodium free!
It’s been over 3 months, and my hair is still shiny. It’s not glass smooth as when I first got it, but I’m super pleased that it hasn’t reverted back to looking like I stuck a finger in a live socket. I will definitely come back and get the blowout before the summer season.

I’ve gone to a number of different salons for keratin treatment (specifically the brazilian blowout treatment) but Inari is by far the best. They do not offer discounts or coupons for the treatment like many other places, but if you are going to spend $$ on keratin it’s worth paying full price and going to Inari. They do a meticulous job and the keratin results have lasted up to 6 mos. for me after having the treatment. In contrast, the other salons I’ve gone to seem to rush through the keratin application process and they must water down the keratin product or use it far too sparingly because my hair doesnt seem to get the full benefit of keratin treatment (for example, it will still feel slightly curly/​puffy after the first few post-​treatment washes, instead of glossy and stick straight as it should be).
It is definitely worth paying more at Inari and getting the best/​longest lasting results possible from keratin treatment — especially if you are someone with very thick, curly, long hair like me.
Having the keratin treatment done right has literally saved me hundreds of hours of time previously spent on blow-​drying/​straightening my hair.

For three months I’ve been reading up on xtreme lash extensions and on Tuesday I decided to take the plunge and treat myself to a little pre-​christmas lash extension therapy. I cannot begin to describe how happy I am with the results.
First of all, Mai was incredible. She is the only trained xtreme lash extension person in the DC area and I can understand why — it’s a long process that required a great amount of concentration and skill, and she’s got it!
All and all, my lashes went from blah to oh-​la-​la… did I copy that from a maybelline commercial? Regardless it’s true. The process was a bit expensive, $ 350 for the first time, and around $ 100 every two months but I just feel so wonderful with them, and they look so natural!
I’d highly recommend it if you have the extra dollas to indulge :)

I waited an hour for Gary because he was triple booked. There was no apology, I guess he thought I didn’t notice. The style looked great in the salon, but I enjoy my visits to the salon more when there’s friendly banter.
Within a month of this appointment I went to 2 other hairstylists who couldn’t even tell I had a trim and told me I needed another one because it was a bad job. When Gary was cutting my hair *I* had to point out my layers to him as I could see he was missing parts of my hair.

One word-​Accomodating
Time – past 6 months
Quality – A
People-​watching – A+
Service – A+
Atmosphere– A+
I get my haircut with Cody all the time (he only uses scissors) and have been here for the past 6 months or so. He is great. They do a great job, the manager Onie, is awesome as well. I bought a styling product there (Kevin Murphy) and it wasn’t what I expected so she gladly told me that I can come in and exchange it for another product (and this was after 3 months when I bought it). Service is great, they are quick and timely.
I highly recommend this place!

I should have seen the warning signals when there were able to schedule a haircut for me right away.
I am still searching for a reliable hair stylist but I must have a sign on my forehead that says «looking for rodents to chew my hair».
My hair looks as if I dipped my hair in cheese sauce and happy DC rodents went to town. The stylist gave me a fabulous scalp massage and I was in total bliss until I saw the finished product.
On to another stylist…

With a snip snip here, and a snip snip there, I left with my hair bouncing more than Kardashians on a trampoline. Needless to say, I was more than pleased with my first visit to Inari.
I’m abusive to my hair. Like, Ike to Tina abusive.
But I’m trying to change. I need to care for my hair a bit more. Having my forehead burnt by the last salon I went to, served as a wake up call that I’m grown, and need to take care of my hair like a grown woman.
A couple of my friends have sworn by Inari and the infamous Gary, so I decided to give them a shot since their hair always looked great.
I was taken on time for my 2:30pm appointment and sent immediately to the washer. He did a good job, Not to rough, not too gentle and most importantly, controlling the water so that it did not mess up my make up or leave my shirt soaked. I also received a nice, hot oil treatment because my hair was in need for a good condition.
When it was time for my blow out and styling, Gary took over. He was pleasant and funny without being too much. He blew out my hair and styled it rather quickly without feeling rushed. After he was done, I went to the mirror, and realized I really should have requested a trim.
Although I had paid already and poor Gary had already slid off to the back for his lunch, he was kind enough to come back. give be a cute little stylish trim, so that my hair was healthy and finally with some shape!
While a wash and blow out is not particularly cheap ($ 57 with the hot oil treatment + $ 18 for the haircut), I felt assured knowing the people working on my hair actually care about the health and condition of your hair.
Additionally, I love that the salon is clean, bright with a diverse staff of people who all seem pleasant.
I will definitely return to get my hair diiiiid!