Mousey Brown

Citysearch Editorial Review

by Jean Tang at Citysearch

Homey, cozy Mousey Brown is the mom-and-pop of hair salons. Within the narrow, vaguely vintage space, customers peer out the window at McCarren Park while awaiting service. The staff, as relaxed as the clientele, includes one receptionist and a handful of deft stylists who double as colorists. There are no junior staffers or assistants on-hand, which means you get the full attention of senior hair care professionals from wash to blow dry. Committed to providing clients with exactly what they want, stylists encourage customers to show up with magazine cutouts and to describe in detail the type of cut (texture, length, celebrity look alike) they desire. So whether you crave a chic new do or a classic cut, be prepared to be specific.

08/27/09

Great cut, great color, great service!

by Tomorrowxx at Citysearch

I had a bad experience at the last salon and was nervous to try another. A friend recommended Mousey Brown and I've been twice now. I e-mailed Meredith for a consultation and she recommended Rita. Rita is down-to-earth, thoughtful, and understood what I wanted right away. When I got home, my boyfriend was all about my new style- he called me his 'new girlfriend'. This time I felt brave enough to get a some color done. I'm totally in love with the depth of color and the easy style. She made my hairstyle & color match my personality. I can't wait until my boyfriend sees me tonight!

• Pros: Quality, price, location, & friendly stylists
• Cons: none

04/23/09

Meredith is an alchemist of corrective color

by cerene13 at Citysearch

Meredith took my medium reddish-brown hair, with its layers and layers of dye in various shades of brown, red, and lame attempts at blonde, from several years of do-it-myself home coloring, and fixed it all up so that it is now a gorgeous shade of creamy, sandy, shiny blonde - the exact shade it was when I was a little girl. There are these super-shiny highlights just from the color she used! I didn't think it was possible. I had these persistent red highlights cropping up again and again, no matter what I did, and the thought of bleaching it out had always terrified me. But I finally got up the guts to do it, and Meredith was the only one I trusted with it. She's been cutting my hair for quite some time and she's always been very honest with me when it comes to what my hair will and won't do, and any maintenance involved in something. So I knew she'd advise me against this if it wasn't a good idea for me. Well, she did it. And I was surprised at how really well it all went... she got the color to come up beautifully in only 2 steps, and in just under 3 hours. I am THRILLED!!

• Pros: Real nice people, no snooty attitudes. Great atmosphere
• Cons: Nary a one that I can think of.

03/30/09

knows how to tame my wild hair

by miss1983 at Citysearch

went to see jen last week... she has been cutting my hair for awhile now and always does a great job. i have super thick, unruly hair and i can always count on jen to tame the beast. she does a fabulous job thinning my hair out so it is manageable and always gives great blowouts! have had her do color a few times as well and am always pleased with the results. A+

• Pros: left salon feeling like a super model with perfect hair

01/26/09

Jen is amazing!

by dandreagray at Citysearch

I just got home from an appointment with Jen. I LOVE my hair. I gave her a tall order - I have a massive amount of hair, and I came in with a nasty color that I wanted her to correct. She spent the better part of 3 hours coloring and cutting my hair - giving me exactly what I asked for color wise, and a really cool cut. She is also really nice to talk to, so the time flew by. I've never had such a good time getting my hair cut, and really appreciate the time and attention she was able to give my crazy hair. I would highly recommend this salon and Jen. I've been "salon hopping" for years now, but have found a home at mousey brown (and just in time for my wedding, thank god. i was afraid i would look terrible, but now I know I won't - thanks jen!).

• Pros: nice people, cool atmosphere, great cut and color.
• Cons: none to report. happy camper.

01/02/09

Love the color, love the cut!

by elcelc at Citysearch

This was my first time going to Mousey Brown, and I had a great experience, Andrew took his time, and listened to everything I had to say. I wanted a brighter lighter blonde and he did a great job on my highlights. The last time I had them done, it was much too subtle, and I made sure to make it clear that I wanted to be a blonde, not just a lighter shade of light brown. I'm really pleased. I can't speak firsthand to the skill of the other stylists, but Andrew was great and I've heard that Rita is good too.

• Pros: Comfortable ambience, excellent results
• Cons: Not cheap, but I guess you get what you pay for

12/17/08

DO NOT SEE JEN.

by veryveryunhappy at Citysearch

i went to mousey brown to simply get my hair trimmed and shaped. i was greeted by jen, who proceeded to be the most unprofessional hair stylist i have ever been to. as a stylist, you need to meet the customer half-way, however, i spent the entire time instructing HER on how to cut my hair. she charged me half price after cutting my hair dry bc i think she could read my disapproval and her own complete INABILITY/DESIRE to make a customer happy.

bottom line, it was the most UNPROFESSIONAL experience i've had. she cut my hair haphazardly, almost recklessly, at times, and now it is a complete mess. one side of my head is thinned, the other is a giant poof. while the salon is darling, and i assume their other stylists are far more capable, DO NOT SEE JEN, she will ruin your hair.

• Pros: decor
• Cons: JEN

09/28/08

Doesn't anyone apprentice anymore?

by aclient at Citysearch

I have pretty high standards when it comes to hairdressers - my Mother was a Vidal Sassoon trained stylist in London in the 60s and 70s - so I was super-excited to read about Mousey Brown and went there based on the good reviews on this site, overlooking the bad ones.

However, having tried out a couple of the stylists and having been there a number of times, I won't be going back.

Both a friend and myself have left the salon with mediocre, and in one case atrocious, haircuts. We are both very clear about what we do and do not want, even bringing in photos to help the stylist get on the same page. But it seems that unless you're looking for current, 80s, Williamsburg trends, you'll be unhappy. The stylists seem to be obsessed with jagged bangs and pixie-styled mens cuts. We both have pretty great and easy hair to work with so for either of us to have left looking the way we did, it is too bad.

I wonder if the lack in apprenticing with real artists is to blame for this. All the stylists I spoke with told me that their training was from short beauty school courses and years of "on-the-job" experience. Which may be why the price is so good - yet, perhaps it's an overall commentary on the industry in general these days.

Sorry Mousey Brown, I really, REALLY tried to give this salon a chance - I'm desperate for a good NYC hairdresser!

09/20/08

Awesome!

by Alej520 at Citysearch

I highly recommend Mousey Brown!! My experience at the salon yesterday was great. I just had my first day off in two weeks, just got over a really bad cold, was feeling pretty low, and was looking forward to a haircut. Friends had told me about Mousey Brown and I'd read great reviews but never got around to going. I've been looking for a salon and a stylist that I would like to keep going to but it's been so disappointing, my last haircut was super expensive and the color was not good at all, my hair was two different colors! I was a little nervous about getting my hair colored again but Lacy, at Mousey Brown made it look beautiful, she was able to get my hair back to its original color and gave me a great haircut. I'm excited about this salon, it's close to my house and the prices are more than reasonable, especially for the awesome work she did with my cut and color. Lacy is awesome and is very nice, and I look forward to going back.

• Pros: nice people and great work
• Cons: it's out of the way for people who live in the city or in another borough but worth the trek!

09/16/08

Mousey Brown

by consumerist at Citysearch

My stylist was very nice but gave me possibly the worst haircut of my life. She cut my bangs in one chop while I was looking down, which goes without saying left them INCREDIBLY short. She also single-processed my hair, which is curly at the roots and so stands a bit off of my head - it looked like I was wearing a hacked wig. When I expresssed to her how unhappy I was with the wig-look of my cut/color she admitted the bangs were shorter "than she expected" and after a very long stressful discussion said she would put in some lowlights - in a couple of days. I work in an office and this was unacceptable to me. The next day (Sunday) they called and said they would fit me in - she barely changed the color and had to thin down and chop into my already thin hair so it wouldn't look so fake. Like I say she was very nice - but I looked like a wreck for weeks after.