Getting a haircut in Ho Chi Minh City: what to ask before you book

2026.08.10Hair care

You have found a salon. The reviews look fine. But you are still hesitating, because the questions that matter are the ones you cannot answer from a listing page.

This is written from inside a salon in District 7. Some of it applies anywhere in the city.

1. “Will they actually understand me?”

Being understood is not only about a shared language. It is about the questions asked before anything starts: how many minutes you spend on your hair in the morning, how often you wash it, when it was last coloured or straightened. That is the consultation, and it is where understanding actually happens.

At emo. you can speak English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean. If you would prefer a specific stylist, say so when you book.

2. “Do they know how to cut my hair type?”

This is a fair question, and it deserves a straight answer.

Most of our clients have Japanese or Vietnamese hair, so that is the hair we handle every day. If your hair is very fine, very curly, or a texture that behaves differently from that, say it at the start and bring photos of cuts that have worked on you before. Photos of your own hair, on a good day, are more useful than photos of a model.

If your texture is one we see less often, we will tell you that in the consultation, and we will start on the conservative side. Length can always come off later; it cannot go back on.

What does not change with any texture is the consultation itself. We do not start cutting until we understand what you want to walk out with.

3. “What are the JP and VN prices?”

On the menu you will see two figures, marked JP and VN.

This is the point most often misread, so plainly:

JP is the price when you choose a Japanese stylist. VN is the price when you choose a Vietnamese stylist. It depends on who you book, and has nothing at all to do with your own nationality.

A Vietnamese guest who books a Japanese stylist pays the JP price. A Japanese guest who books a Vietnamese stylist pays the VN price. Pricing by stylist is how most salons work. Here the label simply tells you which stylist you are booking. Each stylist has their own strengths.

4. “Why is my hair behaving differently here?”

Almost everyone who moves to Ho Chi Minh City notices something. Hair that used to sit flat now expands. A blow-dry that lasted all day now drops by lunch.

Hair takes in moisture from the air, and when it does, it swells along whatever wave it already has. Healthy hair does this too — it is not only a damage problem. Three things you can change:

Dry the roots properly. Damp roots are where the shape collapses first.
Finish with cool air. The shape holds better than it does if you finish on hot air.
Don’t leave the house with your hair half dry. Hair sets while it is taking in the humidity around it.

Colour also fades faster here than in a cooler, darker climate — strong sun and more frequent washing both work against it. If you want an ash or cool tone, it is worth asking how quickly it will shift before you commit.

If humidity is the main fight, straightening, digital perm and treatments are all options here — ask at the consultation which one fits your hair’s condition.

Before you book, decide three things

How many minutes you will actually spend on your hair each morning. A cut that needs fifteen minutes of styling does not suit someone who has five.
How often you can realistically come back. Some colours and some cuts need a visit every four weeks; others hold for three months.
What you do not want. This narrows things faster than describing what you do want.

Booking

Our online booking page is currently in Japanese only. If that is inconvenient, please call or message us on Zalo. We can help you in English or Vietnamese.

emo. Hair Salon
14 Raymondienne, khu Starhill, phường Tân Mỹ, Quận 7, Ho Chi Minh City (near Crescent Mall, in Phú Mỹ Hưng)
Tue–Fri 9:00–19:00 (last cut 18:00) / Sat–Sun 9:00–18:30 (last cut 17:30) / Closed Mondays