Hair Salons
Korean salon on the third floor of Aberdeen Square, open daily from late morning to early evening. Go here for Korean perms, magic straightening and cut-and-color work; staff speak Korean, and the mall parking makes it painless.
Booking a perm or a straightening treatment means committing half a day, and that is the first thing to understand before choosing a salon. These are chemical and heat processes with long steps and no honest way to rush them. The difference between a good result and an expensive mistake comes down to whether the person doing it has run the same process many times on hair that behaves like yours.
Korean technique is a specific skill set rather than a marketing label. A Korean perm and a Western perm are built differently, magic straightening rewards repetition more than talent, and the color work assumes hair with the density and cuticle of most East Asian hair. Richmond has enough demand to support salons that specialize properly instead of bolting one service onto a general menu, which is not true of most cities in this country and is the real reason people cross town for it.
Aberdeen Square is the newer building on the No. 3 Road side, across from Aberdeen Centre and connected to the Canada Line station of the same name. Its upper floors hold small independent operators, mostly salons, nail counters, study rooms and dessert shops run by one or two people, with the service businesses clustered together on the same floors. Arriving without a car is genuinely easy here, which is not true of most Richmond salons. Book rather than walking in, and settle length and finish at the start instead of halfway through. Photographs communicate better than adjectives, particularly across a language gap.
In the Golden Village neighbourhood of Richmond.
Get directions (opens in a new tab)Keep exploring
Other hair salons and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
Third-floor Aberdeen Square salon run in the Japanese style, where the same shop does your haircut and your lashes. Women's cuts start around $68 and men's around $63, with keratin lash lifts and flat lash extension sets also on the menu.
View details
Busy second-floor salon inside Aberdeen Centre with thousands of reviews behind it. Strong on Asian hair texture, precision cuts and bleach work, and easy to pair with a mall trip since you are already parked underneath.
View details
The Aberdeen Centre branch of a Vancouver-area salon group, open seven days a week from late morning to early evening. Cutting, coloring and styling for a mostly Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking clientele, with walk-in timing that suits mall hours.
View details
Japanese-style salon in the newer Capstan Way towers, best known locally for its head spa treatments alongside standard cut, color and straightening packages. Expect long combined appointments rather than a quick in-and-out trim.
View details
A small No. 3 Road salon built around color work, from single-process tints to correction jobs people bring in from elsewhere. Appointments also include scalp massage and deep conditioning, so a color visit runs long rather than rushed.
View details
Tucked into the McKim Way plaza off Cambie Road, this is a phone-to-book salon rather than a walk-in shop. Cut, color and perm work for a largely Chinese-speaking local clientele, with plenty of surface parking out front.
View details
From the blog
Longer reads from the editor, with the places worth a detour linked inside them.
The Night Market's final season is the loud story. The quieter one: free admission at the Cannery ends Monday, Britannia keeps summer hours through Sunday, and Steveston does sunsets better than anyone.
Read the guide
Nothing on Alexandra Road is a secret. It is just in a strip mall with bad signage and no patio, which is why visitors never find it. Here is how I actually use Richmond's plazas and food courts, which specialists are worth the drive, and when not to bother.
Read the guide
The West Dyke Trail is about five and a half kilometres of flat gravel between Terra Nova Rural Park and Garry Point, and I ride it most mornings. Here is what is actually at the north end, which way to walk so the wind is on your side, and why winter is the better season for it.
Read the guide
Keep the directory honest
Own Korean Hair Salon Kangnam Style?
Claim the listing to confirm your details, add your hours and photographs, and keep what people find accurate.