is. Salon Yaletown ★9.9

About the salon

Billed as Yaletown’s original boutique salon, is. Salon has built its reputation on two things done at depth: extensions and curly hair. The extension programme alone runs to more than forty shades across nearly every install method going, while certified curl artists handle texture that many salons still send elsewhere.

Services

The menu covers precision and curly cuts, styling and event updos, balayage, highlights, colour correction and smoothing treatments. Extensions are the headline: tape-in, sew-in, hand-tied, flex weft, infinity weft, K-tip and I-tip, plus clip-in options including halo and ponytail styles. Curly hair is cut by DevaCurl-certified stylists who treat texture as its own discipline.

Technology and brands

The salon uses Bellami Professional extensions and works across a strong professional shelf — Davines, Kevin Murphy, Wella Professional, Olaplex and K18 for bonding and repair, plus DevaCurl and AG Care for texture, Cezanne for smoothing and ghd for finishing. Many stylists carry brand certifications, so the technique is matched to trained hands rather than improvised.

Team and stylists

The salon is owned by Daniel Callighen, a stylist with well over fifteen years behind the chair who trained in Cape Town. The floor is unusually deep and multilingual, with senior stylists including Amy Liang, Cindy Bui and Sarah Fletcher, each with sixteen-plus years and their own certifications. Managers Christine Cruz and Tina Vuong keep a large team running, and stylists cover languages from Cantonese and Mandarin to Thai, Japanese, Spanish and Russian.

The Space

It keeps the warm, welcoming feel of a boutique room rather than a big-box floor, in the heart of Yaletown. With a large team, it stays busy, but the boutique scale means most guests settle with one stylist over time.

Who it’s for

It is a strong fit for anyone investing in extensions and wanting real choice of method and shade, curly-haired guests who want a certified curl cut, and multilingual clients who would rather be understood in their own language.

Questions and answers

Can I book online? Yes — appointments are available through the salon’s online booking system at any hour.

How long does an appointment take? A cut runs about an hour; extensions, colour correction or a smoothing treatment are long services — plan for a half-day.

Do you cut men’s and children’s hair? Several stylists list men’s cutting among their specialties, and children are welcome by appointment.

Can I combine services in one visit? Yes — a cut, colour and extensions can be sequenced together; request them when booking.

Do you sell gift cards? Yes — gift cards are available and can be applied to any service.

Opening hours