William is incredibly kind and talented! I just ask him to "do whatever he wants" and I always love the results. The layers he gave me allow me to not have to 'do' my hair much at all - it falls into place perfectly. Thank you, William for your heart and your skill. So grateful I've found you! read more

Blowouts by Billie - A week post haircut and it falls perfectly - no product needed. Thank you William! - Hair Stylists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

THE RUDEST WORST PERSON I HAVE EVER MEET. Doesnt care what their customer wants, they just wanna do whatever they wanna do. Doesnt have much experience, wasnt sure what they were doing and then after cutting 5 inches strand of hair, GAVE UP. Saying i cant do it. Wasnt even able to properly clip my hairs, doesnt know a sh*t. Literally made me wait half an hour even tho i had the appointment to leave my hairs in middle. Professionalism?? Nope experience? Nope Rude? YUP read more

Blowouts by Billie - Hair Stylists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

LMAO now I see I shouldn't have mentioned the groupon promotion *rolls eyes* nevermind then, don't use him lmao

My mom recommended me to William. I wanted a brownish highlight balayage color with a gray undertone. I also had extensions that I wanted to be colored the same as my hair. I explained that to William over the phone and we set an appointment on April 15 at 12:00 pm. I text him the morning of the day I'm supposed to get my hair done to confirm the time. He calls me THE DAY OF, 3 hours prior to my appointment, to tell me he's not comfortable coloring my extensions. I know different stylists specialize in different things, but it's not rocket science to color human hair weave. Js. So he told me one of his coworkers could color my weave. I give her a call and she didn't pick up. He calls me back after I offer to dye it myself (if he sent me the correct color that he will use) and I told him she didn't pick up so I thought we still had an agreement that he would still do my actual hair. He never canceled. Then he says to come in at 11 because he has another client at 12. So you mean to tell me you double booked??? And now you have to try to fit me in? Unprofessional af. So I call him when I get there at 11 to ask him what floor he's on and he tells me "I'm just leaving the house I thought my coworker was gonna take care of you" huh???? Like did you even communicate to her that you were gonna send me over to her and I even told him that she never picked up the phone. So I wait and he comes in around 12 I show him what I want again which was a balayage I said I like how more color is at the bottom and it's highlighted going towards the top. He refuses to listen to me and tell me he's just going to do highlights (basically say forget what you want imma do it my way) and that it's the lighting that makes her hair look that way lol. Mind you, he brought in an ash blonde hair dye and what I wanted was brown. He also tells me if I wanted that it would be 300 dollars (which he never mentioned even after I sent him a picture 2 days prior of what I wanted) and he said "you got 300 dollars?" Wtf! So he does my hair and I thought it came out pretty nice color AT FIRST. He rushes through my flat ironing process it took him 10 min. Most stylists I've been to takes 30-45 min. Again, he took 10! My hair was rushed it's not as flat as I get it ON MY OWN. And I'm not a professional. My part is not even straight tbh and nothing for my edges either. The color isn't even as cute as I thought it was when I walked in the sun. Don't recommend him at all very unprofessional and kinda rude! I paid a lot for a cheap ass job. And he seems like he doesn't care about his client's happiness. He made me feel like everything was my fault when it wasn't. Here's some pictures of what I can wanted and what I got lol read more

Blowouts by Billie - Hair Stylists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I hate to do this, but I have to knock the star amount down. He is still a great stylist which is what really matters (hence the A-OK on the star-o-meter). So, what's got me riled up enough to update my review?! He's usually running late (and, on the weekends, very late). I just want to prepare people just in case they're in a hurry or need to get their hair done. NOTE: The only thing I get done to my hair is a wash/condition and a flat iron with loose curls. No cut, relaxer, or anything else... 1st Bad Experience (appt @ 1:30; never got taken care of): 12:00 pm: It's Saturday afternoon, and before taking the 45 min trip to the salon, I call ahead to make sure he's running on time. Nope, he's running late, but only by an hour. That's okay. I take my time getting ready, since he should have me in by 2:30. 2:00 pm: I head downtown and do some shopping at Macy's to buy some time., 2:30 pm: I stroll into the salon an hour past my original time ready to get my hair done. I walk in to find 2 people waiting in the lobby area, 1 under the hair dryer, and 1 getting their hair styled; all of them William's clients. I decide to ask how long until he will get to me, and it's going to be another couple hours! If you're running late, text someone and tell them. I'm guessing after the first person runs over, so does the time for everyone else. 4:00 pm: This would have finally been the time I had started to get my hair done. Didn't happen. I left after he told me it would take me that long! Let's just say I was not happy and I left pretty pissed off. No apologies were given or a discount next time or anything. Sooooo, you'd think that would be it for this salon right? No way. Remember in my previous review, William styles my hair great. So, I tried again and again until... 2nd Bad Experience (appt @ 10:30a; finally done at 1pm): 9:00 am: It's Saturday morning, and this time I get a call saying he's running late, and he'll be a half hour late getting to me (so, instead of 10a, it will be 10:30a). Okay, no big deal. I was just about to leave, so I go back in my place and continue cleaning (or, whatever I do on a weekend morning). 9:30 am: I head downtown 10:30 am: I arrive 30 minutes after my scheduled time, and walk in to see that he is just washing the client's hair that is right before me. That means it will probably be another 45 minutes at least before he gets to me. So, I sit there (I always bring stuff to do now). 11:00 am: Top o f the hour rolls around, and his next client shows up. 11:30 am: Time keeps on ticking by with comments saying that it will only be another 10-15 minutes. I've been there an hour and the other client sitting next to me for a half hour. He comments that we're in a salon, and we should know that it never runs on time. I disagree; I've been to salons, and never had to wait because the scheduling was organized. Okay, back to the rollout of events. Turns out that my "next door neighbor" here needs a relaxer, and her hair's short, so he pulls her in front of me and takes care of her. 12:00 pm: Both clients are gone and it's finally my turn to get my hair done! But, any precious time that would've been spent on my hair is interrupted when his 12pm appointment shows up. 12:45 pm: My hair is done, but not up to par as it usually is. I came in for a wash, flat iron, and style, and came out with hair that didn't hold the curls and is poofy. It was the first time that I can say that William did not do my hair good at all; I had to pull it back because it looked like something I could do myself (which we all know is why I go to a stylist). ALL IN ALL, He's a great stylist if he's able to take his time. However, he overbooks himself, and doesn't remember who's getting what done on their hair which means the scheduling just doesn't work out. It's too bad though, because he HAD a lifelong customer in me. read more

I can't with the tardiness. Here is my tale of this stylist. Appointment #1 he was late by FORTY-FIVE minutes. Not a typo. Four and then five. 45. But I let it go because anyone can be late once. From there a pattern formed and continued. Whether or not he'd be on time was anyone's guess, and he actually turned out to be late more often than not. So I guess it's not anyone's guess; if you're a gambler, bet on late, because you've got better than 50/50 odds. The best part is we're not talking 10 min here; we're talking 30 min+ routinely. At one point he had triple-booked, causing the appointment I set for 5:30 to not end until almost 9:00. I was in there for a retouch relaxer and a trim, y'all. Could have been out of there a lot faster, but I had to wait around while he pretended he had 3 sets of hands. One time he had forgotten about me entirely. I showed up to the salon and he was plain not there. I texted him to ask where he was and was told he forgot to write down my appointment. Okaaaay. Repeated lateness was bad enough, but being an all-out no show now? On top of that, there have been at least two occasions when on the day of, literal minutes before the actual appointment he's asked me if I could change to some other day. How about no? Things change, fair, but when I book an appt a week in advance, don't ask me 90 min before I'm supposed to show up if I can change on multiple occasions. So. Much. Nonsense. So you may be thinking, "Dearest Melba, why did you keep going to this man if he couldn't get his act together?" Sadly my answer is I'm lazy. I'd found someone who did a great job with my hair, the salon was close to work, the prices weren't too crazy, and knowing how damn hard it is to find a good black hair salon in a convenient location, I just dealt with it. The final straw was the one time after 1.5 years I was the bad guy for a change and ran a little late. I sent a text letting him know (traffic was worse than usual, and my Uber driver didn't help by getting lost), and instead of asking me for an ETA, or saying okay, or rescheduling if the time wouldn't work for him, or behaving in any other sane manner, he blew up my phone nonstop (you should see the call and text logs - they're ridiculous!), then threatened to charge me a late fee. Okay, if we are charging $15 for every time someone is late, then his fees have more than paid for a free appointment altogether. Maybe I should call him for that free relaxer. I let him know that as many times as he's been late, if he wants to charge me that, I'm glad to take my behind home. He waived it. After getting my hair done, I paid him exactly what was due (no tip) and never went back. I was already getting sick of him being disrespectful of my time, and that just sealed it. The actual quality of the hair styling is 4 to 5 stars, easily. But the customer service and respect are an absolute zero. So you ask yourself how much BS you're willing to put up with. If a lot, then have at it. You'll be good here. If anything less than that, keep it moving. There are other options. read more

In the land of hair care, there are few and far between a great stylist. The bar gets raised quite dramatically when were talking about natural hair and African American hair care! William does an excellent job! Dare I say he has the golden touch? I was in and out of his chair in 1hr, maybe even 57 minutes! I looked fabulous. William is gentle with natural tresses, very personable, and knowledgeable. The salon owner Juan was quite friendly as well! Should I ever become a celebrity, rich or famous, or too important to book my own appointments, I'd snatch William up in a heart-beat! Everyone woman needs one of these: 1. Great eyebrow person (check) 2. Amazing hair stylist (check) 3. A full-time gentleman as your boyfriend/husband (working on that) 4. A knock-your socks off career (pending) 2 out of 4, not bad...I'm 50% there!! whoo hooo! read more

I wish I could have given more than just five stars! Let me just say that William is the truth! From the time I walked in the door to the time I left, I was treated like a princess. He did exactly what I wanted (hair relaxed/ends cut/cute Bob, graduated/stepped haircut in the back of the Bob) He left my hair with more "bounce to the ounce"! Salon 29, Hair Care by William is definitely a hidden gem AND I'm so very happy that I found it! More importantly I want to thank everyone on YELP who left reviews for Williams because if it wasn't for the reviews I would never have found him. Thanks again William for hooking a sistah up! read more

I totally missed reviewing William! He did my hair in November, he was prompt, polite and punctual on my time! He explained what he was doing and gave me a good education on my hair care. I have sent my sister in to see him and now my neice. He's one for your ;'go to' list when you need quality and quickness. A real sweetheart. Highly recommended! read more

An absolutely horrible experience! There were several moments where I knew I should have just walked out in the middle of him attempting to do my hair, but I didn't which is what I am now regretting. The fact that he is on groupon says a lot. I was supposed to get color in my hair. I came in with black hair and left with black hair. He had this book and told me to choose a color. I chose a nice auburn because that is the actual color I wanted my hair. Afterwards when the color didn't come through, he says it's because I have dark hair. Really? As if he didn't know my hair was black from the beginning. As a professional you should be able to dye someone's hair the color they choose and make the appropriate adjustments if needed. I also got my hair flat ironed. I have curly hair and my hair is pretty fine and does not require a lot of heat. When he was done...my hair smelled burnt. It was horrible. I wanted to wash my hair but I had already paid for color I didn't get and paid to get it straightened. His customer service is not the best. Some may find him entertaining but he's more obnoxious than anything. By far the worst hair experience I have had. My search still continues for a decent hair stylist in the city...... read more

Love William! I come every now and then for a blow out and flat iron job and he is great. Wonderful soul, great personality, quality service and amazing skills! He offered me a nice glass of red wine before my serviec which was nice to have after a long day of work. He is so funny and always has something funny to say. His personality is one of the main reasons I'm a regular. I love william!!! read more

I absolutely disliked the hair style I got. I brought a picture of the hair style (pixie cut with curl with my natural hair) the cut looked nothing like what I ask for, instead I got a 1950s basement pixie cut it looked horrible. in all I was very disappointed, very much a waste of money. read more

Where do I begin. I actually created a Yelp account JUST to review Hair Care by William. I moved to Chicago 5 months ago from Atlanta, which is HAIR CENTRAL. I had no clue where to go to get my hair done, cut or permed. This pass Friday I got a super craving to have my hair cut (plus my color had dried out my hair). I looked up different Bob styles and found pictures of some I loved. I then got on my laptop and Googled "ethnic hair in Chicago, African American Stylist in Chicago"..and soon came across Hair Care by William. it was 10:50 at night so I decided to call and leave a voicemail on the shops machine. To my surprise, this number was a personal cell number and William picked up. I apologized for calling so late and he assured me that it was no problem. He then asked what services did I want and asked how I've liked Chicago and set an appointment for me the following morning. I was very happy to get an appointment that fast. The next morning I arrived at the shop a little before my scheduled time (just in case I got lost or if the bus line were running slow) and I immediately sat in the chair. He combed thru my hair to see the damage and prep my head for a relaxer. The TOTAL experience was awesome. My appointment was at 11 a.m., and by 12:50 I was on Michigan Avenue walking back home. Never have I ever received a relaxer, a serious cut, conditioning and style in less that 2 hours..accompanied by great convo. William and I literally bonded like we had been friends for years. The shops decor is almost like walking into a retro modern art gallery. Beautiful! And the owner, Juan, is the other stylist on duty. He was also nice as ever and the whole shop (Caucasians, African Americans and Asians) were all immersed in conversation. AWESOME location (loop, right beside Staples and TJ Maxx) and awesome prices. William even arched my eyebrows while I was at the shampoo bowl. This was the ULTIMATE experience and I love my Bob haircut. I live in the Gold Coast so the shop was a 15-20 minute walk home, that I decided to make since it was Sunny. I was back home before 1 p.m. and received at least 4 compliments on the walk home. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! read more

Got my haircut from William today and I loved loved loved it!!! William is such a good soul and super good stylist. He exactly knows what will look good on you. At every step he was explaining what he was doing. I am definitely going back next time. Thanks William! read more

William will lay hands on the hair Boo! I can't believe he haven't been scooped by hollywoods finest. Ladies you get hair care, patience, hospitality, and your monies worth baby. I'm from the east coast and William made me feel at home. The salon is chic and the music is right. Love his work and so will you. The only negative I hate to leave cause I love our tea time. LoL read more

William is a very nice man and I cannot recommend his service. I am transitioning from chemically relaxed to natural hair. I am new to Chicago and visited William for the first time for a shampoo, cut and style (blowout and flat iron). I asked for the few remaining inches of relaxed hair to be cut from the ends. While my hair was still wet, he seemed to randomly cut the relaxed ends in no particular fashion. My hair looked misshapen when he finished. I asked if he'd be cleaning it up once my hair was blown dry and he said yes. After sparingly using a wide-tooth comb on my wet hair, he proceeded to blow-dry it. Again, he followed no particular method or system. He started at the back, took a brush to it, and started blowdrying. He didn't thoroughly detangle my hair first or section it off before he started blow drying the first section. He just pushed the rest of my hair forward on my head and would pull down new sections with the brush or his fingers without parting or sectioning it with a comb and clipping the rest of the hair out of the way. He was rough on my hair with the wide tooth comb and the brush. He kept hitting snags and yanking through them rather than gently detangling them. When he finally finished the blow dry, my hair wasn't very smooth. I've been to other stylists who blow dry my hair and it is so smooth it looks like it's already been flat ironed. Not the case with William. After the blow-dry, my hair still looked really unfinished. He began cutting my hair starting in the back, then worked his way forward, and didn't seem to have an organized approach to it. The sections he took seemed thick. The scissors he used didn't seem like professional quality cutting shears I've seen before. His hair cutting technique wasn't like I've seen previous stylists use either. When he finished, I had to tell him the front and sides weren't symmetrical. Only then did he attempt to make them so. It didn't seem like he ever made it. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, so I remained patient. After the blow dry, he began flat ironing my hair. As he would iron it, he would take sections and cut the ends. Straight across and blunt. Without blending the piece into the rest of the hair as he cut it. I thought this was wrong. Then he'd do it again. I asked him what he was doing and told him I was nervous about how he kept cutting ends seemingly randomly. He claimed now that the hair was straight, he could better see the relaxed ends and wanted to get them all off. That made sense, but cutting the sections randomly without blending it into the rest of the hair did not. This explains why my hair now has choppy "layers." I typically have subtle layers cut into my hair and from watching other stylists do it, have an idea of how the hair is cut, what it should look like, and how the hair should fall once finished. The layers actually "lay" down and are smooth and make the hair fall nicely into place. After William cut my hair, the "layers" look like stair steps. Like sections were blunt cut one on top of the other. You can see a line where one section of the hair is one length, then the section above it is a shorter length. It's an obvious demarcation rather than the different hair lengths being blended. After leaving the salon and the body falling out of my hair, this bad haircut became even more obvious. Foolishly I gave a generous tip, out of habit. That's my fault. It definitely wasn't deserved. The work was shoddy. I was in the salon for three hours. I had an appointment and arrived on time. When I got there, William was shampooing someone else's hair and another client was sitting in the stylist station chair, waiting for him to finish her hair. I was probably there for about 20 to 30 minutes before he started my shampoo. I don't even have that much hair anymore, now that the relaxed ends are cut. It's barely to my shoulders now. So 3 hours is way too long to be in the salon. When my hair was much longer, the stylist I went to would have me in and out in less than 2 hours, usually 90 minutes. The salon itself is very well maintained and nicely decorated. It's in a good location downtown, very close to the train station. Easy to get to. Again, William is a very nice man. Easy to talk to. Very polite and entertaining. And I will not be going back to him though. I am not happy with how my hair came out AT ALL. In hindsight, I should have told him this and I didn't. When I came home and put my hair up into a ponytail and it didn't hang right, that cinched it for me. Now I need to pay money again to see another stylist to fix this haircut, and blend the choppiness William cut into my hair so it looks like a layered style is supposed to look. read more

Unprofessional, insecure and argumentative! I informed William before arriving that I was unsure of what style I wanted he said that's ok we can figure it out when I get there. Upon arrival I knew what I wanted after looking up different styles. He then got upset and informed me 1. he did not have time 2. that I told him I wanted another style initially and 3. He would have to charge me way more money if I really wanted the style I wanted, after his failed attempts at trying to get me to get a style he wanted to do. The salon was empty when arrived and he still had no clients when I was finished. Never again!!!! read more

Really great service. My hair was done exactly to my taste and he trimmed the ends of my hair really well.

He's amazing! I'm so glad I found him. It's hard to find stylists with reasonable prices, and downtown, at that. . Well, here he is! He gave my hair all the attention it needed and had good conversation. I'm a quiet person, so to get me talking is a miracle, and he did. I will definitely be back! Btw, I got compliments all the way home..Woooo! read more

Blowouts by Billie - I love it! He slayed it :) - Hair Stylists Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I really like and appreciate the time and effort William puts into doing hair. I walked in a little early for my appointment, and saw him doing another client's hair, her hair seemed to be nice, and I liked that even though he was working on her, he didn't hesitate to make me feel comfortable while I waited. He offered me water and showed me where the restroom was. I bought a groupon for his wash, style, and cut, but I was a little iffy because a lot of stylists can be scissor-happy, and I did NOT want my hair cut; (and it's already hard enough to find someone that can do African-American hair in the loop and do it well!...) I simply wanted to get long layers "trimmed" in if you know what I mean, not real cutting involved. Anyway, from start to finish, my experience at salon 29 was very nice. It was easy to find (b/c it's in the same building as Heaven on Seven) and William didn't use any of those cheap products like Design Essentials which I really appreciated. I found a style in a hair magazine and he was actually able to recreate it on my head! To make a long story short, my hair turned out nice and silky-smooth, and William seems to be a very nice guy and cares a lot about the health of your hair. I would highly recommend him if you're looking for a expert stylist in the loop. read more

This review is in response to Ashley M. comments on 12/19/2015. Actually, I was in the shop getting my hair done by William the same day you was there. Your review actually shocked me because you appeared to be happy with the results of your hair. I have been getting my hair done by William for about 3 years and have always been satisfied with the results of my hair every time. I don't understand why you called him 'obnoxious' because I was there and he was extremely kind to you and showed you a high level of customer service as I've seen him show all of his clients. I know that everyone has a right to their opinion, but I feel opinions should at least be true. I pray that your negative review of William does not stop others from giving his services a try. I promise you won't be disappointed! read more

William not only had a wonderful personality, he also did a great job on my hair. If it weren't for Groupon, I would'nt have found him. So thanks Groupon and thanks for the awesome cut, William! read more

My first time visiting this salon and made an appt. with William. He gave me all th attention I needed an excellent service, making sure I was comfortable with refreshments and everything. The ambiance was sophisticated and cozy. He took his time nurturing my hair and was a very positive, nice, stylist who was eager to please. Will be returning again regularly! read more

William is definitely as good as it gets!! Not only did I have a blast, he left me looking so great that random people actually said how good a job he did. His new nickname (that I have developed for him) is Mr. Midas because I looked like gold when he was done with me. When you are ready to stop settling, go to William and he will give you more than what you expect!!! read more

Great service! Lovely environment, great location, also very friendly. It was my first time there and definitely going again!

I have been going to William for a few months, and although I don't go every week, my hair has become more healthy. It has been difficult trying to find a stylist in a new city. I went somewhere and received a touch up that didn't straighten my hair at all. William was able to fix it and now I'm back on track. He's very busy on the weekends, so I suggest that you call a week in advance! read more

I went to the salon today with a picture in hand mind you and was ridiculed. The style I was given did not reflect the picture I gave. To be dismissive and say I can only do the style not make you look like the star was pure bull crap. I did not ask to look like the star I merely wanted the hairstyle that was given. I was a repeat customer mind you. Unfortunately, not again. I will be looking for a new stylist. I will not be doing business with him ever again. Nor will I be recommending anyone. Since going to him my hair has been cut wrong twice and I don't trust him to do my relaxer anymore after he allowed the relaxer to stay in my hair too long and burnt me. read more

decided to cut my hair for the the first time worst $70 of my life spent.. then had the nerve to ask for a $10 tip!!! bye!!! never again i would not send anyone here. this guy doesnt know what hes doing! i got home and i had to go to another stylist to fix his $70 hair do run run now!! read more