I have lived in DC for nearly 6 years, and at long last, my hunt for the perfect hair salon is over.
The space is cozy, lovely, modern, impeccably clean and beautifully decorated. I love the chairs too - they look and feel more like leather arm chairs than hair salon chairs.
This is truly a neighborhood business, and I LOVE it. The owner, Kay, greets everyone who comes in with a warm, friendly smile and a kind word. Many of them she greets by name, asking about children, spouses, recent trips, etc.
But this is no mom-and-pop operation, despite the wonderfully warm family vibe. These are skilled and talented stylists. And I am VERY picky with my hair, especially when chopping 8-10 inches off like I was that day. I've been to multiple salons and stylists across DC since moving here, and none have been good enough for me to want to go back - until Bravado.
The only tiny complaint I have is that when I called to make my appointment, I specifically requested Kay (based on Yelp reviews) and was told my appointment was with her. But when I arrived, she was cutting someone else's hair and I was told Loubna would be cutting my hair instead. They asked if I'd prefer to wait for Kay, but I didn't have time to wait, and had been watching Loubna at work with her previous client and she seemed like she knew her way around a pair of scissors.
Loubna was very patient with my very detailed requests, and carefully studied the photos I brought in. Once she was done, I looked at the back and said I wanted more layers put in, and she happily obliged. But when she dried it, she put it in a bunch of volumizing mousse (despite my request that she not use any product on my hair) so it was hard to tell what the cut really looked like. Also, in the front, the left side of my hair is slightly longer than the right. But it's an asymmetrical 'do from front to back, so the slight asymmetry in front actually looks ok. And I really didn't want it to get any shorter.
The next day when I returned to my normal styling routine, I realized that the cut was still not quite what I had asked for. I returned to the salon first thing when they opened the next morning to ask if they would fix it. They told me that Loubna wasn't working that day and usually they like to have the same stylist do the corrections as the service is credited to that stylist. But the stylist on duty, Lamiaa, said she would be happy to fix it for me, no problem. Now that's customer service! I was really pleased that she was willing to take care of me on the spot, and she was SUPER professional about it. When I told her how much I appreciated it and that I felt bad that she had to go out of her way, she totally reassured me that I shouldn't worry about it. This is the level of professionalism and service that all salons and service business should aspire to, and I will forever sing the praises of this salon as a result.
As for the cut itself: I showed her the same picture I showed Loubna and she said "oh yeah, I see what we need to do." And she got it PERFECT. I absolutely love the cut now, and have gotten TONS of compliments on it. I will definitely be going back to Lamiaa for the foreseeable future. Loubna was really nice and did a good job too, but because I'm such a perfectionist, I'll be sticking with Lamiaa from now on.
Oh and they have a kids salon upstairs - brilliant, given their location! read more