I was referred here - to Aimee Carey - by a college friend's friend. Unfortunately, Aimee was…read morehaving medical issues, so I saw Morgan Nalley.
Ambiance:
- Dirty: I saw piles of other people's leftover hair left on the ground for weeks (see photo). It was as if no one ever swept the floors. Gross! I never saw this in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. or in San Francisco, CA. On top of all that, while I appreciated the complimentary mimosas, the counters were also sticky. Nothing seemed clean in this salon.
Color:
- Amateur: Upon completion, I was left with a rim of color on my skin around my forehead that I was left to wipe off myself. In Georgetown, my hair stylist's assistants would do this for me after washing my hair. They did this even when I blew-dried my own hair vs. paid for a blow-out. In parallel, there were times when the blonde bleach from the highlights dripped onto my brunette strands, and then I was left with blotchy color spots on my roots (see photo)!
Cut:
- Uneven: I've had wet cuts. I've had wet/dry cuts. I've never had an entirely dry cut until now. Morgan literally hacked huge chunks of my hair, leaving it uneven (see photo). When I commented, she didn't notice - even though my next hair stylist did, as well as my hair stylists in SF to whom I shared photos. I trusted Morgan to fix it - even though she couldn't see/admit her own mistake, which made me nervous - and it was still uneven. I sucked it up until I was forced to find a new hair stylist after she moved to Portland, OR. Coincidentally, Morgan got fired from my new hair salon.
Overall:
- This hair salon is for soccer moms on weekdays - not professional women, as minimal stylists work and take appointments during weekday evenings and weekends. This was the first time in my entire life when I found it hard to get a Saturday appointment, not because the stylist was booked, but because few stylists work on Saturdays. I've had my hair professionally cut at salons since I was in kindergarten (I never went to Great Clips or any place like that), so when I say this is rare, this is rare.
The final kicker:
- When Morgan told me she was moving to Portland, OR, she knew how much I would need a replacement, given I color my hair every 3 weeks to cover the grey roots, and I travel for work M-Th, which means I need the elusive Friday/Saturday appointments. She reassured me that she was going to match each of her clients with a replacement stylist in an organized fashion, and share all of the stylist's details with us before she left. Literally on my last appointment with her she hadn't done this yet, then casually referred me to the receptionist! That was the final straw when I decided I was done with this salon.
Benchmarks in San Francisco:
- Michael Madalinski (color) @ Cowboys & Angels: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cowboys-and-angels-san-francisco?hrid=0yF-9DmPqq518Iu_EEk5ZA&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
- Brittany Sugrue (cuts) @ Cowboys & Angels: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cowboys-and-angels-san-francisco?hrid=diuBDTunfqattPlEpdWQMA&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
- Tokyo (cuts); editorial only now @ Nordstrom, Gap, etc.: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tokyosf-san-francisco?hrid=VOkYv3CdJWOv_KTTpw2QnQ&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
