I want to preface this review by saying that I'm quite particular with my hair and since moving to Chicago, I usually just wait until I'm back home to get my hair done. I've been getting my hair cut by Raymond at Hair Culture since grade 10 and I get my hair coloured by my friend, Olivia at Lisa Dinh. I've also had my hair coloured and cut in the past at NC Salon. Unfortunately, when I was back in town Hair Culture was closed and Olivia wasn't free. Since my schedule for the next 4 months was really packed in Chicago, so I started looking on Yelp for recommendations on where to get my haircut since it was starting to get knotted. Andy had a lot of great reviews on Yelp so I called in and he was able to fit me in the same day.
Andy's ultra friendly and really tries to make you feel comfortable. I feel like he does have a preference to speak his native tongue vs English but he speaks both fluently. My appointment was for 2:30pm and I got there 2:15pm. He asked me what I wanted and then to sit tight for someone to wash my hair. It was 2:30pm and no one was available to wash my hair - so he washed it himself! He gave a my hair a really good wash and also gave me a really awesome head massage. I think the entire washing process was probably 20ish minutes.
In regards to the cut, I really only cut my hair 1-2 times a year, so each time I get it cut I feel like I need to cut off at least 1-2 inches to get rid of all the unhealthy ends. My hair also grows really slowly... like maybe max 5 inches in a year and I've spent the last 3 years growing it. So I requested a 2 inch trim and layers for the body of my hair with a V-shape in the back and my bangs to hit below my chin. I also asked if there's anyway he could cut it or style it such that I don't get a cowlick at my hair part. After reflection, I asked for another inch shorter just to make sure I got all the unhealthy ends. I forgot that 3 inches to me is very different to a hairstylist hahaha.
Andy started cutting my hair with a razor - which is something I'm not really a fan of because it makes my hair ends look frizzy (I have very thin hair) and I heard it's not that healthy for your hair. After cutting with the razor it looked like about the right length I wanted but afterwards he went in and cut some more with scissors. I wasn't really 100% what hairstylists do when they cut hair so I didn't really say anything thinking it was the styling/layering part of the haircut... which in hindsight I should have said something. After cutting with the scissors, I think my hair was about 6 inches shorter than when I walked in. By the time I realized my hair was so short, my right half was already short and nothing could be done (unless my left side was left asymmetrical). I was really disappointed since the balayage colour I got from Olivia was not as apparent as before since the lighter portion of my hair got cut off (and might be crazy but I feel like my hair colour changed after the wash too?). In regards to the layering, it looks more sectioned than I'm used to vs the gradual changes in hair length that I'm used to getting from my normal hairstylist. It's possible that my hair has to 'grow into the cut'.
Overall, the haircut wasn't terrible and I think other people would really enjoy getting their haircut here. Personally, next time I'm getting my haircut, I'm going to wait/stick with Raymond (Hair Culture) since I'm used to his cutting process, like the way my hair grows with the cut, and I'm able to comment on something before it's irreversible since I know his cutting process. I also got a lot of compliments for my hair in the past - but since my cut at Hair Monet, I've gotten comments about my hair but they weren't compliments... I think I'm just very disappointed and sad about the lost length of my hair and the waste of my balayage colour that I had done previously. I might have to look into some extensions in the meantime.
PS: If you pay by cash, tax is discounted. If you pay by credit, tax is charged but he asks how much you want to tip him before he puts it into the system which made me feel a little weird. read more