I had my hair highlighted by Nick yesterday, and he did such a fantastic job that I felt compelled to leave a review. I was looking for full-coverage highlights that would make me as blonde as possible, and that's exactly what I got. For context: I have very long and thick hair. Over the years of getting highlights, I've found that it's hit or miss whether a stylist/salon can give me the full-coverage look I want, since for my hair that takes a lot of time (like 4 or 5 hours) and requires a TON of product. Not every stylist is willing or able to go above the standard number of foils and devote that kind of time, which is totally understandable. But it makes me all the more grateful/impressed when I find a stylist like Nick who is willing to go above and beyond (he spent more than four hours on my hair) to achieve a perfect end result. I was also shocked by how affordable the price was. In my opinion, the quality of Nick's work was on par with some of the most expensive highlights I've ever gotten (and I usually end up paying way above base price since most salons up-charge based on the amount of product your hair requires). But even including tip, the total I paid here was remarkably affordable compared to other salons I've been to. In short, I strongly recommend booking an appointment with Nick if you're someone like me who has very thick hair and wants full-coverage highlights! read more

Nick was so kind and gentle! He did a great job with my cut and I'm so happy I decided to give the salon a try. Will definitely be going back! read more

My new hair stylist Siena gave me an excellent cut and the entire experience was warm and professional. I look forward to my next appointment and plan on returning for many years. Thank you! Doug read more

Love love love this salon! I use Jean as my stylist and she is awesome. They are reasonably prices for their services and the place is so clean. Great vibe. Their products are excellent quality And I highly suggest you check them out! read more

Siena and all of the staff at Ingmar James are amazing! I have been going to Siena for over a year now and I am always amazed by the level of care that they provide, from the initial consultation to the final result. I would absolutely recommend Siena and Ingmar James to anyone looking for a new stylist! read more

I love this salon! The atmosphere is amazing. Kat McGill is my stylist and she always exceeds my dreams with my hair. She is a genius with color! Love being offered a nice cup of tea or a water as well. My favorite salon! read more

I arrived with matted knots. Alex removed 100% of said knots & improved my self confidence. Alex spent an hour, calmy talking me down, lol. Keeping me engaged so I wouldn't freak out. The vibe at IJS is chill. The qaulity of service is 5. The value is 10. Peace of mind & confidence, immeasurable. I will return. read more

I had a great experience from start to finish. Everyone in the salon was very friendly. Alex, my stylist gave me the exact color and cut that I wanted and I loved getting to know him. What a doll! All around great experience. 5 stars! read more

Yvette is a fantastic stylist. She listens patiently offers suggestions when asked and takes her time. I love my new haircut!!

Venue: The salon was clean, friendly, and inviting! I was greeted right away and was offered a drink. The salon was easy to find too. Stylist: Gemma did a great job with my haircut! We went over the texture and current cut of my hair, my routine, and what I was looking for. Plus she gave me some great and easy to follow advice for my hair care moving forward. read more

Tired of your hair or just looking for a fabulous new stylist? Look no further than Michael Ward at Ingmar James. He is simply the best! Michael offers his opinion and expertise (which I love), but most importantly, he listens to what you want. I've always wanted my hair to have movement and that's exactly what I got! I typically get frustrated with my hair when it doesn't style the way I want and end up putting it in a bun but now I actually enjoy doing it myself, which is a true testament to how it is cut. The salon is comfortable, the people are friendly, and the best part -- the salon is dog friendly! read more

Great atmosphere, pricing was fair, and my hair stylist (Siena) was amazing! She listened to what I was looking for, gave me suggestions for my hair type, and was so helpful. read more

I have been going to Ingmar James Salon for 10 years now, back when it had a different name. I love Jean and don't trust anyone else with my hair. It's very long and curly, and I dye it bright red. So yes, I make it difficult for her! I have never left unhappy. I have recommended her to my friends and my family and everyone loves her. read more

Jean Ramos has cut my hair a few times. This time she nailed it. She heard what I was hoping for but unable to articulate and went out of her way to make it happen. Thank you, Jean. And, a big shout out to Igmar James Salon for being wheelchair accessible! read more

A great hair cut with William and a great atmosphere. Exceeded my expectations on my first visit.

I appreciated the lady I chatted with on the phone to help me book a color service as well as making me feel welcome into the salon. I was with the stylist Jean who was recommended for me. I showed her a photo of the hair color I wanted and the result ended up being different. It was much lighter. I was told I can come back if I wanted it darker but I wished I got the result I wanted like the picture I showed. Overall, I wished I also had a better experience with a stylist that took the time to understand my needs like the previous stylists I went to. read more

I love this Salon! I get my hair cut by Yvette and she does such a wonderful job everytime! I recently got my bridal party's hair done here for my wedding. Jean and Jackie did an amazing job styling everyone's hair! read more

Ingmar James Salon - Hair Salons Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've recently started to see William and he is wonderful. He listens and makes you feel cared for, I am so happy to have found him.

It's been a while since my last haircut and I was anxious to find another stylist that I could trust and Siena was exactly the person I needed! I had a great time talking with them and they made sure to take the time to understand what I was looking for even when I wasn't great at describing it. I feel great with my new haircut!! read more

Easy to make a quick appt with 24 hrs notice on their site. Sienna was a good listener as to what I didn't want in my haircut. Would return for color services. read more

Great blonde coloring! My stylist knows exactly what he is doing. It is a bit pricey for the cut. I didn't love my hair cut the first time, but the time after was lovely. I just gave him more direction. read more

I, and my (nonbinary) child have been clients of this salon for several years. We have mostly gotten cuts, bang trims, and I have also gotten my hair colored a couple of times. We have been extremely happy with all of our haircuts, and the professionalism of all of the people we've interacted with. William (one of the owners) is the stylist I always go to, and our interactions are pure pleasure. For most of the years we have been patrons of Ingmar James, we lived above the salon in the same building. That meant that not only were these folks the people we went to for hair needs, they also were our neighbors! We would see them out and about occasionally, and it really enhanced our feeling of belonging in the neighborhood. This is the salon my child basically grew up with. I took them here when they were little, having trouble remembering to brush their hair, and needing someone to talk to them about it besides me! Ingmar James is where we went when they chopped their hair themselves and needed a rescue cut. Ingmar James is where we went when they wanted a more "nonbinary" haircut that gave them a more androgynous look, flattered their face and worked with their curly hair. For all these reasons, our family will continue to treasure this lovely spot, even though we've moved out of the neighborhood! read more

12 plus hours in the salon for 3 days, paid double the price I was quoted and my color still is not exactly what I paid for. I also heard a very offensive comment made by one of the stylists about my hair type. l'll start off by saying I'm giving two stars because a few of the staff members were really nice and the owner seemed empathetic and tried to correct the issue. However, what's done is done and after around $350, I still do not have what I asked for or frankly what I paid for. I booked my appointment several weeks in advance as you have to wait for a stylist that can do curly hair. I came in with a number of photos of what I did NOT want and photos of what I did. Unfortunately, I came out looking worse than any of the photos that I didn't want. I was there about 6 to 6.5 hours and didn't get the trim I was supposed to either. The color was way off and I had what looked like an Ombré and not a Balayage. It came out looking way too light and I called the owner, Garret, and he offered to give a color correction that day but said that they couldn't give me a trim or blow my hair out and gave me a $50 refund.... which was still quite irritating because that meant I needed yet a 3rd salon visit! So I went back for a few hours for the color color correction and the staff I spoke with were really nice and tried to fix what had been done the night before. I believe both were named Kat and they both very nice. I shared the same photos I had shown the night before of what I wanted. Kat redid my color and I tipped again as it wasn't her fault that I had to come back and she did help me. Someone did try to tell me that everyone sees colors differently in photos which I thought was a weird way to excuse that fact that my hair and the photo didn't match at all. Your team is supposed to be the experts... I also had to go another salon for a third day in row to get my hair trimmed and blown out. I went to a different salon, not Ingmar. Where I had to tip a 3rd time in 3 days. So I've sat in a chair for over 12 hours over the course of 3 days in a row. Obviously exhausting and still don't have what I actually wanted. Such a terrible experience. I know this happens, sometimes you try new salons and they don't get it right. I was surprised because the reviews were good and I wanted to like this place. Aside from the issue with hair color and style, I also experienced this... While my stylist was lifting my color on the first night, there was guy with short black and blond hair washing a blond girl's at the sinks, I think that stylist's name was G, but I'm not certain of his name. Based on other negative reviews on Yelp, looks like G has offended other Ingmar clients. Recently. He made a comment with to my stylist, Jackie about my hair with a clearly derogatory tone and says, "wow, that's an interesting project" and goes on to talk about "how MUCH work" my hair is! First of all, I am not a project and neither is my hair! My hair type which is thick, curly, and long and his comment was an incredibly offensive and insensitive to people of different ethnicities. He loudly shouted this insult about my hair across to my stylist while while he washed a blonde girl's hair. Clearly he wasn't even my stylist! Comments like that make you feel uncomfortable not like you're not really wanted there. No one should feel upset and self conscious about their hair, especially in a salon where they are spending their money. It's totally unacceptable for staff any salon to behave that way. Your job is serving clients of different ethnicities and ensuring everyone has a good experience. Every salon should have stylists who are very comfortable with curly hair. You should know how to do it and without offending clients. Regardless hair type or skin tone, everyone's money is the same as anyone else's and it keeps you employed. My stylist apologized for him, which I appreciated but it wasn't her fault. He should have apologized and he certainly did not. I don't presume that his opinions are reflected by the rest of the staff but it was enough to give a vibe that perhaps some staff members there don't value or respect all clients equally. read more

Kat is my go-to hair expert who turns me from frumpy to fabulous in under an hour. Plus, we have fun talking and sharing our life experiences. What a great deal for both of us! read more

I had such a great experience with G! My hair has all different shades of brown and yellow from many different stylists who didn't pay much attention to detail with my highlights/balayage. BUT I was blessed by G. G made sure to let me know what was best for my hair's health and what would suit me before we started! I'm so blessed and grateful. They were helpful and definitely took care of me! I absolutely 1000% recommend G for all your hair needs! I communicated what I wanted and they delivered that plus more. They will make sure you walk out of the salon happy, satisfied, and looking your best! :) read more

I have short straight hair--got a great haircut from Yvette here recently. She understood exactly what I was hoping for, and the razor cut was outstanding. The salon is in a good location, clean, comfortable, and friendly. read more

Ingmar James is by far the best salon in Lakeview!! I've seen Sam and Marie for cut and partial highlights, and both stylists have been incredible to work with. I've had bad experiences at other salons with stylists who are overzealous about blonde highlights - I prefer highlights very close to my natural color - but Sam and Marie took special care to make sure they understood exactly what I wanted from the color. It's come out looking phenomenal every time! read more

I've come here maybe four or five times now, and I always leave feeling like the best version of myself. The staff is so sweet and always make me feel appreciated and special. Kat is incredible- it's like she's the hair whisperer. Not to mention she's so easy and fun to talk to! For as long as I'm in Chicago, I'll never go to anyone else. She is so skilled at what she does. I really appreciate all the precautions they're taking with Covid, too. Highly, highly recommend. read more

I stand by what I said 18 months ago - Marie is a gem. However, I went back this weekend and had an awful experience (see below), gave the owners the opportunity to apologize privately (see their response below) before posting this, and would hate for anyone to experience what I experienced. Hello, I came in on Saturday for a cut and color at 2 PM with G. I've taken a couple days to figure out what exactly I want to say, and how exactly to say it, but to put it plainly, my experience was bad. Really, really bad. I finally worked up the courage to go to a salon to see a professional for the first time in 18 months (because, you know, global pandemic). I knew it was going to be bad - I have (had) super long, tangle prone hair, down to almost my butt. I've tried to trim it throughout the pandemic so it doesn't reach my knees because it grows so fast, I've had knots and tangles so bad I've had to cut a small piece short (underneath, it can't really be seen), and when my hair is really bad, it takes me about 2 hours to brush it all out. Anyway, I went to Ingmar James on Saturday, tail between my legs, and tell G that my hair is a mess, and it hasn't been truly taken care of in a year and a half. I take down my hair, they gasp, and immediately call it a "rat's nest". Not untrue, but completely unnecessary. I know my hair looks terrible, which is why I came to a professional to sort it out. They start combing, and find the piece I had to cut, and start laughing and holding it up. They tell me they can tell that I've cut it myself, because it was cut so poorly. After it's brushed out, they tell me they "need a smoke break after that". Finally, it's brushed out, and I think we've gotten past the worst of it. Nope. I tell them I'm willing to part with 4-6", which is a fair amount, and they tell me I need to go shorter. I tell them I want to keep it long, but I am already embarrassed, so I don't say anything else (which is on me - but I didn't feel comfortable speaking up at this point). They end up cutting off about 10". It was almost down to my butt, and now is an awkward medium length. I know my hair is unhealthy from not doing shit to it for 18 months, but that seems excessive. They then foil my hair, again telling me it's so funny how I have a small piece that is short, they watch another client leave and talk shit about that client's hair with another stylist (Yvette, calling the other client's hair "atrocious" in front of me), G pulls a piece of foil off my head and gives a sigh of relief because they thought they'd "let it go too long and it'd be ruined" (they were eating chocolate cake while I was marinating), and tell me they "don't know what they'd do if they had hair as tangled as this." They finally dry my hair and I leave. I ended up leaving a decent tip (30%), which in retrospect, I regret. However, I felt like I had ruined G's day and was a horrible inconvenience for them, so I, for some reason, needed to apologize to them in some way. Anyway, I'm just embarrassed. And upset. And hurt. I paid more than $300 to be made fun of for 4.5 (not a typo!) hours, and walked out fairly certain I'd be the laughing stock of the salon for the rest of the week, and feeling worse than when I walked in. There was no sympathy, no professionalism, no respect, and no basic human kindness involved in what was already a difficult situation for me. I really hope you can offer me a refund and an apology - I've refrained from posting this on Google and Yelp, because I want this to be a solution-oriented opportunity for growth and reflection, and not a public, angry post from a rightfully upset customer. read more

Ingmar James Salon - Owner response - Hair Salons Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Stylists (both Gemma and Jackie have done this) will double book during your appointment slot without letting you know or giving you a choice of whether or not you want to participate in that dynamic of waiting while they are styling the other person. There's also zero expression of gratitude for the flexibility of accommodating another client at the same time. This approach is inconsiderate of the client's schedule, rude and I strongly disagree with this business approach. Even if double booking is an industry standard approach, it's really not a problem of the client. Therefore if the client is going to get roped into this dynamic, there should be transparency that it's going to be done so that it can be worked out appropriately. There was no transparency with the way I was engaged. I gave the salon the benefit of the doubt as these dynamics were happening. When I tried to say something during my time there, they will subtly (but continuously) avoid you and change the subject. Overall, if having a say in the dynamic that you are roped into is important to you, I highly recommend you don't go to this salon and with all due respect, ingmar James, just because it's industry standard practice doesn't mean that it's right, nor does it mean that the approach you guys take to work it out is appropriate. My suggestion to those who go to this salon and double booking issue - when u get there, ask if you are double booked. If you are double booked, leave... there are many salons in the area. How they work out that dynamic is not worth it, no matter how much you like your hair dresser. read more

Sam is literally The Best ever. Yesterday I had an appointment and had a hard time finding a place to park and she waited patiently and took me late to help me out. (Please don't try this. Go early if you suspect bad parking. That was my mistake. I know the neighborhood and it can get very congested on Saturdays, not the salon's fault, it's just a cool neighborhood.). She went way above and beyond the call of duty. And, the best part of all, I have such a great haircut. I love this place. read more

Looking for a new salon? This was my first visit. I reviewed their website first. I like how you get to see the stylist, their hair, their specialties. This is what made me make the decision to go to this salon. Jean took good care of me. I love my results. She even took extra time with me due to how much hair I have. Note for my next color appointment (remind them that I have a lot of hair and will need more time to process). The team was very nice. The covid procedures were fantastic, thinking of every touch point. I felt safe and that the salon was clean. The processes were very consistent. read more

Ingmar James Salon - Highlights throughout entire hair. Done by Jean Ramos. - Hair Salons Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Jean is amazing! I haven't had a go to hair person in Chicago until I met her. She worked with me to get my hair right for my wedding and she is now my gal! She styles, colors, and cuts with ease. When I ask her opinion, she encourages me to try new hair styles and colors but is always honest about how it may look and what I may not like about it, which is just 1 thing I love about her! Not only is she an incredible hair stylist, she is a beautiful person and cares about you and wants you to feel good about your look. It's always fun to get my haircut with her! Would highly recommend her to anyone. read more

Exceptional and personalized service. Garrett is an amazing professional and co-owner of this boutique salon in East Lakeview. Highly recommend. read more

William did such a beautiful job on my hair!! I received a really strange cut from a different salon and he truly worked magic and made it something I'm really happy about! He also squeezed me in with no notice so I could look nice at a wedding this weekend. Beautiful space and kind people. Would absolutely recommend. read more

I was referred here by a good friend of mine to see Tres. I have been in Chicago for four years and have had the worst luck with finding someone who got down the color I wanted for my hair. It's a bit of a trek for me coming from Streeterville but it's been so worth it. Tres is wonderful!!!! If you want to chat while you get your hair done she great at conversation or if like me you're half awake every time you roll in and just want to stare at your phone or read a book she's great with letting you do that too. The staff is always super friendly and makes you feel super welcomed. I never leave there feeling like I overpaid for anything, unlike many other places in Chicago. read more

I had my hair cut and colored by Sam recently. I was looking to get the rose gold look that is popular right now. I loved how she listened to my concerns, I didn't want my hair too pink but just a tint. The cut is remarkable and takes very little to maintain the shape, I don't even have to blow dry it. I really enjoy the color and have got great compliments on it! I saw Sam at another salon before she started at Ingmar James. The new salon is more inviting, exciting and lots of new trends being done. I highly recommend the salon as well as Sam. She will listen to your concerns and give you an amazing color and cut! read more

Ingmar James Salon - Rose gold color and AMAZING cut! - Hair Salons Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I wish I had the words to properly describe how wonderful Jean Ramos is! She and two of her associates did the hair and makeup for our wedding, and every single person looked stunning and was so happy with the results. Jean very graciously did multiple makeup trials with me to ensure I got the exact look I wanted, and also did an entirely different look for my hair and makeup for our engagement photos. I also went to Jean for haircuts and color while living in Chicago, and could not have been happier every time! She is the kindest, loveliest individual, and was an absolute joy to work with. I absolutely recommend Jean for all hair and makeup services for daily life, events, you name it! read more

William has cut both of my children's hair and did so beautifully! He even gave me a tutorial on how to style my son's hair. It was Crawford's (2) first cut and Caitlyn (4) wants to keep going back for more trims... and lollipops! All the stylists were so friendly and accommodating. The receptionist was very friendly and asked if we needed anything to drink. I always appreciate the warm smiles when my kids are being kids! I highly recommend for the whole family! read more

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I made my appointment day of and lucked out getting to book with Yvette. I have very fine but long hair and she was a pro assisting me with a length that would best suit me. Thank you for a great experience :) read more