Nicole is a long time friend of someone I know. Per recommendation, I went to Nicole two different times for consultations.
The second time I went, I had just suffered a very bad bleach job. I have naturally DARK brown hair, and a cosmetologist friend of mine made me platinum blonde (per my request). It is not the fault of anyone that my hair turned out so badly... it's just a fact of life. If you are dark haired and want to go platinum/white blonde, it's just guaranteed you WILL have damage. I guess I did not realize this until it was MUCH too late...
Unfortunately it was too much for my hair, and I was left with stretchy, gummy strands that broke VERY easily, lots of split ends, an insanely dry straw-like mess, and broken off pieces all over that were as short as an inch... I thought there was absolutely NO saving my hair.
Nicole and I spoke for some time. Finally we came to the conclusion that it was too damaged to redo my roots blonde but it was also too damaged to try to go to my natural color, because it wouldn't hold any dye.
We made a deal that Emily, her intern, would do my hair while Nicole supervised and helped out. This way Emily would get experience and I would end up with the results I wanted.
Before we started the process of fixing my hair, I purchased a product from her to try to save my poor damaged locks. It was called Affirm, step 3 Reconstructor. It is intended for people who relax or perm their hair who put it under a lot of stress. This product has, no exaggeration, helped save my hair. I noticed improvement almost immediately. After using the product for a few weeks I finally was ready to come back and try the color.
It was a long process over the course of quite a few weeks. The first day I came in, we applied the color, but it washed out immediately, leaving only a hint. We were discouraged, but Nicole was determined and kept trying. The same day we tried again, this time with pure red color only to see if any would stick at all. It held onto my hair a little better, but it still wasn't where we wanted. It unfortunately washed out in the shower the next day.
I came back after a week and we tried another dye. This time I went under the dryer for a short amount of time to see if it would help. It definitely did. The color stuck much better than the first two times. But unfortunately it began washing out within a few days. BUT, even when it faded, it was still holding more color than it had from the start.
After a two weeks wait this time, I came in one final time. They applied the color and I went under the dryer again. We used two different shades to make my roots match the rest of my hair. When the color was done, they washed my hair and they blowdry/styled it. It came out a BEAUTIFUL coppery color. Just what I wanted. And, to make matters even better, THE COLOR STAYED! It's been months since I went there and the color has not washed out hardly at all!!
All in all, I definitely recommend to go. Nicole is a true professional, and Emily is on her way to being one as well. Even if I tried, I couldn't think of a single legitimate complaint about the entire salon unless I started nit picking at things that are completely irrelevant and unimportant.
Some final notes on things I love about the salon:
It is owned by Nicole, and has been for many years. It's not a chain or a commercial type business, so everything is supervised and approved by Nicole.
Emily, their intern, is very knowledgeable herself, and always willing to tackle any problem as a learning experience. She is also very friendly and easy to converse with.
All of the other stylists who rent chairs there are kind as well. It's not a huge place, so it's got a very cozy and intimate environment without feeling cramped whatsoever. Every time I go there everyone in the salon is joking around and having conversations with each other. It's also a very cute place in general.
I've never gotten a hair cut or highlights there, but the friend of mine who recommended me to the salon gets them monthly, and she always leaves with beautiful hair thanks to Nicole.
The prices are relatively decent. Nothing is overly expensive, and Nicole is willing to work with anyone depending on the budget and what they can get done. She never charges before telling you what you're paying for. She also was very good at making it clear how much each process costs whenever I asked.
Nicole offers a lot of great advice, and even though it may not be the original idea you came in with, it ALWAYS turns out much better than what you *thought* you wanted, as I have found out first hand. Every time I have come in I tell her an idea, and rather than shoot it down immediately if it's not a good one, she explains exactly what would be better for the sake of my hair and what would work better for me personally. I have never left the salon unhappy with their services.
Overall, I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this place! read more