Similar to the other reviewers here, I went to Penelope's Vanity for an Aveda Beyond Keratin treatment. I was really hopeful that the treatment would prove to be beneficial for my curly frizz-prone hair, and the fact that Penelope's is an Aveda salon instilled confidence. However, I would not go back here no matter how much you paid me. First of all, the stylist (not sure if she was the owner or not, mainly because she did not even attempt to make conversation with me - more on that later) could not find record of my appointment on the schedule. There was someone else on the schedule who never showed up, so it's possible they just wrote down my name incorrectly, so I can look past that. I was passed along to an assistant who did an amazing job washing and preparing my hair (she alone is why this place gets one star rather than zero, if that were possible). Then the Keratin treatment was applied. While I was waiting for the treatment to set, the stylist informed me that she would be juggling me with a few other clients, so I may need to wait a little here and there. No big deal. Apparently however, "a little" translated into MORE THAN 3 HOURS. After the treatment was washed out and my hair had been blow dried, I sat and waited while the stylist worked on several other clients from start to finish. She was extremely friendly with all of them (they were all clearly regulars) and asked them about their families, weekend plans, etc. Totally ignored me the whole time. I'm sorry - juggling does not mean I should wait for hours while other people are in and out! Juggling means you go back and forth. When the stylist FINALLY got around to flat-ironing my hair, she did not speak a single word to me. When I made my appointment, I was specifically told not to cut my hair ahead of the treatment because they like to do it with the Keratin treatments, since they can be very drying and cause split ends. However, the stylist never got around to cutting my hair!! And I was there for more than 3 hours!!! I didn't even mention it by the end of my appointment because I was so ready to get out of there. When I settled my bill, I was told not to wash my hair for 24 hours (seems to be a discrepancy with another reviewer who was told to wait 48 hours), and pressured to buy the expensive shampoo and conditioner for sale in the shop. No thank you. I have never been so tempted before not to tip, but I did anyway. Sigh. It has been several weeks since my appointment, and my hair still smells TERRIBLE every time I wash it - like extremely strong old-school perm chemicals!! Also, the treatment does not seem to have had any positive effect whatsoever on my frizz, but rather served only to exacerbate my split ends. I'm currently searching for a new salon to do damage control. I will never, ever go back here, and will recommend the same to all my friends. read more

I recommend the salon highly it is such a beautiful salon and they are very professional and very talented I will never go anywhere else but Penelope's you will love your hair if you come to this salon I guarantee it read more

This is by far the best place in Old Town to have your hair done! You feel like queen for a day. Selam was completely focused on just myself and what I wanted and I never felt rushed or had to wait because she only does one client at a time. It's very personalized and intimate and she does such a great job! You can walk anywhere for lunch and parking was breeze. It's a five star experience! read more

The woman who owns the salon is very nice and seems to know the business. But she allows "temp" stylists to operate in her domain without fully checking them out. I also went on a Groupon for "Beyond Keratin" smoothing treatment which is, I assume, a type of Keratin treatment. I was leery about the treatment, but because the salon is Aveda, thought it would be a safe bet. She introduced me to a male stylist (whose name I don't recall), who was nice and expressed that he wanted me to move my business to that salon. It was clear that he was new to the salon because he asked the owner where the supplies and products were; that in itself wasn't a concern until the owner had to tell him when to take off the treatment. Then he halfway dried my hair and was about to go after it with a flat iron...which raised red flags because (thank you Mary!!!) I had read the prior review, which warned about doing so when the hair wasn't dry. I asked the owner to intercede and she confirmed to him that the hair must be completely dry. When he was done drying my hair, he said, "you're done." Not one word about care measures, when to wash, anything special I needed to do to protect my hair. I had to ask the owner again what to do about that (and the newly found cowlick that was sticking up at the hairline--fortunately it only lasted for a week or so). The owner told me to wait 48 hrs to wash it, but if I hadn't, I would have wasted my investment. This is the first time I have ever left a salon without tipping the stylist, but I was so frustrated that I had to restrain myself from tipping in the form of advice in front of the other clients--such as, the stylists who work in your salon represent you....you need to make sure they know their stuff before releasing them unsupervised so that they don't tarnish the reputation of your salon. Fortunately there weren't any serious negative effects from the treatment (although I've read about some from this and other keratin treatments); the other side is that there was very little effect from it at all...maybe a slight reduction in frizz for a week or so but I still have to do the same routine--blow dry to straighten it and hot curl to get body. My suggestion would be that if you schedule any service, be certain to ask: "who is my stylist and what is his/her experience?" read more

The owner is knowledgeable and easy-going. Unfortunately, I was there a long time (2.5 hours) to refresh my Keratin treatment from another salon 2 months prior. My hair smells horrible after the Aveda treatment performed and finally washing it seems to have made it worse. The smell of it wet burned my nose/throat and made me pretty sick. My long, think hair is now damaged, and it wasn't when I went in... hair broken and sticking out... all-over dry. It is discouraging because I thought I found a new gem that could fix my high/low-lights and provide reasonable facials. I am guessing that due to the juggling of multiple clients (there were several of us that they stated they had to "juggle"... which I am sure happens), the chemicals were in my hair too long and the flatiron damaged it. If you are knowledgeable enough to time the chemicals yourself and monitor the drying/flatironing, this may be a good spot for you. I really wish it had gone better... the owner was an absolute delight and the location is great. I will update this review if my hair improves with time (it has only been three days). For now, people at work are asking me, "What happened?" That is never good... but it is only hair and the owner meant well. I hope others really like this place, because it could be amazing... just didn't work for me this time. :) read more

I've been to Penelope's Vanity hair salon once and I'll never go back again. I was looking for a new hair salon in this area since the place that I used to go to is too far away. Because it was my first time to Penelope's, I bought a $99 Groupon for Beyond Keratin Smoothing Treatment (a $200 Value). At the time the offer sounded like a good deal. I arrived 10 minutes prior my scheduled appointment, but I ended up having to wait an extra 30 minutes after my original scheduled appointment. The lady who washed my hair was very nice and did a great job. However, the other lady who did the keratin treatment on my hair wasn't very friendly and did a very poor job. Not once did she take the time to ask if I was ok while waiting for her or to ask if I needed a glass of water or something. Going back to the treatment, after she applied the "keratin" she washed my hair and blow-dried it. After she finished, my hair looked worse than it was before the treatment. I asked her why it was still so frizzy and she said that I would see a better result after she used the flat iron. Of course it is going to look nice after using a flat iron. But if she knew what she was doing, my hair would have looked nice right after the keratin and blow drying! Btw, my hair type doesn't need a flat iron. The entire process took about 3 hours and at the end she said these words:"Just leave the tip and you can go". I left $20.00, but I regretted it later. The quality of the work and the service was very poor. Unfortunately, I don't remember her name. Buyer beware! read more

I just had a facial here and loved it! Great products and great service. I will be back.

I used a Amazon Local voucher to get a Keratin Smoothing Treatment at this salon. When I walked in to this quaint salon the 2 ladies that were working there immediately greeted me and started on my hair. The woman that washed my hair did a very thorough job and took her time scrubbing my scalp with warm water. The hair styllist also took her time in parting my hair to make sure that the checmical got on all of my hairs. She was very friendly and personable throughout the whole experience. She did a great job and I would definitely go back. read more

Just used a living social deal last week for a facial with Selam. The facial was very relaxing. I was a little disappointed that Selam didn't do extractions. Maybe I feel like I need them done more than she does. Ha. Overall a nice little shop. read more

Amazing colorist!!! Saved my daughters hair!!!! My daughter needed some serious help after a bad highlight job. OMG her hair has never looked so lovely and natural. Selam put in some highlights and lowlights and it was like freaking magic. She was fast too, I thought I'd be there all day but Selam knew what she was doing and we were out of there in no time at all. The price was very reasonable, although at that point I was really willing to pay big to fix this mess. I wanted a "botch job fix" and we left with the most beautifully natural highlights ever. Daughter swears she will never go anywhere else for highlights, thank goodness. I've been getting my hair cut here for a while, and my hair looks great, but now I'm thinking highlights.... read more

This salon is fantastic. I get my hair colored and cut by Selam and facial by Stephanie. They are true professionals with great conversation and customer service. I highly reccommend them. read more

I have lived in the area for about five years. I have not been able to find a salon to get my hair done, because people tend to want to treat my hair for what they think it is versus what is truly is. I have A LOT of hair! It is thick and long. I went to Penelope's to use a voucher for a Keratin treatment that I purchased from Amazon.com. I knew it would take longer than the norm. They were very patient with my hair and did not rush. I appreciated this tremendously. The end result was a wonderful hair cut! The keratin treatment was not a success, but I am still happy with the work they did. I will return to get my hair cut and am happy to have finally found a local place to get my hair done. read more

UPDATE: I washed my hair 24 hours later and the Keratin didn't take. I talked to my stylist who said it might not have taken because the "stylist" (I use the term loosely) did not blow dry my hair all the way. read more

BEST PLACE FOR HAIR!! Selam has been doing my highlights for 20 years. The NEW salon and NEW location are awesome. So cute , welcoming and the new shampoo chair is worth the visit also . Everyone there is friendly and the customers are treated as family ( most are good friends after being a client first )My highlights always look natural and my hair is very healthy even though I have fine hair. Selam will do exactly what you ask unlike most stylist. read more

I loved my experience at Penelope's Vanity! I will definitely be going back. I went on a LivingSocial voucher and they worked with me and what I wanted to have done. read more

Management of customer time seems to be the issue here. I made an appointment for a haircut and when I showed up they had me scheduled for a consultation, no hair cut. Hey, if I want to talk about my hair I can do that over the phone. It was absurd and I've never gone back. read more

Consistently great haircuts! Selam always does such a wonderful job. She cuts my sons and husbands hair as well. Love the Aveda products. She has other neat products too, I purchased a neck cream that truly worked wonders. The new location is lovely, and so close to my favorite shops. Really can't say enough about this place, always a great experience. read more

I love this place, Salam is my hair stylist, she does fantastic work, my hair was in bad shape and within a few visits she made it healthy, shiny, and I love it. The atmosphere is relaxing and you get great customer service. My boyfriend she's her now as well, and he loves the way she listens and cuts his hair how he wants. I highly recommend this place. read more

I have been going to Penelope's Vanity for 12 years. Selam does a wonderful job styling my hair; it always get compliments on my hair after I have just been to her. The prices seem reasonable, but I haven't been to another stylist in many years, so I'm not sure what others charge now. The ladies who wash hair come and go fairly frequently, but they are generally fine. Some take time to do a nice scalp massage. I never have to wait more than a few minutes for an appointment, but I am a regular customer so am well treated. I do not have any hair coloring or special treatments done on my hair--just shampooing, cut, and blow dry. She has never pressured me to have my grey hair colored; her comments: "People pay money to have their hair the color of yours!" So I am a fan. read more