I still cannot find anyone who can cut my hair the way they do it in Japan. I have really thick long hair and it gets hot and difficult to deal with in the summer so I like it when the hairstylist is able to cut away and layer my hair so that it feels much lighter yet the length is still there. If I'm going to spend 80 dollars plus tip then I want to feel different and look different when I leave. Frankie did seem like a very nice person but she was also afraid to cut my hair as if I was going to freak out about loosing the length. I didn't really bother to look at the prices on their website because I read that the prices were reasonable and there were only 2 money signs on the yelp website so I figured it wouldn't be that expensive, but shoot, 80 dollars for a trim is pricy for me. When I asked the receptionist dude to charge the tip on my credit card, he gave me an attitude about how next time I need to bring cash for the tip. Seriouslly, I just paid for an 80 dollar haircut and you're scolding me for not having cash for tips? Ugh... read more

BAD! I am Japanese and I was expecting that someone could cut hair like they would in Japan. WRONG. This lady (middle age) was a hair stylist in Japan...but I guess she stopped learning new techniques and such. Who cuts hair wet unless you cut your hair really short....Nobody does that in Japan now. And she cannot do lyers. Just HORRIBLE. But yes she can speak Japanese if that is all you want. I now know I have to fly back to new york. read more

I have lived in Chicago for 15 years and pretty much traveled out of state and even out of the country for haircuts until I met Frankie in 2008. She is absolutely spectacular in her skill. She is able to understand what you want, and more importantly, she will tailor the look to suit your face. I haven't had a bad cut once. I also get compliments on my hair frequently on a weekly basis. ALL THANKS TO FRANKIE!! Try her at least once. The prices are reasonable and best of all, you will NOT be disappointed. read more

Suzuki is a miracle worker, and totally saved my hair few weeks ago. I went to this small hair salon in the suburbs to get a hair cut and a perm, and my hair was all messed up. It was too wavy and all over the place and it took me two hours to style my hair to something presentable in public every time I washed my hair. I went to Suzuki to see if he can fix it.. thinking I will probable get charged a fortune since my hair would only be fixed with another perm. BUT, Suzuki just fixed everything with a haircut. He showed me how to blow dry at home, but I am really bad at blow drying and was afraid my hair will look all messy after I wash it at home... But my hair looked great without blow drying, and it still is after almost two month since my visit to Suzuki. I will now never go to another salon as long as I am in Chicago. The only thing I didn't like was that Suzuki's style is too.... Japanese... I prefer something natural and soft, but his style is more like funky. But it's only matter of taste, and I believe I will be able to solve this issue if I bring a picture of hair I want and have enough talk with him next time :) read more

I have been going to this salon since it's grand opening day. I love my stylist, Miwa, and my colorist, Jill. They are both fantastic at what they do. I always walk out with a huge smile on my face because I love what they have done to my hair. Miwa always give me a fantastic cut and more importanly she knows me as a person. Jill is great with color and she always has great suggestions without ever being pushy. Ultimately it is your decision and thats how it should be. She has a great personality and is absolutely adorable! On my wedding day last year there was no contest on who would do my hair.....hands down Miwa and Jill!!! read more

Shō studio met all my expectations. Haruna was very understanding about what I wanted my hair to look like and took the time to talk to me about my concerns and styled it perfect. Overall I think it is a solid place to get a haircut and the price was worth the service. read more

If you're looking for a gloss, don't go here. I called and asked how much it would be to cover my balayage and he said $100 for semi permanent color and $25 for a gloss. I ended up doing the semi permanent color somewhere else and made an appointment there for the $25 gloss. When I got in, the man said he was going to charge me $100 because he didn't do my color. Not sure what kind of business he is trying to run, but I walked right out, walked around the block to Art of Hair Design and got a gloss for $30. Very poor service in my opinion. read more

Love the layout of the salon, decor is tasteful however that all gets tossed out the door when you hear Suzuki (one of owners) open his nasty mouth and speak poorly about his staff and assistants. It's one thing to be entertained by that sort of childish small minded behavior while watching reality shows on TV, however seeing it in real life and wondering how someone could treat their employees in such a manner in front of clients (there were 3 guest there at the same time as me) gave me a deep feeling of sorrow for that poor misguided man. I loved my cut and would consider going back for that but the poor attitude of the owner will keep me away for good. read more

Lost but then... found! I had no idea that I was in jeopardy of losing (or for that matter, I had no idea that I had even lost) my stylist, Angel Marquez (formerly of Salon Buzz and now at Sho Studio)! I went through this once before (and unfortunately, suffered the indignity of having to go to another stylist for a period of time)... and trust me, I don't ever want to go through that again. In any event, Angel has found me! I love the new digs - very modern, very hip (reminds me of NYC salons), very clean and most importantly, it's Angel's new home. Everyone at the salon is friendly and upbeat... and truthfully, I'm inclined to try a few other services upon my return visit. So, if any others out there are missing their Angel, do not fret - he's at Sho Studio; if you need contact information for Angel, feel free to drop a line! read more

Blondes may always have more fun, but it can be a real pain to get the perfect platinum. It's not a matter of life or death, but a good dye job can make or break the next 6-8 weeks of your life. Having been spoiled by the ole pros in SoCal for several years, I was pretty nervous about finding the right stylist here in Chi-town. Literally, I stopped "good blondes" on the street to find out where they got their color. I was definitely taking a risk- is it a faux pas to ask? After all, we want to look like naturals not Christina Aguilera. A friend of a friend held the key to my lock of gorgeous hair. Jill at Sho Studio is not only the cutest stylist around but the very very very best. The best I have ever had, in fact, and that's saying a lot. $105 for highlights and it's worth every penny. She listens and doesn't push products on you. It's no frills (i.e. I blowdry my own hair after its over), but I don't expect much after having my hair pulled through a cap with a teasing comb and frosted with bleach sometime in the distant past. She is tops, and it makes me sad to think of life without her. read more

I miss Esther. She's awesome and I highly recommend her as a stylist. I like going to salons and saying "do whatever you think looks good as long as I can still put my hair in a ponytail I don't care". she totally got it and ran with it and I always had good cuts. Once she even recommend red under layered blocky highlights which were bad ass and perfect for work because i could hide them or show them off. It's expensive (about $90 a cut) but you get what you pay for :) read more

I really hate to give this place such a low rating because the staff were super welcoming and friendly. However, since this review is mainly about my haircut, I would have to say I am extremely disappointed with the way it turned out; especially for $100. My hair stylist was a middle aged Asian lady, Haruki, I believe. First off, it took her forever to cut my hair, as if she was cutting it for the first time. She would cut a little and then analyze it, and go back to correct it, and then step back to analyze it some more. This went on for about 2 hours. You figured after that many hours it would be a masterpiece--NOT! The end result? Blunt/choppy ends, crown of head lacked volume, and there's absolutely no style whatsoever. Throughout the entire experience, she only used one pair of scissors. Not that I'm an expert, but because the bottom on my hair is so thick, she should have used sheers to thin it out to create these wispy long layers. Instead, she cut everything straight across with a few uneven strands in the front to supposedly "frame" the face. Even that she didn't do it right. To create layers, it has to be gradual. Right now, it looks like a mullet. I don't have time to deal with the blunt ends on the bottom every morning, so I've been tying it up in a ponytail until I find another stylist who can correct this problem. Her skills and styling techniques are very outdated. After dropping a $100 at this place, I was expecting a more modern and stylish haircut. Big disappointment. read more

Esther has been my stylist for over 20 years (wow.. I guess I'm getting old!). I started with Esther at another salon and have followed her around Chicago ever since. She is truly fantastic, and I say that as someone who is very picky. When I go to Esther now, I don't have to say anything because she knows what I like and don't like. I've never had a bad hair cut, and I always walk away happy and feeling great. Esther has become more than my stylist and I'll always come back for a cut when I'm in Chicago. read more

No good, No technic. Waste of money. I've been neally depressed for that ugry hair style. read more

I moved to chicago four years ago and for the most part still went back to my old stylists whenever i visited Taipei or LA and would only get a cut in chicago when I was desperate. I just hadn't been able to find a stylist who is very good with asian hair and pleasant to work with, not until i went to Sho. i went to sho studio in November with the living social promotion. my friend had suzuki and i had esther. both of us were very pleased with our cuts. at first i was a little disappointed that i couldn't get an appointment with suzuki (he only had one opening on that day), but after reading the excellent reviews of esther here on yelp, i went with her. it was proved a great decision!! esther is friendly, very personable, and listens attentively to what i wanted. i was a bit indecisive about what exactly i wanted (whether to keep growing or cut it short), so she stepped in and offered her professional opinions. unlike other stylists who usually criticized my previous cut by a different stylist, esther actually praised that it was a very good cut, just not fitting anymore after a few months because of the fact that i have a lot of hair in the back of my head. she also advised against chemical treatment (coloring, straight perm...etc.) that i was kind of thinking of. i would imagine most stylists would go with the customer's requests (especially the ones that will involve more $$), but not esther, which made me feel that she was really thinking for the customer but not just her business. all in all, a very good experience. although a bit pricey ($100 first visit, $85 thereafter), i will most definitely go back to sho studio in the future. read more

Love this salon. Suzuki is the best colorist and stylist I have ever used.

Suzuki gives it to you straight. I brought in pictures of hair cuts I like and he said, "I can do that, but with your hair type, it won't look good". We talked about what I wanted my hair to do and he came up with a game plan to meet my wants that would work with my hair. Michelle washed my hair and it was SO relaxing! It was like a massage. Then Suzuki cut my hair and was very careful to show me how to style it and a few different options. He was charming and pleasant to talk to while he worked. He mentioned how much he loved his job and it shows! I thought it was going to be MUCH more expensive than it was. I LOVE my new hair, I LOVED the experience and I'd pay half again as much as he charged. I'll making him the only one that cuts my hair from now on! read more

Suzuki is a hair genius. I have been trying to grow my unruly, dry, and damaged hair for as long as I can remember. His straightening technique has allowed me to not only grow it but has also cut down on my styling time by hours - literally hours! Thank you Suzuki! read more

I found Sho Studio on Yelp. Specifically Miwa, an amazing woman, not only as a cutter but as a person. Then after the colorist I was using moved, I inherited Ingrid, who it turned out, was even better. Over the past year or so, I've felt a bad vibe at Sho. Some employees complained to me about Management, I noticed that many of the younger help were leaving regularly, you could tell that the staff were not happy. Today I received a letter that Miwa and Ingrid have moved. I'll be following them to the new salon. read more

How can there be no mention of Scott Patrick in the reviews of this place so far? He is a color genius and also cuts hair amazingly as it turns out. Pricey but you get what you pay for, and he is completely forthcoming and candid about what will look good on a person and what will definitely not. Make an appointment well in advance to ensure you can get in when you need to. For the record, I do miss my previously reviewed hair genius, Dennis from Gro, and I would still recommend him without reservation, but being able to go to the same person for cut and color is where it's at for me right now. What truly sets SP apart is his ability to create a color story that a) is totally complimented by the haircut and vice-versa, and b) is utterly sophisticated without being too over-the-top or avant-garde unless that's what you happen to be looking for. Plus, he's very sensitive to someone's maintenance tolerability scale. My main goals are to cover any grays, look good on both wash-and-go and blowout days, and only have to come back every three months or so without looking totally grown out. Done, done, and done! read more

Franki listened to my requests and did exactly what I wanted. The salon itself it the best I've been to in the city (at least 10). I think I have finally found what I was looking for. read more

Jeff is amazing!! He is great with highlights and haircut. Knows exactly what youre looking for. Definitely a pro. I randomly found this salon online and super glad I decided to book an appointment after so many failed color jobs and haircuts in chicago. read more

A lot of these reviews are outdated. Frankie and Miwa are no longer with the salon. I'm not aware of any "middle-aged' woman stylist, but maybe I missed her. I go to Suzuki, who is an expert at Japanese hair straightening. He gives a good cut, too. read more

One of the people I miss most in Chicago is Miwa, my stylist. She is a great stylist and a sweet person. She is in demand so you have to make an appointment well in advance, but it's definitely worth it. I always leave the salon feeling beautiful and with a smile on my face. read more