Aesthetics Salon — Attraction in Bailey's Crossroads

I wanted this experience to be a 5 but am giving a 3 from a bit of indifference.

I recently took out braids that left my hair feeling dry and damaged. Unfortunately I was pressed for time before an upcoming trip and needed an hair appointment ASAP, but could not get in with another salon I usually frequent. I decided to take a chance and call Aesthetics Salon, which I had seen on social media for quite some time and was pleasantly surprised to find a “first time customer” appointment available on that same weekend. I went through the consultation steps on the phone with the receptionist (who was lovely and professional) and was confirmed for that upcoming Sunday.

On Sunday I arrived about 5 minutes early for my appointment and was pleasantly greeted by the receptionist. She immediately said the stylist would be with me momentarily and offered me coffee, water, or a mimosa, along with a warm towel. The welcome was quite impressive and I could see why the salon was highly recommended. The decor was also beautiful and I was happy to see they were using natural hair products that I knew were quality ones. The stylist was running slightly behind and she graciously walked over, apologized for the wait, and said she would be with me in just a few minutes. I was in no rush and just appreciated getting an appointment at the last minute so I told her not to worry and take her time. A few minutes later another stylist jumped in to assist with beginning my wash and detangle. She was also very kind and chatted with me while she washed and asked questions about my hair routine. About halfway through the stylist I booked jumped in to complete the wash/condition and placed me under the steamer. This was followed my a blow dry, a trim (one that I appreciate was not a butchering of my hair but an actual trim) and finally a silk press style.

All in all, my experience with the salon was a pleasant one. Every person I interacted with was professional, kind, and seemed appreciative of my business. I also found the pricing for the service (The Works) to be appropriate and was comparable to what I’ve paid at other DMV salons.

My only con is that I have been getting silk presses for many years, and I did not feel I got a quality one here. And as long as I have been getting silk presses I can’t say that I have ever been disappointed in one. During the service it felt a bit rushed but I thought maybe I was thinking on it too much. But after 24hrs my hair is already starting to feel like it is reverting back to my natural curls. I do recognize that a silk press at a natural salon can often times use less heat to protect your hair (100% makes sense), but even at other natural salons I have gone to for a silk press the style at minimum lasts a week. I’ve even gone several weeks with a silk press, doing high intensity workouts throughout, and still made them last. It was neither hot nor humid today but I can feel sections of my hair beginning to revert.

I purposely left the stylist’s name off of the review because she was very sweet and from what I could tell is likely a great stylist. I think I may have just caught her on a bad day or she may not have fully understood my hair type. I am uncertain if I will return as a customer but I do wish the salon great success and can see they definitely want to provide women with a luxury experience with...

UPDATE: I am updating to reflect the excellent customer service I received from the owner, Yene. I did not reach out, she followed up via email within a few hours to apologize. I was perfectly fine to just chalk it up as a loss, but I am grateful for Yene's gesture to make things right. Aesthetics is overall a well managed salon with some talented stylists. 7 times out of 10 I have a good experience here. Yene truly cares about her staff and customers. I think some things just fall through the cracks with some of the newer folks. While I've had a few disappointing experiences here, overall I've had more positive than negative. I added a star for the way Yene handled the issue with grace, a growth mindset, promptness, commitment to customer service, and professionalism. Thank you Yene!

Hate to write this review because I have been coming to this salon for years and love some of the stylists, but my most recent experience was not acceptable. I continue to patronize Aesthetics because it is an upscale salon where you don't have to deal with salon suite drama, a deposit to book every little thing, or the unprofessional behavior you do at some other salons.

Unfortunately, the quality of the salon has been steadily going downhill since the team expanded and there's less day to day oversight from the owner Yene and other senior stylists. Of course they cannot be there all the time to ensure things go well, but something has to be done to ensure their high quality of service is provided to all clients by all stylists.

I was scheduled for a service with a stylist I had never seen before but trusted that the whole team was as excellent as my usual go tos. Instead, one of the assistants conducted my entire service and the stylist I was scheduled to see never even addressed me or explained that would happen. Instead, she started working on someone else.

I would have let that go if my service was worth the $100+ I paid for a wash and blow dry. I had a decent shampoo but my hair was not properly detangled. I got a steam treatment and the water was not refilled in between the person ahead of me (I know this because I saw her look at the nearly empty reservoir, shake it and put it back in) so it cut off after 5 minutes and she did not refill it. Not to mention the assistant didn't even check to make sure the thing was on my head all the way before walking away to go chat with some of her peers. I had to struggle to adjust the hood on my head while water was dripping down my face because I was not provided a towel as they usually do. After my five minute steam, she rinsed out my treatment, sprayed cold water on my face by accident without apologizing or even acknowledging it. She also kept mentioning to another stylist that she needed to start braiding a co-worker's hair.

Finally, she blow dried my hair yanking and pulling it because she failed to properly detangle it earlier and then sent me on my way. I have been getting extensions and natural hair services here for a while. I'm no stranger to paying $250-800 a style when it is worth it, but this experience was really unfortunate. I really hope they can correct this and train the new stylists on...

I really hoped I could give this salon a 5 star review. The stylist did a good job cutting my hair, and I wanted to see the damage done over the past two years. But, I would have preferred to have my hair styled with curls as opposed leaving it straight. To be clear, I did tell the stylist that there was not point in curling my hair during the service, because I just wanted it to be put into a bun. Had I known about the list, the only two/three styles you can get on you first treatment which cost a minimum of $150, I would have chosen curls over straight hair to feel like I was getting my money's worth. Instead I was never told, as I repeatedly mentioned that I wanted a bun, that there were very few styles I could choose from. Saying that in response to any one of my request would have opened the door for me to choose another style while in the salon. I am not pleased at being ignored, but I was still going to see if I connected with another stylist there in the future. However, after speaking with management about leaving without my hair being styled, I can see that the problem is a bit more widespread within the salon. At the end of a 20-30 minute phone call, that I was told was my chance to be heard out, I found myself repeating the exact same points I'd made throughout the entirety of the call and in my email prior: "I only wanted my hair to be left straight because I wanted a bun. I would have chosen to have my hair curled if I'd known the bun wasn't an option." A day later I didn't even feel comfortable telling anyone I'd just been to the salon, which is not what I was expecting after a service costing me almost two hundred dollars. For the resolution they agreed to refund the 20% deposit that was double charged to my account, acting as though they were doing me a favor, and to speak with their staff about wording when working with customers. But, judging by how well they heard my complaint, I doubt they will do the latter. I would like to have seen some type of credit on my next appointment for styling or returning the ten dollar service fee. It didn't have to be big as I am not hurting to pay for the services. But, something to say, "We acknowledge we didn't do our part in making sure you left happy with your service." Instead they offered no solutions and turned down any solutions I, the customer, tried to think of to remedy the problem they caused. It's clear to me that they didn't care if I left satisfied. They only cared that the services were paid for. Last but nor least, I would have preferred the Jazz music promised on the website to the occasional B** and H bombs dropped inbetween Beyonce', Jay-Z, and...