Salon One Six One — Attraction in St. Louis

It's taken me quite awhile to write a review for this salon. Let me start by saying that I had been going here for about 6-7 years (not sure how long exactly). My stylist was an advanced level stylist when I started going to this salon. Since that time I think they've done away with differentiating between experience levels, not sure. Anyways, I had a few issues getting my highlights the way I wanted them to start with, as is normal getting to know a new stylist. Nothing too extreme though. Maybe an addition of a couple of highlights here and there or a 5 minute tweak to a haircut. I can name on one hand the number of times I ever had my stylist go back in and make any changes, during the course of again, 6-7 years (maybe longer).

This past January I went in for my appointment and the coloring turned out almost perfect, as usual, but the cut was really bad. Like pulling hair randomly and cutting it and no blending until I asked for it and even then, not really done properly. I've noticed a lot of stylists at this salon seeming to free cut with not a lot of rhyme or reason, not my thing, and in all reality I guess I should have looked for a different salon, but as I said, my stylist is pretty good with color and anyone that has ever had a bad experience with color knows if you find someone who does your color 8/10, you'd better stay, it could get sooooo much worse. Anyway, I texted after I got home and styled my hair myself that I wasn't happy with the cut and could I come back to fix it until it grew some. My idea was I would just have my stylist blend it better so it wasn't choppy and be done with it. What I got was a rude text back from someone, who I assume was either the salon manager or the owner that told me they could not get me back in and would not be booking anymore appointments for me due to my constant dissatisfaction. But would give me a refund. I took the refund and proceeded to text back that the number of times I had ever gone back for anything was maybe a handful in all the years I had been going there. The proper way to handle a client who had been loyal for many years would have been a personal text or phone call back from my stylist letting me know she could get me back in for the changes I needed and she would like to talk to me when I came back in about whether we were still a good fit for each other, as she felt maybe we weren't on the same page any longer. I'm repeating, I have had very miniscule "tweaks" made here and there (maybe 4-5 times) during the time I went to this salon, always reassured from my stylist how it wasn't a problem to make the changes I requested (5 minute "tweaks", that I was driving 30 minutes for each time, BTW). I've spent a ton of money throughout the years at this salon and I was left to feel as if I had constantly complained and all of the dollars spent there and my loyalty to my stylist meant nothing. I have noticed in other posts on here that criticism doesn't seem to be taken well here. Long story I know, but I feel like when a business takes loyalty for granted and doesn't value the people who have helped to put you where you are, it should be called out.

I haven't found a salon to be a loyal client to again, yet, but I did go recently to a salon about 5 minutes from my house and the level of customer service (I was checked up on about 3-4 times while processing, not just by my stylist but by others in the salon) I received there was better than any I had ever received at this salon. Very sad...I'm giving 2 stars though since they were decent enough to give me a refund, even though I just wanted what I paid for, not to be refunded.

Update: Charlie (the owner) called and spoke with me and apologized on behalf of the stylist. I appreciate that and we both agree the situation should have been handled better. That being said, my review was and is my opinion of my experiences at the salon. I did give 3 stars though because my stylist really was pretty good at coloring and Charlie seems to care about the experiences of clients...

The salon employees here are amazing. I recently moved and have a lot of hair that’s been messed up before so I SEARCHED for the right salon and found this one and found my new stylist Hunter. I set up an appointment and waited all month so excited because my hair looked awful and I have my baby shower and maternity photos coming up. Of course the day of I unfortunately had to go to the hospital and get checked out, thought for sure I would miss my appointment and be stuck with this God forsaken hair. I messaged Hunter letting her know and asked if she could just get me in for a haircut, anything would help. Finally got to my appointment an hour late and she agreed to do what she could. WELL she did much more. She cut my hair perfectly I may add and touched up my color exactly how I wanted. This was her first time meeting me so she has no idea who I was and still was so kind to my situation. My point is these people don’t just provide excellent results but also service. THANK YOU HUNTER you have no idea how much better and confident you’ve made this very emotional pregnant lady feel. So glad I chose to come here and have now found where i’ll continue to go forever honestly. Sorry for the long review but you...

Christina is a miracle worker! I can’t fully express how grateful I am to have found her and Oliver! Two months ago I went to a different salon and left feeling so insecure about my hair. That stylist had taken me so much darker than I wanted to be. I was worried I’d never get back to the bright orange that had been my goal. My confidence was at an all time low. I stopped wearing my hair down and just started counting the days until I could get it colored again. Christina EXCEEDED my expectations. I never thought I could get this bright again. Plus my hair still feels so healthy and smooth even after the lightening process. I’ve never felt so confident and have gotten so many compliments already. I’m also usually very quiet and not a big talker. But sitting in Christina’s chair I felt so comfortable. Christina and Oliver made me feel like I was an old friend. They were both so warm and kind. I highly recommend trusting Christina and Oliver with your hair. They both truly care about the whole experience and went above and beyond for me! Thank you so much Christina and Oliver! This picture does not do my color justice, it’s so dynamic with the different colors but I just wanted to show how bright...