Salon Eva Michelle — Local services in Boston

It is a few weeks since my $300 haircut with one of the owners at this salon, so I am here to update with the grow-out truth.

I am not a stylist myself, but for reasons I won't disclose here, I'm a credible source about hair.

Cut looked truly great first 2-3 weeks after, then began looking very scraggly, and has (I'm so sorry to say) grown into the worst grow out I've ever gotten.

The salon itself is fine. It's like any strip mall salon, just in a building in Boston, on Newbury street. It's clean, efficient. Not luxe or posh.

Older, more subdued aesthetic (talbots mixed with chanel, wealthy stay at home wives, doctors that are executive directors, suburban non-profit board members). This is a fine place if you want an average to middling haircut, and if $300 is in your budget.

Who this salon is for: people who think Newbury street is "fancy." People who want a mini-adventure, to try what Boston thinks is the "best haircut" (spoiler alert, it is not. It is fine. For a certain demographic).

Who this is not for: this is not a life changing $300 haircut. College kids and grad students: if a $300 cut is a stretch for you, do not come here. It is a fine, decent salon, and I am sure they are great at their craft. They have many satisfied customers. People love them. If I were in Boston and needed an urgent hair appointment, I would not hesitate to call them up.

So why 3 stars? A few weeks after a cut you should still look reasonably put together.

But did the cut work with my hair texture? No. Did the cut grow out well? No-- and ultimately, this is the actual mark of a good haircut. Did the cut require significant products and styling? Yes. Was the price appropriate for the aesthetic outcome? No. Was the price reasonable for the skill of the stylist, and the salon location? Yes. Would I come back here? Yes Would I recommend this? It depends. To a someone interviewing for her first real job? Absolutely not. To someone wanting a transformation/life change cut? Also-- probably not.

To an executive director or board member who can afford 600/mo on hair? Absolutely. Book appointments every 4 weeks. Do it girl, get that 3 week root touch up, trim, and blow out.

To an out of town guest speaker needing an urgent hair apt? Yes, absolutely. They know their stuff and won't mess up your hair and will make you look great for a few weeks until you can get to your home stylist.

I wanted to leave this review for folks that were wondering if it was worth it to try. I would say maybe, depending upon your aesthetic style.

I do think it is a competent, professional salon. Will I go back? I don't think the aesthetic matches what I want to portray to the world, but I would trust sending my aunties...

Been here a few times to get balayage (and a toner in between sessions) . The first time, I saw Crystal-- she was absolutely wonderful! she did a gorgeous job, was easy to talk to, etc. This last time was really problematic for me-- I saw Jackie (not Crystal because prices are based on experience level and I was trying to save a little money while still giving a good tip!) I was expecting to pay about $250 to get balayage & olaplex, but paid over $300 because apparently everything is "a la carte" (which i understand many places do), so for balayage, you pay to be bleached, and are charged again to get that color toned. this wasn't the case for me in the past and absolutely not what i expected. the end result was pretty good, but not over $300 good. I used to go to arrojo studios in nyc, which is a very prestigious hair salon (look it up if you don't know!) and even there i never paid that much for highlights, and those highlights were nicer. so now i'm pretty upset. i've talked to the salon many times about being blindsided over this (i've never heard of getting hair colored and in the same visit paying a lot more money to tone the color!) but they said the stylists decide how to charge you. because of this and there not being a standard for prices of the services, i wont return. pretty upset. it was the best salon i've found in boston so far, but i'll either commute to nyc or just try...

I came to Bryant to correct a not so good balayage that was done at another salon down the street. He did what I asked (though rushed) and made my hair blend better, but once I got home and was in different lighting my hair color looked gray. I also realized he basically only blended the very top layer of my hair and all the middle and underneath layers had not been touched. I a second time to get the color correction for the gray streaks expecting to have more of his attention this time, but he barley had time for me again even though I booked the appointment beforehand. He quickly fixed JUST the front gray highlights and neglected the back. He then handed me the blow dryer and said he didn’t have time to blow dry my hair after already rushing through the color correction. I just left and when I went to school a few days later I saw in the good lighting that my hair still looked gray and the shades did not blend well. I finally went to Phillip Ciampa salon and they took their time and now my hair is a beautiful color and very well blended. Just because a salon is on Newbury Street doesn’t mean all the stylists know what...