Allure Salon & Spa — Local services in Champaign

I came in looking for a touch up for my highlights that i had initially gotten there with Madison, she did an amazing job, the color was perfect, the blend was really good , not harsh at all and Madison herself was really friendly. Since my first experience there was overall enjoyable I decided to go back to get a touch up. I didn't book with the hairstylist who originally had done my hair because I needed my hair done soon and her availability just didn't match up. I though it would be fine to get my hair done by another hairstylist but omg I was so wrong. Reading these reviews i think its insane that they charge you a late fee for being as late as 2 minutes because my appointment started 20 minutes after it was scheduled. I personally didn't mind because I was not in a rush but this could have been much more inconvenient to any other person. When we got to the chair the hairstylist I got, Allyson, was sooo rough with my hair. When she was brushing my hair it hurt so much, and even when applying the bleach to my hair i was just wishing the process would be over because of how uncomfortable it was. Even when she went to rinse me the way she washed my hair was so rough, and id like to personally say I am in no way tender headed. When we had our very brief hair consultation, I had discussed with her that my goal was to just touch up my already existing highlights and possibly lightning up some , which she initially said was going to be a partial foil. Also she did not really even use foils for my hair maybe used three to five but most bleached Chucks were just like hanging out which honestly I don't know anything about hair bleaching but that didn't seem right either way she could have explained to me what that was about. Anyways carrying on to the end result i don't even know what happened but for some reason my highlights ended up being darker than how they came in originally. My highlights were so much less blended which I literally mumbled a little prayer to God to please let my hair come out okay. When we finished I was just telling myself that it would look better at home and that it wasn't that bad. Going back to the partial foil, well turns out that changed to a custom color at the front desk. I was charged $290 dollars which i though was a little silly because that's almost as much as I paid for my initial all over highlights, when i just came in for maybe 4 inches (at best) of regrowth. At the end I just paid and went...

I hate to rate this place a two star, but I am upset with the price. I was in town for 2 days for surgery and decided to get my hair done. They had good reviews and were close to my hotel. I glanced at the website, which gave a rough est of $150. I figured I would be spending at least $200 but not over $250. I showed the girl what I was kind of wanting. I specifically stated I did not want blonde, and I for sure did not want any carmel blonde in my hair. The girl told me it would be ashy brown highlights, and she kept my dark base. She put color on my hair and then toner on my hair when shampooing. She blow dried and straightened my hair for me so I could see the color before I had my trimm. When i first saw it, it looked OK. I was running behind to pick my son up, so I didn't have time to be picky( thank goodness I didn't complain bc that would have cost more money to get it fixed). My hair didn't feel soft and silky like it does when I normally get my hair done somewhere. She charged me $355, since I was a half n hour late I tipped her 25% so I spent $455 all together for a simple color, a trimm, and to blow dry and straighten my hair. I didn't realize exactly how blonde it looked until someone took a picture of me in the sun yesterday. You have 7 days after it's done to reach out if you don't like your hair. Today is the 7th day, but I live an hour and a half away. Today, I paid to get my hair redone. I wish I could be refunded some money. 1st photo was my hair before. 2nd photo was the car ride home the same day. 3rd photo is the picture taken of me in the sun yesterday. I wonder what would have happened if I didn't have over $400 to spend on hair that I specifically said I did not want. It would have been nice for the girl to give me a heads up at some point during the process on how much it was going to be and ask if i still wanted the style and blow dry and straighten etc. I wouldn't have gotten a trim or had her blow dry and straighten it...if I would have been givin a heads up. The girls seemed friendly though, and it's a cute clean shop with a small boutique. Thats the only reason why I give it 2 stars...

Both times I felt less than impressed with the service I received. I could've saved money by doing a better job at home and going to Great Clips. I received an extreme chemical burn my first time visiting for an all over relaxer. I remember being asked where I had had my hair relaxed (different from perms but that wasn't an option for this review) in college and I had actually done it myself, so I will more than likely be attempting that again after being booked for one and a hair cut my second time visiting Allure. The stylist I was assigned to didn't preform relaxers... Which I should have walked away at that point but I instead allowed the stylist to cut my hair the way she wanted (I did say "I trust you" but not to ignore my requests). I felt like I left looking like Dora the Explorer... $40 for something I could've spent less than $20 having a better experience at Great Clips, instead of driving an hour to a salon. I'm not necessarily salty over the receptionist mistaking my relaxer retouch for a color retouch, I'm more upset with the fact the haircutting stylist seemed as if she was afraid to touch me and just using her eyes instead of hands and fingers to help guide the haircut (leaving a little slant) and being BURNED several times with the straightener because, again, the stylist only used one whole arm for the session. With a giggle and a "omg sorry" several times I ended up breaking my rule and didn't tip. I felt really gross and disrespected honestly. I'm probably going to save money and gas by never returning. An hour for a bad experience twice... Wish I could be refunded the $40 but I'll let it go.

Edit: I forgot that the stylist that relaxed my hair the first appt at Allure, had to rush me due to a picky client that came in. You should take your time on the client you are currently working with. And definitely keep an eye on the client instead of walking away a lot. I received a chemical burn because of a lack of supervision. I had to leave unstyled and looked like Fluffy the shih Tzu. Feeling like it was a joke both times? I'm sorry but I won't be back. Not that you'd care, but thought I'd add...