Maxine Salon — Local services in Chicago

I don't write too many reviews, but the experience was so counter to what I see on other sites that I felt I had to, as it seems it's being misrepresented by people who are evaluating the atmosphere and not the quality of the services. I walk by Maxine on my way to work and having newly moved back to Chicago to find my favorite hairdresser at a different salon had moved cities, I decided to try something new. I asked that they recommend someone familiar with curly hair cutting and then booked an appointment. We went through a prelim consult, I told her exactly how my hair behaves and needs to be cut, and she seemed to get it. I went and got shampooed, which was where it started to go horribly awry. The girl splashed shampoo all over my neck, which got on my sweater, and she told me she'd wipe it off when she was done. One of my favorite parts of going to a nice salon is the shampoo, since it's usually very massage-like, but not here. I almost left after that (with a stain on my sweater and shampoo on my neck and in my ears), but I stayed. The stylist was great, personable, friendly, has experience, yet ignored virtually everything I told her about my hair. To add insult to injury, she cut an additional 2 inches off past what I told her I was comfortable with, clearly not factoring in how much shorter my hair would be when it curled. On top of all that, she cut my hair all one length, which one NEVER EVER does to curls. Ever. Period. She cut a few strange "layers" as she called them, straightened it, and I was done (the blowout was nice, I'll give her that). I had a hunch it was exactly what I didn't want, but it's hard to tell without seeing it curly, so I went home, wet it, and confirmed. It's easily the worst haircut I've ever had, and it's so short that I can barely do anything with it. I called and spoke to the receptionist, who was lovely (as all the staff were), and booked for a redo 3 days later. The re-do was good, but little things like the fact that she cut and combed my hair with very old, dirty looking utensils and that used a Conair difuser on the blow-dryer that kept falling apart and hitting me on the head when she dried my hair were just very off-putting to me. The final piece of this is that they charged for a glass of wine. For a $100 haircut, I expect professional shampooers, complimentary beverages, alcoholic and non, state-of-the-art styling implements (not piles of used, dirty curling irons and hair brushes) and stylists who participate in continuing education (or at least listen to the client, who knows her hair very well and was very specific). While the facade is lovely, and it certainly appears to be very chic and state-of-the-art and there are lots of magazine articles touting their expertise, I found this to be a huge disappointment that's now cost me $140, 2 hours of my time, and will result in me having to wear my hair back for at least 3 months, which is beyond upsetting. I really wish I'd followed my instincts and walked out after the shampooer carelessly sloshed product all over me without...

Read what they did to me & my perfect hair genes: v This place only looks credible due to the owner’s art work and decorum. The actual stylists of this salon have zero credentials, zero training. Zero knowledge. They work on older (60-70+) women who need simple low-risk color lifts for a reason.

This is not a fake review. I went here. The large tall 30 something guy with brunette hair. He burned off my hair and left me bald over something as basic as a root lift with minimal bleach. Should’ve simply used a low developer. Clearly he didn’t mix it right At ALL. It was burning my skin but I never had that happen so I didn’t say anything and just grimaced my teeth bc I needed it done in time for my hair appointment at a much more expensive and more professional salon. That unfortunately never happened. My hair has never been the same since, and this was 12-18 months ago from today. I had thick hair all of my life, my whole family has thick hair. Today it is still stringy and ruined and thin with breakage. My head looks flat and small and the change has been life altering. I still don’t have any hair on the back of my head, only surrounding that area. The hair has yet to grow back there and it’s been 18 months. I honestly could and should sue. It’s preposterous something so simple could happen at what LOOKS like a professional salon however their actual STYLISTS are NOT TRAINED. And they let him continue to work there. They even tried to cover up for him and blamed the L’Oréal bleach solution, as if I were an idiot who hasn’t had my hair professionally and personally intelligently bleached with safe protocols and developer levels MY ENTIRE LIFE whilst maintaining thick and healthy hair. This place ruined me. You make your choice. But these positive reviews are fake and I can promise you you never know the day that comes when that fatale irreversible mistake at places like these are made. Bc it CAN happen to you. It happened to me. And I was young and in my 20s with a full head of genetically gifted thick straight long hair. You’re not safe from accidents like this. If I wasn’t neither are you. I had the best salon care at the most expensive places prior to this and only slummed it here intentionally bc I wanted to go cheaper for a simple root bleach job, something I’ve done myself once during 2020 with perfect intelligent results. Not this time. Not any time after this. Goodbye normal. Never again can I use bleach. And they still let...

Out of complete pandemic desperation, and my local salons being booked out months in advance, I decided to book an appointment here while on a family vacation. My hair had not been touched by a professional since before my engagement pictures in 2018. I was in desperate need of someone to rescue me from brass, dead ends, and a hack job of homemade bangs. Robert did my color and he knocked it out of the park. He listened to what I wanted and weighed in on what he could and couldn't do in one session which I greatly appreciated (some colorists will give you false hope.) Robert took it above and beyond what I could have expected and I was more than thrilled with my results. My hair cut was with Bob who gave me, hands down, the most fun experience I've ever had in a chair. Bob was excited and attentive. He was also absolutely wonderful with showing me tips and tricks on how to achieve looks that would compliment my hair type and face shape. Since I flew into Chicago, I wasn't able to purchase any products to take home but at no point did I feel pressured to buy anything. Bob also told me he wasn't on Instagram and I promised to shout him out on here. Bob, if you are reading, I'm on Sephora now! Long story, I left feeling inspired, tears of happiness in my eyes, and feeling like a million bucks. I will be back! Peep the...