Shine in the Heights — Local services in Houston

Overall an expensive, regrettable & infuriating experience that my hair will take years to recover from! These so-called professional stylists have no clue how to properly cut long layered fine curly hair. I first called ahead specifically asking for someone who specialized in dealing with fine curly hair bc if you have it, you know it needs extra care. This place had good reviews so I felt like I'd be in good hands. Alex was recommended. On Friday, 7/21 @ 10:30am I went in. Before getting started, I showed her phone pics of how my hair was. It was long, healthy & natural virgin hair that had not been touched by chemicals in over 15 years. I showed her all that I went through last year with an devastating color service by a bad stylist with a later correction at the Denton Color Lab, a fantastic salon with talented stylist. Alex seemed to understand my concerns & reassured me she could solve my hair issues. She did an okay job on the trim, being conservative with her cuts, which I greatly appreciated. I am still growing it out. That appointment for only a wash & trim with 10 minute conditioning treatment ran long so I had to leave with wet hair that wasn't even combed out. On the next appointment I came in for a full root to tip color, also with Alex. The color came out really nice so I thought I was good to go. Alex used a fine tooth comb to distribute the color. She declined my request to use my wide tooth comb. I am tender headed so the fine tooth comb hurt a bit, but she preferred her comb, so I went along with it. I later found out a fine tooth comb on curly hair causes damage. On that appointment I also had to leave with dripping wet hair bc her next appointment showed up. I wanted her to adjust the last trim she did just days ago because when it dried the layers were choppy & I had a shelf. It was not at all what it should have been... little blend, no flow. The hair trim needed an adjustment that should not have taken long to do by a pro. When I called to set it up before the July 4th holiday, she was unavailable so the manager set me up with Jeremy who was supposed to be a step up in experience from Alex. Last week, Thursday, 7/27 @11am I went in to get a "correction"s by Jeremy. We also visited for a good while before he got started. I also showed him the same pics so he'd have a good understanding of what I needed. Jeremy took trimming shears to my top layers, which is a MAJOR no, no with curly hair! He called it some sort of technique. Crazy thing is, he has curly hair too so my guard was completely down.... he should know better than to do this to anyone! I had no idea until later! I ended up with my left side even more shorter than the right side and my hair started to frow on the top where he used those trimming shears! Today I couldn't stand it anymore & went to see a real professional stylist in Austin, TX who showed me in great detail how he devastated my hair. I was in tears! I paid the salon $75 for the trim & another $90 for the one color. On both appointments I gave Alex a 20% tip. Even when she didn't do the adjustment I asked for at the second appointment. Point is, I showed good faith. I later paid Jeremy a $40 tip for taking the time to do the "correction". I was told I would not have to pay for another trim since this was a correction. Again, I left with wet hair so no clue it was even worse than before. I have chunks of thin hair missing that should never, ever happen! These two need to go back to hair school. The salon manager will now not call me back. I have left multiple messages asking for a refund for the $75 trim being that Jeremy basically assaulted my hair. I had to pay again to find a real professional to do what she could with it. It is better now but will take years to fully recover from what Jeremy did with trimming shears!!!!!!!!!! In total with trim, conditioning treament, color & 3 in good faith tips, I paid $278 for a pretty color and a...

Extremely Disappointed – Save Your Hair and Your Money

I don’t usually leave bad reviews, but I feel compelled to share my experience to help others avoid what I went through.

I came in asking for a caramel blonde balayage and even showed Preston multiple inspiration pictures. He assured me he could achieve the look I wanted. On the first visit, he said we needed to do a color correction first because I had a dark brown gloss on my hair. That made sense to me. However, after that appointment, my hair looked nearly the same—if anything, it had more random tones running through it.

I returned two days later for the actual balayage. I was there from 11 AM to 7 PM—an 8-hour appointment. When I left, my hair had multiple inconsistent colors, including orange and brassy tones I had specifically said I didn’t want. He told me to come back again the next day to do a toner gloss.

By the third visit, I was tired and frustrated. He continued to gaslight me, telling me the issue was just my hair and that it “couldn’t handle the lift.” This is simply not true—my previous stylist was always able to lift my hair just fine. It felt like he didn’t know what he was doing or used the wrong mixture, and I truly wish he had just been honest about that from the beginning.

To make matters worse, he kept cutting at my hair without much explanation, and now my haircut is completely uneven. After three visits and over $500 spent, I left feeling absolutely devastated. I hated how my hair looked.

Today, I went to a different, highly experienced stylist to get it fixed. She was able to lift my hair exactly how I wanted—no problem. She also commented on how bad the cut and color were and was honestly speechless at what had been done.

What made the experience even worse was that other stylists in the salon, including the one next to Preston, were doing multiple clients who all left with beautiful hair. Even the other stylists were glancing over at my hair like something was clearly off.

Bottom line: I would not recommend getting a balayage with Preston. I left emotionally drained, out a significant amount of money, and with damaged hair that another professional is now...

Updated 9/8/2021 with more pictures. In response to this review, I was told on 8/31/2021 that the GM would reach out, but I have yet to be contacted as of 9/27/2021. I’ve lowered my review by one star because of this. I understand if customer service doesn’t extend past payment, but don’t say something if you won’t follow through with it. If I do not update this again, assume that I was never contacted.

I keep on editing this review because I want to be nice but also honest about my feelings.

Gabriella (Gabby) was very nice and welcoming throughout my entire hair appointment. I enjoyed talking with her, and she made me feel welcome throughout the experience. I also appreciated how nice all of the other staff were while I was there.

However, I am feeling kinda disappointed with my haircut. My bangs are a decent bit thicker than I was expecting (I wanted wispier bangs and these are pretty full, but I'm okay with them), and since coming home, I've realized that my requested layers are uneven/choppy in several places. At the front especially, the asymmetry is more noticeable in the hair framing my face.

The right side of my head also looks like it was cut in a bowl shape where the layers don't really blend. This pattern isn't replicated on the left. I thought it was a bit strange while the hair was actually being cut, but I didn't question it until I actually got home and was able to look at my hair more closely. On this side, there also seems to be a substantial difference in length between different layers.

It's just hair and I can make it work, but it wasn't what I was envisioning when I went in. Not the worst haircut I've ever paid for, though definitely not the best either. Overall, cute salon with nice people, just probably not my cup of tea for future haircuts or hair services.

(Ignore the fake masks in some of the pics -- I was back at home and feeling kinda...