Fringe Salon — Local services in Philadelphia

I really wanted to love this place. I have never had my hair colored professionally in a salon and I wanted to put my money in the right place. I fully support womxn operated business, but I had a disappointing experience here. I had a less than 5 minute consultation with Alexa that ended saying it would be a easy job. I was surprised but eager to know it would be easy. When I came to the appointment, I reminded her what I wanted: from blonde to black hair, keeping blonde hair at tips. She applied the darkest, most unattractive and unflattering black to my Asian hair. I even paid extra for an additive that would “make sure my hair doesn’t turn weird colors.” When she washes it out, the blonde tips were dark gray because of the black dye. Though the results were a complete surprise to her, she reassured me saying it would be white after 2 washes and i would be able to apply neon colors to it. She explicitly told me the black won’t fade after 2 washes. I trusted her as an experienced color specialist, even though she already made mistakes. I wouldn’t have been as frustrated if I wasn’t correctly informed about what to expect. When I came home and looked in the mirror, there was black dye all over my face and neck. The black hair was so dark, people kept bringing it up to me, telling me it was not flattering. Every single time I showered (not hot water), the water was deep black from the dye. It obviously was past 2 days. Days after the appointment, patches of my hair turned gray and my ends were still the same dark tone. In less than a week I called to get a touch up because my hair was botched. I would’ve called sooner if they weren’t closed for Sunday and Monday. They couldn’t take my request because the receptionist was not in that day and they said I would get a call back the next day. I never received one. I called checking in, saying it was urgent. The receptionist was also not in again, so she told me I will get a call back the next day. I never received a call again. When I called back again the next day, the receptionist told me they had the wrong number on file. Surprise. And they weren’t able to book an appointment for me even though I have been calling in repeatedly for days saying it was urgent. They couldn’t accommodate because Alexa was on vacation and they couldn’t give the job to someone else. They couldn’t compensate any other way for literally ruining my hair. There was no options to amend the situation. They told me I should’ve expected this patches of gray hair, even though Alexa explicitly told me it wouldn’t fade. They told me it was my problem now because I showered too often, even though Alexa never told me about after care. It was as if they were blaming me for not knowing. The receptionist kept telling me about their same experience and that drastic color transitions require at least 2 sessions, but it doesn’t help that you’re telling me after the fact, when you knew what would happen before the fact. Alexa told me it would be easy AND not fade after 2 washes. Why are you telling me I should’ve expected this, if the expert lied and told me the complete opposite? I don’t understand how I should’ve known better if it was their job to tell me how I should care for my hair? It’s disappointing to know that you would let a client leave with unflattering hair and not offer any kind of compensation when I was misinformed, by the expert. I feel violated and insecure because...

I had such a bad experience here in 2022 that I'm reminded of every time I see this salon recommended for curly cuts, and I see the stylist is still working there now. The salon website says they don't gatekeep, but that is exactly what happened to me. My review is to warn people before booking with Beth.

I came to this salon with a year's growth of hair since my last haircut, long enough to reach my hips. It was freshly washed that morning and had curls and waves in different spots. All the layers had grown out and the weight of all that hair was pulling down on every strand. I'd recently moved into a new house that I suspected of having hard water, which was affecting my hair health and styling products. I was struggling to determine my hair porosity, whether it's fine or coarse, if it's over moisturized or has too little protein, etc. I wanted to talk to a professional about my hair type so that I could look up products specific to my type and try those. I wanted advice on what cut to get to make my curls look flattering, if not the typical long layers suggested for curly hair. Overall, I booked this visit to be the first step in a new experiment to make my curly hair look nice.

I explained all this to Beth as I sat in her chair and the first thing out of her mouth was, "You don't have curly hair." I do, it just didn't look like it at that moment (see photo sitting in salon). I tried to explain to Beth and she just pulled a lock of hair away from my head and said, "Not curly." She then asked what I wanted, so I repeated that I wanted advice on what cut would work best for my hair. Beth asked me again what I wanted, and I realized she wasn't going to help me at all. I asked for the same cut I always got, long layers, because I didn't know what else to say. Beth left me with the shampoo girl, and guess what the shampoo girl said as she had me flip my soaking wet hair over? "Look at all these juicy curls!"

The rest of the visit was silent. Beth never addressed any of the other questions I had about my hair, like porosity, texture, moisture, and effects of hard water. She did repeat a few more times as she cut that I don't have curly hair. I have not wanted to cry in a hair salon since I was 10, but Beth got me close.

I had hoped to leave Fringe Salon with knowledge about my hair and information to help me moving forward. Instead, I spent $90 on a haircut that I get at Hair Cuttery for $36 and left feeling frustrated and upset that I had been silenced and ignored about what I wanted and needed. I do have curly hair (see photo taken this morning after washing and air drying) and am so disappointed that this salon would not give me the help or community they advertise on...

I had a disappointing experience at Fringe Salon and unfortunately will not be returning.

I scheduled a haircut and color consultation. My biggest issue was how my appointments were handled. Both times I visited, Lee Ann started about 30 minutes late because they were juggling multiple clients at once. A simple haircut and style stretched to over two hours because they would leave to go work on another client. My bangs were styled incorrectly despite me explaining how I usually wear them, and when I left they were plastered straight to my forehead and I had to put a hat on.

When I came back for color a few weeks later, the same delays happened. We discussed going with a lighter, more natural shade, but the result was darker and closer to the original consultation color I said I didn’t want. On top of that, no barrier cream was used, so I left with noticeable staining around my hairline. I do want to note that Bug, who washed my hair, was excellent and did their best to remove the staining. They weren’t responsible for the application, so I don’t fault them at all.

Finally, when I was leaving, Lee Ann said the receptionist had left for the day, so they were going to charge me the remainder of the cost after the $50 deposit using the card on file. I asked how much that would be, and they said around $30. When I reviewed my receipt later, I was surprised to be charged an extra $28 for “products used” (shampoo, conditioner, and a styling cream). This was not explained to me in advance and felt excessive, especially since most salons include that in their service price. I'm not sure if this was their way of being transparent by itemizing the cost of the appointment, but if I had known in advance I would have asked to not use any product.

I understand the salon has strict cancellation and late policies (72 hours cancellation notice, appointments cancelled for tardiness), but it’s frustrating that they don’t hold themselves to the same standard. Overall, my experiences here were unprofessional and...