Studio 815 — Local services in Rockford Township

I have never written a review for anything, but this time I feel I need to. I received a cut and a color, both of which I will break down on their own. First of all, however, my stylist was about 45 minutes late to the appointment. To be fair there was snow, but as someone who lives almost an equal distance from the salon as my stylist I was there 15 early. Once again it was snowing so I didn’t let this get to me during the appointment.

The cut: I have curly hair and have worn my hair naturally for several years now. The first question I asked when calling the salon is “does anyone here cut curly hair”? To which I was informed that they all do. Before my color service my stylist brushed out my hair and trimmed all the dead ends off that definitely didn’t need to be bleach, however, once the color was done and we were getting towards the end of the service she had a round brush in hand and was about to start blow drying me before I asked if she was going to cut my hair. She replied that she was going to straighten it and then cut it since she had already cut it while it was curly. As a curly girl that is a terrifying statement since curly hair when cut straight or brushed out doesn’t look the same as when my actual curl pattern comes into play. I asked her to cut it wet, which she did. The final result is fine which I’m happy about, but it’s very much all one layer.

The color: the service I asked for was a halo with an icy blonde finishing color. I have long dark hair and have been dying my hair for years. I understand that what I asked for might not have been possible and I was very upfront about being okay with switching to something more realistic if that was needed. She said she could get me to a dark silver color, which I was 100% on board with, but that was no where near the end result. I’m not sure if something just went wrong with the first toner she used, but after washing it out it came out a grey/green (roots) and orange (mid to ends) color. She asked me what I wanted to do and I told her to fix it. I was honestly not about to pay $430 for that. She put on another round of toner and it ended up making the back half light brown and the front pieces still that uneven color. There wasn’t much that could be done after that.

Overall the cut wasn’t bad, it’s not one I would get again though. But the color was horrendous, I made it very clear that if what I wanted wasn’t possible then that is okay/we just wouldn’t do the service, but instead my hair came out with one of the worst dye jobs I have ever had. One positive I can say is that my hair didn’t fry and she made sure to apply lots of treatments to ensure it was still healthy (I deeply appreciate that and made sure to say so). Also she didn’t completely wash toner out of my hair (there was a clump on the back of my head with dried toner on it that I had to wash out as soon as I got home). There was bleach on the back of my shirt (understandable but still not great), and there was either toner/treatment left on my skin that I noticed while leaving the salon. I spent 6 hours there though and my scalp was on fire from the full day so I just went home immediately and washed it off.

In conclusion, it was a very nice atmosphere (lovely people) but I will never be returning as this was not the...

I’ve never written a bad review in my life and now reading these reviews I wish I would have looked a little closer.. This is by far the worst customer service I’ve ever received and the most unprofessional salon I’ve ever been to. I came in for a consultation and explained what I needed root touch up * I even explained how I usually need a double process, this was over a month in advance.. I came in to my appointment and she started on my hair and everything seemed to be going fine. We did my first process and she washed it out and and toned it. When I got back to the chair I was mortified. My hair was extremely patchy and no where near what I was expecting.. and also told me I was only booked for one process like I was done. 😭But I specifically told the original stylist they consulted me that I needed two and the day of this same stylist confirmed that she could take care of me and her the job done. I don’t think other stylists should be consulting someone they won’t be taking care of.. and also mind you I work with Good Day Stateline and have a segment coming up next Tuesday so I wanted to freshen up my hair.. I am also a service provider in the beauty industry so my appearance is of utmost importance. I honestly should have left when she said she’s only been doing hair for two years because I know better but I really wanted to just have faith in her bc she was sweet at the time.. she said her roommate was coming in next so she kept me a little longer and gave me a bleach bath hoping it would do the trick. again I am a service provider my self and this also caused me to have to reschedule an appointment * so by the end of the bleach bath my hair was seriously splotchy, my scalp was fried, and I was doing my best to be calm and respectful. And I was. Super. One of the stylists proceeded to tell me it’s my fault. The stylist that did my hair had no resolve for me and then to make matters worse her room mate comes in and is egging me on at the door and was just staring at me the entire time I was in the chair. The stylist gave me 50% off the service and I just didn’t want to be that person so I paid and left. I was in the car on the way home and I was in panick looking at my hair and feeling how fried it was. So I went back and asked for a refund because I am going to have to get this fixed. ASAP. I was extremely respectful this entire time and being as understanding as possible. At this point the stylist was washing her roommates hair and as I walked away they were blatantly talking about me using profanities laughing obnoxiously, giggling and looking at me like my distress was amusing. I felt like I was being tested like no other and I STILL remained calm and collective.. the owner of the salon refused my refund because “time and products”.. but at this point it is no longer about the refund. It’s about the principal. When people especially in this economy choose to spend their hard earned money, time, and energy at your business it is a blessing. I would never expect someone to pay after an experience like that idc how much time or product was spent. This doesn’t even deserve one star seriously. Please keep the money you obviously...

I set up an appointment online to add highlights to my black hair (not naturally black, and it had grown out quite a bit.) A stylist texted me at 11pm a few nights prior to my appointment (quite weird and unprofessional?) asking me to come in for a consultation to see how much hair could be lifted before committing to the appointment, despite me having an email confirmation already. I went for the consult, and Maddy put bleach in a wee strand of hair at the back of my head, waited a while, told me what I want is impossible (I 'd done FAR worse both in salons and on my own previously with bleach and various colors, but she insisted that my hair would be irreparably damaged if we went through with even simple highlights, and that it was just not possible, but she'd consult another stylist who has more experience) . She asked repeatedly what my budget is, too, as if I'm some random vagabond looking to dine-and-dash a hair salon when I'm well aware of how long and spendy this stuff is if it's done right. It was insulting. I'd mentioned wanting to blend everything together in a nice black-with-espresso-ribbon-highlights way so I could easily continue growing my natural color out (which is the espresso I wanted highlights of throughout the black parts), and after deciding she didn't "feel comfortable" doing this, she suggested ghost roots, which entirely would go against my want to grow my hair out but have it look decent...not only that, she said it wouldn't be possible to do them in anything aside from a vibrant color like green or red.....this isn't at all what I wanted. In any case, I waited a couple days to hear back about her consulting another stylist "with more experience with this type of thing." I got a text the day before my actual appointment saying that the other stylist (Natasha? Natalie? Unsure because she didn't contact me herself; this was all through Maddy) didn't feel comfortable highlighting my hair either. She once again offered the option of ghost roots, and I declined. Immediately, I got an impersonal automated text saying my appointment was canceled.

I had my hopes up, and thank goodness my beau had the idea of getting a second opinion elsewhere, because I just got home from an appointment with Asha Salon in Rockford by Cherry Valley Mall, and my hair is freshly black, has the exact color of balayage/highlights that I wanted, was SINGLE PROCESS, took no time at all, and I got a trim while I was there. Better yet? My hair is shiny, un-damaged, and soft as heck.

Long story short; skip 815. Find a better salon, like Asha. It's worth it.

Edit: I've gotten two voicemails and three missed calls from this place since I left my...