18 Top San Francisco Salons for Hair FabulosityIt can smell great. It can make one happy or sad. Some of us love our locks and some, well, let's just say we've come to a mutual understanding. No matter where you fall, hair matters are a fact of life. A good cut and color is essential to maintaining healthy, complimenting-inducing tresses—and all that starts with a great salon. This handy guide is filled with 18 of our favorite spots in the city sure to improve your hair outlook. Have a favorite to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below. 1 Spoke & Weal If you didn’t know it was there, you might just walk by this small, light-filled spot, situated in Russian Hill, and on the cusp of North Beach. But helmed by star-stylist Jon Reyman (who divides his time between SF, LA and NYC) and color guru Christine Thompson, a fave of glossies like Vogue and Elle, Spoke & Weal has become a destination salon. Making an appointment with Jon can be tricky and expensive ($450 for a cut);
luckily his handpicked crew all wield a mean pair of scissors. Haircuts range from $45 to $125, depending on stylist’s experience. Partial highlights start at $130, Balayage starts at $250. 2 Milvali Salon & Cosmetics For the longer, thicker hair that nature didn't give you, head to Milvali on Union Street. It's consistently ranked among the best salons for extensions in the city, and Allure even declared co-owner Deb Monti one of the top ten extensionists in the country. 3 Posh Salon & Blow Dry Boutique Colorist Lori Dylan has been working her magic for over 15 years, specializing in Balayage, sun-kissed highlights and vibrant, all-over color. She is amazing with blondes, whether faux-natural or Marilyn-platinum. The salon also has a team of skilled precision cutters —Rachael Anne is a whiz with pixies— a blowout counter, and makeup services. 4 diPietro Todd Salon This mainstay mini salon chain with five Bay Area locations, including the ever-popular Union Square space (177 Post Street) is teeming with talented stylists and colorists.
We’re partial to the Pac Heights location for its laid-back vibe, comfortably chic space with high ceilings and, duh, awesome after-cut shopping and eating. Special props to all the assistants who give amazing shampoos (with neck massages) and excellent blowouts. Cuts and tints start at $90. A perennial favorite in the city, color virgins quickly become color addicts under the skilled brushes of the Atelier Emmanuel staff. Partial highlights and partial Balayage start at $119. Cuts start at $69. One of the most gorgeous spots in the city for a new do, Hair Collective will hook you up with the kind of color that causes complete strangers to stop you on the street and tell you how great you look. Partial highlights start at $165, ombre is $175, and Balayage starts at $165. Cuts run $115 t o $120 unless you work with an apprentice. The former Salon Miel is now helmed by the talented Jarr Von Samuel, known for creating lived-in, sexy hair. The rest of the staff is still here—and continues to focus on amazing cuts and color.
So kick back, relax, enjoy a glass of wine in lovely surroundings and wait for your happy hair reveal. 8 Joseph Cozza Salon Joseph Cozza stylists have been coloring San Francisco's best-kept tresses for over 20 years, even earning recognition from Allure for their work. Partial highlights start at $135. Balayage starts at $225. Part gallery, part hair heaven, Barrow Salon is full of color-savvy rockstars and shear geniuses. Founder and stylist Michelle Snyder was criss-crossing the nation to cut and style hair for fashion magazines (and her celebrity clients) for years before returning to SF. If you can't get in Michelle's chair, resident stylist Shelly Cross knows more than a thing or two about styling locks (she's also a regular at fashion shoots). Cuts at Barrow range from $80 to $135. Longtime Cowboys and Angels colorists Katie Casey and Marie Warden struck out on their own when they opened their still new-ish Harper Paige Salon, which garners great reviews. Stylists from other salons tell us they get their hair done here...hello?
Cuts start at $85; partial highlights start at $155. Cinta had been around for almost 25 years, and it's as fresh and modern as ever. This, thanks to a remodel last year, which included the addition of a blow-dry bar (blowouts are $40). But it's the talented group of colorists and stylists who keep happy clients coming back year in and out. The MO here is to take an individual approach to cut and color. (Check out the fabulous festival looks the staff designed for Outside Lands.) Cuts start at $58 and partial highlights start at $122. Situated in the middle of SF's high fashion district (in a quiet spot off Grant), Archer Salon caters to, surprise surprise, the high fashion set. You really can't go wrong with any of the stylists, including CK Karkhanis, who’s color expertise and sharpened shears enhance each client’s unique style. Prices aren't cheap: haircuts start at $110, but the results are worth the extra bucks. Population, which added a second location a year ago in the Mission (498 14th Street), is a blogger go-to.
You know those bouncy layers they all seem to have? This is where the popular girls get 'em. P.S. Hair model alert: Mondays 11am to 3pm—$25 for a women's cut. Located in the slightly ambiguous neighborhood that borders Alamo Square, Western Addition, Hayes Valley, Lower Haight, and NoPa (whew!), this salon is the brainchild of brothers David and Daniel Karvasales. Trained in the Vidal Sassoon method, Daniel is an expert at cutting layers and framing the face. The staff is also known for highlights that will win you compliments (and stares) for months after your appointment. Hair of the Gods Clients rave about the $75 cuts at this salon with an anti-salon atmosphere. There are no zinc mirrors or hard polished surfaces in the shop. It's upstairs, skylit, and full of plants and buddhas and tapestries—like someone's eccentric aunt's apartment in the East Village. Edo Salon and Gallery Edo was founded in 1998, with a vision to act as a springboard for street fashion, and it consistently pumps out one stunningly edgy cut after another.