While we love the random miracle of a good hair day as much as anyone, we also believe that good hair should not be left to chance. Fortunately, Chicago is teeming with salons and stylists that can cater to your curly, blond or down-to-there hair. We’ve listed the best of the best below so you’ll have plenty of time to toss your glorious locks back and forth.
For highlights, balayage or allover color, settle for none other than Maxine Salon, Chicago’s flagship L'Oréal Professionnel Haircolor Center. If Katy Perry has you craving candy-coated strands, try Mario Tricoci’s Color Touch Instamatic treatments, which apply the balayage technique to paint pastel colors onto blond and medium-colored hair.
Most curly-haired girls know that to avoid pyramid-shaped hair, the Devachan dry-cutting method is crucial. All the stylists at Curls and Company have mastered the technique, prompting Chicago Social to name the salon the city’s best for curly hair. If you don’t want to journey up to Rogers Park, head to Logan Square’s Penny Lane, where stylists also specialize in Devachan.
The struggle is real for subtle, natural and never-brassy blond color. Two Chicago colorists earn frequent praise for their skills. The first is Mixed Co. Salon’s Patrick Ryan, who is adept at hand-painted highlights as he is at solid color a la Michelle Williams. The second is Sherri Richards of Salon Buzz, who can handle blond in any shade as well as faultless color corrections.
Head to Huetiful for expert stylists who have styled the likes of Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis. They offer everything from bantu knots to a NanoSmoothing treatment that uses a protein supplement in lieu of harsh chemicals. Rahni Michael Flowers of Van Cleef Hair Studio has also received wide acclaim for tending to natural hair without resorting to intense, damaging heat.
Post-breakup or not, sometimes a dramatic chop feels therapeutic. The intimate, one-seat setting of Lumination Salon makes it a comforting environment to let long locks go. More important, Allure magazine named owner and stylist Adam Bogucki the city’s best for “obsessively perfect layers.” Can’t wait for a spot in Bogucki’s chair? Turn to the trusted shears at Art + Science, a Chicago mainstay for nearly 30 years.
