When Juliana from Salon Verona left for Columbia, I was on the hunt for a new hairstylist (you know the kind - you follow them to wherever they go because no one else understands your head). After two years of bad haircuts and tears, my search ended at Salon 501. Everyone in the salon is friendly, personable, and not at all stuck up. A friend and I have both now ended up with Trisch, who has an adorable Irish accent, and even though she's only kind-of kidding when she tells us we should go platinum blonde, or bright pink, she can really really cut hair. She listens to what you want, remembers your likes and dislikes. Gives you her knowledgeable opinion (which has always turned out to be right), but is open to suggestions. Not only that, as she applied some product one day ""because brunette's can shine,"" I asked if the product's company tested on animals. She didn't know, but the next time I came in (6 weeks later), she said that she had emailed the company about their policy, and when they didn't reply, checked the rest of the products at the salon, all of which are cruelty-free. How awesome is that? Let's face it, you have to spend 40 minutes sitting and talking to someone when you're getting a haircut, it may as well be someone who's has a great bedside manner in addition to scissor skills! The only downside to this place is that they don't do nails - but hey, you can't have it all, and they do wax - a friend of mine swears her eyebrows have never looked better!
Pros: good haircuts, friendly staff, late night hours
Cons: no nail service, blow-dry costs extra
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