The best hair salons in NYC

Treehouse Social Club is a funky, tropical playground in the middle of the East Village. One step inside the glamorous space feels blithely like home. After you're welcomed into the retro salon, you swap your coat for a floral, silk robe of your choice and are sat in a green harp seat to chat hair. After 10 minutes inside, you may find yourself requesting punk pixies and feathery shags, after admiring the staff’s exciting looks. The pandemic didn’t stop New York hairstylist and owner Mischa G  from opening up her gorgeous gut-renovated shop in October 2020. The team aims for the social club to become just that—a social place where the LGBTQ+ community and beyond can gather for do’s and stay for something thrill-y. With a sprawling backyard oasis space attached to the lot, Mischa hopes to bring in future art shows, drag performances, karaoke and gay discos to the patio. But for now, the salon is already filled with color and life—Mischa enlisted a visual artist to create murals to pay homage to legendary drag queens and trans icons. Don’t miss the Dolly Parton bathroom downstairs either. 

Australia natives and partners Gregorio Ruggeri & Craig Longhurst moved to New York to open their gorgeous NoMad salon in 2015. Since then, the chic salon has moved to a cute townhouse on the West side, right next to the Highline that is both their salon and luxurious apartment beautifully decorated by Longhurst, an interior designer. It also sells fragrances and jewelry in addition to styling products. The salon uses no assistants—you get one master stylist who does your cut, color and style. Haircuts and highlights start at $250.

A quality haircut can feel transformative, but what if while you got your new styling, the experience also felt like a toe-tapping disco party? Enter: CutLoose, a retro Greenpoint hair salon with disco-laden DJ sets reverberating in the colorful space from owner and stylist Siobhan Benson. Benson who worked in the fashion industry for years, helms a the best Bangs Bobs and Layers in town Clients in the salon can jam out (from their chairs) to the likes of Madonna and Pet Shop Boys, playing on premium subwoofers during their hair service. As for your choice of cut, throw any reference from any era and they can nail it from 70’s, 80’s, 90’s to modern looks. Coming for color? Their colorist's work is just as poppy and vibrant as the salon, with lush purple styling chairs. You can book appointments here. 

 Christine McMillen and Jenna Pitocco, co-owners of New York City’s Love, Dunette, opened up their salon to make one thing most consistent among their clients: low maintenance hair. At their salon on the Lower East Side, they hold court in helping clients spend more time living life between appointments, creating dimensional looks that grow out well, like melting roots with highlights and lowlights. The salon’s environment matches their specialty in haircuts: laid-back. Specializing in balayage, hair painting, and lived in color, at Love Dunette, services range in price from about $115 to $250.

Adel Chabbi’s Midtown East salon focuses on dry cuts, color, hair extensions and blowouts. The celebrity stylist began his career in France at age 13 and believes everyone deserves to feel good about themselves. Feel like a star yourself in the massage chairs, which you can enjoy as you get your hair washed. Cuts start at $250 and blowouts at $75. 

The salon was started in 2011 by two sisters in Carroll Gardens, but they’ve since moved to a larger location in Gowanus. The Bird House believes your relationship with your hair is deep and the goal is for you to leave the salon feeling “emotionally boosted.” (And if you’re undergoing chemotherapy, your cut is free.) They've also just opened another new location on Johnson Avenue in Bushwick. At Bird House they do cut, color (including Balyage and Ombre) and styling. Cuts begin at $75 to $180, color starts at $120 and blowouts begin at $45. You can book online or via their app, but be aware that they require a credit card when booking and have a 24-hour cancellation policy.

Owner Kattia Solano refers to her 4,000-square-foot second-floor salon as a “sanctuary of beauty and artistry,” and we agree. Her primp haven is the perfect place to go to be at peace with your mane. Translation? Rest assured that your hair needs and desires will be met. Solano, along with her superstar crew of stylists, turn out perfectly-layered, easy-to-wear cuts in addition to makeup applications. Cuts start at $125.

The Brooklyn outpost of this high-end Manhattan salon certainly fits its Williamsburg setting: It’s small, stylish and intimate. And with only five chairs, it’s the opposite of cookie-cutter hair factories that turn out the same ’do over and over. Here, stylists translate their Fashion Week cred to cuts and color (both $120 and up) that are on trend without trying too hard. Head to the back for a strong drink at the salon bar, then lounge in the backyard garden when weather is warm.

Salon owner Nunzio Saviano’s philosophy spurns the signature look, embracing instead the idea that a ’do should be as unique as the client. Expect a full examination of facial structure, lifestyle and hair quirks before a stylist gets to work. Cuts and color both start at $150, and additional services include makeup, wedding prep and even braiding.

Sally Hershberger is one of the most sought-after hairstylists in the country. Many a high-wattage star—Kate Moss, Julia Roberts and Michelle Pfeiffer, for example—will shell out $1,000 to see her, and Hershberger even attracts unlikely VIP clients like Tom Cruise and Hillary Clinton. If Hershberger’s fee is too steep, consider shelling out for one of the other Sally-trained stylists for $200. It’s a small price to pay for perfection.

Joseph Artale’s bright, modern salon creates a calm feel that’s light-years from the downtown hustle. That’s the key right there: Clients say that the stylists here actually listen—like, really listen—to what they want and deliver it to perfection. And stop-traffic tresses are just icing on the cake, since each treatment is accompanied by a Japanese head and neck massage—worth the appointment on its own. Color services start at $100, and you could see a junior stylist for $95.

You may recognize owner Nick Arrojo from TLC’s What Not to Wear, where he spent seven seasons as the official hairdressing host. His eponymous salons—in Soho, Tribeca and now Williamsburg—are known for upholding Nick’s signature razor technique. A cut by Mr. Arrojo himself will set you back $500, but an appointment with any of the specially trained stylists (ranked by experience in six different levels) range from $85 to $205. The salon also does color starting at $85 as well as makeup and add-on hair treatments. If you book at the flagship location in Soho, check out the Italian café at the back of the salon during those long, multiple-steps-required appointments.

Looking for a break from the pretension of most city salons, two best friends opened the original Fox and Jane location on the LES in 2011. The vibe is warm, chill and, thanks to the wine and beer clients are greeted with, skews more British pub than swanky salon. Even the name is a nod to famous London watering holes such as the Crown and the Thorn, or the Lamb and Flag. A total fan fave, the salons, which are found throughout the city, have reasonable prices for top-notch services—cuts start at $73 and color at $93. And the alcohol certainly doesn't hurt.

Owner Amy Schiappa really likes art: Her beauty parlor has an art gallery, which features the work of local artists on a revolving basis, and the shop’s website thanks customers for “letting us put art on your heads.” Cuts start at $100 and the stylists’ areas of expertise ranges from the unexpected and bizarre to the subdued and traditional. For returning customers, bang trims between regular visits are complimentary.

While it's primarily known as a gorgeously outfitted hair salon where owner Kattia Solano—and a legion of equally talented stylists—turn out perfectly layered, easy-to-wear cuts, this massive, 4,000-square-foot second-floor space also has an in-house space devoted to massages, nail treatments and waxing. Cuts cost $120 for women and $90 for men.

The appropriately hipster-ified Ludlow Blunt Salon, Russell Manley’s Williamsburg salon for ladies and gents, blends an old-school vibe with effortless, of-the-moment style. The shop, named after turn-of-the-century philanthropists—and owners of pretty sizeable mustaches—seems to have a cult following with mere mortals as well as mega-celebs, all of whom eat up the careful craftsmanship and throwback grooming products offered here. Cuts start at $105 for women and $75 for men. Salon services include extras such as a beard trim or a traditional hot towel shave.

The East Village Whistle’s motto, “Look less ugly,” certainly seems promising, and the price is right, too. Cuts are from $72 to $88, coloring starts at $88 and blowouts begin at $45. Stylist Tom is known for turning bang-haters into side-swept goddesses—and he actually explains how to re-create the look after washing it at home. Bang trims are free for clients (as often as necessary) and just $20 for new patrons.

New to Brooklyn in 2021, this bright salon with a luxe waiting area and bar may be confused as a chic co-working space. Instead, it’s a full-service salon, where clients can start with free cut and color consultations and then move into customized treatments. Cuts start at $98 and additional beauty treatments are also offered if you want to start with a facial or make this salon visit an all-day experience.

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Exclusively working with senior stylists, Cowlicks is beloved for its haircuts, color and perms done with Japanese techniques and imported Japanese products. Cuts start at $80 and kids' cuts are also available. Japanese straightening, deep conditioning and a range of specialty relaxers are also available. 

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Feel like a model walking into this enormous loft space by haircare company Bumble & bumble. Signature razor cuts start at $99 and volunteer hair models can also register for free styles. Hair extensions, color correction and more are available at this teaching salon with a wide range of talented stylists. 

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