The Corner Salon

I went there with a Groupon and didn’t know what to expect. The space is old, totally beaten-​down and kind of dirty. My hairdresser was really nice and made an effort to talk to me, but extremely indelicate and very unprofessional. Not that I judge the way people dress or style their hair, but as a hairdresser, it’s crucial that your appearance reflects your style and skill level. She was plain frumpy. Had 80’s bangs, dull, unstyled, uncolored hair pulled back in a quick ponytail. Something out of
.
She knocked my earring while combing, and told me the grossest thing that ever happened to her was getting her comb stuck in someone’s eyebrow ring (OMG! Really?! Why was she telling me this?!). She barely even looked at my reference pictures, divided my hair randomly as she cut it (I have an angled and asymmetrical bob… you divide it wrong and you mess it up entirely). Didn’t ask me to uncross my legs (but I did anyway because I know from experience), and obviously didn’t ask me to remove my earrings. She made it choppy towards the ends with random cuts with thinning shears, but she was rarely paying attention to what or how she was trimming. Too engaged talking to the other stylist. I HATE thinning shears, it makes my hair so frizzy. She commented on how my previous stylist had done such a great job, and I kept thinking, ‘So does that mean you can’t replicate it?’ I was so scared!
Their so-​called «deep-​conditioning» was really leaving the conditioner on for 5 minutes with no hair steamer (they don’t even have one there). She didn’t ask what I thought of the water temperature. I think she was in a hurry.
Then while blow-​drying, she kept tossing my hair over my head and poking me in the eye with big chunks of wet hair. She would immediately stop whatever she was doing to answer her phone saying it was her mom, but it was a male voice when she put them on speaker. This happened twice (excuse me for interrupting your phone call!). She asked me if I wanted kids and why not. Um, excuse me? A bit too personal? She asked me how long it usually took me to blow-​dry my hair at home (because it was taking her a while to blow-​dry it), and I said it usually was a bit faster at home because my blowdryer was a bit stronger. I have no idea what product she used to style my hair, because she didn’t say. She didn’t offer to style my hair, she just blow-​dryed it straight. I didn’t even see any flat or curling irons at her station.
Anyway, miraculously, it turned out okay, though I did only ask to keep it the way it was, minus 2 inches. BUT, it does not look like the picture I showed her (of my own hair 4 months prior), mainly because she went crazy with her thinning shears instead of actually sculpting or styling. She only trimmed off 2 inches and thinned it. I would NEVER in a million years trust anyone in that salon with anything but a trim!
This place is so tricky. They jack up their prices so you think it’s a cool salon downtown. Nope. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND INSTEAD GO TO REDBLOOM for the same price. I’m almost positive they use all grocery-​store brands in fancy bottles as she didn’t tell me anything she was putting in my hair! I paid $ 40 for a 50% off cut and so-​called deep-​conditioning. That service was probably worth $ 20 without a Groupon discount.

Naomi Maisey is one of the most respected Hair Stylist in the City. Works with most of the Calgary’s top Commercial Photographers and Stylists. Amazing colorist. On Part time after mat leave, so if you’re not a regular, you won’t get in for the next Year or so, but she rents Chair space to Dani E, another well respected stylist.