Salon Escape

Wow, am I glad I found this place!
With an important meeting unexpectedly on a Friday afternoon I needed to get my messy hair in check STAT! Sadly, my go-​to girl was no longer at my previous salon of choice :(
Thus began my search and Unilocal lead me to Salon Escape!
TL;DR version: Amazing and friendly staff who take the time to understand you and your needs, a variety of great beverages to enjoy during your cut, precise stylists, a relatively modern-​but-​not-​snooty ambiance and most importantly… a great haircut!
LOCATION: Right in the heart of Yorkville, this spot is relatively easy to find and not too far from Bay station.
AMBIANCE: The facility itself is relatively modern and clean with lots of white; without feeling snooty or sterile. I would say it’s «just right» if not just slightly dated. I don’t pick salons for the furnishings though!
RECEPTION: Very helpful, and were almost instant to offer me a variety of complimentary beverages while I waited (I was a walk-​in). The staff take your coat to place in a garment bag. You are also given a quick but detailed questionnaire about any medical conditions, allergies, email address, and preferred method of communication.
STYLISTS: My stylist, Rikki, was very friendly and took the time to understand my likes and dislikes while still offering her own ideas and suggestions. I also appreciate that she took the time to read the ingredients/​contents of each product used, as I have a life-​threatening nut allergy. Her method was meticulous and the end result was amazing!
PRICING: My stylist was a «junior» but this was easily one of the best hair cuts I’ve had (and I have paid far more) and came to just over $ 40. Well worth it in my opinion. New clients are also given a few «refer a friend» coupons where both you and your referral save on their services!
CONCLUSIONS: My biggest takeaway about Salon Escape was their attention to detail and the «little extras» that were evident through my entire experience — from a lovely coat closet to helping with my jacket as a tailor would, to their new client questionnaire, to the added touch of complimentary beverages.
Highly recommended :) I’ve already pre-​booked my next appointment and have found my new «go to» salon!

Charged me $ 65 to shave my head. Then extra for ‘shampooing’ (running water over my head to get rid of the stray hair). Absolutely disgusted.

The experience was good. I really like the concept of being able to pick your look off the iPads. But I was quite disappointed at how expensive it was. I wouldn’t have minded so much, except that the colourist quoted me a price, but didn’t mention that it didn’t include the cut. Then the stylist didn’t quote me anything. Led to a bit of bill shock at the end. But the cut was great, and it really was a great way to spend a day.

First time here — picked this salon at random and booked a same-​day appointment with Chris, who is new.
I typically prolong hair cuts because I’ve never really loved a previous cut so I came in with a long and overdue mane that’s typically thick, wavy and frizzy in nature.
Long story short (get it?), I loved my hair wash/​cut/​style (long bob), Chris seemed to have fun with it and I received lots of compliments. Plus the cappuccino was a nice touch given the frigid weather.

I have to say I am very impressed by this place. I’m very very picky when it comes to where I get my hair done and as soon as I walked in the door they took wonderful care of me. From making sure I was comfortable to making me a latte these people know exactly what they are doing. The owner put me in the talented hands of Stavios, who was a delight to have. He consulted me and made the haircut all the more enjoyable. I highly recommend this place and I will start to come here as regular. A touch pricey depending on who you get but all worth it.
Quote overjoyed with the results.

I have mixed feelings about this salon. I had been a repeat customer for a couple of years, going to a junior stylist (she no longer works there now). In the beginning it was wonderful. I found it a little expensive, but it is Yorkville and I was always happy with the cut & colour I got, so I continued coming back, and I always gave the stylist good tips.
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but the prices seemed to increase until I found the blowdry to be too costly on top of getting my hair coloured and cut. So, on my last visit my usual stylist had finished rinsing my hair, cut it, and then asked if I wanted a blowdry. When she told me how much extra it would cost I politely declined, at which time she handed me the blowdryer and told me to do it myself. I was extremely surprised, this has never happened to me anywhere before. So I stood there and quickly tried to dry my own hair, as it felt extremely uncomfortable to be the only client in the entire salon to be standing alone & drying their own hair. I looked over to see what my stylist was doing, and she was standing at the back and filing her nails. I was so angry that this girl I’d repeatedly come back to, and have repeatedly given tips of 30% of the price of a cut & colour, would rather spend 10 minutes filing her nails, rather than just quickly drying my hair. I had thought that paying for an expensive blowdry included sytling– and that I understand. But to refuse to dry my hair at all seemed incredibly rude and unprofessional, not to mention very uncomfortable for me to have everyone watching as I did it myself. I had no option: if I didn’t want to pay for an expensive blowdry & styling, and didn’t agree to do it myself, I’d have left with wet hair in the middle of winter. I haven’t been back since.
I often consider coming back and giving a different stylist a try, but if their blowdry policy is still «all or nothing» I doubt I will be back. I’ve been to plenty of other places willing to simply dry my hair for free.

For cut, NELSON. Colour, TARA. Trust me.
They’re married! Awwwww.
PROS:
— Only salon in the city that has keratin bleach.
— Right across from a subway station.
— They know how to deal with naturally curly hair. FOR REAL (from 2 of my curlycurlycurly-​haired girlfriends).
— They also know how to deal with dead, bleached-​out hair!
— Tara specializes in BLONDE! Perfect!
— Great conversation.
CON (sort of):
Only one — the price! But you get what you pay for and in this case, it is actually completely worth it. In fact, they usually throw in extra treatments or products. SPLURGE-​WORTHY!

I really don’t feel I have hair that’s complicated to cut. It’s straight, standard hair. I get «allover layers and longish bang thingies… oh and can you get rid of the dead ends?»
Pretty much the grilled cheese of haircuts (assuming grilled cheese is the most super easy thing to make that noone can screw up in the sandwich world).
And, yet, in November, I got the worst hair cut ever. I’ve been wearing bobby pins since just waiting for it to grow out. Afterall, the difference between a bad haircut and a good one is SUPPOSED to be three weeks!
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. And the dead ends were back (as the last place hadn’t actually cut them all off). So, seeing good reviews for Salon Escape, and working nearby, I decided to give it a try.
I went with Ariba at the recommendation of the receptionist. I apologized profusely for my hair, which looked worse than it had when I was being a dirty backpacker for a year (the previous place REALLY butchered it). She looked at it in a perplexed fashion before pointing out all the things the last place had done wrong, proposing how she’d fix it, and telling me the future plan to follow.
She did a wonderful job, and I look forward to revisiting when it’s grown out more and can be properly styled and cut.

Soroush is a hair god! Went in for a cut and color because my hair (once my pride and joy) has become so dry and damaged I get depressed when I look at it! Soroush was very honest with what my hair needed and what style would look good on me. I truly appreciated that! I hate it when stylists tell you that you’ll look good in whatever hairstyle you choose. Uh how about no? This girl can not pull off blunt bangs -*sniff sniff* so anyway, I am now in love with how my hair looks and feels! He recommended a shampoo and conditioner as well. A bit pricey but so worth the wonderful soft hair you get. Considered it an investment!
I will definitely be coming back. Such great service and everyone is so nice.

Thank you Unilocal!I was headed to Toronto for the weekend and given I was having a spa day at a nearby hotel– I knew my hair was going to be in need to some talented hands to make it shine for a party I was going to later that night.
I had read on here that stylists fill up fast so I called a few days in advance and the receptionist couldn’t have been nicer. She told me that 3 stylists could take me for my wash and style at the time Io wanted and that they came with a range of prices. They ranged from a junior stylist at about $ 40 to a senior stylist at $ 61. She also told me specifically how to get to the salon by just walking down a little lane next to my hotel and basically looking up as the salon is on the 2^nd floor.
Well– given I don’t turn my locks over to just anyone (even for a blow dry) I chose Leland to do my style as he was the senior stylist.
I arrived a few minutes early for my appointment as they had called that day to say they had some cancellations and could I come earlier but given my other appointments, I didn’t have the flexibility I normally would have. After climbing the stairs– I was warmly greeted and my coat was whisked away (a note on the coats– they put them in hanging garment bags so as not to get any hair on them– a nice touch but remember your number otherwise you will be unzipping an entire rack of garment bags when you try to find your coat again!)
Leland greeted me with a smile, evaluated my hair at his station, and then turned me over to his assistant for a «wonderful treatment» at the shampoo.
The assistant was the only hiccup as she had to have been new for he had asked for some type of treatment on my hair and she kept asking people to come over to the shampoo bowl to ask how to do it. Not very reassuring for me to hear as I was supposed to be in her «capable hands». Even I had heard the instructions which were basically to put the treatment on for 10 minutes and then use some sealing spray. I was almost ready to tell her myself when one of her coworkers came over and helped out. Hardly the restful treatment that I am sure Leland had thought it would be. Oh well– maybe the next time I can have a different assistant for the rest of my visit of perfect!
Leland is not only a great stylist, but a great person too! If I lived in Toronto– he certainly would be my stylist as he was personable, knowledgeable, and just made the time in his chair enjoyable. And my hair? It looked great!
Another bonus for this American money carrying girl? They let me put the tip on my credit card and gave Leland the cash so that he didn’t have to deal with changing the currency.
All in all– this is a very nice salon with some very talented people. You can bet I will be back the next time I am in the Yorkville area!

I absolutely loved my experience here.
I went here because I had 8 different colours in my hair and there was no way of correcting it. I also had some serious dead end and fried hair pieces.
I got a senior stylist because I wanted the best results possible. She was great from start to finish.
Left with amazing looking hair and a smile.
Definitely will return

I went here a while ago and asked for light brown base colour with partial blond highlights. I also asked for a trim. When I left my hair was drastically shorter– too short, the colour looked exactly the same as what I had when I walked in and my bank account was negative $-360.00
You couldn’t pay me to go back to this horrible over priced salon. I broke down in tears in my car on the way home.

I am a girl with long hair who is extremely paranoid about any stylist touching my hair in fear of the dreaded «one inch to me equals six inches to my stylist». Luckily, a friend recommended Luc to me, who is a stylist that specializes in cutting long hair. He is very aware of how much he is cutting and doesn’t ever cut more than you’re comfortable with. I have always liked my cuts since going to him, which used to never happen before I started going to Salon Escape. The prices are also super reasonable and they offer good referral discounts.

It’s usually really hard for me to put my trust into any stylist whether they are cutting my hair or colouring it. It took a long time for me to find my current stylist, but I think I might have to break up with him (sad face).
I came to Leland because my cousin went an got an amazing ombré done on her hair. She told me he was the only person she trusted with her hair, and he was easy on the eyes. He specializes in hair colouring, but she told me his cut is also very good. I also know it’s probably better to get the same person to do your cut as well as colour if you can, as they know what the end result will be.
They suggested I come in for a consultation a month before booking my appointment.
Leland took a look, and explained to me really clearly the difference between ombré and highlights. For me he decided to so highlights underneath my natural hair colour, which would eventually grow out and become ‘ombré’.
He’s a very popular stylist, so booking appointments at least a month ahead of time is essential. He was running late that day and I waited 30mins after my appointment time — not good, but I was distracted as I was finishing up the Harry Potter novels.
When you get your hair coloured, you sit at some nice tables with if you were a nice flat screen tv if you were inclined to watch. I think this is a great use of space, as opposed to sitting at the stylist chair in front of a mirror when you don’t really need it.
Leland is a super nice guy, reassured me of my trust issues. Also fully understood I was engrossed in Book #7 and didn’t bug me too much, but allowed me to discuss key points.
I loved the hair colour. Super subtle but noticeable. It was expensive today, but he did say, if I wanted to get my roots touched up it’s only half price at $ 37 (every few months, is super affordable). A regular cut is $ 82. For Yorkville, this is amazing, and he does a great job. I loved my new cut — although the true test is the wash which is yet to happen. However, from what I’m feeling, I think it will be okay.
As a first time customer, they give you 3 coupons of promos (like free treatment, $ 10 off your next appointment etc). If you refer someone, you AND that person will get $ 25 of your appointment. (so feel free to say that I referred you :)
This probably will be my new salon and stylist, so I’m really sad to break up with Jay but maybe will see you soon!

I personally didn’t enjoy my experience at Salon Escape. I might have expected to be astounded by the salon/​service and experience sue to the high ratings.
I booked with a junior stylist with the salon and walked in for my appointment the same day. I was given a form to fill out giving the stylist more information on my hair history and a cup of Chammomile tea while I patiently waited.
The stylist (I can’t remember her name) introduced herself and washed and cut my hair. I wanted about 4 inches cut off of my almost waist length hair and walked out with pretty short hair which I was not too happy about.
I am very picky about my hair and requested that the stylist avoid using a round brush while blowdrying and simply just ‘finger comb’ my hair and then straighten it. She followed my instructions for about 2mins. before picking up a round brush and pulling and tugging my hair which I requested her NOT to do. She just blow dried and didn’t flat iron my hair by the way. My old go-​to salon provides a wash/​cut/​blowdry and style for the same price.
My bangs which I wanted trimmed in order to part my hair down the middle were cut way to short and I had to stop at the mirror to pull some bobby pins out of my purse on my way out of the salon in order to attempt to make my new ‘do’ look presentable.
I went out for dinner that night with a few friends and they all asked me «where did all of your hair go?!»
My cut cost well over $ 60.00 not including the tip.
I’ve experienced much better service and have come across much more respectful stylists which charge about the same fees elsewhere. I will deffinitely not be returning. Sorry Salon Escape.

After reading all these good reviews I decided to see what the place is all about. I guess I had way higher expectations than the end result. The cut was ok, but I was not completely satisfied with my styling. Usually when I leave my regular hair salon I feel more confident about looks, but after paying a higher price than usual at this place I felt like I should have stuck to my usual place. Thank God I didn’t dye my hair here or I would have been ripped.

I’ve been going to see Susana here for almost 2 years. She’s fantastic! I was recommended to her from a friend when I moved to town and am so glad I found her. Everywhere else I’ve lived I moved stylist to stylist because I can’t find one I liked well enough to stick with. I’m not someone who does anything crazy with my hair — just long layers and highlights/​lowlights and most places I’ve gone the stylist makes me feel boring or pressures me to try something different. Not Susana — she knows just what I want and I look & feel awesome every time I leave. Plus, I wanted to grow my hair out for years, but its really thick and no one has been able to get it to lay nicely as it grows out — I usually look like a xmas tree. Susana got it the first time and now my hair is as long as I’ve ever had it thanks to Susana!
I love the cappuccino during the service — nice perk! Prices are very reasonable I think (I think I paid $ 185 for cut and partial highlights). Definitely recommend this place and especially Susana!

I haven’t had a haircut in quite some time and was searching for a new salon around my neighbourhood. I am so happy that I found this salon and even happier that it was through Unilocal (thank you thank you Unilocalers)!! At the recommendation of Chelsea, the receptionist, I booked in with Luc for a haircut. I have long thick hair and was reassured that Luc was my man. And boy let me tell you, he really knows how to make length look great!
As a new client I completed a questionnaire regarding which hair care products I use — and my stylist actually read through it! I felt that this was the beginning of a great relationship because he wanted to get a better idea of how I treat/​style my hair on a regular basis. Since I’m letting my hair grow out, we spent a decent amount of time talking about the overall style and cut. What I loved the most is that Luc made sure that I was in charge of how much was going to be trimmed and asked for my input before doing anything. Of course I was open to suggestions but in the end I knew that he was delivering exactly what we discussed. And if there was anything that I suggested that wouldn’t work with my hair he took the time to explain what would happen as a result. What a guy!
I left with an amazing style that has a noticeably better shape and isn’t too much shorter than when I came in. I can still grow it out to my desired length without it taking ages! Hooray! Luc is a really cool, honest guy and an awesome stylist. Seriously ladies, if you have long hair and you want a reasonably priced and amazing haircut I highly suggest coming here and asking for him. He is also a Redken colour specialist and the go-​to guy for Ombres (colour is definitely next on my list here).
Salon Escape is Yorkville quality and styles without the attitude or the price. Yay Salon Escape!

(Sweet, a review on 11/​11/​11!!)
Another location purely hunted down by yours truly using only Unilocal.The rates of cuts is what lured me in here to start with and their charming staff is what will probably keep me going here for at least a few more times. Their website is also one of the most friendly I’ve experienced, they have an individual profile for each stylist (even the receptionists) with a breakdown of each individual service offered by that person. They all also have ridiculously good looking pictures for each of them, although my decision was solely based on who was available during my desired time.
The place is not too hard to spot if you know it to be on the second floor in Yorkville. What takes away the 1 star (or perhaps even 0.5 star) away from my review is their actual salon space, while it does have a practical clean design, the overall feel is not as lavish as you get in some other salons that are super clean looking and smell like fresh flowers in each corner. Some of the furniture did look a little outdated and they could do with a bit of a furniture overhaul. Obviously that should not deter anyone from coming here as their cuts are good my stylist (Susanna) was very friendly and like someone else states on their review my interaction with her was more conversation than small talk.
She was already waiting at the desk as I walked in at 2:02 for my 2pm and led me to her spot and I had to fill out a customer info form which is clearly aimed towards women (asking about female specific treatments), I had to try hard to not to be too flimsy with my words when describing what products I use. My cut ended up being $ 40 which I think is more than reasonable for the service and the Yorkville location, the great thing is some of the other stylists have even better rates.
Another bonus that increases the chances of a repeat visit here is that they give each first time customer a welcome booklet with 3 coupons for services and products for next time. And they had a notice for 10% off if you show them your Unilocal review.
As I was leaving the receptionist was very friendly and we even spoke a bit about Unilocal,so really there’s no way I can hate on this place with staff like that.

Hands down, best haircut ever!
I went to see Loriebelle at Salon Escape on a recommendation from a friend. I brought with me a photo of a daring short asymmetrical cut, that was far off from the boring shoulder length do that I hadn’t had cut in 4 months. After offering me a latte and giving me a wash and scalp massage, Loriebelle was sure to talk me through the cut and make sure I was ready for the drastic change. The latte was yummy and Loriebelle provided great conversation. Oh, and the hair — the final result was better than I could have ever imagined, she gave me a cut that was an exact replica of the picture and was sure to work with my hair so that the maintenance is super easy. I had the whole salon coming over to admire her work!
Oh and the best part — the cut was $ 52, but if you can find a friend with a referral card you get $ 25 off. So $ 27 for an amazing cut? Yes please!