Theory Hair Salon

The chunky highlight/​lowlight look I was trying to achieve had been difficult to find. I spent a lot of time reviewing salons and had multiple pictures with me when I went for my consult/​appt. The first time the stylist achieved close to what I had wanted, with the exception of I am primarily blonde and I had asked for some soft colored brown chunky highlights. It turned out a bit on the (very) dark side. But it did wash out lighter after some serious marathon washing. The final straw was when I went about 3 weeks ago to get a touch up for the holidays. I mentioned that the brown chunks were on the sides of my hair but not in the back so I asked for her to put a few brown pieces there. BIG MISTAKE!!! When she took the towel off, my hair was a charcoal black and brassy orange! Not to mention that she broke of a church of my bangs during the process. I almost cried and told her that I was very upset. She said, «oh I thought you wanted more brown, so I made it darker»??? Ummm, I have no idea about that. Next, she said she’d add some blonde pieces. She had another appt so she rushed through, stuck me under the dryer and had an assistant check to see when I was done. Really? I’m over here crying and you’re trying to fix a botched color job and you have your assistant/​receptionist decide when my hair is processed? The receptionist blew dry it out and I was still horrified. Now instead of just several dark pieces, much of my blonde was orange.
Never once did the stylist come to check to see how I liked it.
I flew home (out of state) for Christmas and my old hair dresser said she’d take a look. She couldn’t get over how dark it was. She also pointed to my broken bangs and said the stylist had definitely flunked coloring 101.
All this to say, stay away from Theory Hair Salon. It’s going to take months (and lots of money $$) to get my hair back to where I like it!

So I want to leave a review because there are so many bad ones and my experience has been good. My stylist is Kim. She is very friendly and fast. She’s cut my hair three times and I have loved it everytime. Yesterday I got partial highlights from her, and I was nervous because of the reviews on here, but they turned out great. She was confident which immediately put me at ease. She worked quickly and my highlights look great. I got several compliments last night. Kim will continue to be my stylist as long as she is close!

I don’t even know where to start. I’m just going to say save your money and go somewhere else. I wanted to try this salon thinking I would be in good hands. I spent $ 235 on the service (I have dark brown hair and wanted violet ombré) Started out she bleached my hair because I’ve used box color before, then she attempted to tone it, but it came out orange… the color I specifically said I do not want and is nothing like violet. After she tried again to get the correct color, I think I liked it only cause I was tired of being there for four hours and it was way better than the orange. It still wasn’t exactly what I wanted but I thought… Eh it’ll do. Well I was wrong. It has been 6 days, and it’s now faded to all different colors; orange, some blonde, an ugly brown and people say it even has some pink in it. I’m pissed. Its not even remotely close to the pics I showed the stylists or the color it was when I left the salon. I’m not one to complain or leave reviews but did so because I get sick every time I think I just threw my money down the drain while I ruined my hair.

Worst haircut in a long time, I don’t think they are experienced with men’s cut! I even showed the stylist an image of what I wanted off their own website and she royally screwed it up!

Update: since my last review the salon contacted me back to come in to re-​do my color for free since I was really disappointed with it the first time. I made the appointment a week later, again this time I explained I wanted it very red without bleaching it. The color of the dye they used was very red while it was going on this time & once she dryer my hair it looked much better! It is a very pretty pretty red (I added a new photo). Just wish they would have gotten this color right the first time.

Update:. The owner of the salon did contact me to correct my cut. Nice of her and it shows me they do care about customer service. I haven’t taken her up on the offer since I honestly can’t make the time.

don’t go to this salon! since i walk through the door all the stylists gave me a weird look. the consultation was horrible. she said the color i wanted was hard to get and asked me what my budget was!!! she said it would be 300 for bleaching my hair and dying it gray. i asked for options but she gave none. i felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave asap!!! when i came home and saw other bad reviews and wasn’t surprised. overpriced and according to many other reviews they do a bad job. i am glad i didn’t get my hair done here.

Never going back. I was charged over $ 200 for a trim and all over color. The cut is so choppy– I can’t wear it straight. The color (dyed brown) is extremely uneven and my hair is damaged. Adding a photo in the images if you’d like to see. Completely disappointed.

I called to make an appointment and I had checked out the stylists on their website. When I asked for a stylist I had seen on the website the person who answered the phone had no clue who I was talking about. Then when I explained what I needed done with my hair coloring (I needed it colored so the the contrast wasn’t so bad while I was growing it out) she asked, «so were you wanting a haircut or a color?» I had said partial highlights, I believe that falls under the color category.
I never made it into the salon because that was about the point when I freaked out. I’m not sure I want to get my hair done where they don’t know if partial highlights is a color or a cut.

I typically don’t share reviews but I thought I should tell you about my color with Teresita.
I asked for a darker richer color and even had pictures to show her. She colored my hair almost 3 shades lighter than I had wanted. Not happy at all and she is very expensive. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind paying a high price for a good job. Would not recommend her for color.

This place has really changed. Service has gone way down, stylists have left & the reception is very cold & snooty

I’ve gone to Theory hair salon several times and then found a more permanent stylist I was happy with for awhile. Upon not being able to go back to my stylist I went back to Theory hair salon.
I will say that the ladies here are pleasant, informative and do their best to listen to what you’re wanting with your haircut. Because of this I gave them a second star.
However, they are incredibly inconsistant with the quality of cuts and experience. I keep my hair short with layering, texturizing and thinning. You can tell by looking at my hair and so when I request someone with some experience or someone looks at it they should be honest with their skill set and not massacre my already short hair.
Now I have to go from a bob to a boyish pixie cut so that there are not gaping holes in the backside of my haircut. It’s very disheartening to leave with a haircut that makes you want to cry, thankfully hair grows.
The stylist did try and correct the situation and did what I believe was her best but she just looked at me blankly when I said it was wrong and had NO words or solution. Did not offer to get a second opinion from a second stylist to see if maybe their skill set may be better able to correct my already jacked up hair cut.
At this point i’m slightly afraid to have anyone even touch it because at some point I run out of hair to cut.

First time customer of Theory salon, and dirt time going to an aveda salon. I will definitely be a repeat customer.
After my visit here I’m really baffled as to why they had some poor reviews on here and am guessing those people may just be an all around generally angry customer.
Came in today and booked with Cecilia for my first ever pixie cut. My hair was down to my but before she cut it. Cecilia was absolutely WONDEFFUL. Being this was my first dramatic hair cut she talked me through the cut, let me know everything she was doing and why she was doing it and made sure I was comfortable during the entire process. The cut and style was perfect. I also really loved the pre cut massage. I have a 9 month old baby so it was well needed lol. The salon was clean and beautifully decorated. Different staff checked on me often during my wait to ask if I needed anything to drink. I was all around well pleased with the entire service.
Thanks Cecilia and Theory staff!

Underwhelming. I was looking for a new stylist and wanted to try an Aveda salon because I’ve had good look with their hair color in the past.
I brought in a picture of a short hair cut that I wanted (my hair was in a medium length bob at the time). The cut was not good. It was not layered correctly in the back, and I asked the stylist about it several times; she didn’t seem to know what to do. Also the weight line isn’t correct and now that it is growing it appears to have been cut unevenly on one side (not an intentional part of the cut) The color was good, single process, kind hard to mess up. Thank goodness or this review would have been one star.
I was charged $ 130 for my cut and color (no foils/​highlights). I don’t feel like this was a cut rate price at all, so it’s a little disappointing when you shell out that kind of money and still can’t get something you’re happy with.
I’m not interested in haggling or arguing with anyone, nor am I keen on having them style my hair again. So I did not complain to the owner and have no response to report.
I do not plan to return.

This place is basically a win win situation. They give great haircuts and the hairstylists are super friendly and nice. If you are not satisfied with the outcome they will be sure to fix it or even give you a refund if needed. :) so basically you will never leave this place with that regret feeling. I loved my haircut but the color didn’t come out how I wanted. They offered to fix it but I just took the refund.

Jackie gave me an awesome cut, I showed her a pic and she nailed it. She had great technique. Came with massage and shampoo. 39 bucks. See my profile pic for haircut.

I went here yesterday for a bang trim and I don’t believe this girl knew what she was doing, she just cut my hair bangs straight across and when I told her they looked uneven she said cuz I had a curl in my hair… then she didn’t even know how to style em after cutting them too short… I don’t know why I tipped her. She just seemed like she wanted to get it done with because she had a client waiting. Well, not going back!

Went to Theory for the first time today. My appointment was with Linda. I went in with such excitement to get a new highlight & cut. I left extremely disappointed. Linda didn’t listen to anything I said I wanted. The highlight is wrong and the cut is awful. I told her 3 times I wanted my hair shorter and she still didn’t get it short. I finally gave up. She spent much more time with her calculator deciding how much to charge me then she did listening to what I wanted. The price wasn’t an issue for me as long I left satisfied.
Then I went to the counter to pay. The receptionist asked how everything went. I said AWFUL! She responds“that will be $ 148.” I paid and laughed. Why did you ask if you didn’t even care. Again, the money was the priority.
I cant say anything about the other stylists there, but Linda is the worst I have seen in my life.(52 years) Also, I would point out that the management didn’t make any attempt to speak with me either.
Update: The salon owner called me in an effort to make things right. I went back in and had Teresita redo my hair and I left satisfied. I would go back to the salon. I would let Teresita or her sister do my hair.

SO I don’t really check prices for things before I go anywhere that provides a service — including restaurants, hair salons, etc… I didn’t check the price for this place either, but I did briefly look at their website. Turns out, this is one of the closest hair salons near my place. There’s like one or two barber shops too, which I’m sure are half the price, but they are kind of shady, and I’d rather go to a place that looks presentable (I know that sometimes the best places are hole in the walls).
I didn’t ask the price when I came in the first time, I just went in, got a stylist and told her (Jenny) what I wanted. Jenny is amazing. She did exactly what I wanted and it came out looking really good. Originally she gave me a book to look through to see if there was anything I wanted. I picked something, but ultimately changed my mind and suggested something else to see if she could do it. She did, and she did it flawlessly.
They wash your hair and give a short scalp massage — I would love for this to be a bit longer. It’s extremely relaxing! She asked if I wanted any water or anything. Their service is really great. I can’t really say anything about the other stylists but from the other two reviews, seems like they had great experiences also.
After I got done, I found out the price ($ 24), which is a little pricier than what I am used to paying at barber shops and salons near UT when I used to live in west campus. But sometimes you get what you pay for. This place is worth every penny. I came in for the second time yesterday and again, great haircut. I scheduled my third haircut in January.
I made the appointment to come in a second time after my first haircut before I left. They offer a service that if you schedule your next appointment, you can come in any time between the first and next haircut and get a trim around the neck and ears for free. Since those areas grow extremely slow for me, I didn’t schedule that, but I did schedule the next appointment, to which they give you a little card as a reminder, but they also call you a day or two before to confirm.

Being from a small town, I’m used to a normal, decent haircut only costing about $ 20 — $ 25. When it came time for my first «city haircut» I was super annoyed that good haircuts for women were at least $ 50 (I can get real stingy). I’ve been here in Austin for about a year and tried out a few different salons and stylists – each time getting more irked at what my hair was getting for so much money. Then I found Theory Hair Salon here on Unilocal.I’ve never had a set stylist before… but I think I may now. Teresita was fantastic. I knew I had made the right choice when I walked into the nice little modern looking salon. I also really liked Teresita’s sense of style. I felt that it was similar to mine and what I wanted to achieve with my hair (if that makes sense).
The scalp massage was awesome, the shampoo relaxing, and all the Aveda products made my hair smell foxy. Teresita even blow dry-​straightened my curly hair after she finished cutting. The best part? When I got to the checkout the price was $ 39 – EXACTLY what was listed on the website. That really made me happy because I’m so used to stylists tacking on this and that until your grand total becomes an unpleasant surprise. I don’t mind paying «city price» at Theory. I highly recommend making an appointment here!