Salon on 5th

I (along with several friends and former co-​workers) have been going to Christie H. at Salon on 5^th for many years now and she is AWESOME. Salon on 5^th is located at the corner of 5^th and Poplar in uptown Charlotte in an old brick house that has been retrofit to house the salon and it’s services. There is a small private lot, so you don’t have to worry about uptown parking. It may get a little tight, but I have yet to have to park anywhere other than their lot.
Christie is a master at coloring. I have naturally dark brown (grey) hair, from what I recall from the days before I started with the coloring and Christie has fixed what I have done to myself (I am cosmetologically challenged), highlighted it blonde, did foils for a blonde that looked natural, light brown color, dark brown color, root touch ups and everything in between. You are not going to pay bargain prices, but when you leave you will have a beautiful hairdo and a spring in your step.
Christie has always listened to what I think I want for a cut and has been honest about what I am doing to my hair. Every cut has been gorgeous and I even have a hot mama driver’s license to prove it (I am always planning my cut/​color before going to the DMV from now on).
Christie has not done extensions on me, but I have a girlfriend who has had hers done by Christie for many years and they are absolutely gorgeous — you cannot even tell they are extensions. I have sat and watched the process before and Christie takes her time and does a beautiful job. She is also a master at waxing eyebrows.
If you are looking to try a new hair stylist, I cannot recommend Christie H. at Salon on 5^th enough — she is awesome!

I literally just got back from my massage with Carolyn Matjasko a few minutes ago and felt like I needed to get this written right away to share my fantastic experience with everyone.
I had stumbled across Carolyn’s info by coincidence really, and decided to give her massage services a try. This was my first «real» massage, so I had made an appointment (by email, by the way — which is convenient) for a 90 minute Swedish massage. I arrived 15 minutes early (like her page had asked of new clients) to find ample parking in the private part of the lot for Salon on 5^th customers. Carolyn got me to fill out a quick info form and briefly discussed the massage with me to make sure I knew what I was getting and what to expect. I told her it was my first time and she told me to make sure I spoke up if she was using too much pressure or if I was uncomfortable for any reason.
The massage room was the perfect temperature on a hot day, and Carolyn left to let me get undressed and situated. When she came back and started, I felt immediately at ease, which I had thought might be difficult for me as I don’t typically enjoy people in my personal space that I don’t know (ha). Carolyn is super nice though, so even just talking to her for a few minutes before we started was more than enough to relax me.
I don’t know if I can give too many helpful details about the massage, as parts were definitely a blur. I actually did the fall-​asleep-​head-​nod a couple of times due to my deep relaxation. I do know for sure that she hit all parts equally and used the PERFECT amount of pressure (she did confirm a couple of times that I was still ok with the level of pressure). There was nice calming music going the whole time and she definitely massaged me for the whole 90 minutes — legs, feet, arms, neck, back, scalp, etc etc.
I may be a newbie to the wonderful world of massage, but there’s no way it could possibly be better than what Carolyn just did for me. I will definitely become a regular and can’t wait to go back already!

Christie is the
. She did my hair for 3 years and I LOVED it! Then I moved to another state and haven’t been able to find anyone as amazing as her! I’m trying to stretch it until I come home for Christmas so maybe she can fix what several others have messed up! Christie is by far worth every penny! Awesome with cut and color!!!

My usual stylist is a far drive and now breaking out on her own is even a further drive. With work I was finding myself taking 2 hour lunches which well isn’t really something I should be doing very often just to get my hair done– she no longer took clients on weekends :/​…so (yes I felt necessary to provide that explanation) I decided to try my good friends stylist as her hair always looks great.
I was lucky to score a 5:30 appointment yesterday and get parking in their lot (score)! I found the old B&B very charming but I wasn’t really sure where to go… I wished my hair dresser gave me some direction as to what room was hers. Eventually I asked another stylist and met Christy who was very polite and quickly got started right on time.
She consulted with me and upfront stated her prices … The cost was about $ 30 more (when you factor in tip) than my stylist who was by no means cheap… so I was really hoping to look great. I also like how my old stylist always offered a beverage… no drink here. At one point I had to let my highlights develop and was ushered into a room for a very long time– she took another client in between which I felt was a bit odd. As a result it took about a half hour longer than my old stylist — but she did apologize saying the other woman wanted her hair flat ironed.
Now on to the really important part– the color really came out beautiful and she did a fantastic job with the cut and especially the style — a partial color and cut without tip was $ 160 — maybe standard for some but I cringed a little.
Regardless, I walked out of the salon feeling like I was in an herbal essence commercial. I met up with friends later who oooh’d and ahh’d so I may stick with her for awhile… hey I can always have a glass of wine post-​salon.

Let me start by saying that salons, in general, are hard to rate because 90% of the review is really about a specific stylist. That being said, I do think there are «tiers» of quality between different salons.
I’ve been going to Salon on 5^th for 2 years. It is a very unique place because it is located in an old bed and breakfast. Usually 2 stylists share what was a former bedroom. Don’t worry, the décor has been updated! Most of the stylists have worked at this location for years. I personally see Christie. I have trusted her with my color and cuts, and never been disappointed.
Each stylist is independent of the salon. There is no central manager or receptionist. I know most of us girls are not used to that; however, I really feel like it cuts down on the salon drama, and tension you can sometimes feel when you walk into high end salons. Everyone here works for themselves, they are down to earth, and each of them has a different flavor.
I have my stylist’s direct cell phone number, never have a problem making an appointment (even the last minute ones), and I always feel fantastic walking out.
As for what you will spend, prices are comparable or a bit lower to what you would pay at another local salon. And, I can say from first hand experience, definitely lower than Modern Spa & Salon.
Lastly, the salon is located on 5^th which is in the heart of downtown but because the salon is in a «stand alone» building there are private parking spots for free. Enjoy your beauty treatment without the worry of meters or getting out of a pay parking lot!