Marianne Strokirk Salon

I am extremely disappointed with this salon. I received an email entitled «We miss you at Marianne Strokirk Salon» offering 50% off my next service. The email did say «some restrictions apply», so I made sure to mention the 50% off coupon at the time I scheduled my service. With that said, no issues with using the discount were disclosed. I worked with the receptionist to find a time that worked within my timeframe — I let her know that I was getting my hair done for my engagement pictures on 9/​27, and she was helpful in locking me in for a date that worked (1 day before my pictures). Although I booked the appointment about 3 weeks prior, I received a voicemail 40 MINUTES BEFORE MY APPOINTMENT advising me that I should expect to pay full price because I had been to the salon within the past 6 months. When I called back to discuss the issue, I was told that unfortunately for me, the person I had originally booked my appointment with was new and didn’t know to advise me that I had to wait just a couple more weeks to schedule my appointment. Hearing this explanation, I retorted that I, the customer, did nothing wrong in this situation and that their customer service on the issue was EXTREMELY DISSAPPOINTING. I cannot help but feel like this salon tried to take advantage of me, especially since I originally explained why I needed to get the appointment in the first place. They knew I needed something and thought they could get me to pay full price. Had someone explained this restriction to me at the time of booking, or even a week before the appointment, I would have kept it and continued being a customer at this salon. Because of the poor customer service though, I cancelled my appointment, and will not be dealing with this place again. Customer service makes or breaks businesses, and in my opinion, this one is broken.

I have been so happy with my colorist Melissa! I have been seeing her for 3 years now and she is constantly raising the bar! She listens to my crazy ideas for my hair and makes them a beautiful reality w/​out causing harm to my hair. She is always on top of the latest trends and always enthusiastic to see me!

My experience at this salon was beyond pleasant, which was unexpected due to the fact that I had to make an emergency visit when my typical stylist was out of the country and it was my first time at the salon. I’m VERY PICKY about my hair color and have had some terrible experiences in the past at other salons. However, my colorist, a very sweet and pretty young woman named Melissa, was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I couldn’t be happier with my hair color and cut! It’s so natural looking and the compliments keep rolling in every day! I recommend Melissa to all my friends and will be a loyal customer from this point forward. She’s a true artist! I would rate her work more than 5 stars if I could! Go see her! You will not be disappointed! :-)

I had been a client of colorist Sarah, who left the salon a couple of months ago. I just received the worst single process color I have ever had in my life from colorist Melissa. I color my hair to disguise the gray, and wanted the color to match my natural dark auburn. Instead, I received a bright red with magenta overtones. It is horrible and I am embarrassed to be seen in public, much less to attend the special occasion I have this weekend. I will go to another salon to see if there is any way to salvage my hair color, and will never return to this place.

Great color experience with Justin! Love the parking easement door, as well. So convenient!
Justin evaluated my hair, made suggestions, then followed through EXACTLY. I looked FAB for my Cabo vacation. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I just called here to ask how much they charge for a touch-​up. Tiffany answered and asked me what kind of a touch-​up? She said,‘A touch-​up could cover alot of things like a c ar touch-​up or what?” I said,” You do car touch-​ups and hair at the same salon? I AM IN SHOCK.’ I was seriously looking to go here but frightened by the question she asked me. Obviously she thought she was at the garage working and not at the shop today..

I have had hundreds and hundreds of haircuts in my life, and this was the utter BEST! Jade understood my thick and quirky hair, my simple lifestyle, and the current trend. A trifecta of happiness. She was quick, positive, and can twirl her scissors like a gunslinger. Jade is a hair goddess. Go see her. Keep her number forever.

Go to Toni! I have been hopping around to different salons over the years to try & find the perfect cut. SO glad I came here. Due to getting some previous bad layers at other places I was very hesitant to let someone new go for it, but she made me feel very comfortable & clearly knew what she was doing. I highly recommend Toni, loved her cut, it was exactly what I wanted & asked for!
The only downside to coming here is how expensive it is. With a 50% off coupon I still paid about $ 50 which means I would normally have to pay close to $ 100 for a hair cut which is a bit steep for me on top of typically getting highlights as well.

To be quite frank, my first and only experience with this salon was rather frustrating and unorganized. I made an appointment a week prior to the date at 2:30.
While I got there on time, I waited there for a good 30 minutes until Morgan, the stylist, finally came out to greet me— to only be informed that she’s still with the other client and is running wayyyy behind schedule. If I wanted to get my hair colored that day, I would have to wait ANOTHER 30 – 45 minutes. So, I would be waiting more than an HOUR from the planned time. Otherwise, she wasn’t available for another two weeks to do my hair.
I understand, things happen and people run behind the intended schedule. She was rather apologetic, but I really couldn’t help but be really frustrated with how poorly organized she was. I tried my best to be patient and understanding, but she expected me to sacrifice my previous engagements to revolve around her poor planning.
I know it wasn’t the salon’s fault, and I’m really disappointed because the place seemed to be really great, but I don’t intend on returning because of this poor first impression.

I will never be able to go anywhere else again. I get my color done by Linda and my cut by Toni. I have never received so many compliments about my hair before. Strangers have even stopped me is stores to ask where I get my hair done. They’re amazing!

Thank you Cassie and Eddie for fixing my god awful hair that was messed up by someone else! They are truly professional and specialists. They know what they are doing. Had the guilt city deal and got the full experience. Very high end salon, has been around for over 20 years. And they have a parking lot! Overall I felt like a million bucks when I left out of there!

Great place to get a haircut the environment is very conductive.

What a refreshingly great salon experience. Every time I leave a salon I feel like the life force has been sucked from me. Not here. From beginning to end I had such a great, stress-​free and personalized experience. Booking my appointment was a breeze, parking for free right in front of the building (near the Gold Coast no less), and being greeting by the friendly reception desk set the tone for the rest of the appointment. The salon is in a beautiful space, an airy loft, whose location is somewhat hidden by Le Cordon Bleu culinary school that shares the same building.
Good. Best that no one finds out what a great hidden gem this salon is.
I was given a robe to change into, and a locked cubby for my things before I was greeted by my stylist, Jesse. Now don’t pretend you don’t take one look at your stylist and judge them on their appearance, cause you know you do it too. Anyways, I could tell I could trust him to give me a haircut that wouldn’t make me look ridiculous, but still unique enough to not be boring. Jesse was friendly, appropriately talkative without talking my ear off, and genuinely interested in my hair and what I wanted. He was very detail oriented and spent a lot of time with me making sure everything was just so. End result was a great hair cut at a surprisingly reasonable price, about $ 65 not including tip for a Level 1 stylist.
I came with my mom who got a single-​treatment color by Justin — not only did she find him adorably cute, but hooray, he was very competent and talented, and gave my mom a color she loves. She plans to go back and get a hair cut soon from Chris, whom he recommended.
All in all, so refreshing not to be amidst a hoard of women talking loudly on their cell phones. Everyone, down to the apprentices sweeping hair from the floors were friendly and helpful. I will definitely be back!

Good-​bye artificial nails, HELLO SHELLAC!
Here’s my story:
I went to the America’s Beauty Expo at McCormick last month.
I stopped by CND’s booth where they had nail techs applying shellac and shatter manicures for everyone. Shatter is a bit too punk rock style for me and I was immediately attracted to the shellac manicures. One of the nail techs did shellac on me and I LOVED it. Since then, I’ve been looking into every nail salon that carry shellac.
Shellac manicures are typically around $ 40-​$ 60.
I think it is $ 50 here but don’t take my word for it. I’m not sure how much it is. =T
This particular manicure does NOT ruin your natural nails like gel/​acrylics. This special nail polish is applied just like a regular nail polish except more sturdy and NO chipping! It’s a multiple process of cure after cure.
It does not take as long as applying gel to your nails but a little longer than regular nail polish. The best part is, your nails are dried instantaneously after the last cure! So you can dig into your purse all you want and your nails will not get ruined. :)
I came to this location with a friend to get a shellac manicure done by Ganka. She’s the only nail tech there and she does an AWESOME job. Not sure how long it took to get my nails done because we were too busy chatting, time seemed to go by real fast.
I know she’s been with the company for over 20 years as a nail tech and I hope she never leaves! :)
I will definitely come back to get shellac manicures by her.
If you have not had shellac manicure done already, I highly suggest you believe the hype and make an appt with Gangka.

Customer service at this place is excellent. Ashley did my color and was very thorough. Bonnie cut and styled my hair. I am very pleased. They both took their time to listen to what I wanted and my hair came out better than expected. Thanks gals. I love it!
Ganka has been my mani and pedi person and I don’t feel comfortable anywhere else. My biggest fear is being cut (which has happened in the past at other places) but I can relax with her because she takes her time and does an excellent job! Thank you too.

I purchased a YouSwoop due to the favorable Unilocal reviews. It took me a while to use it, but my hair was getting out of control.
I was able to get an appointment for the day and time I wanted and they worked with me when I had to change the time (twice).
I was a little intimidated by the vibe in the salon. A lot of the stylists were walking around looking a little snobby and the clients looked like they were all regulars. Fortunately, my stylist was Glori and she was very friendly and down to earth. We talked about what I would like my hair to look like and then off to the shampoo area. I like the fact that the stylist washes your hair. I find the hand-​off to the shampoo girl to be a bit awkward.
Glori was very meticulous and it took her a while to cut my hair. She first cut my hair when it was wet, then blow dried it, straightened it and shaped it. I noticed other stylists doing the same with their clients. Generally, most clients spent quite a bit of time getting their hair cut, which means that the stylists pay attention to detail.
I must say that I was a little underwhelmed with my hair cut, but when I got home, I realized that the lighting was a bit off at the salon and I did not notice all the pretty layers in my hair.
A few days later, I received a voicemail from someone at the salon asking me about my experience. I thought that was very nice.

I moved to Chicago about a year ago from Miami and had a nightmare experience while in Miami prior to finding a stylist I loved, was understandably very leary about trying something new. I had been with the same stylist in my hometown for almost 20 years before Miami. I continued traveling back to Miami to get my hair cut but just can’t seem to find the time these days. Not knowing where to go I saw that YouSwoop had a coupon for Marianne Storkirk Salon, after looking at the reviews on Unilocal and noticing the location of the salon, I went ahead and purchased!
I called the same day that I purchased the coupon (a Tuesday) to the salon on Oak Street, requesting an appointment on a Thursday. Surprisingly enough, they had an appointment two days later! I explained to them I was a little nervous to get my hair done and asked about the stylist, also requesting an appointment to get my color done as well and requested someone who specialized in doing blonde color. After something came up at work, they moved my appointment until Friday!
I arrived at the salon on Friday morning, changed into the smock, and hopped in the chair. I was greeted by Ingrid, who asked my what I wanted done with my hair. I explained I had a bad experience was a little nervous but was thinking about cutting bangs again! She pulled out this fabulous book of every style that was in right now and went to a picture which was exactly what I wanted! With that she started to cut away! The conversation was light and friendly! I’m not sure if she was new but there was someone always behind her watching but by the end of the cut I was all smiles! I seriously think this is the best cut I have ever gotten! I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten as many compliments on my hair EVER!!!
I had to go to work and came back later in the day to finish my color, I’m not sure what the name of the colorist was but she was awesome! Conversation flowed a little easier with her but may have just been the time of the day. She finished my color and by that time Ingrid was free again so was there to blow my hair out. I have never been so happy walking out of a salon, I only wish I had purchased more of the YouSwoop coupons. You cannot beat a $ 25 haircut and $ 55 highlight especially in that location! I would tell everyone I know what a great experience I had and have found my stylist for years to come! I can’t wait to go back!

I had an excellent experience with this salon and would definitely recommend it. Before everyone gets all up in my grill about cheating on my Beau, relax, a friend bought me some highlights arranged through Pretty City. I was able to make a spur of the moment appointment with Gia and was really happy with the results. She turned my sad, dull hair into warm and buttery beautiful in just a few short hours.
Given that I was using the Pretty City thing and on someone else’s dime, I couldn’t get my haircut there because I received a gift card for another salon that wouldn’t let me cancel my appointment, yet let me wait 45 minutes when I was done at MS Salon to not get my haircut because I was then running late.
Gia did a great job and they offered me a new customer discount for the next time I went. I was also quite thrilled when one of the partners did a follow up call on Monday to see if I was happy with my services. Here is your answer sir, yes, I was very happy and also glad to see this salon still at the top of its game. Vibe was hip and fresh, stylists were up to speed on trends and styles and receptionist was exceptionally accommodating and friendly.
I will save the fifth star for my next visit. One note: please tell the young ones to spit out the gum. Only bad practice I saw!

I enjoy going to the salon itself because it is fast paced and doesn’t make me want to fall asleep like most salons do since, to me, getting pampered makes me feel like the day is wasted and tiring.
I’ve never gone there to get my nails done but I have gotten my hair cut and colored.
I don’t particularly like how you have to get your hair colored by one person and cut by another, just because it’s not entirely convenient, but that’s just how they run the place I suppose.
I have gotten my hair cut by a few different people but mainly, I get my hair cut by Halley, and she always does a great job – and I plan to continue going to her to keep my locks healthy and trimmed.
I haven’t gotten my hair colored by anyone but Melissa, a new colorist that recently got her chair about six (ish) months ago. I first started going to her when she was working for her chair, as a colorist’s assistant. She had highlighted my naturally dirty blonde hair to a lighter shade numerous times. And just recently, she died my hair a dark brown (a huge deal to someone like myself– that’s done nothing but highlight my blonde hair for all 23 years of my life). Each and every time I have enjoyed the results and I’d recommend her to anyone I know. She really has a passion for being a colorist and that’s easy to see. I’ve trusted her with my hair during minor changes, as well as drastic ones, and I have every intention on following Melissa where ever she may go.
5 stars!

I went there with a Mani-​Ped/​Haircut Groupon in December. Overall I would describe the atmosphere as somewhat chaotic. There is just so much going on in such a small space that it was not a very relaxing experience.
The haircut was good, although the stylist was an over-​sharer. I did not need to hear the details of her sex life 10 minutes after meeting her. The haircut was pretty good though.
The mani and pedi were very rushed. When I go for an manicure I expect the nail polish to completely cover each nail, but this was not the case. It looked sloppy. I know that normally (without a Groupon, etc.) the mani pedis are not cheap, and I would definitely not recommend going there for that service.