Holly James Salon & Spa

Love, love, love my hair! Thank you Alyssa!

I was having a hard time deciding between rating this salon a 3 or 4. I decided on 4 stars because my friend that I went with loved it. My problem was the strange very tiny tables and chairs that they pulled out of a back room for our manicures that they just put a towel over. I didn’t get a manicure but my friend did and she loves them. They did pretty good. We both got pedicures. Not worth the price. $ 40. I asked for a flower and got dots, seriously just dots. I could have done better. My friend got highlights and a cut and says she did very good. The atmosphere and décor is great. The pedicure chairs and bath thing was clean. The girls are very nice and nice to talk to, which is a nice change from most nice salons.

I’ve been going to Holly for well over 8 years and would not think of going anywhere else. Holly is amazing with color and extremely professional. Does a great cut too. I first came to Holly after having my hair ruin (had to be stripped) by another salon in Bellevue and search high and low before finding Holly. She helped me get my hair back to a healthy state. If you are looking for someone that is detailed, knowledgeable and cares about their work — this is the place for you. I highly recommend it!

I am so happy with this salon!
I have been seeing Holly for nearly 5 years. I’ve never been anything but amazed at her ability to do my hair exactly as I like it. You can tell that she is a very intelligent business woman with a pristine talent for knowing what will and won’t compliment someones look. She’s straightforward, honest and incredibly talented. Over the years, I’ve had most of the salon’s services either directly from Holly or from her other stylists. Alissa does some amazing eyebrow waxes/​tints and I’ve had more than a few stellar blowouts as well! The shellac manicure is amazing and it’s SO nice not to feel like you are in a «churn and burn» atmosphere when it comes to nails… they actually take their time and do it right.
It’s always hard to explain what you are looking for in a stylist and/​or salon and often no one really knows until you get there and just feel it. I can finally say that I have truly found a salon that managed to meet all of that unspoken criteria … I would genuinely and highly recommend this salon along with Holly’s unmatched services!

I have been going to Holly and her team for 5 years, and they are some of the best in the biz! Who would have thought you’d find an LA/​Miami/​NY quality hair salon in the heart of Kirkland. Holly herself is incredibly talented, has great ideas, and will create your hair exactly for what fits your lifestyle and style! Holly has trained a team of experts who are friendly, up with trends, professional, and smart. Overall the whole salon is a great value as well — I would recommend Holly James to anyone!

Unprofessional. I’m going somewhere else.
I have a complicated situation with my hair and wanted to get a consultation before my appointment. I called in a few hours ahead and asked if I can stop by. Was given a time. I show up right on time and Holly barely knew why I was there. Was still cutting another person’s hair but told me she was finishing up blue drying. I waited for 20 minutes!
I understand if I just walked in and she squeezed me in. But I had an appt with her.
I only had a half hour window, so that didn’t leave us much time to talk. She was condescending. Couldn’t come up with a good suggestion. Kept wanting to look through magazines (I could have done that at home), and couldn’t tell WHY my idea want going to work to get the look I want. She just kept saying that she’s be doing hair for 18 years.
I’m so glad I came in and meet her. I went to a nearby salon and got an excellent consultation there. That stylist got what I was trying to say and we are on the same page.
My rule is, if you don’t get a good feel about the stylist, don’t let them touch your hair.

This is a review for the eyebrow waxing. First of all the wax was too hot. Now that I’m home I can see a TON of stray hairs. It looks like I didn’t even get them waxed. I have really light hair so it can be tough to get absolutely everything but this is terrible. I plan on going to Gene Juarez to get it fixed this week. It is worth the extra $ 5 for someone who will pay more attention.

Took me a while to find a place in the area I liked. I am super happy with this place. Alyssa does a great job and is very friendly. Holly the owner is super nice as well.

This was a last minute choice as my nails had to be worked on and I was in Kirkland with time to kill. I really was just underwhelmed by the place and the nail techs. My manicure came out very thick and didn’t last the typical 2 weeks as when my regular nail tech does my nails. I won’t be going back.

I had a Living Social deal and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to schedule my treatments. No problem parking and a gorgeous if small space.
I was greeted so warmly and offered a beverage (but didn’t know I could request wine!). My manicure was excellent and my shampoo/​blowout was amazing. It was a new look and I loved it. It also lasted well into the evening, despite the rainy day.
Finally, my eyebrow wax was not painful at all (surprise! they use hard wax) and quick and well done.
I would very much recommend Holly James and plan to go back with a girlfriend for side by side pedis!

Great first time experience. Salon was easy to find and parking was available both street and at a parking garage. I used my groupon and received an fantastic deep conditioning and an awesome hair cut. I went from long hair to a pixie cut and the stylist Alyssa did a fabulous job. She knew how to cut an Asian hair like mine and was very personable. Alyssa did what I asked for and did not make me feel like I was making a big mistake. In fact, she was very encouraging.
I had such a great experience that I wanted to review right away.
I’m super happy and I’ll certainly come back again.
All pros for this salon: great staff, on-​time, clean and reasonably priced.

I went in for the haircut and deep condition using a Groupon and had a terrible experience.
First off, there are only 7 parking spots a block away from the actual salon. Next, the person performing the work showed up late. Then, she proceeded to wash my hair (completely missing the underneath by my neck, and did the deep condition using regular conditioner. The haircut was cute, but not at all what I asked for. I asked for a tiny trim as I am growing out my hair, and she cut off 3 inches from the bottom and even more throughout.
I will not being going back or recommending anyone to go here! Just awful!

First time to the Salon, walked in with a pic and left with a completely new look. Was a little bit nervous going in sight unseen. Holly gave me a fanastic new doo — I went from long to short and LOVE the cut!

Overall a nice salon in the Kirkland area. Décor inside is a little vintage (the look I am assuming they are going for). Parking is hard, and hours are more limited. Prices are higher compared to similar salons in the area. I would go here again; however, would recommend Sorella Salon a few blocks away over this salon.

These people know what they’re doing– and they’re as consistent as you can get them.
The most random and unexpected people compliment my hair these days! Thanks Holly! ;)

3.5 stars, rounded up
Great experience here, reasonable price! I only got the deep conditioning ($ 25 without tip), got my hair blow dry, out of the salon in less than 40 minutes! It’s definitely a convenient quick fix if your hair feels dry or you are planning to go out that night (or just want to have smooth hair coz your hair is just too out of control like mine)
Seriously, this is the only place I’ve been to in the US where they actually wash your hair with some effort.

I’ve been to this salon 3 times for 3 different services in the last month and really enjoyed all of my visits. The salon has a really nice atmosphere, a comfy waiting area, and I’ve always been offered something to drink within 2 minutes of walking in. The salon itself is a little hard to find, it’s tucked back in Park Place just to the right of the theater in the very back corner. Here’s a run-​down of my visits:
Visit 1 — Pedicure with Brittney: When I look for a place to get a great pedicure I look for comfy chairs, quiet environment, lots of trashy magazines, sterilized instruments, and a great leg and foot massage. Brittney did a fantastic job and 3 weeks later, my pedicure still looks great with no chips.
Visit 2 — Lip and Brow was with Jessica: Jessica has such a sweet bubbly personality and made what can be a somewhat uncomfortable appointment pleasant. She used a numbing spray on my lip which made the experience a whole lot less painful. My eyebrows were done perfectly, not over-​arched which drives me nuts. When I told her this was my first wax after my daughter was born she then gave me a free eye treatment that was incredibly relaxing and a solid 3 minutes of bliss. The only negative was that I did develop a dry scaly rash on my upper lip the next day that lasted almost a week. I’ve never had that happen before, so not sure if it was an allergic reaction I had to the products? In any case, it wouldn’t keep me from going again. I’ll just mention it to Jessica and maybe she can try something different.
Visit 3 — Hair cut and full foil with Allison: My criteria for a great hair-​stylist is someone who is efficient (with an infant at home I don’t have a lot of time!) and can cut my hair in a low-​maintenance style. Allison said she thought my appt would take 2.5 hours and I’m not kidding, I walked out to my car after exactly 2.5 hours. It was pretty amazing. My husband loves my hair and I can style it in under 5 minutes. Winner! My only gripe is the cost of the service. When I made the appt I spoke with Holly, the owner, who said Allison was one of the stylists that offered 20% for new customers doing both a hair cut and color treatment. My total bill came to about $ 140. I didn’t even think of it until I got home, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t include the 20% discount. If it does, they are way overpriced in my opinion! This is the primary reason I am giving this salon 4 stars. If you say a discount is offered, you need to be sure to take that into account for your customers. Expecting the customer to remember to ask for it seems a little like bait and switch to me.
Update: I called to make another wax apt on 8÷9÷07 and Jessica, their esthetician, has left the salon and they have two new estheticians. I’m trying one of them next week. I’ll update the review then.