Dean of Shadyside Salon

Went here for a gel manicure — I’ve only had my nails done once when I was 16 because I HATE the feeling/​sound of a nail file. I’ve been wanting to get them done but was nervous about where to go. I went to Dean’s with a friend to get our nails done by Nataliya. She was AMAZING! She’s so sweet and gentle and made me feel 100% comfortable. She did a great job and now I’m hooked — I’ll definitely be back!

I can be hesitant about rating places that do hair. Maybe I’m just a fair weather client, but if my hair looks bad after one visit, I’m probably going to find a new place to get my hair done. I’ve now been seeing Chuck for about 7 months and I have no intention of going anywhere else. I have had my hair colored, roots touched up, highlights, ombré, bangs, and hair cut. Chuck does whatever I’m thinking really well– regardless of how vague I ask it.
When I first bought a groupon to check out the salon, I was worried it would be a frumpy place. I’m not sure where these images and from, but they were there. I was completely wrong. The salon has employees and clients from all walks of life. I know I could ask for my hair to be dyed purple and they would ask which shade of purple I wanted. I also feel like a little old lady could come in for a perm (if perms are still a thing) and feel comfortable. And my purple hair and that perm would look great. The environment is comfortable and most of the staff that I’ve interacted with has been friendly and professional.

Nataliya was good at job, but she was running back and forth to 2 or 3 clients. way overpriced!!! — I will take my aunt to Asians or School in North hills.

The whole staff here is very friendly and professional. This is my regular salon for haircut and color. Lauren is the best!

Visiting Pittsburgh for wedding over Labor Day weekend and Dean’s was recommended by the hotel for a blow out. Left the salon thinking hair looked OK, got to the hotel and hubby said «I thought you went to get your hair done,» 2 hours later when it was time to get ready for the wedding I had to recurl/​style hair.

Had cut today, I always went to korean and japanese salons in NYC or Cali, because they are familiar with asian hair texture, style, and facial structure. Unfortunately, I moved to Pittsburgh, where the asian population is low. In the past 3 years living in pittsburgh, I have tried numerous western hair salons in pittsburgh all ending in disappointment and had to fly to NYC or Cali during holidays family visits to get my hair properly styled and cut. I look a leap of faith again today and tried out Dean of Shadyside, using the Groupon for 20 $ Level 1 stylist… and I LOVE THE RESULT, Finally, a salon that can cut my thick asian black hair. (they were also having a free shine lock treatment special as well, and gladly added it to my groupon deal.)
My stylist was CHUCK
The entire hair experience lasted 3 hours (shine treatment 30mins, wash+mas 15mins, cut+blowdry+finetune 2hrs 15 mins). I am extemely pleased with chuck. He was extremely attentive and meticulous. Listen to every word I said about how I wanted my hair cut. He took his time cutting each strand and frequently checked in on how I thought (although I did not have my glasses on and was blind as a bat)…in the end, when I saw the final result, it was amazing. He also was polite and offered me coffee and such while I awaited my hair treatment to be done. He personally washed my hair and blow dryed it as well. I love the personalized one-​on-​one experience.
I already pre-​booked my 2^nd visit.
Another positive thing for Dean of Shadyside as a whole is
1. their level of professionalism
–receptionist was nice, quickly booked same day
2. Awesome tipping system: tipping is CASH ONLY. When you are done with the hair experience, the stylist fills out the form with the price etc, gives it to the receptionist and leaves. She only charges whats on the slip. You can then take a tiny envelope they have, write the stylist name, write your name if youd like, and stick it in a locked box. Ive had awkward moments when I hand the stylist my tip and feel like they are judging me, doubting myself, is this enough tip. This envelop system makes tipping less awkward/​judgemental.
THANK YOU CHUCK

I tried Dean’s because I had a coupon for a free hair cut. Richard came highly recommended so I made my appointment with him. He was very busy working on multiple people at the same time. It took over 2 hours for a hair cut. However, I loved the cut! I decided to make another appointment for color and cut. I went in the morning because I had a party to go to that night for work. I was there for over 5 hours! He was working on so many people and I ended up being late!
Richard does not make you feel comfortable. I felt like I was just a number so he could make more money. He treats the assists horribly and was yelling at them in front of everyone!
I was not impressed with the atmosphere of the salons either. It does not have a welcoming feel at all and most of the staff are not friendly!

I love this place. Like everyone else, I ended up here with a free coupon in my hand and my unruly curly hair which can never look good! My first appointment was with Richard and it was ok… Richard loves to experiment and I am not the best candidate for that! I went back for an appointment with Courtney and I absolutely love her!!! I have been a regular for the last 3 years and I have been faithful to Courtney: D
She listens and understands my issues and gives me a great cut always! I think I actually like my curly hair now: D

The haircut: Courtney did my haircut, and I really like it. I think she did a good job and I would go back to her if need be.
My problem was with one of the women that was manning the front desk. I had a question about the coupons (which they did not honor for me) and they were flippant and rude and dismissive and I’m pretty sure the woman at the front desk (reddish dyed hair and lots of tattoos) made up her own rules for it on the spot. She started me off on a bad mood right from the start.
I’m disappointed because my first haircut experience there was great. Not sure if my husband or I will be going back. It’s too bad, since we live so close and it is really convenient! Really sucks for them too, since my husband gets a cut about once a month.

I have long dealt with cheap haircuts that, simply put, sucked. Every time I would get my hair cut, I simply accepted it would suck. One day my girlfriend forced me to go to Dean of Shadyside and told me to try the place. All I could think was «Great, time to look like crap again for a few weeks». Boy was I wrong.
My hair stylist Tina was friendly, nice, and made me feel comfortable. She asked questions to help understand what I liked and didn’t like. I got arguably the best hair cut of my life. Needless to say, I have been back many times. Tina is seriously awesome, always making sure she understands what you want and then executing it well. I have seriously never left the place unhappy — a big turn around from ALWAYS leaving unhappy at other places.

My hair is long, to the small of my back, silky soft, thick, and pin straight. Ive been dying it with a box of natural black for probably 6 years now, I’ve permed it twice over the past 5 years… but the hair gods have been good to me and it is still sleek and shiney and healthy. After 6 months without a cut, I decided It was time to grow up and break the box dye habit and go get a trim. I think long hair looks ridiculous on adults when it is unkempt and unstyled and I needed some layers and shape put back in. I try to avoid salons at all costs because I always feel that when a stylist sees long hair they want to tell me how dead it is and chop off multiple inches rather than listening and letting me keep my length.
I was skeptical when my friend said she had an amazing cut and blow out from Dean of Shadyside with Tina, but she got me a referral card for new clients so I figured after the previous salon I was scheduled at cancelled on me now, twice; that I would call and make an apt at Dean. They got me in on the same day scheduling and I was to have an appointment for a trim and a root touch-​up with Elena.
Long story short:
Elena was polite but professional and knew what she was doing. Most importantly, she listened to EXACTLY what I wanted and didn’t go off on her own tangent doing what she thought would be best. She gave me an amazing, blended, soft cut with the perfect layers and still kept all of my length, but made sure it was clean and looked fabulous. She matched my color without going too super black or too brown and it is sooo shiney and pretty. She is quiet, but I didn’t mind because I want to relax anyway after working all day. With my favor card the price was extremely reasonable and I actually scheduled an appointment for the following week with Elena for a balyage ombré to lighten my ends a bit.
Atmosphere:
I wouldn’t say this is the most welcoming warm and fuzzy place. It’s not somewhere you go to see your favorite stylist and catch up on the most recent gossip. It’s very professional, but fast paced and more business than casual. I hardly saw any stylists interact with each other. I guess it could be explained as a bit uptight, but it was only my first time there and I will have to check it out again.

I have wild, crazy, course, unmanageable hair and I’ve gotten it cut at over probably 50+ places in the course of my life.
Dean of Shadyside Salon is by far my favorite. I was able to try it because a friend who had gone for the first time got a «free haircut card» to give to friends and so I was like why not! This free haircut card for first timer’s/friends of there’s is awesome and has gotten many of my friends addicted to this salon as well. It is wonderful marketing and since everyone leaves satisfied, they feel confident enough to offer it.
After this experience, I got my haircut here and only here for the remainder of my 4 years in Pittsburgh and I have yet to find a place that does such a good job.
They know exactly how to manage thick, frizzy, indian hair and cut it so it falls perfectly and is much easier to style — it was after discovering this salon that I started wearing my hair naturally instead of attacking it with a hot iron every morning.
And their blow-​dry is amazing — I feel like a hollywood/​bollywood star (well, my hair does) and it lasts for a few days. I highly recommend it if you have a special weekend or event coming up.

Being relatively new to the city, I have been on the hunt for a hair salon in the Pittsburgh area and turned to Unilocal for some guidance. I came across Dean of Shadyside and decided to give it a try based on it’s reviews. I have to say that I was pretty disappointed and will not be going back again. When I walked in to the salon, the receptionist seemed to be annoyed to have to deal with a customer (even though it was pretty empty). The service was bad and unfortunately the haircut was even worse. I made an appointment with a level III stylist for a trim and left with an uneven haircut! I had layers on one side that were visibly longer than layers on the other side. What’s worse is that when I tried pointing it out to the stylist she didn’t try to fix it because she said her next appointment was waiting. I do not think their prices are fair for their subpar level of service (and experience). Needless to say, I will not be going back and am still searching for a hair salon to go to…

Given the big salon, I think your experience will be highly related to which stylist you chose. I bought a Groupon for a level 3 haircut and moisture treatment. The stylist Ken spent 5 mins for the cutting, 40 mins to blow the hair dry and chatting and forgot the moisture treatment. The technique of the haircut is so poor. There is no layer of the cutting and it is not horizontally on the same level. I think he is not serious about what he did. I will not come for the second time. MCN is much better in this sense. You should definitely try to avoid him as your stylist if you choose to go to Dean of Shadyside.

I’ve been here 3 times and will definitely keep going back. My first experience was a free haircut I received after being given a «Favor Card» from a friend. Each time you get a haircut, you get the opportunity to give a friend a free haircut from that stylist at a specific time or any level 1 stylist at any time. What a great way to get new clients!
I was a little nervous to go with a Level 1 stylist… I didn’t know exactly what I’d be getting, but I ended up LOVING my cut. A family friend (and hairstylist for 25 years) said that she was so impressed with my haircut by Erika and thought it was amazing.
The next time I went, I received a discount for my second visit. Christina cut my hair and I took the plunge to get full, straight-​across bangs. I absolutely loved it. One reason I was willing to try bangs is that they offer free bang trims, which is amazing! I am always afraid to do it myself and let them grow out until my next full haircut.
Another great thing about this place is the levels of stylists. You can decide which level fits your budget, as each level up is a different price. This is great for someone like me who can’t afford to shell out $ 80 on my haircuts! I have recommended this place to my friends and will definitely return!

The first time I went to Dean, I was content with the haircut I got for about the first three weeks. A men’s haircut is pretty straightforward, generally speaking. After about three weeks, though, my hair started looking as though I had just received a bowl-​cut — the hair from the top of my head was longer than the hair on the sides of my head, and it was growing down over the sides! The next time I returned, I made an appointment with a different stylist. Again, great haircut at first, but after about three weeks it started happening again, albeit to a lesser degree. The next time I went in, I decided to stick with the same stylist — Erika — as she was friendly (unlike the first, rather quiet and somewhat abrasive stylist) and seemed to be eager to give me a haircut the I liked! I let her know how the previous haircut went wrong, and she actually took what I told her and made changed. Apparently my head is somewhat square-​shaped at the top, and if the top is cut a different length from the rest, then it must be done with a narrower section to avoid the issue I’d been having. After all said and done, I left with a great cut that looked great for a solid two months before I went in again. I got one more cut with Erika, and then pre-​booked my next cut.
When I went in for THIS cut, I got to the front desk for my appointment time, told them I had a 12:15 with Erika, and was then told «Oh. Erika left. Let’s see if we can get you in with someone else.»
They didn’t call me to tell me that Erika had quit. They didn’t even reschedule my appointment with another stylist when she did. I was lucky enough to get in with one when I showed up, but it was back to square one with another haircut-​turned-​bowl-​cut.
It’s no wonder Erika quit — she was too good for the place! Needless to say, I will not be back.

Let me start by saying I was given a coupon for a free haircut and mani. You have to really let me down with free to get a two-​star review.
THE HAIRCUT.
Let’s put it this way – after I went home and re-​washed and re-​styled it, I was really happy with it. I really liked the girl I had. I thought that she cut it just how I wanted. But then she asked if I wanted her to straighten it, and I said no thanks because I have wavy hair that’s pretty easy to make fancy (read: easy as in I don’t use products or heat almost ever, thanks) even though it’s quite long. Somehow, she made my wash ‘n wear waves into a frizzy stuff hot mess with some combination of gels and spray. Then, she told me she was going to dry my hair to 90% dry before sending me to the mani and then check on me later. Okayyyyyy. Overall, haircut & style = 3 stars.
THE MANI
This mani brought down the average rating of my visit as I’d give it one star. I haven’t gotten a lot of manis – maybe a half dozen times for fancy events – but I know a bad one. It was freaking dirty at the mani station where a different girl did my nails. The towel the girl put out had large brown stains on it! Seriously, get some bleach. Then I figured out what the stains were… the girl made me bleed on two fingers while cutting my cuticles. One bled quite a bit. But she just pretended like it wasn’t happening and continued to chatter on about Black Friday shopping and her plan to score big. Had the mani station not been in the very back of the salon, I would have ran away when – this is true – she got up to use the restroom in the middle of mani. Um, I usually do my own nails, but I’m guessing this isn’t normal. As if she were aiming for the worst mani ever, the polish wasn’t even within the lines at all. Then, she had me sit around in a weird corner while my nails cured and said she’s get the stylist. Mani = 1 star.
The stylist didn’t come back after a couple minutes. When I asked the receptionist where the stylist was, she didn’t know. I just wanted to get out of there. So I took off the smock and left with wet hair and nails. I was pretty bummed since I had specifically scheduled the appointment on that particular afternoon because I had a big event that evening.
I actually felt like a sucker tipping at more than 20% for these services. But I had put the tips in the little envelopes before I got my nails done and I didn’t want to wait for them to dry to decrease the tip. So I tipped and left.
Summary: Free isn’t great when you have to go home and immediately wash your hair and remove the nail polish.

Just moved to Pittsburgh a week ago and I needed a place to get a few platinum pieces weaved into my more honey-​blondish locks. I know a fair amount about hair, and could have done it myself, but I love the ritual of going to a salon and having ‘a girl.’ Dean’s was basically the only place I could get an appointment same-​day that looked halfway decent.
I had a Level III stylist who was nice enough, but certainly not a conversationalist. I don’t think English was her first language. That’s no big deal, but a little good cheer would have made it less boring. Also, I love (LOVE) my former stylist in Michigan so I have high expectations for fun at the salon. I had no fun at this salon.
Dean’s is kind of a mid-​range pricing scheme. Not too bad. I paid $ 60 for a partial.
The concept of the salon is very bland – nothing remotely original about the place. Judging from the name, I thought it’d be kind of funky (I was thinking Dean of Shadyside as in academic dean and thought it might have a bookish vibe). They had one interesting product line I’d never seen before, but I can’t recall the name.
I think I’ll find a place that’s a little more… me.

I’ve been going to Deans for a couple years now and have tried a variety of their services they offer like waxing, nails, hair cuts (obviously), and the services Ray offers.
Hair cuts:
I got hooked the first time in with the free haircut coupon they give returning clients to refer new customers — good tool! The hair cut was good but I am slowly becoming dissatisfied with the cuts I’ve been getting. I’m anal about my bangs and they just have not been doing them justice which sucks especially since my stylist raised her rates — something I’m not willing to pay unless its perfection. Would I return again for a cut? Probably but not unless I’m in a bind.
Service:
Regardless of the ok hair cut the service is ALWAYS amazing. From the friendly receptionist to the stylists to the stylists that aren’t even working on you EVERYONE is nice! One touch I liked was when Dean comes in every now again and makes a point to say hello to the customers and make sure everything is running smoothly.
Waxing:
I am very picky about my waxing. I was not that happy with the job the lady (russian?) did. I found patches she missed?! and it could have been done much faster instead it and the pain felt drawn out :-p
Nails:
Overpriced but the nail tech did an amazing job! I love the color selection and have even bought a few Zoya and OPIs to take home with me.
Hair Services by Ray:
Ray is on the Dean of Shadyside staff but its kinda like he runs his own show. He cuts styles and dyes wigs for cancer patients and for other people who wear wigs. He cut one of my wigs which I think I’m going to take back to him to try to fix. He does an amazing job though with the wash/​dry/​styling of my wig. He really helps make an unnatural thing look more natural. He is very sensitive and also makes me feel really comfortable about the situation — so props for that.
All in all I would say I feel blasé about this salon but I know I will find myself returning there no matter what.

As I began my post-​college life (this was before Unilocal,mind you) and embarked into the real world, I realized it was high time to stop getting my locks trimmed at SuperCuts and upgrade to a real salon. My first trip to Dean of Shadyside was in the spring of 2005 and I’ve never looked back.
Many of what my fellow Unilocalers have noted is true; expect to spend time here for your services. If you want to get in and out, this isn’t the place. My feeling is my hair is pretty important, and I don’t mind spending time on it. Looking this good is worth the wait ;)
Richard is my main man. I’m more conservative with my cuts, but love to play with color. My hair always looks healthy and natural, much to my surprise, whether it is red, blonde, or something in between. Richard always does a great job when styling my hair for special events.
I’ve tried many of their other services. My recommendation is to skip mani/​pedis here (pricey and they don’t do funky designs like I enjoy). The waxing services are great. Natasha is no-​nonsense, efficient, and quick, all traits I’m looking for in a waxer (esp for more «sensitive» waxes, a-​hem).
Off-​street parking for a $ 2 charge and remember to bring cash to tip. Dean offers pre-​booking benefits up to 20% off; always pre-​book! Even if you aren’t sure of your schedule, they allow you to reschedule once and still utilize the benefits.
I always leave Dean feeling fab, and get nothing but compliments on my hair. Give Richard some freedom, and he won’t lead you astray.