Mahrz Salon

I’ve been going to Silvia for 5+ years and my mom has been going to James for over 20 years. I love them! Silvia always works with me and I always leave with an amazing cut or color. She takes on all my challenging hair projects and completes them flawlessly. My mom has been a loyal customer to James and will never trust anyone else with her hair. Anyone who wants trustworthy, amazing people to take care of them and their hair needs PLEASE go see James and Silvia! They have some great other stylists. I’ve met most of the other stylists and all of them are super sweet. I don’t see any customers leaving without smiles on their faces. Celina is a great hair stylist as well who also does waxing. She does a great job with eyebrows, I can definitely trust her with mine.

I’ve been going to Sylvia for over 10 years. What I love about her is she really listens and tries to understand what you want. She’s skilled at her craft. My hair is very thick and Sylvia always knows which techniques to apply to give me a great cut that will look good until my next cut. Sylvia is also great at color and highlights. Lastly I like the atmosphere of the salon. It’s clear Sylvia and James want their customers to feel comfortable and relaxed.

I really like the ambiance of this place and the haircut was exactly what i was looking for. What i couldn’t believe was the price! I paid $ 65 and my hair is super thin, I couldn’t believe it. Oh well, not gonna come back here.

I LOVE this Salon. I have been coming here for years and I have been thrilled with every cut, color, and styling. I usually go to Silvia and she is so easy to talk to and just the sweetest person. She always listens to what I want, but also gives helpful advice given her longtime experience. I always leave with exactly what I came for, and I have been through every shade of hair with her. I constantly get compliments on my hair and color. She has given me tips on how to wear my long hair for work, she gave me bangs that I could sweep to the side when I realized that was not my look, and is very understanding when I have split ends a mile long.
James and all of the other stylists are also a joy, and James gave my friend an absolutely amazing short cut that really looked great on her. The salon is comfortable and accommodating, with refreshments, magazines, and great products. I plan to go in again next week (their online appointment system is really handy) and chop off all of my hair, so wish me luck! I know I’ll be in good hands :)
Whether you want a simple trim, a drastic new look, or anything in between, Mahrz is the place to go and it doesn’t hurt that they have the sweetest and most amazing stylists ever!!!

James did my highlights and if I have to say one positive thing, he got the color right. Everything else felt very strange. My hair is very coarse and the only time I comb it is when it’s soaked in conditioner. He tried to brush it wet and it was a tangly disaster. He was pulling entire hair strand out when I suggested using a detangler (which helped when he finally complied). I also mentioned several times that while I don’t use a lot of product, I do need some sort of a silicone to prevent holly firzz. He blatantly ignored that and after he washed out the color he nearly shipped me out the door with a wet, soggy mess. I normally air dry rather than blow dry but this was bizarre. And while most stylist take pride in their work, and want to see the whole product through– James could not care less. I then basically asked him point blank to dry my hair and he stuck me under those hair do dryers which are awful for long tangly hair. I almost felt like grabbing one of the blow dryers and doing the job myself. It felt really awkward and unprofessional.
I also asked James how he feels about Unilocal reviews and he assured me that he couldn’t care less especially about those whiners who complain about his customer skills. Well I guess he is ready to dismiss my review with a clean conscience. But, James, if you are reading this, I suggest you put your ego in check and listen to your clients. I am not a hysterical premadonna who requires unreasonable amount of attention. But basic awareness of what your client might expect is not a bad trait in any business. Telling your clients that their opinions mean squat is poor business strategy.
It’s unfortunate that when you call the salon you get a machine and if you’re a groupon customer you are singled out (which makes no sense since you’re leaving a message on the same machine). The idea of groupon is to get new long term customers. But based on this greeting system and my experience James, it appears that the salon only cared about a quick profit rather than a long term relationship.
I really wanted to like this salon and I tend to be loyal to my stylist but this was beyond unsatisfying. It turns out that color skills alone are not enough. A great relationship is a big part of the experience.

Came here with a Groupon. For $ 70 worth of services, I expected more.
The stylist was very nice and we had a really good conversation. The salon itself is very nice and has good atmosphere. The elitist in me really thinks that the salon needs appropriate robes instead of ratty t-​shirts. I would have also preferred more styling after my blow dry. Left with kind of a frizzy mess.

I’m really disappointed in my last haircut, especially after having had good haircuts here before. It’s not a cheap place, so I guess I expected more.

Sylvia is the co-​owner and she is magical. She did this gloss thing (not sure if that’s the right term) to brighten up my hair. It takes advantage of the highlights you already have, so the color isn’t one dimensional. It lasted a long time, was reasonably priced, and there was no smell. She even fit me in at the last minute so I could get my roots done while my friend was getting her hair cut. She is awesome. And I always dread getting my hair done, so this is really saying something.

So I’ve finally taken the plunge and opted to go with professional coloring, as opposed to the at home touch ups that I’ve been doing for years. As someone who’s always been able to consider my hair fairly low-​maintenance, this was a BIG step.
I read some reviews, and opted to pay James an initial visit for a haircut and color consult. The salon itself is unpretentious… nice, but not snooty. I felt at ease immediately. Also like and appreciate the online booking on their website.
James was incredibly easy to talk to and I felt very comfortable explaining what I wanted for both my haircut and future color appointment. Was very pleased with my haircut, and even more so with the color appointment a week later.
I’ve become a «regular».

I LOVE this place! Silvia works magic EVERY TIME! :) After moving from Sunnyvale to RWC, and no longer feeling like hiking down to Saratoga to visit my former salon, I Unilocaled, and found Mahrz! And Thank God i did! My hair is happy and healthy and that makes ME and happy girl!:)
I trust Silvia to do what she thinks will look great with both cut and color and after every visit, i always receive compliments! :) The salon is clean and has a cool atmosphere and I always leave there feeling like a new girl:).
I must say that I disagree with Edgard O’s review… ESPECIALLY since he himself has never been to or tried Mahrz. IGNORE!
Mahrz is a friendly and classy establishment that keeps proving themselves to me with every visit and I will continue to go back:)

I have been going to James for haircuts and highlights for many years now. I have never found a stylist and colorist as skilled and meticulous as he is. I have had blonde, full highlights done many times and it looks so natural people just think I’m blonde. For haircuts I always trust it will be cut right, down to the last fine hair. If I have a particular need (keeping it a certain length, etc…) he listens. I can also let him do what he thinks would look best. My husband really likes what he does with my hair. I think he knows what makes a woman look good, something I haven’t experienced with other stylists. James is a great combination of being a down to earth, total «guy», as well as a refined artist (he is also a talented painter and actor). I HIGHLY recommend him. I haven’t been to the other stylists in the salon, but I know he is sure to only have high quality people there.

I’ve gotten my hair cut several times at this salon, but I doubt I’ll be going again. The place felt a little strange, and my cut was pricey and OK-​but-​not-​great in quality. Your Mileage May Vary.
Observations:
— the haircut was expensive for RWC, IMO. I have a short, simple haircut and I’ve gotten cuts at various higher-​end salons in San Carlos, Redwood City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto for $ 50 – 70 (this isn’t counting the «discount» type hair places that are cheaper). This salon’s price was $ 65 before tip, which is definitely on the high end.
— I don’t get my hair colored or do any other kind of hair treatment, so I can’t comment on those services.
— the resulting haircut was OK, but I didn’t see any difference from cuts I’ve gotten for less money. I did go several times, with the same result.
— they don’t take any credit or debit cards — only cash or check (made out to the stylist). Which is a hassle, because if you don’t carry checks (like I don’t anymore) and you don’t always have $ 70+ in pocket cash, you have to remember to go the the ATM before your appointment. And, it’s unusual for an established business not to take Visa/​MC at a minimum. I understand a low-​margin business (like Costco or a thrift store) not taking credit cards, or a business not accepting cards below a $ 10 /​$ 20 purchase because of the c-​card fees, but rarely these days do I come across a salon or other «established regular price» business that refuses to take cards at all. Heck, even the street vendors at the art fairs take cards these days.
— one last odd thing: the salon is like a ghost town. During my appointments (at different times of day), the stylist and I were the only people there; it didn’t bother me initially, but by the third and fourth appointments, frankly it felt creepy (again YMMV). The salon is good sized — there’s stations for maybe 6+ people, but I’ve *never* seen anybody there other than a single stylist who usually seems to be kind of hanging around without much to do. I live and work near here, so I’m walking and driving by regularly, so it’s just a weird coincidence that I’ve never seen a customer or second stylist around. Still, it’s good if you like peace and quiet for your haircut, and if you dropped by without an appointment you could get taken care of quickly.

I’ll preface this with: I don’t like change. I’ve been going to the same stylist for over 10 years, and when I up and switched coasts, I sort of held off on having my hair done until I started to resemble a Yeti.
I finally caved and got James’ number from a well-​coiffed friend, and I’m glad I did. It’s weird to say that my hair looks the best it has in years… but it does. I trust James and give minimal direction, like, «not too short,» and the next thing I know, my engineer coworkers are complimenting me on my hair the next day. (Engineers, people!). He’s good people, a good stylist, and I’m not gonna lie: he’s got good taste in music. He’s realistic in what he can and can’t do for his clients, and he’s also really, really good with color.
James just moved up from Opus Salon in Menlo Park, to a new (gorgeous!) salon that he has just opened in Redwood City. If you’re in need for a stylist (or, a good stylist who’d like a change of scenery) check him out.

I asked for 3−4″ off the bottom of my almost-​waist-​length hair. He took off more like 7 or 8, so now it’s just below my shoulders. Better yet, one side is now 1″ longer than the other!!!