Bubbles Salon

I have just had my 4^th appointment with Noemi. She has become my regular stylist since I moved to Washington last summer. I called around to a number of ‘fancy’ salons in Cap Hill area and just wasn’t impressed by the wait times for appointments or the prices.
Bubbles is a good, hard-​working salon. You don’t pay for slick music, fancy décor, or cappuccino machines but the stylists are professional, experienced and provide high quality service.
My routine with Noemi is colour, highlights and cut for curly hair. Her skills as a colorist and cutter stand up against any stylist I’ve ever seen (and I am a grumpy, middle-​aged professional). As a cutter, she is a perfectionist — won’t let me leave the chair until everything looks exactly right. And, as a colourist, she uses techniques much more sophisticated than what is used in big-​dollar salons. (Forget foils, I get a tiny paintbrush.)
My daughter is also a hair stylist and I know that it is hard work and some people are very difficult to please! Here are some gentle suggestions to consider before you go off on your stylist for being late or some other minor issue. If you are paying for a $$$ salon, you should expect to be coddled by staff from the minute you walk in until the minute you leave, but if you are lucky enough to find an affordable salon like Bubbles in a city with rents as high as DC, then chances are your stylists are making a long commute from somewhere else, probably by metro or bus. The salon is spending too much money on rent to afford lots of spare staff to keep your cappuccino warm and hand you fancy magazines until the stylist is ready for you.
It’s a pretty good bet that in a city the size of DC, your hairstylist is going to have some significant skills or they couldn’t get a job because there is a lot of competition. But it’s also the case that many highly skilled stylists aren’t making much more than minimum wage, are single parents with complicated schedules, and have a stupidly long commute to get to where you want them to be. So, cut them some slack if you’re the first appointment on a Saturday morning and they get there and 8:10 instead of 7:59 and for heaven’s sake, don’t forget to tip!

Just got an awesome cut by Tan, go see her if you’re looking for something new, but aren’t too sure what you’d like!
I just moved to DC, and found the Capitol Hill location very convenient and close to work. I love how clean it always is when I walk in, as well as, the large, well stocked product selection. The is very friendly and efficient when checking in for appointments.
Tan was great, she answered product questions, and offered her suggestions on complimentary and replacement products. What I loved the most was that she wasn’t super pushy, but gave me the info I needed, while allowing me to make a decision for myself. She was very quick to start conversation and made the experience feel as though we were already friends. I will be returning to this stylist, and recommend you do as well.

Bubbles saved me and what I had done to my hair, yes I am ashamed to say that I box colored my hair and it went horrible!!! Fana Abraha THANK YOU SO MUCH, you did an amazing job and I am now in love with my hair!!!

My rating remains the same, but wanted to give two updates. First, I received a call from the District Manager about my complaints and she was more than willing to rectify the issue. I really, really appreciate that and like to know that management pays attention to reviews.
The other update is that my hair has grown out terribly — thick and choppy. So I amend my earlier review and say that Noemy gave me an OK haircut. Trying a new place this week and hoping for miracles! Or, at minimum, a decent haircut.

Booked a last minute blowout for New Year’s Eve with a friend of mine. I was given an appt with Fana who was said to be the best with curly hair. It wasn’t the best look but it was OK for the price. She complimented my hair several times telling me how thick and hydrated it was but then began telling me it’s dry and needs to be cut. Very strange change of opinion. I had to direct her several times to fix the part of my hair. She held the straightening iron on my hair too long several times and I could smell my hair burning. Used too much product on my hair. If I’m ever in the area i would like to try someone else.

I went to Leon twice now to get highlights. The first time he barley put any color in my hair that a month later you couldn’t tell the different between my natural color. I went again thinking I wasn’t clear and showed him several pictures. The blonde isn’t even close to where I wanted it and on top I told him I didn’t like it and he said I couldn’t go blonder because it wouldn’t look good on me…

For the price and quality, 5 stars. The shop isn’t as nice as others that I’ve been to over the years in this area, but the quality of the cut more than makes up for it. So happy with how my hair looks and will be coming back.

I basically came to bubbles b/​c of the reviews about Loan. My hair was CRAZY, it was uneven b/​c the last person stunk, it was in a braid all day so it was super kinky. He did a wash, treatment, cut, and blow out all in under 1 hr. It was perfect! I’m so happy that I found a place close to home. The receptionist is very efficient and friendly. The ability to book online is amazing. Parking after 6:00 is readily available within a 1 block radius. And above all, this place is affordable. $ 40 for a cut, totally worth the extra $ 10 that you’d pay at a generic lower end salon. I really would highly recommend Loan for straight long hair, he does an amazing job layering and cutting the ends so they flow instead of being heavy and flat. I also had to wait about 1 week before his schedule opened, so be mindful of that.

Count me in with the Loan fangirls. After months of research, I finally decided on Bubbles for my balayage highlights after reading such glowing reviews. I’d never had my hair professionally colored before, so this was a HUGE step. Loan is a master. He gave me exactly what I wanted and even took the time to style my hair to look like the reference picture. Seriously, get your hair done Saturday afternoon. You’ll wanna show it off immediately. Also, after all that research, I know I would have paid about twice as much at any other DC salon for the same service. Oh, and a month later, it still looks great! I will definitely be back :)

Three words: Loan. is. AMAZING. I don’t Unilocal often, but I had such a wonderful experience today that I had to post a review. I went in for full highlights and a cut, and I am so thrilled with the results. Loan is truly a master. He used the balayage technique rather than foils, where the highlights are painted on freehand. Since we’re well into fall, I wanted some lowlights in addition to the highlights, and I was hoping for a more ‘golden’ blonde. Loan totally nailed it. Thanks, Loan! I feel amazing!

Great salon! I moved to the area and hadn’t had my hair cut or colored in 13 months… so I was searching for a friendly salon, and stylist who knew what was up. Got my hair trimmed, bangs cut, and a little color from Jasmine. She did a phenomenal job, was super nice, and chatted with me the whole time! Not to mention the price was way less than any of my past salon visits. Also loved that I could tip with my credit card! My old salon only accepted cash, which meant I was always running to the ATM ahead of time.
Bonus points because Jasmine recommended expensive shampoos and conditioners, but also told me she’d explain the ingredients and let me go shop on my own to find more affordable stuff.

Alright. Another review, as I went back yesterday and had a completely different experience. After several days of hating my hair color, I called the manager to let them know I was really unhappy, and had been clear about the color I was looking for. He was super understanding and offered to have them fix it.
I went back in yesterday, extremely wary of what I would end up with, and walked out of there with my absolute favorite hair color of all time. Tan did a great job of listening to what I wanted and then explaining to me every step involved in getting me to that color.
When I briefly mused that the stripped highlights made me look a bit like Ginger Spice (this was between stripping some of the color and re-​toning), she said «well, that would actually look really hot». And it was exactly the kind of encouragement I needed. The whole experience was a combination of hair color and therapy, and she made me look and feel like an absolute rockstar.
I really appreciate how understanding the manager was about my disappointment with the first round of color, and that they fixed it at no cost. Really solid customer service, and I am now a super happy customer! The only reason I can’t give five stars is that I shouldn’t have been in this position in the first place, but now that I know what Tan can do, I will absolutely be back to see her.

front desk:
super nice, super friendly, not sure if i misheard, but I believe i was offered beer as well. it was 11:30am. another time, i would’ve said yes. this morning, i said no.
the cut:
thanks to another asian girl who left a review, i too found loan! it took me 4.5 years to find this place, but i’m so glad i did! i got a haircut that i’ve never really gotten before– he did a wonderful job getting all of my split ends and styling it! my hair looks and feels exactly what i hoped for, but would never have expected!

Read great reviews on Loan’s cuts/​colors/​styling at the Mass Ave location and booked an appt. Am so happy with my bayalage color and cut. Loan even took the time to style my hair to look like the photo I brought in as it was the end of the day and there were no clients waiting next in line — unexpected and most appreciated (and fun)! Thanks, Loan!

This is one of the few places I found in DC that offers a haircut for women at a reasonable price. The atmosphere is very pleasant and I was seen immediately when I walked in for a haircut. I was out in about 30 minutes — including shampoo and blow dry! All was for $ 35. Cute salon, and very sweet and stylish staff. I will be coming back!

Called at noon on a Friday and asked if they could wash and trim and blow dry my hair the same afternoon and they said come in at 2:30pm. Miraculously, I found parking and super duper stylist Fana washed and trimmed my hair just the way I like it. So great a do that I’ve made it my new profile picture here on Unilocal.This whole things was just $ 35 plus tip. You can be sure I’ll be back with service like that. Only negative here is there are steps into the store as it’s an old building so NOT wheelchair accessible or I’d be giving it 5 stars.

We came here for my daughter’s first haircut and had a great experience! There aren’t really «kiddie» salons in DC, but a friend recommended checking out Bubbles for a quick and affordable kid’s cut. We just wanted something simple — no wash needed, just a solid trim of her 2 years + of hair growth to make it all even and get rid of the raggedy look! Our stylist, Jasmine, was so sweet and did a nice job interacting with my fidgity tot. We did not have a reservation but the salon was quick to accommodate us. For $ 20, not bad at all!

In fairness, my husband has visited this location for years and normally has great results. There have been one or two «off» cuts but he prefers the location and his hair is easy to style. You can usually get an appointment within the day of your call or the next few days. The receptionists are nice.
I have visited Bubbles for years. I would rotate stylists but I frequently visited the person who cut my husband’s hair because he was kind and personable. We will call him «Nevah Evah.» He was pretty consistent. Then Nevah did something that surprised me. He cut my hair shorter than I wanted without asking me. Forget that my «good hair days» are a contributing factor to determining how happy I am. This was a preventable mistake. Another Bubble stylist had cut my hair uneven. Nevah was more concerned about protecting a botched haircut than checking with me. All he had to do was ask for my input on how to correct a less than stellar cut. He even said, «I just cut your hair shorter than you like because there was a problem.»
As I sat in the chair, looking at a disappointing image in the mirror, Nevah kept saying, «You’re okay. You’re okay.» I wasn’t okay and I didn’t appreciate being told I was. I wasn’t charged for the haircut. I didn’t have to say that I hated it. Tears screamed my message. Frankly, not charging me was the least Nevah could do. He actually told me to return once the my hair grew back. If you enter the salon and you see Nevah at the door, tell him I don’t need his service.
The stylist (from another location) who corrected my botched cut didn’t charge me either. Her creation was also uneven. After the third cut, I have a style that looks like I didn’t cut it in the dark and it is more professional.
I wish Neveh well and I will Nevah, Evah, under ANY circumstances allow him to cut my hair again. If I accompany my husband while he gets his hair cut, I will roll my eyes and make pouty faces.
Stylists — please listen to a customer’s concern. If they are spelling out what they want, please include them in the conversation if you have another plan. If you are going to cut 2 – 3 inches shorter than I like (on only one side), I have better things to do. I would expect this from a beauty school and not a seasoned stylist.

I’d been avoiding getting my haircut for over a year ever since a particularly unfortunate haircutting debacle I experienced… but after nearly a year of no cuts, I finally needed to face my fears and entrust my locks into the hands of an experienced stylist. Plus, my hair looked disgusting — it seemed very dry, shapeless, and unhealthy. I was willing to spend $$$$ to get the right person, but after doing a bit of Unilocal research, I found that LOAN TRAN at Bubbles had consistently solid reviews, plus the salon is just a short walk from my apartment! Also, I figured that for approx $ 45, I wouldn’t feel wasteful getting a relatively conservative cut (trimming and shaping my long layers). Most places in DC seem to charge $ 70+…yikes.
To my complete delight, Loan was excellent! He cured me of my haircutting anxiety. Plus, after my haircut, I realized that my hair wasn’t actually dry and damaged — I just had a terrible, unflattering haircut before! Just like everyone says, he listens to exactly what you want and executes accordingly. I told him I wanted a simple haircut that made my hair look voluminous and elegant. I personally hate it when haircutters think that doing all sorts of complicated cutting/​razoring tricks with your hair will make it look better. In my opinion, the actual cutting process should only take 10 – 15 minutes — trim the length, cut a few chunky layers, and voila!
I was absolutely THRILLED with my haircut. He made it look exactly like the pictures I showed him (aspirational celebrity haircuts of Miranda Kerr). Plus, after washing and cutting my hair, he basically gave me a blowout on top of my cut! WHAT A STEAL! But more importantly, my hair looked fabulous (if i do say so myself — see the the pics i posted!). Afterwards, I wanted to go out on the town and flip my hair over and over like I was in a shampoo commercial!
So if you’re looking for a new/​replacement hairstylist, LOAN TRAN is your guy! I will definitely be returning to him for any of my future haircutting or styling needs.
Oh, and also… it’s been more than a month since my cut with Loan and it’s growing out very nicely and looks great even when it air drys! I’m so pleased!

Finally I found a stylist and a salon! After living in DC for a year, I finally have found someone that does my hair exactly like it needs to be done and is awesome.
My hair was a mess. The last several months I have been cutting and coloring it myself. I just couldn’t afford $ 300 every six weeks.
Jasmine is wonderful! She talked to me about what I wanted, made recommendations and now my hair looks healthy and shines.
$ 35 cut, $ 70 foil = me happy!
Yes, I will be going back.