Leon and Co

I’ve been coming to Leon’s for years. My hair always looks great, and even when I lived in another state, I would book an appointment for every visit back. They are very consistent, friendly, and less expensive than all the Newbury St locations with the same quality

Had a horrible experience coming in here, could overhear owner making inappropriate comments about clients that seemed to like this place. Needless to say, very unprofessional and downright childish. I’ve worked in a salon before and I will never be back to this one.

I have been going to this salon for years to get my hair colored.
My family knows the owner very well and the staff are very nice to me and my father who owns a food business and supplies food for the owner’s son’s restaurant. Anyways, as much as I like the people there, I had good AND not so great experiences. I like more ‘edgy’ and ‘trendy’ styles for young adults/​teenagers and I feel like their clientele is more geared towards middle aged women who want their roots touched up. I don’t have a problem with this but I feel like if I want blue and purple hair, this might not be the place to go for it.
The salon is clean, the stylists are nice people, I always feel pampered and their receptionist is very nice and was happy to answer my questions about the products they sold.
I had a wonderful stylist named Taylor who always gave me what I wanted. She was nice and very talented but no longer works at the salon. She would always color my hair the way I liked it. I had a color I loved, which was medium blue and purple chunky highlights and another one with pink, purple and black horizontal stripes in my bangs. and when she left I went a couple more times. THAT is when it wasn’t so great…
Their was a male stylist there who’s name I don’t remember, who seemed not to listen to what I wanted at all. He also cut my mother’s hair, and she was very unhappy with it. I’ve been getting my hair colored for at least eight years every other month. and this stylist did not listen to what I said and barely talked to me at all… which bothered me. I asked for a few more blonde highlights and the entire top layer of my hair had been bleached blonde with a greenish tint. I went back a week later and had purple put over it which looked nice.
And one of the last times I went there, I asked for light/​baby blue hair. My hair was not very damaged by then, but I went in for a consultation just to make sure. The stylist told me I shouldn’t bleach my roots, and that I should never bleach my whole head. And I was like… uh… okay? I’ve seen other people do that plenty of times and to get the style I want I really was hoping to have that done…
So a couple weeks later I decided to come back and ask for light blue again after doing a few deep conditioning treatments. So I sat down and showed the stylist a photo of the EXACT color I wanted and I even brought in the dye (which costs extra money and this salon is VERY expensive for color. they don’t have funky colors in their color line) and the stylist told me my hair was a bit damaged and I needed more treatments. I told her «I do them at home but thanks, I’m fine as long as it doesn’t fall out.» and she threw on the bleach, washed me out, then put the blue dye on. She brought me back to the chair and it looked dark purple. It was NOT light blue at all! The color was a dark, mucky brownish purple. So I said to her «hey, what happened?» I was very upset but I did NOT want to hurt her feelings because my family knows this business and loves them, and I hate hurting peoples’ feelings regardless of what it is.
But then, I was really mad because they charged me $ 250 for the color. I was shocked. It wasn’t what I wanted, and it turned out after my father came to pick me up and paid for the service, I was informed that the stylist had used a ‘blueberry’ hair treatment or some odd type of product like that, and I assume that is what changed the color of my hair completely. Honestly, I’m glad I can write this review despite how I might have came across, I like the salon, I like the people. But not every experience I had was quite the best.

I’ve had a number of people cut my hair here, some good, some not so good. I finally found Sandra and she is great. She does what you want, but also gives some advice as to what she think will work best. But she’s not pushy at all. Excellent cut that works whether I blow it dry or not. She is a 5. Taking off one star because some of the other stylists are just fair.

My experience here was an interesting one. I went in to be a part of the assisted model program. So for a reduce rate I can get whatever I want done to my hair. I went in thinking I would like to touch up my highlights and get a trim and reshape. I ended up asking the stylist what does she think would look good. She very convincingly told me that ombré would look great on me. So I said why not you’re they expert you know best. Wellll what I didn’t realize is she was doing an extreme ombré and the ends of my hair ends up bleach blond. A you can see from my photo I have very dark hair and features. This look did not at all work for me. She did it well but I was very disappointed she thought this would look good with my coloring. After convincing me that I just needed some time to he used to it she gave me a good cut and sent me on my way.
A week later I just still couldn’t live with this kinda trashy looking hair so I got in contact with her and asked if she could fix it. She said she could then didn’t work the next week. I ended up just calling the salon and asking if it was possible to have someone else fix it for me. They got me an apt the next day! The girl I saw as fantastic and really great about making sure I was really happy with the color and explained what it was going to look like before she did it etc. over all this ended up being a positive experience but I think next time I won’t be as open an just stick to a cut here.

I have been going to Leon’s for 10+ years, and my mom for about 15. Everyone who works here is fantastic, but my favorite is Fulya. She listens to what I want and is just really friendly! She has also been doing my mom’s color for years and is wonderful. I have also had great hair cuts by Genny and Jennifer.

First, this review is more for Fulya than the salon in general. Not that I had any unpleasant experience with the salon, but only once in several years did anyone else there cut my hair, and the quality of the stylist is the most important factor.
I moved out of the Boston area and have yet to find anyone who can cut and color my hair as well as Fulya did. Plus, she is a really nice person. She seems to get uniformly good reviews here, and she deserves them.

Due to a change in work location, I needed to find a new place to get my haircut, instead of the Newbury St place I’d been going. So, called to make sure that they would give me someone with some experience, rather than just whoever was most available. I got Hamid. It was terrible. Reasons, in descending order of importance: a) It is a terrible haircut. Too short on top, too long in the back. And with random long pieces sticking out. And I had a mountain of hair down my shirt, which I hate. b) He was 15 minutes last; c) He poked me in the eye with his finger. Twice. d) It cost $ 45, which is Newbury St pricing for a men’s haircut; e) the receptionist was barely civil and didn’t offer to make me a coffee (remember, this is descending order).
Did I call to complain? No — I don’t trust them to do a fix (and think that would be mighty uncomfortable). So now, 1 week later, I’m heading back to Newbury St.

I am updating this review because I can talk about it now (it was so upsetting, I could not finish my review!). I walked in on a weekday (it was very slow) and asked if they do kids haircuts and they answered in the positive. They gave someone who was unbelievably green and clearly could not handle a child. She was so stressed and nervous that she passed that nervousness to my kid (kids are like dogs and horses, they can feel your stress level) and he started crying (which made it worse for this woman).
All through the haircut, I kept asking if she was ok and it was ok for her to stop and I could leave, but SHE insisted she could do it. Then the receptionist comes over and says «you know you don’t have to continue with haircut if YOU feel uncomfortable». No shit, really? But she insisted she could do it … well, she went on for a little while longer and maybe got a ¹⁄₃ of the cut done — very slow and nervous — when a man I can only assume is the owner, comes over and does the umpire «your out» sign. Then, she and he walk off and left me standing there with a crying child with bad haircut just standing there (not a word to me) — embarrassed, of course, I leave a tip for her trouble and start to go out to pay for what she did accomplish. The receptionist says «We will not charge you but at the very least you could leave a tip for HER trouble».
Yikes!

Yikes! As of this week, the kid’s cut is $ 25 — before tip, which makes it not quite the bargain it used to be. Strangely, when the price went up, the cuts didn’t get better. Go figure.

No no no no no. I decided to try Leon and Co. and specifically booked with Colleen because of the good reviews they were receiving here and on Citysearch. I’ll start by saying the cut I got from Colleen last night was fine — I’d say my hair looks like a solid B. That’s why they are getting two stars instead of one: the cut is fine and Colleen did take the time to explain some styling/​blowdrying tricks, which I appreciated.
My issue — and the reason why I am actually motivated enough to write this negative review and will never go back to this salon — is that the service was so obnoxious. Colleen seemed pleasant enough, but when I tried to engage in a conversation with her about potential cuts — I am a new client considering cutting my long hair and really open to suggestions from the stylist — she cut me off and told me she didn’t have the time to discuss various options. She told me I should have scheduled a consultation prior to my appointment — which she noted cost more money — if I wanted to discuss different cuts. What?! First of all, I had no idea when I scheduled an appointment that they only book you for 30 minutes and how would I possibly have any clue that as a new client, you need to tell them that you want time to talk to the stylist about what you want. The person scheduling me certainly did not tell me any of this. So the end result was that the whole thing was very rushed, and I was left feeling like they did not care at all about the quality of my experience. I’m potentially a loyal customer — I have been going home to Chicago for 7 years to get my hair cut from the same salon and decided it was finally time to find someone here. Leon and Co is DEFINITELY not the place.
Just to add, the woman working at the front desk was so obnoxious, it was just icing on the cake at the end of the experience. As I checked out, she did not say a single word to me, just swiped my credit card, and did not ask how I enjoyed the experience or if I was happy with the cut. When I asked if I could talk to the manager, she just said «the owner is not here» with a snarky look on her face. Needless to say I’ll be giving ol’ Leon a shout today to let him know that his staff need some interpersonal and customer service skills training… I don’t hold out much hope though, since the salon’s policy of booking 30 minutes per client and requiring you pay extra to talk for more than 5 minutes about what you want must come from the top.
Ho hum — the search continues for a good cut at a pleasant salon I don’t feel dirty supporting …

I had my first appointment with Leon, the owner, on a Wednesday afternoon and am very pleased with the results. Though his services were a bit pricey ($ 90 for a cut), I felt his expertise and experience was well worth it.
I was welcomed by the same young woman who did my shampoo — she did a good job of getting me settled and familiar with the salon because this was my first visit. Though the shampoo was ‘basic’ (no scalp massage or anything along those lines) I was pleased with the service because they began my appointment on time and the person was friendly without being too chatty. The salon was quiet but I never got the unfriendly vibe mentioned by some reviewers (and none of that ‘snooty’ behavior you see at some of the Newbury St. salons).
Leon began the appointment just a few minutes late and apologized immediately (as if he had had me waiting 20 mins)…he began by asking what I was looking for. After a few minutes of discussion he said he understood what I wanted and began cutting… about 40 minutes later I emerged with exactly the cut I desired. Leon took his time to cut/​shape my hair to perfection… despite being the owner and his attention being needed by his employees during my appointment, he never made me feel as if he were anything but focused on my cut and appointment. I would highly recommend Leon and his staff.
One tip: make sure to arrive a few minutes early as I did find that parking was slightly limited but turnover seemed to be pretty quick so I was able to get a spot after just a few minutes. I can see this being perhaps a bit more challenging on a weekend.

I have been there twice so far and have had good experiences.
My first time was a few years ago with Fulya. I had semi-​blond hair and wanted to go back to my natural color of dark brown/​black. She warned me it would be a color shock because I didn’t have dark hair in a long time but her color came out beautifully. She matched my roots perfectly. I had a haircut with Leon immediately afterward. He gave me a great cut and showed me how to style it for when I go home.
The second time I went (about a month ago) I saw Taylor who listened to everything I wanted and gave me a great cut. I was very happy with the results and will probably return in the near future.
The only thing I did not care for were the secretaries during my second visit. The first time I went I was greeted by a lovely lady who was smiling and very welcoming but the second time I went I had a completely different experience. The secretaries (not the same from my first visit) did not make eye contact and I was not greeted. I know it’s a small thing to complain about but it stuck in my mind.

I was supposed to see Fulya today, but her flight got canceled, so I ended up seeing Hamid instead. I am not that pleased. I told him to cut off 2 inches, and he cut off 4, which really displeased me.
I have hair that is straight but that will literally show off everything a stylist does, including mistakes. I told him this, so while he didn’t do things like razoring or texturizing (which I asked him not to do), he wasn’t precise enough with the layers, and they look choppy and uneven. I told him at the end that I wanted more layers, but he didn’t want to put them in. When I am displeased with a haircut, I just want to get the hell out of there, so I didn’t push him.
I told Grace at the front desk that I wasn’t happy with it, but I was going to go home and live with it and see what happens. She told me that they give you a week to see how you like it, and within that week, it’s free to get whatever you don’t like fixed. So that is definitely a plus. It is what gets this place a third star, truthfully. Grace was really nice and accommodating– I could tell she really wanted to make sure that I was happy.
I came home and washed it, and it looked pretty bad. It looked fine after Hamid blowdried it and styled it, but I need things to look good without the styling. I have had haircuts like this before; I know it is possible with my hair!
While I wouldn’t necessarily put myself at the cutting edge of haircut styles (I was actually nervous about going to a Newbury St. salon b/​c I thought they might give me something TOO modern, which was one reason why I decided to go somewhere out in the ‘burbs), I do feel like I got a very «suburban» style suitable for someone 10 years older than I am.
I am going back next week to have Fulya fix it, and we will see. One of the reasons why I only asked for 2 inches off was so there would be hair left to fix it if I needed to get a second haircut (can you tell that this isn’t the first time this has happened?), but since he took off 4 inches, he also took off my insurance policy. I am not sure exactly what Fulya can do without chopping off even more, which is NOT what I want, but I am willing to give her a chance, since at this point, I am tempted to go at it myself with a pair of scissors. Been there, and done that, and it’s always a bad sign. I can and have done minor fixes myself, but the mistakes here aren’t just the result of my hair lying a different way when dry as when wet, or me wanting something different in the front, the choppy layering goes all the way around. I so wish I could just cut my own hair. Really.
EDIT 11÷12÷07
I went back and had Fulya fix my hair. She did a much better job and totally fixed it. I would definitely go back to her in the future.

I got a cut with Fulya at Leon and Co just a couple weeks ago. I bought several photos of what I wanted and she was able to recreate a similar style without much need for direction. She took her time cutting it and made sure that I liked what she was doing, sometimes letting me know what she was going to do before she cut. When she was done, she made sure that I loved what she did.
I will definitely go back again!

Internationally-​acclaimed Leon de Magistris has his award-​winning hair salon in Belmont, employing some of the top stylists in the entire Boston area. He even has his own line of hair products, «e» which I highly recommend. If you want some incredible color, ask for Fulya – she really knows how to make you feel and look amazing.