Barbara&Barbara

I LOVE this place. I have long hair, and I’ve gotten my hair cut by Valter and Jackie. I’ve loved how it turned out every time.

The struggle is real when it comes to super thick, curly and dry hair! My whole life, I’ve kept my hair long in fear that if I did cut it short it would just be an unmanageable Afro. I tried to cut it about 5 years ago and had a terrible experience and I told myself never again!
Now I don’t know if it’s the new year or what, but I’ve had an itch to cut my hair. I read many reviews online and with prior experience, I decided to go with Barbara&Barbara… And omg I’m so happy I did!
I was set up with Sergio, who really took his time and knew my concerns. I honestly had one of my best haircuts I’ve ever and I’m so happy I did! My hair feels so great and the cut really works with my type of hair and curls!
Thank you Barbara&Barbara and a special thank you to Sergio! I’m loving my hair!

I have had very VERY long curly/​wavy hair all my life and wanted to get a short, long bob for a while but was very nervous because last time I got a short haircut it was a nightmare, so I went in for a free consultation at Barbara&Barbara and told my stylist all my thoughts and worries and showed her pictures of what I wanted, she was very understanding and put me at ease. The day of my haircut, I arrived and everyone there is so friendly and made it comfortable. My stylist took her time on my hair and literally cut one curl at a time. During the time I was in the chair the other employees were very encouraging and saying nice things about how awesome it was looking! I literally had hair that was to the bottom of my back and my stylist cut it to about the bottom of my neck length, which is exactly what I wanted. I could not be any more happier with my results and I’ll definitely be going back there! I LOVE THIS PLACE and I was very impressed with the service and the knowledge of how to cut curly hair from my stylist!

I’ve been going to Barbara&Barbara for two years now, and am always happy. My hair is super thick and often unmanageable, but Erick always does a killer job! I love the atmosphere here!

I came to Barbara&Barbara again recently, and my hair stylist was Erick. I’ve never had a male hairstylist before, but he knew exactly what I wanted after I showed him some pictures of my most recent haircut. (Just for reference, I have asymmetrical, short hair with one side that is slightly faded and the other side looks like a classic bob that is about jaw length). What I especially liked was that he knew exactly how to handle my hair thickness and texture. I have a lot of thick hair, and it tends to feel heavy if I don’t cut it in a while. He textured it just right, so that my hair felt super light, but still had lots of volume. I highly recommend Erick if you have short hair.

The first time I was here was a last minute thing with my partner. I still appreciate their flexibility on such short notice that day, but neither of us were really into what we left with in the end. Because this is easily one of the most affordable places in the city aside from a Great Clips, we tried again when our normal stylist was booked up. I really liked my results this time, but he was given the exact same haircut despite switching stylists. The photo he brought both times was a photo of himself — not a celebrity or model — that was taken literally hours after a haircut by our normal stylist. Sure, he is shy and not likely to question a stylist as they work… but I don’t believe his description of the cut he wants could be that inaccurate, especially if he has a photo of it. And sure, new stylists never know your hair the way your regular one does… but that photo taken when he was someone else’s brand new client. I’m puzzled as to what the disconnect is.
The salon has a really nice atmosphere, and every stylist we have ever used has been very friendly and welcoming. I love that they give you a beer, even if it’s PBR. And I love that this is a place queer folks of the city can come and get their haircut on comfortably. Barbara & Barbara is a favorite of our friends and no one we know has ever left unhappy with their hair besides us. Considering this and that they are raising their prices come January, it is unlikely either of us will be back again.

I’ve been coming here since I moved to Chicago a few years ago. It’s always clean inside and Emily is the best! I’ve never left disappointed.

Not recommended. This place is dirty, rude and unprofessional. I walk in with no greeting and after stating my appointment I’m left standing there for a couple minutes while three of them whisper to themselves. No word said to me, mind you.
The chair I had to sit in was full of wet, freshly cut hair, and since my stylist was one of the ones whispering you’d assume she had time to clean up before I got there. The brushes also had hair from previous clients but I thought she wouldn’t use it on me or if at least get a good cut cause the reviews for this place were so high. None of that happened…
I told her I wanted a classic bob with very little layers and I have a lot of hair so she’d have to texture it a lot. I got an uneven Bob that was hacked away with a razor making a lot of frizzy layers. At least if it wasn’t uneven I could live with it. But even after telling her and her trying to even it out, its still uneven and now I have to get another haircut somewhere else. I can’t live with this frizzy, uneven mess!
I give this place two stars only because the other stylist were giving way better cuts.

I’ve been going here for about two years and, although the haircuts are unbeatably priced at $ 30 and (depending on who you get) pretty high-​quality, this place drives me crazy sometimes. They have mixed up or broken multiple appointments with little apology, which is a nightmare when you have limited availability and already planned your whole schedule around your haircut. Then they offer an alternative appointment for 3 pm or whatever. Sure, I’ll just use up one of my few sick days at work so I can stay home and get a haircut. Totally reasonable.
Good luck getting in touch with the receptionist – the phone often rings and rings with no answer, and the voicemail appears to be nonexistent or broken. I dread calling to make appointments for this reason, as well as the sometimes snippy receptionist (I think it might just be one guy, though).
Pros: The stylists are all super nice, and Lauren gives top-​notch cuts, although she books up months in advance. The décor is sharp and the atmosphere is chill.
Cons: They play Russian roulette with your schedule. The customer service is too chill and not sharp enough.
It might be time to graduate to a place with grown-​up service at grown-​up prices.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have been coming here for 5 years, and have gone to several different stylists. I’ve always been pretty happy with the results. I went to Sergio a couple weeks ago, and he really did not seem like he knew what he was doing. I had just-​below-​shoulder-​length wavy/​thick hair, and wanted a wavy bob. I got a weird uneven bubble of hair on my head. I even went back to have him fix it and it was still uneven and too heavy. I don’t think I’ll be back.

I got my hair cut here and I was very pleased. I have very curly hair, and I have had it long for more than a decade. I wanted to get it cut about shoulder length. I get very nervous about hair cuts because I have had many disasters. I expressed this when I made my appointment and they made sure to give me a stylist experienced in curly hair. Sergio spent a lot of time on my hair making sure it looked the way I wanted it to. He was so friendly and I really appreciate that he took his time! I walked out with hair that I love and lots of recommendations for products and techniques! I would definitely recommend Barbara&Barbara to other curly haired folks!

I love this salon and Valter is an amazing stylist. I never leave unhappy and he knows how to cut and style unruly wavy hair. My boyfriend travels a lot and unfortunately has trouble booking with the same stylist regularly due to his hectic schedule but everyone he’s seen here he’s loved and has given him a great cut and style. Thank you Valter and thank you Barbara&Barbara!

My wife got her hair cut here. It was a nice atmosphere. I really enjoyed the I Spy book (s).
The guy at the front desk was friendly, and helped make an appointment for my wife (I guess they don’t do walk-​ins?) as soon as possible, which ended up being that night.
I came to her appointment (yolo, not much else going on) and we arrived 15 minutes early. Again, the atmosphere of this place is pretty relaxed and comfortable, and when we sat down the guy at the front desk offered to get us something to drink (even me, who he knew wasn’t going to be getting my hair cut).
OK, the actual haircut, which is what is most important, was very good. The guy who cut the hair was friendly, not too talkative, and spent the time to make sure that my wife was happy. My wife felt like this was a haircut that was worth the price, not rushed, etc, even though her appointment was (very) close to closing time. I personally think her haircut looked awesome, and she was very happy with it. Honestly she doesn’t have a «fancy» hairstyle, so the biggest thing was that the guy took the time to do a good job and ask her lots of questions about how her hair was looking as the cut progressed.
Price was also good. My wife has short hair, and the cost was $ 30 for the hair cut.
The only negative was that the price of the haircut was somewhat ambiguous. Haircuts were (according to the website) 20 – 40. My wife has really really short hair (almost buzz cut on the sides/​back, a TINY bit longer on the top). The prices were 20 – 40 bucks online. My wife figured hers would be around $ 25 given how short her hair was. When we got in, the person at the front desk said $ 30. Fine. But then when she went to checkout the person cutting the hair offered (to the person collecting payment) «$ 25» — and the guy at the front desk corrected him and said «$ 30.» This isn’t a big deal at all (see: ⁵⁄₅ stars rating), but at the same time we felt that it would have been nice to have a slightly more clear idea of what makes a 20 vs 25 vs 30 (etc) haircut.
Oh, one other nice thing: the ATM is only $ 1 fee. Obviously if you can avoid this and have cash before, etc, that would be ideal. But, for an ATM, $ 1 is pretty good.

Love it (see below), but I wanted to note at the top that it is **cash only**. I just happened to have cash on me. Would’ve been screwed otherwise.
I’ve found it! I’m pretty awful at being a «regular» at any type of hair place. However, I think I’ve found *the one*. I am 1) pretty cheap and 2) really terrible and descriptions. So I showed up to B&B not wanting to pay much, having cut my own hair into a terrible (but not completely unsightly) chin length bob, and with no idea of direction. Enter Sergio. I told him I wanted to clean up my self-​cut mess and simultaneously still look feminine. He made sure I was comfortable with him cutting off quite a bit of hair, and he did his thing. He asked a lot of questions about daily style routine and preferences (which is super important but no one ever asks), and he told me to let give him a shout if I had any issues or questions with my hair.
Very cool vibe and fast, friendly service. Verrrrrry reasonable prices. I will be going back here again.

Love this salon! I feel like I finally found the right one for me. I decided to chop all my hair off (from shoulder length to pixie) and Maeva worked wonders. She listened to me, explained every step of her process, and most importantly, gave me a kick-​ass style. I brought some photos in, but understood that I probably wouldn’t get the exact cut (celebrities and their beautiful faces and all), but Maeva gave me exactly what I wanted.
Also, it was $ 40. SO CHEAP, especially since I cut about 8 or 9 inches off. The salon has a dope atmosphere and I’m really excited to go back.

Absolutely love this salon! It took me forever to finally let go of my salon in the suburbs and find somewhere in the city, but it’s been a great fit for me. I was randomly placed with Jackie for my first appointment and it has been a match made in heaven. She’s great at her job and just a lovely human being in general. It’s really important to feel comfortable with your stylist and she’s made it very easy to do. I always look forward to my appointments because I’m excited to hang out with her!
I’m in the salon fairly often so I’ve gotten a taste of the rest of the staff and they are all just as wonderful.
If you have a lot of hair like I do, things can get a little pricey, but it’s been worth it for me. I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone, especially if you’re looking to dye your hair a non-​traditional color.
Check them out!

I got a great cut with Carrie. I wasn’t in the chair until a half hour after my scheduled appt, which no one acknowledged, but I’m not fussy. The cut wasn’t exactly what I had asked for or what I showed in the picture of the haircut, but I still liked it a lot.
Aside from the service itself, I have to say that I think it’s kind of bogus to charge based on the length of your hair, but what do I know.
Final FYI, it is cash only, but they do take checks, which I found out after failing to remember the pin number to my debit card after a bazillion tries on the in-​house ATM.

If your hairs need cutting, bring them here.
I haven’t had more than a simple trim since age 14. Just shy of 10 years sporting the same ‘do, I was ready for a change. As I’d just moved to Chicago, I had no reference for a good salon. I put my faith in Unilocal and found Barbara&Barbara. I was duly rewarded.
By recommendation of the receptionist, I ended up sitting down with Jarvi. She took my mid-​back length locks and transformed them into the fiercest hair cut I’ve ever received. Based on a few simple photos, she created the perfect style for me; one I didn’t even realize I was looking for.
Factoring in the bargain $ 40 price tag for a chopping off 13 inches, bitching vibe, sociable staff, and complimentary beer I can’t write enough positive things about this spot.

First-​timer here!
Recently moved to Logan Square and Barbara&Barbara is beautifully located right down the road from my apartment. I called for a cut & color, got an appointment by a well-​mannered receptionist, and I was down to meet Eric the next day.
I explained what I was looking for in a basic way, and Eric immediately gave feedback that was exactly what I wanted without knowing it.
And voila! I feel beautiful. Thanks Eric. You are fantastic.

One word. JARVI.
I added blue and purple to my hair, and Jarvi ombré’d it like a BOSS. Love the service, the quality, the cost, and the outcome! She was very thorough and totally made me feel at ease, which is unusual because hair salons typically make me anxious as hell.
I love the inviting atmosphere and phenomenal artwork all over the walls. It’s a very comfortable place to casually get your hair done in an affordable way. There’s also ample free street parking around, which is a major plus. And getting offered Hamm’s as soon as I walk in? Yes, please!
Jarvi and I talked about how hilarious Unilocal reviews can be, so I hope you stumble across this one, and know that it’s dedicated to you!
Cheers!