Sine Qua Non Salon

Mischa is awesome. I have not ever trusted anyone so much with my hair. She has a great eye and understands my hair. I’ve been seeing her for 3 years now and am so happy to have found her!
The salon itself is a very cool space. Everyone is so friendly and attentive. Look no further for your new salon.

I have always jumped from one salon/​stylist to another. I finally found a good stylist. Stacia not only listens to what I want, she also is honest and let’s me know if the cut would work with my hair type. She doesn’t push products on me either.
Stacia is a great stylist!

I have always jumped around hair salons in the city. But now I believe I have found the salon and stylist I will continue going back to. Kathy at the west town location is awesome! She gave me the best haircut… a cute bob for the summer! The way she cut my hair allows me to style it the way she did, looking like I just stepped out of the salon-​every time! She was very friendly and gave great styling tips and even a couple of hair product samples to take home. I definitely recommend this salon and Kathy as your hair stylist.

been going for years, been meaning to write a review for some time. went in today and had sara work on my neglected locks, she did an awesome job. love how it feels and looks, thanks sara!

This review is mainly for Holly. I have been seeing her for a couple years, and she always does an amazing job. She is THE best for natural looking highlights and color in general. She is great with cut and style too– I have dry, fine, frizzy hair that tends to be wavy and find it much easier to manage since I’ve been getting cuts from Holly. She’s very easy to talk to and communicate with, and my hair always turns exactly as I describe it to her. I’ve never stayed with a stylist for more than a couple visits but will gladly follow Holly to the ends of the earth.
The salon itself is great too– very clean, stylish, and friendly. There is always a lot of hustle and bustle going on but it never feels too crowded or rushed. I always look forward to my visits. I especially appreciate the online appointment booking system!

I call Summer my «curly hair whisperer!» I have worked with Summer at both the West Town and Lincoln Park locations and cannot rave about her enough. She is the first stylist in 28 years to understand my hair and consistently give me a cut and color that I love! Thank you Summer!

I am really happy I found this place. Their stylist, Jessi, was not only the sweetest and cutest person ever, but she fixed my hot mess of a color job. A few weeks prior, I went to a salon recommended to me by my Mom (eek) and was not happy with the outcome. Jessi listened to exactly what I wanted and my hair looks great. I am really excited to go back and see her!
The salon décor is also amazing. Loved my experience! Thank you!

David, I love you. Enough said! I have been seeing him for years at this location (he works in both Lincoln Park and here). After moving back to Chicago from NYC, I bounced around between stylists in the suburbs and city searching for someone who could manage my wavy, fine hair. He is top notch and never disappoints! He books up really quickly, so you know I’m not lying. The salon is adorable and cozy and the front desk staff are always cheerful and very hip.

I’ve been going to Misha at this salon for about a year. She always gives me a great cut and great color. I dye my hair often and she keeps it healthy. The salon is very clean and with great décor. The staff is friendly and this is not a snobby salon. Very friendly and accommodating; never judgmental or rude. They do try to sell they’re products but are never pushy. They do a great job explaining what product was used and explain the benefits of each product. I think the prices are reasonable for the quality of work. I’ve tried many salons in the area and have been happiest here. Misha is enjoyable to talk to. She’s great at what she does and she knows how to keep convo going. I love hearing about her travel adventures. Not to mention she’s very talented and knows what works and doesn’t.
The other stylists all seem great as well.

This review is for Jessi Seese, who I miss terribly, and is utterly amazing in every single way. Her color, cut and style skills are unsurpassed. She is stylistically intuitive, an expert in color correction (which I found out the one time in 3+ years I strayed), patient with requests and an excellent communicator. Jessi is warm, caring and a wealth of knowledge.
I followed Jessi from her salon downtown and close to my work, all the way to Sine qua Non Salon in West town, a 45 minute drive/​cab ride across town from Buena Park. I pre-​booked my appts, and enjoyed every single appt.
I moved in November from CHI — LA. I miss her skills, hard.
I am a personal stylist for makeup, skincare, and fragrance, and so, I am extremely particular, high maintenance, & concerned with looking my best.
She never disappoints.
Miss ya Jessi, xoxo Iris

I have this really thick, coarse, curly hair… I was desparate to find someone who knew how to cut it and I found her!!!
I’ve only been to Sine Qua Non Salon twice. The first time at the Lakeview location with Summer and she cut my hair so fresh that I didn’t need to get a cut for a whole year! I wasn’t using heat and using a very gentle styling technique.
My second time was about a month ago, with Summer, at the West Town location. I wanted to cut all 24 inches of my hair off and I was soooo happy with the result.
Summer is great! Not only does she know how to cut curly hair but she HAS curly hair. I think that makes a difference for clients because they know that you deal with the same issues.

I can’t say enough positive things about my experience going to Sine Qua Non-​especially the stylist I see. I see Bryan and he is fantastic! This is the first time I have been to a salon where I can truly trust the stylist. He listens to what I want and takes a huge amount of time and pride in his work. He has done a phenomenal job each and every time I have visited him (cuts, color and blowouts). I would recommend him to any man or woman who is looking for a natural, fabulous hair style. I have never felt better about the way my hair looks now that Bryan has been styling it. What can I say? He is wonderful at what he does!

My first experience with Mischa was great! I got an excellent hair cut and root touch up. I walked out feeling fabulous and even purchased salon products she recommended.
On my next visit she decided she would use a razor instead based on some new Technic she had learned. I trusted her and said sure, why not. She said it would give my already wavy hair more curl and volume. Leaving the salon I felt fine but the next day I wasn’t fine any more. After showering and doing the normal routine I realized my hair had a different texture to it. I then started using more and more product but it seemed no matter what I did my hair looked damaged and frizzy. I called her to ask what I should do. After playing phone tag a few times she replied with «You should use more product». I don’t wanna pay an arm and a leg for a hair cut when it makes it more complicated and more high maintenance to do my hair. I told her well I’ve already started doing that. She then tried her best and even offered to cut my hair again. I freaked out at the idea seeing as she already had cut a good amount off on the original visit. I told her I would rather live with it for a few weeks then to cut more of it off.
As much as she tried I could not bring myself to go back. I ended up going else where to get it fixed. I was disappointed. Mischa was nice but it was a very expensive lesson for me. I’ve waited several months to write this review and have visited other salons to fix my hair.

I had my first bonafide blow out with Mischa this evening. She was stellar! Took time going over what look I was wanting, what products she was using and tips on how to get curl to hold a little longer in my hair. I am long overdue for a haircut, but she made me look like a million bucks with the amount of volume and shape she was able to pump back into my mane! I would see Mischa every day if I could. I highly recommend making an appointment with her before your next evening out!

I’m a notorious salon jumper, I’m kinda picky & it’s been hard to find a stylist or colorist who gets exactly what I’m trying to convey. After reading the reviews I decided to give Jessi at the West Town location a try. She took the time to ask questions and make sure we were both on the same page and she understood what I wanted to change. She fixed some old brassy ombré and changed it to a beautiful caramel color that was more natural. I got a simple trim with some layers, and the best bang shaping ever! It’s really hard to find someone good at cutting bangs! Not only is she super talented but she was so sweet. I’m due for another cut so I will definitely come back to Jessi!

Best salon experience ever. Brian did awesome work! They’re all super friendly in there too, didn’t get any pretentious vibes like how it is in some salons. Yes, it is pricey, but I thought it was worth it because I needed a new style. I also love that they use all Bumble & Bumble products, that shit is amaZeballzz. They even gave me a small bag of free samples to take home. Definitely going back. Even if it’s just for a blow out or to buy some products. Also, Brian was nice enough to show me a few tips for blow drying with a round brush. He was such a sweetheart too! You can’t go wrong with this place.

This salon is awesome. It actually pains me that I haven’t found Sine Qua Non and Summer sooner! Summer, as my friend put it, is a curl goddess. She has curly hair and knows how to cut and style it. I hate going to a salon and leaving with my hair looking like a hot mess after being cut and «styled». That was not the case with Summer at Sine Qua Non. She actually listened to what I wanted and answered questions for me about my hair. She quickly picked up on what I was comfortable with and what I wasn’t, which was very reassuring. I left with a great cut and my curls were go out ready! I was so impressed!
If you have curly hair, do yourself a favor and call Sine Qua Non. Ask for summer. You won’t be disappointed!

I’ve been coming to some Sine salon since I moved to my current place, either Lakeview or Lincoln Park (reviewed one of them, forgot which). I ended up at West Town because I needed emergency bang trimming and was in the area. Now I come here instead despite myself. Why is this? I live nowhere near it and I really hate the bus.
Because…
a) all of the stylists with Sine are supposedly great, I have no doubt. WT is the home salon of my personal favorite, Mischa, who I first went to in Lincoln Park. This girl is fucking great, which other people clearly realize because she’s getting hard to book. She is the first and only person of many many stylists who gets what I want and is able to tell me how to make that happen (i.e. to stop cutting shitty layers into my hair). I had her cut bangs for me at a regular haircut, and when I was still being picky about the length of a few side pieces the next week, she fixed it up no prob at the end of her night.
More recently I have been coming to her for single process color. I have poo brown ashy hair with bizarre red tones that I have been covering since 19. She has gotten a level-​2 cool brown super dark dye to last without looking black, pulling red near the end or, worse, fading to an ashy chlorinated green gross tone that makes it look like a wig. I don’t take care of my hair at all and it still looks great after 10 weeks of neglect. This is usually the sign of someone who actually understands how color works. I have been dyed ash brown a lot in my life because people don’t take into account the hair underneath, and it consistently turned out like ass. People routinely ask me for the formula when I say it’s fake because it looks so natural. I tell them it’s a secret because I am an ahole.
b) everyone at this salon is nice, accommodating, totally unpretentious, and 100% focused on a good experience (the usual for Sine salons). I hate going to places that care more about their vision than how you feel and have snotty receptionists who dgaf. Everybody who works here is nice even if you have questions on the phone.
c) coolest vibe and style for a salon, my favorite of the 3 I’ve been to. This salon looks like I wish my apartment did: all hardwoods and bricks and metal, cool setup, good music. smaller than the LP mega-​salon which tends to be loud on weekends and has a lot of grating north-​shore type customers (which is not the salon’s fault). Also its small size = easy to blow past it. There is parking though.
d) the prices are incredibly reasonable for cuts ($ 50) and a worthwhile expense for color compared to other places in the city.
bottom line, I drive really far out of my way to go here now, even though I live on the doorstep of the Lakeview location and really close to LP. I am the laziest mfer alive, so if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I really don’t know what is.

This is my second review, because. damn, well I just LOVE MY HAIR. I had longish hair for most of my life, with one or two rogue bobs throughout the years. When I went to Michael, he gave me a really really short cut that looks great! He really gets me; I am no muss no fuss and now so is my hair. It looks cute and modern and sassy without even trying! It’s totally wash and go and awesome!
My second visit to the salon was actually to the Andersonville location and this time I got color also from Stevie. Stevie is great! The combo between her and Michael is really fantastic. I told her exactly what I wanted in my color and she delivered better results than I ever could have imagine. I’m hooked. I love them. My search for great hair is finally over!
If there is a down side, it’s price. They are slightly on the expensive side. But you probably already figured that out by the three dollar signs at the top of this page. If those didn’t scare you away, then you are already prepared to spend a little more to get what you want. And let me tell you, I think Michael and Stevie are worth it!

I’ve been to Sine twice now because of Jessi! She is absolutely outstanding! Definitely a long hair specialist in my opinion and gave me the best color application I’ve had in many many years! I wear a small amount of tape in extensions, nothing fazes her, she knew exactly how to cut them to blend perfectly. Talk about a stylist who listens!
This location could perhaps be out of your way, but there is parking right out front and trust me it’s worth the drive for this talented stylist!