Suite Ashira

Brandi Thomas is extremely unprofessional, has no consideration for your time or money and is incompetent. So STAY AWAY from this place!
I was going to book a Groupon for a Brazilian blowout, but decided to go show Brandi my hair beforehand and get her opinion if it would be the right choice for me. To give a little background about my hair, I’m an asian with thick black hair that is frizzy and wavy, but without curls. I basically wanted my hair to be frizz free and the waves to get smoother. When I met Brandi, she was convinced that the Brazilian blowout would work for me and even made me pay for my appointment the next day. She did offer me a lower rate than Groupon. Now looking back, I wish I had stuck with Groupon, so that my deal would have at least been protected by them.
Anyway, I show up for my appointment the next day, she starts by washing and conditioning my hair. Then she leaves the Brazilian blowout «0» product on my hair, which she believed was perfect for my hair texture since it would not leave my hair too flat. Then she leaves me under the air dryer and disappears for her lunch, which was an hour long. She comes back and washes my hair again, blow drys and straightens it using a flat iron. I pay her $ 155 + $ 15 in tips and I leave thinking she did a good job.
Boy, was I wrong! I washed my hair with a sulfate free shampoo the next day, as recommended by her, and once I finished drying it, my hair looked just as it did before the blowout. There was no difference at all; the frizz and wave, both were back. I call her to tell her about this, but she does not answer my call. Finally, she agrees to see me the day after via text.
I go for my next appointment, only to find the door locked and lights out. I call her back again, she does not answer my phone and after about 10 calls and twenty minutes later, she texts me back saying she forgot about my appointment and that we had to reschedule for the next day without even offering an apology. At this point I should have known she wasn’t interested in fixing the problem, since she already received my money.
However, I thought everyone makes mistakes and I should give her another chance to make up for the missed appointment. So, I go in the next day only to have her argue with me for what felt like 45mins. She refused to accept that she made a wrong call about using the BB level «0» even when it did not show any results. She refused to correct the problem, and instead blamed it on my split-​ends! I received a haircut just last month, so I knew that was not the problem. Even then, she insisted on giving me a trim and applied a hair mask for 20 mins and then applied Moroccan oil to flatten my hair as much as she could. She then blow dried my hair and refused to apply the actual treatment that I paid for (BB).
The entire time she even kept poking me with her fake nails that are atrociously long. Even I know that people who work in a salon are not supposed to keep their nails that long for hygienic reasons. But, clearly she is not aware of that or does not care!
In short, save your money, time and effort and go to a descent place where they actually care about giving you a good end result and are not just trying to get your money one way or the other. I will never be going back there again and strongly suggest that you don’t either!
–K

Brandi is an excellent stylist! Came here for a Brazilian Blowout with a groupon and Brandi just has a great energy. She is very warm and sweet, and knows a lot about hair. I am glad I asked her for a bang trim to complete the look because my new hair is so sleek! I am loving it.

It’s taken me almost a year to write this because I was so torn on my experience but I figure people have a right to know.
Brandi is very sweet, funny, and fun to be around. I’m sure she is a great friend and cool to hang out with, but her professionalism is just terrible.
I bought a deal for a haircut and balayage through Lifebooker and booked on her website. She texted me to confirm and all seemed fine.
My appointment was supposed to be at 9:30 one morning, and she called at 9:15 to ask if she could move the appointment to 10 since she was running behind. I was a little annoyed because I wouldn’t normally have been out and about that early on a Saturday but I appreciated her being forthright so I went with it.
I showed up and Brandi was still styling someone’s hair. By the way, this is not a salon in the traditional sense at all. It is a suite in every way — essentially the world’s tiniest room with a sink in it. Very warm and not quite a relaxing vibe. Anyway she said she would be right with me so I sat on a bench outside the suite and waited.
I ended up waiting three hours. This is not hyperbole. Three hours went by with not so much as an acknowledgement, apology, or offer to reschedule. There also was no sense of urgency – she was chatting up this client and taking her time. I’m not suggesting she should skimp on her current client’s services but a little hustle would have been reassuring. Why did I keep waiting? Well, at that point, Brandi had 4 stars on Unilocal.I hoped this was just a fluke and if the color was really amazing then oh well. I also thought that it would be one of those scenarios that as soon as I got up she would finish. So I stayed.
Finally got in (again, no apology) and Brandi got to work with no consultation whatsoever. I told her I was looking to maintain most of my length and just needed a trim. She cut my hair (I couldn’t see it, there’s only one mirror), and then moved on to color. Three and a half hours later she spun me around with what seemed to be genuine excitement only for me to see choppy hair (uneven choppy, not stylish choppy) and straight up YELLOW streaks. I pretended I was happy even though I was nearly in tears because I just wanted to get out of there.
I got home and cooled down and my boyfriend, who is oblivious to all things aesthetic, said «whoa» when he saw my hair. This was not a good «whoa.» I am a chronic over-​tipped and tipped 20% of the original, non-​deal price, which I realize was my own choice, but I felt very taken advantage of by the whole experience. I inspected my hair closer and saw that the yellow stripes also bled into each other, much like the ones my 12 year old friends and I did on ourselves in my basement with an Herbal Essences kit. I decided, for some reason, to give her the benefit of the doubt and to ask for a recolor and touch up.
I’ll spare you the details, but I ended up waiting another three hours to get into her chair. She attempted to fix the color, but did not. And I didn’t even let her touch the cut.
After spending almost a day of my life on this, I emailed Lifebooker to get a refund so at least I could pay someone else to fix it. Lifebooker said they didn’t give refunds. I sent them a picture to prove how bad it was and they immediately apologized, gave me a full refund, AND offered additional credit to the website because they felt so terrible about it.
Way TL;DR — go somewhere else. Please.

Your hair is in anointed hands here. Each time I’ve gone to Brandi I’ve left feeling beautiful and with an uplifted spirit. As with any other salon or spa, you should set a good portion of your day aside for your appointment. The results are worth the patience because perfection takes time.
I love the diversity of Brandi’s clients across different age, race, and occupation demographics. One of the personal touches I like the most is the way that Brandi introduces you to the other clients while you wait; great conversation usually ensues. You never know if she will be introducing you to your next blessing.

I was a huge fan of Brandi until today, I had one of the worst interactions with a supplier or service provider in my entire life. I made an appointment with her for my sister after purchasing a groupon for hair color and a cut, and I actually sent her a msg 4 hours prior to which she acknowledged. We show up and the she isn’t there. We wait 15 mins thinking perhaps she is in e bathroom and finally I text her. She responded and I quote ‘I forgot’. She said she is just around the corner and will come right away. I asked her to be more specific and give me a time she responded in 20 mins. All this was at 3:20 now. So we left and told her we will be back at 4. We show up and again wait for 15 mins and she is a no show AGAIN.
I call and leave her a msg. I text her. No response, I finally msg her asking for a refund only at this point she text back saying she just walked in. I heD back to her and express my disappointment. She again repeats ‘I forgot’. My sister chooses a color, and then Brandi says if we want a refund to contact groupon. I also purchased the pre paid keratin and too her I would like that refunded as well and she said no it is non refundable. Mind you, it is not stated anywhere in her mass email that it is non refundable,
I tried to express the way I felt. I told her it feels like she doesn’t want us as clients and doesn’t care. She said ok no problem!
Very disappointed — and to me refusing to refund my money because of her lack of professionalism and being no show is nothing less of a scam …

I like Brandi — she cares about her clients and she takes her time to get to know your hair regimen, what you want, and what kind of lifestyle you have so she can make a realistic recommendation. Further, after leaving I had a few questions about how to preserve hair color/​softness and she texted me back within a day!
Overall, good person to trust with your hair. My only feedback point for the place is sometimes you have to wait a while to get into the next step of the process if there is more than one person she’s servicing at a time.

Unfortunately, I never even made it to the salon. I booked the appointment through Lifebooker and was on my way to the salon when I received a text that my appointment was cancelled … 28 mins before I was supposed to have my haircut. They require 24 hours to cancel a reservation, yet I only received a 28 minute warning. Not cool.
I had an event that I wanted my hair cut for, now I will have to make due. I should have read the reviews closer. Definitely not someone I would ever recommend … don’t waste your time or money.

I had an awful hair experience here. I purchased a life booker for highlights and a cut and she did a terrible job with both.
The highlights did not look like highlights but rather an all over color. I told her I wanted sun kissed highlights, and I ended up with so many highlights that it looked like she had dyed my entire hair blond. After I mentioned that this was not the look I was going for and that it looked like I had died my hair blonde rather than getting highlights, she responded «well then what do you want me to do, tell me!» in a rude and unprofessional manner. I’m not a stylist; I had no idea what to tell and I didn’t know how she could fix it– isn’t it her job to figure that out. She proceeded to adding lowlights to breakup the color on my hair to make it look like I had highlights. She did this very quickly and I could tell she was in a rush. At one point, her husband came in to check in on her and she begrudgingly told him that she would be leaving later because of me, because I didn’t like what she had done. I was shocked that she could say this when I was right there. She literally told him this as she was working on my hair. When she finished applying the lowlights, I got a good look at my hair and I told her that it was patchy (there were places where a highlight would end early along the middle of my hair because it was interrupted by the darker lowlight and then the highlight would continue towards the ends). It just looked like I had patches and spots of lowlights. I also mentioned that the color looked somewhat brassy on certain areas (I have really dark hair so if it is not toned correctly it is very brassy), and she told me to just buy a purple toner at sally’s beauty supply and fix it. Again, that was her job.
The haircut was also another disaster. It was very uneven. I had layers along the sides of my face at about ear level, and she cut to far into my hair to trim these layers, such that I ended up with layers at ear-​level towards the back of my head and not just on the sides. The ends were also uneven and one side looked longer than the other.
I would not recommend anyone to go see Brandi. She was very rude, incompetent, and unprofessional. I just can’t imagine how she thinks it’s okay to shame her customers for making her leave late because she did a poor job and has to fix it, much less how she could complain about this in front of that customer. I also don’t understand how she thinks its acceptable to tell her customers to fix her mistakes on their own by going to Sally’s Beauty Supply and buying whatever product might correct her errors.
Initially Brandi was nice and pleasant to speak with. At first, we spoke about the music she was playing and about her children, but as soon as I told her that I didn’t like the highlights she became very rude and completely changed her attitude and demeanor towards me. She made me feel very uncomfortable– like she was doing me a huge favor by attempting to (unsuccessfully) correct her mistakes. I contemplated not writing a review, as I never write reviews even when I have bad experiences, but this was beyond the pale. I ended up having to go to a different salon he next day to correct what she had done and it ended up costing me hundreds of dollars.

I purchased a groupon for a brazilian blowout with Brandi. I had no problem making an appointment, and the central location of the salon made it easy to find.
When I arrived Brandi was still working on her last client, and the space was sorta messy and unorganized. Brandi was really nice, but it took her a long time to do my blowout (over 3 hours), and I’m a bit disappointed with the results. Although I have thick hair, it seems that maybe she didn’t use enough of the product because my hair is still a bit frizzy. Also, she didn’t offer the brazilian blowout products along with my treatment.
I feel bad writing a bad review because she was really nice, but I probably won’t go here again.

All the previous reviews must have been written by her girlfriends. I had a 1pm appt. for a Brazillian treatment. When I got there at 1pm Ms. Brandi was not to be found.
Her 12 noon appt was sitting there waiting for her. (At least she got a call.)
There are over 10,000 hairdressers in Chicago. If you value your time, skip this lady.
She could care less about you

I am from Brazil. I had the Brazilian blowout and I loved it! Brandi is super nice and competent! For sure, I will go back there.

Brandi did a wonderful job on my Brazilian keratin treatment and she is wonderful to speak with. I have had the keratin treatment done about 3 times now, and have been jumping from salon to salon trying to find someone I like that does a good job. I have finally found her! She took her time (even though we started at 6PM on a Friday!) and was happy to be there. Looking forward to my next treatment.

Brandi gave me the best haircut I have ever received in chicago! The business was a little hard to find, but once inside, it felt warm and intimate. She has a bubbly personality and listened to me and what I had in mind. Loved everything about her space, service, and personality. Highly recommend!

Brandi is great!!! She stayed open quite late on a Saturday night do a Brazilian blowout-​keratin treatment for me. Not only does my hair look great but she also didn’t try to product-​push at all and was super-​friendly throughout my de-​shagging process.
Will be back to try her other services :)

I’ve been going to Brandi for years and couldn’t dream of going anywhere else. I’ve had every style imaginable ranging from pixie cuts, bobs, extensions to keratin treatments. Brandi always crafts each hair request to compliment my face and style.
She will thoroughly explain how to maintain healthy hair and go out of her way to get you the necessary products. I’ve always gotten compliments on my hair, so much so that some of the people I’ve refered to her have also become regulars.
She takes pride in her work and styles all hair textures making her a true professional stylist.
I highly recommend Brandi and will never stop going to her myself :-) I usually text the number that is on the website. I personally think that is the best way to reach her because it hasn’t failed me yet and she always replies.
Two thumbs up for Brandi!!!

I bought a keratin treatment on Lifebooker and had a great experience today. Brandi is very professional and nice. She took the time to explain the process to me. I’ve had 6 prior keratin treatments but not with this product. I love the way my hair looks and feels. This is the best keratin treatment I’ve gotten. So thanks Brandi — will be back in a few months!

The phone number listed says, «the sprint number you called…» So who knows if this is the right number for this business? If it is, they don’t answer their phone or return messages. I’d love to experience the great service the last reviewer left but can’t get a return phone call to make the appointment!

I recently had a keratin hair treatment done at this shop and was incredibly impressed with the results. I have had numerous keratin hair treatments at other shops in the past but many were far more expensive and were not quite as well done as this treatment. Brandi, the woman who owns the shop, was also extremely charismatic and friendly and made the time fly by since she is really fun to talk to. I definitely plan to go back and also have been recommending her shop to my friends.

I heard about the salon through LifeBooker during my search for a salon that performs Brazilian Blowouts and due to an ineffective treatment somewhere else just about 6 weeks ago, I just couldn’t spend a large amount of money for another «test run». So, I called Brandi first to discuss the treatment and she called me back that night. She walked me through the process and listened to my needs (and what happened with the botched treatment at the other salon). Awesome — a salon owner/​stylist who actually listens to the client — potential in this case…
So, I bought my «Loot» and two weeks later, I went in to see Brandi for the Brazilian Blowout. I was nervous due to trying yet another new person to give me the non-​frizzy straight hair I know that keratin treatments can give me, but… Brandi is awesome.
Not only is she great personally (we talked pretty much the whole time I was there and it was a lengthy service), but she gave my hair the attention it needs/​deserves. I walked out with great looking hair and feeling good about my service. I just got my service done last week and haven’t washed my hair yet, so the true test will be after I style my own hair, so I’ll update this review after I do that.
In the meantime though, I highly recommend Brandi for her level of expertise and care with hair. Hoping to see her again in 3 – 4 months for another BB. Until then, YOU should go see her. :)

This is a terrible business. I bought a lifebooker for a treatment, and she wouldn’t call back to schedule me in and told me to return the loot, extremely dissatisfying.