Zeza Hair Salon & Spa

My hair turned out pretty well but it was WAY more than I thought. And then my sister who got her hair done looked like an Italian mob wife from goodfellas (not the look she was going for).

Al is simply the best. He knows what would suit you and takes all your concerns and wants into consideration. Our entire family had a touch of Al magic!

I hate this place. I went there today for blow drying and style. they did not use thermal protection and keep blowing my hair and burn my scalp! finally charged me 60 $ for what!
Imy regular hair stylist at maxine was in vacation, he is milion time better!
I hate my experience !!

If you find this place, keep walking. Yup, Oak Street is a short walk away. There are more salons in this area than you can shake at stick at, that’s why I don’t know how this place can still be open. Mediocre cuts/​color at best. That’s not even the worst part… it’s the unprofessional staff. I have no words to describe the ridiculousness of my last visit: a male staff member was fighting with a female staff member. I was one second away from leaving mid blow out. The prices are as ridiculous as the staff. Gold Coast prices for bargain basement services. You are better off getting a a cut/​color with a student at a beauty college for free than booking with a these clowns.

Horrible place, they have old menu with different price .you never know how much you will pay for any serves.

I was visiting the city and staying at the hotel next door. I asked my concierge where I could go to get a pedicure/​foot massage after a long day of walking around. They recommend this place. I walked in and the place was empty with exception of the owner and one staff member. I asked if they did pedicures and how much if cost. He listed different pedicures they offered, which I ended up choosing the spa pedicure. I was concerned about the cleanliness of their spa foot bowl and their tools (as I am with any nail salon). I asked about the bowls and the sterilization process, which the owner gladly gave me a tour and explained their process. It seemed like they knew what they were doing. But once I was sitting in their chair with my feet soaking I realized otherwise. They said their tools were sterilized but the manicurist came and sat down with her tools wrapped up in a towel. And her nail files looks very warn and used. But before I even put my feet in the water to soak she cut my toe nails with the cuticle cutters!
None of her supplies looked clean. The shelf with foot scrubs and masks on it was dirty looking and so were the bottles and supplies on it. I did not feel good about the experience at all, I wish I would have stopped and left before continuing. She offered my water or coffee. I chose water… She brought me a much stained wine glass of tap water. It looks so spotty I did not want to drink it. After the spa part of the pedicure was over the manicurist painted my nails with the color us chosen from thief very limited selection. The painting itself looked like I had done it at home. She put my flip flops on me before she painted them and didn’t yes one of those special wedges to separate the ties apart. When she was done all that was left was to pay. The salon did not have a UV light to sit under to let the polish dry.
I went back to my hotel room and worried about their unsanitary processes to the point where I climbed up onto the bathroom counter and washed my toes and feet at least 20 times. I hope I do not get any form of fungus from their place!

A lazy, basic cut for $ 40. The cutter was distracted and talking to other people the entire time he was cutting my hair. He only talked to me to hawk products, and even his salesmanship was rude and condescending. Not recommended.

I just read some reviews that were not complimentary and thought I had better put my two cents in. Al was my guy for many years and I found him on a «make over» tv spot on one of the Chicago stations and saw the haircut he gave the woman. I tracked him down, and the minute he cut my hair I knew I had found the right guy. Knowing a good haircut is not a simple matter. When it is good, less fuss, it always lays right and flatters your features and the it suitable for your hair texture. This guy is brilliant. Spending a few hours in the salon was so much fun. Everyone is talking and sometimes they would offer me lunch. no carry in either. The family is Lebanese and they know food as well as hair styling. Al is also a genius with color and I never looked so good as when I was driving 75 miles to the salon and would do it again. Since that time, I have moved to Arizona and Los Angeles, but my life has taken another turn and I will be returning to the Midwest and the first call I will make is to Zeza. For well over two years, my time and money has gone down the drain, looking for that perfect hair cut and color… Cant wait to show up and walk out knowing I have the best I could get. You know, when your hair is wrong it just affects your brain.

It took me a long time to stay with one place both for cut and color. This is a Wnderful family owned business … my appointments are always managed on time… my hair color is always perfect… and they know how to cut curly hair. Not sure who wrote the rude review… but clients have been loyal to this place for years and I have never seen anyone leave unhappy… This place lacks the stuck up attitude that other salons pride themselves on and provides a wonderful service… a true gem in a big city.

Visiting Chicago we googled nail salon and Zeza came up as the closest. A friend and I took a chance on walk-​ins for a manicure and they accommodated us with friendliness and a welcome smile. It was a Saturday afternoon so we were a bit surprised that we got right in. Wonderful manicure… didn’t catch the woman’s name, but she was good at her skill and gave us some helpful hints for choosing colors and caring for our nails on a regular basis. I would recommend Zeza to anyone needing a break from the bustling noise of the Mag Mile.

Don’t get your nails done there. Hygiene is definitely not their priority.

Oh my God. I just got off the phone with the owner of Zeza’s. I am still reeling from his rudeness. I cannot believe these guys still are able to run a business, with customer service like that.
Ok, so it’s a family affair, and apparently, tempers run in the family. The husband and wife team run the salon, and Tarik is the son who was abrupt with me and who did my hair. Anyways, after writing the previous review of the place yesterday, I thought I would call the owner and politely began the conversation by stating that I am unhappy with my color job, as I thought some of the previous highlights would show through.
I said that what Tarik did, essentially, was charge me a whopping $ 80 bucks for a simple all-​over color to return me to my virgin hair color. That’s not what I had wanted, and, although I didn’t say it right away, it was frankly a rip-​off. I had brought in pictures of the likes of Keira Knightly and Natalie Portman, and clearly told him that I wanted my color touch-​up to look like them. They have very similar hair color and texture to mine, and I knew it wasn’t a very difficult thing to replicate.
Anyways, the owner obviously did not take kindly to me saying his son had not done a perfect job. He got pretty short with me, so I told him I did not appreciate his tone. He yelled, «I don’t care if you don’t appreciate my tone!» Well, at that point, I let him have it, and he continued to scream at me. I couldn’t take it anymore, and I hung up the phone. My ears are still ringing from this shoddy customer service.
Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. Oh, and that place that made my color too light is actually not that bad at all. After I wrote my previous review, I talked to Twisted Scissors, and Alise, who did my hair, was absolutely understanding and wonderful. She apologized profusely and displayed excellent, professional customer service. Thank you, Twisted Scissors, for showing how customer service is done.
And to hell with you, Zeza’s. I hope you get no business and close down. Do yourselves a favor and don’t go here!

I agree entirely with Carol K. I went in a few months ago for a hair cut on a recommendation from a friend of mine. I will say that the shampoo could have been longer and less aggressive but the hair cut was worth it. I like what I call my «tv hair,» nice volume and style. The blow out was amazing and my hair felt like silk. It was a little difficult to re create the style at home, but that is my fault not theirs. Will back in again soon!

Tucked away in the shadows of the buildings that surround it is ZeZa, a contemporary hair and nail salon. Look for the frozen yogurt place and it is right next door. I don’t know how often I have walked by here and never even noticed it existed, but on a recent night when I needed my hair done for an event, Unilocal pointed me in this direction and I was certainly glad it did.
The owner, Al, was great! After a quick wash (perfunctory at best, I would have loved some massage time in the bowl but that is the only downside) he immediately assessed my hair and with the skill of a man in the business for over 40 years, quickly got my messy locks back into shape.
Turns out we know a lot of the same people too so it made for an enjoyable experience catching up.
The front desk staff was welcoming, they accommodated me at the last minute, and my hair looks great! Prices are a little higher than my normal «go to» place, at $ 60 for a wash and blow dry– but if you want it done right– it’s worth a few extra bucks, right?!
I’ll definitely be back…maybe next time for a whole head makeover as sometimes it takes a new perspective to change your look! Thanks Al and the team at ZeZa! I looked great for my event that night!

I decided, on a whim, to find a new salon and often had walked passed Zeza. I have long, thick, curly hair, which was a bit shaggy and had lost whatever style it may have had many months ago.
I read the reviews on Unilocal and was slighlty apprehensive about what people had to say about Zeza, but then realized the reviews were old and places grow and usually become better with time. So, I called and was set up with an appointment for the next day. I am glad I did.
I arrived at the salon and found it to be clean, quiet and efficient. I am very fussy with my hair (only 4 people have ever cut it), but the ambiance was terrific. They asked me what I wanted and did exactly as asked. They cut it, shampooed while massaging my scalp, and finally cleaned up any stray strands.
My hair looks terrific! It has curled up nicely with no random fly-​aways. The employees who were working were very friendly. I felt welcome at their salon.
The only thing I would change is the actual hair washing. The woman was VERY friendly, but was going very fast and slightly rough. But she really knew what she was doing. I think I speak for everyone when they say hairwashing is what you look forward too at the salon, so if she lightened up a bit and slowed down I would give this place 5 stars.

I’ve gone to Zeza twice now, and I have been so incredibly happy with the results each time. My last hair stylist put way too much yellow in my hair, and chopped it into a horrible mess… we’re talking super short, uneven bangs, and «layering» (aka random chuncks hacked off.)
Zeza saved me! I got highlights, which were more of a beautiful soft beigey blonde than the flouresant yellow I had before, and he put in low lights which match my natural hair color perfectly! I have never had low lights look so good. He did his best to even out my bangs so taht they could grown out normally, plus, my hair doesn’t fee damaged at all!
The only negative thing I could say about this place, is that they should really think about giving the place a more relaxing feel by either turning the TV OFF, or putting something peaceful on. Everyone in the shop loves to watch CNN and argue about politics. It can feel kind of stressful, and after work, I really don’t want to discuss politics or listen to people yelling about it.
But, the stylists are skilled, and I would recommend this place to anyone, epecially if they are looking for a great color.

Note: This is NOT the place to go if you want a young, trendy, modern or in any way professional haircut. It is also NOT the place to go if you want your hair stylist to listen to you and focus on your hair instead of yapping to other employees and customers that walk in. Flapping about your scissors and telling me I am going to look beautiful is not convincing when my hair is doubling in size and volume from the copious amounts of hairspray you are applying!
I cannot be more blunt… DO NOT GET YOUR HAIR DONE HERE!

I am very particular about my haircuts. I have hopped from Stylist to sylist. I have found one other stylist in Chicago that does very well with cuts but took a very long time and was more out of the way. I made an appointment with Al and I was very impressed with the quality as well as his speed with the cut.
My partner received a fantastic haircut from someone else at Zeza and was unhappy as the man didn’t listen to how he wanted it cut. However, it was a fantastic cut! I haven’t seen my partner receive a haircut this good in a long time. That’s how I knew I wanted to come back. Very good quality cuts as far as I’m concerned.

NO– the gift certificate expired April of 2009. The Gift Certificate was issued in November 2008. I haven’t even had the gift certificate a year.
I find even more annoying that you obviously were not even listening to me… as I explained this entire scenario on the phone.
If you were not clear when the gift certificate expired, after my thorough explanation… Why didn’t you ask? You just told me– you wouldn’t allow me to use the gift cert.
Again… excellent customer service.

Had a terrible experience at this place. I have yet to figure out what the story was. I came for highlights but I was new to the city, broke, but starting a new job and had about 3 inches of roots that I couldnt leave the house with one more time. I had heard that you could get a pretty good deal from one of the stylists there. I thought wrong. These were some bad, I mean, tiger-​like highlights. And they were the most expensive ones I’ve had. If that werent bad enough, they tried to sell me products the ENTIRE time. Oh, and this was the worst, after washing my hair, they handed me a towel and a comb.
Like I said, I still don’t know what the story was. My friend that goes there consistently looks great and she’s, gasp, always had her hair blown out afterward. Plus, this happened over a year ago. But the fact that I’m still reeling about it and that I left in tears makes me feel justified in warning against this place.