Buzz Salon

I haven’t seen any reviews for the AMAZING Ms. Erin at Buzz. So I’m here to write one.
Let me preface this review with the fact that I have unruly (but badass) curly hair that hasn’t been touched by a qualified individual in over two years. I lightened and colored it myself in October, but that’s the closest I’ve come to a new style in quite a while.
First off, Buzz is cool. You walk in and it feels like you’re in a much bigger and better city than you are. Unlike most salons of this caliber, they aren’t snobby and pretentious about how freakin’ sweet their shop is. It has two floors, glass walls, cement floors, AND they offer you a drink when you walk in! I imagine this is what spas are like.
I was a couple minutes early for my appointment, but was promptly taken upstairs to wait and watch. I was super nervous, but as soon as Erin sat me down and started the consultation stage of the appointment, all the anxiety was gone. This woman knew what she was doing and was taking the time to check out my weird curl pattern and plan the attack. Much to my relief, she dry cut my hair and used a pretty nifty sculpting technique that I’ve only read (and dreamed) about. Most stylists I’ve had cut my hair wet and treat it like it’s straight. After about an hour of sculpting and shaping my mountain of hair, she washed it and partially dried it. I failed to mention in my online appointment booking that I had time consuming hair. Sorry! Erin showed me the best way to easily style my hair with some Oribe products, and recommended that I ditch my emo deep side part. (My words, not hers!) After a quick style and showing me the products she used, Erin was off to her next appointment and the lovely woman at the front rang me out. Quick, easy, and painless.
In short; if you have curly hair, go see Erin. She does amazing sculpting hairstyles and your curls will be unleashed and happy! Thank you so much!

Ive been going to Mariah for about half a year now and every haircut (4+) I’ve gotten from her has been lovely and amazing. She seems to know exactly what I’m looking for with the little direction I give her. I trust her with me hair and I’ve never been disappointed. I always end up getting so many compliments on my hair. It’s totally worth it. She does a great job. And I think we really get each other because I can fall asleep in that chair (it happened once) and she’s totally fine with it. She makes me feel great about how my hair looks.
Seriously if you are a guy and you want an amazing and wonderful haircut GO TO MARIAH. I’m hooked.
And the receptionists are also really nice and hospitable. Offering coffee and water and very thoughtful.

Very cool location in famed Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City. You are welcomed with offer of coffee or water. Go see Allie unless you are a moron! She is a real artist! Awesome place!

Had one of the best haircuts in my life here from Sorayah. She was fun, gave me tons of tips about my hair and really listened when I told her what I wanted. I’ll be back!

I drove an hour to get to Buzz because I have been trying to achieve a bayalage look for 3 years and have been unsuccessful until now! Bre is AMAZING… a true professional. I was very impressed with the relaxed feel of the salon. You don’t feel like you’re in one of those salons where you are on display. They know what they are doing and don’t need to put on an air of pretentiousness.
This is only the 2^nd review I’ve ever written and I highly recommend this salon!!!

Allie Meyer is GREAT with highlights/​color and I love the cuts she does. Very qualified and competent. That’s why I go back to Buzz.

Mariah is a hair wizard How I went from a super light balayage to a deep auburn brunette in a couple of hours with it still flattering my skin tone is incredible!

I love this place! My schedule is crazy and I never know when I’m going to be able to get a haircut so scheduling an appointment far enough in advance to have the same person cut my hair is impossible. As a result, Katie, Erin, Mariah, and a couple other stylist have cut my hair. They are all amazing. My hair is very dark, very curly, and very difficult to cut. I’ve had way more bad haircuts than good ones but I’ve never had a bad haircut at this place. They are extremely good at what they do. If a great haircut is not reason enough to visit this place having your hair washed is the ultimate indulgence. If you want to spoil a friend or spoil yourself you need to book an appointment here. Just be prepared to never want to go anywhere else.

Poor service ever. I made an appointment for my moms haircut today. Before I go there I searched their website for a woman haircut is from 45 $-85 $, but the girl their told us her price is 95 $!!! I just want my mom to get a hair cut not the stylist, she told us like 95 $ for a simple haircut!!! Insane! I will never go there again and also told my friend not go there!!!

Katie Knepper is a great stylist and extremely nice. I have seen her two times and both appointments have been great.
She is easy going and has good tips about places to check out in Iowa City.
I would recommend her to anyone.

I live right upstairs in the building and came down to get a haircut because of the convenience. The facility is a very fancy, trendy place in the middle of the ped-​mall area, right at the lobby of a tall glass building. Of course being in this prime location will also bring up the costs of a haircut. As a dude with short hair, my haircut was $ 44 + $ 10 tip. First thing I noticed was that the hair stylists that they hire here are all dressed very well. Going through the building every day, I have to pass by the salon to get upstairs to where I live. I don’t notice many customers waiting at the waiting area. The salon has 2 floors, downstairs where the products are and the front desk for people to help you, and upstairs where the work takes place.
I specifically asked for George because I’ve heard the other customers recommend him and he seemed more genuine than some of the other stylists. The appointments are usually booked in 30 minute slots. Compared to other hair salons I’ve been to, 30 minute appointments are shorter. I explained to him the hair that I wanted and didn’t wash my hair so he can take a look how it’s done. They seem to scissor cut most of the hair here and don’t use the electric razor much. After 30 minutes, I was told that I can schedule for a free 15 minute touch up, which was a nice thing I thought. The experience wasn’t mind blowing of course, and considering that this is right in downtown ped mall right downstairs for me, I don’t mind paying $ 54 again for a second haircut. My friends have been recommending me Stan’s Barber Stylists because they cost $ 25 and they spent 1 hour on his hair. But hey, it doesn’t really matter how much time they spend on your hair as long as it looks good right? Was the haircut phenomenal? No, but he was very kind, very approachable, and seemed genuine amidst some of the other hair stylists here.
It took awhile to get my second hair appointment, as the salon is pretty busy. I find it strange that there’s hardly ever many people waiting downstairs though. I scheduled my appointment with George again, as I had a positive experience the first time. I wanted to try a slightly different cut this time, and told him so. After about 15 minutes he was done with my hair this time. At other hair salons, sometimes the hair stylists spend a long time just trimming my hair along the hairlines, but they don’t seem to be doing it here. Perhaps it’s the style here, or the hair stylist’s preference. His skills seems to be on par with the other places I’ve been to as well, except this place costs about twice as much, that’s comparing to places in Boston and Las Vegas where I’ve lived, and where haircuts are usually pricier. The following few days my coworkers and I noticed that one side of my hair is a lot longer than the other side, and with the way I do my hair it’s very noticeable. I came back 2 days later to ask George if he meant to do that as part of the haircut, and I approached the front desk person since I don’t want to interfere while he is with another customer.
I spoke to someone named Emily at the front desk and told her that I have a question for George. She was kind of hasty in her answers, as she was talking to some friends (and checking out their baby). She told me that I can come back tomorrow to talk to George, I reminded her that he wasn’t working on Saturdays. She told me that I can make a touch-​up appointment for next week. The whole time talking to Emily, I felt like that she wasn’t trying to make an effort to help. I asked her if I can wait for George, since I don’t want to take time from his current client, to ask him a quick question before his next customer. She told me that I’m welcome to sit and wait. After some minutes of waiting, she came by and told me that she spoke to George, and that to ask him a question, I would have to book an appointment. After being sure that I must have misheard what she said, I repeated to ask her that I don’t want a touch-​up and just a simple question, but was told again the same thing. I would have to make an appointment, to ask a person who did my hair 2 days ago a quick question. At this point I was pretty much done with this place. I did not feel like I got a $ 54 haircut, and that I was paying for the location, the facilities, and the very well dressed hair stylists. A coworker who came here with her husband felt the same way, she got a haircut much shorter than what she wanted. Of course I cannot speak for her, perhaps she will write her own review of this place. Needless to say, I told Emily that it won’t be necessary and that I won’t be coming back.
Positives:
Convenient location.
Very clean and nice looking facility.
Free touch-​up after your haircut, with appointment.
Negatives:
The price does not justify what you get.
The service is very debatable, particularly that of the front desk.
An air of pretentiousness among the staff here. This is a hair salon in Iowa, please get real.

I had a wonderful experience at this salon with Sorayah. I had to bring my newborn daughter to my appointment and Sorayah was extremely sweet, accommodating and kind. I love my new hair color! Her services were exceptional and she did a remarkable job.

Outstanding service. Big City style haircuts in downtown Iowa City. My son got a haircut from a stylist visiting from New York. His haircut was excellent and transformational. Can not ask for better service

I’ve been to buzz twice with two different stylists and loved each result! George did balayage to my hair and I didn’t even ask to trim my hair and he did it without charge.
Sorayah cut and colored my hair this time and I loved how she really grasped onto what you wanted and made you feel so welcome. She cut my hair dry while standing up, a new technique for me, and I thought it was awesome. In addition, she gave me tips on how to style my hair and what products to use or not to use.
It’s a bit expensive but I’m really particular with my hair and don’t get it done too often, so I felt it was worth it. Really cool atmosphere and I feel every stylist will do an amazing job! Plus it’s convenient to be able to schedule appointments online.

I made a last minute appointment with Mariah for color and was so happy with the results! She helped me come up with something that would look good but also not damage my thin hair. This was my first time in the salon and I was really impressed with the ambiance as well. Will def recommend and come back whenever I am in town.

Got a great haircut from Latisha on Friday. Dig it. All the kids at school will be jealous.

This was my third time having my hair cut by Mariah and my best experience so far.
I went in with a few photos and told her I wanted to change my look and she read my mind!
I already have a follow-​up appointment to get my hair colored based on what we talked about & can’t wait for the final product. This place is worth checking out — the stylists know what they’re doing.

This salon’s atmosphere is one of my favorites (only surpassed by a salon I used to go to in Minnesota) — I absolutely love the open, modern-​industrial concept and the way the upstairs balcony overlooks the ped mall. People-​watching while I’m getting pampered with a great haircut? Hello best day ever!
I’ve been going to Mariah and she does an incredible job! I’m always a little surprised by her lack of chattiness but that’s okay because she’s very good at listening to what I want and always leaves me with a great cut.
Unfortunately, I can’t write this review without mentioning the front desk staff. There’s a girl who staffs this desk and has been very rude on multiple occasions. When I checked in for my first appointment, she was working the front desk alone and was on her cell phone. I waited a minute hoping she’d notice me and when she didn’t I politely said that I’d like to check in for my appointment, and oh man she was not happy that I interrupted her! All that being said though, the rest of the front desk staff have been very friendly and are not at all pretentious.

I’ve been seeing Sorayah for 12 years and have always had such a wonderful experience. She takes the time to understand my lifestyle and makes sure I have a haircut that 1) looks great, 2) I can manage to style myself and 3) lasts a long time. Plus, she’s fun and funny. Buzz isn’t the cheapest place in town for a haircut, but it’s a great value given how long my cuts look good as they grow out. Going to Buzz is like a mini-​vacation!

First of all: Buzz has AMAZING customer service! I went in for a color (blonde balayage) and honestly, wasn’t super happy with the results. I was debating calling and seeing if I could get my hair done again when Buzz sent me an email requesting feedback. I wrote up a brief note about my experience and someone called me the very next morning and offered to have me come in to have my hair re-​colored, free of charge. The lady (Chloe) was so understanding and kind on the phone, and didn’t at all make me feel bad for wanting something different.
So, I went in for another balayage with Katie, and I was a bit nervous. She was SO so nice and really took the time to discuss exactly what I wanted my hair to look like. That was a big comfort. Katie totally understood what I was talking about in terms of tone, color, etc. – it’s like she was reading my mind! Again, she didn’t make me feel even the tiniest bit bad for wanting my hair to look different. In fact, she insisted that I should be 1000% happy with my hair.
I left with the beautiful buttery blonde highlights that I wanted all along, and I am so thrilled! Overall, Buzz (and Katie in particular) turned what could have been a bad experience into a really great one. Now, I can’t wait to go back. Thank you Katie!