Claude Thomas Salon and Spa

Update — Katie is no longer doing hair (it’s a shame.) But Lauren, who used to work at Claude Thomas) is also fantastic and does hair at Salon Donato in Palatine. Highly recommend her!

Maddie is excellent at what she does! She’s amazing at blow out, color and styling. I highly recommend her!

My regular hair stylist was busy after we tried to lighten my hair once and I was leaving for vacation 2 days after! (My hair is naturally black) The salon was able to fit me in for consultation and for an appointment before I left. I had mattea/​matty (I think that’s how you spell it) as my hair colorist. SHE IS AMAZING WITH COLOR! The technique she uses for balayage/​ombré is on point. I showed her a picture and she was able to replicate it. The best part is I live 5 minutes away!
Will recommend to anyone :)

I discovered this little gem about 2 years ago and I couldn’t be happier with the service! Its located in a little tiny strip mall which does not do it justice. When you walk in you are warmly welcomed and accommodated with things such as coffee, tea, or chocolate! I personally love this salon because of Maddy /​Mattah (not sure on the spelling) I am the kind of girl who has no clue what I want, and with her, I have left all my hair needs in her hands and she has never failed me! I have gone from blond to brown to highlights, lowlights, even weave omg yes! But it never fails I tell her an idea im thinking and she works wonders! Don’t even get me started on the shampoo! OMG, I’m sorry but that is the best part to me, best shampoo /​head massage ever! So delicate and relaxing you just want to sleep in her beautiful head bowl lol! But best of all is the finish, she will whip my hair up, down, left, right, and all around and have me walking out feeling like a trillion dollars and yes i mean trillion cause a million is not enough! Wait!, there is another best part! Besides being a hot *ss chic when I leave is the conversation. There are not to many times where I personally care to talk to my hair stylist or nail artist but there is something about her, that you can just open up to her about anything, and I mean anything. She can relate to anyone, and always has a solution or recommendation. I fully trust my hair to her and honestly I don’t think I have to many friends that I share the same passion for in conversation. Either way if your looking for a great stylist to make you look and feel great talk to her. You won’t only leave with a great hair do, but so much more! I love what you do to my hair Maddy, I’ll be seeing you soon!

I finally found an awesome lash technician in Chicago that don’t charge outrages prices for lash extensions! Krystin has over 15 years of experience and her technique is amazing!
I moved to Chicago from Toronto, Canada last year, I’ve been looking for a good lash extension places ever since. So happy Krystin was recommended to me! My lashes look fabulous and for sure I’ll be back for refills.
I’ve been getting lash extensions for the past 5 years, so I sort of know what I’m talking about. :) Bad lash extension jobs can cause eye irritations, abnormal shedding of your real lashes or damage to your real lashes. Bad techniques you can see chunks of glue attached to your real lashes, and lashes not separated properly, they get glued on eachother going different directions not the direction of your real lash growth. I had a bad technique technician not only took 2 hrs for my refills (usually it should be 30−45mins) she glues my lids together!
Krystin was very fast and efficient, my lashes look really great and natural! No visible glue residue! Every single lash is individually separated and amazing!
Thank you again Krystin!!!

I received a welcome letter offering me a free hair cut after moving in to my new condo in Palatine. When I had time, I finally was able to make an appointment. Mattea, whom did my hair, was professional and a nice person to talk with. She helped me be able to keep the style that I wanted. The salon inside was absolutely beautiful. I would definitely recommend others to come here and will be returning.

My husband told me my hair looked nice when i got home from my free cut. He has not said that in YEARS. Seriously. I said it was a free cut (marketing thing) and he said, well, it looks way better than the ones you have paid for.
I have been going to different places trying to find a salon & stylist I like since I moved about 3 years ago. With two little ones, i don’t get my hair done often.
The salon is awesome. They have a gorgeous interior (complete with blue pearl countertops, just like my kitchen); and the service is first class. I had Candace cut my hair. She is so easy to talk to and professional. I think I FINALLY found my new go-​to stylist! Yay!
I will be back for some highlights soon :-)

I’ve always been self conscious of my hair, I have fine hair, and my hair isn’t as dense as most either. I came into Claude Thomas looking for a change, something that would make me more confident, and happy with my hair. When I came in to have my consultation with Claudia for the Great Lengths strand by strand extensions, I was pleased with the salon, and the happy vibes from the employees there. Claudia is a total sweetheart.
I got my extensions put in just a few days ago, and I’m already in love. Lauren installed the extensions, and did an awesome job! She was so bubbly and happy, fun to talk to, and I didn’t find myself constantly on my phone out of boredom!
Claudia did the cut and the extensions look so natural, my brother and boyfriend both approve and they hated when I wore clip-​ins!
When the installation and cut was done, Lauren did some AMAZING curls on me. Oh my gosh I don’t know what she did, but it looked SO good.
When I got home I decided I didn’t like the color of the extensions compared to my natural hair, so I called in the day after I had them installed and they were more than happy to fix the problem! Everything looks absolutely perfect now, and I’m so happy with the job these girls did on my hair. I will definitely be back! :)

I moved away from my Evanston stylist, so I gave Claude Thomas a shot. I must be missing some key stereotypical female gene because A) shoes don’t exicte me and B) I hate HATE going to the salon. The most anyone has ever been able to do for me is make it tolerable. It’s not so much «getting pampered» to me as it is staring at my huge pumpkin head /​potato face for an hour while engaging in mind-​numbing small-​talk in a room full of loud music, loud women, and loud hairdryers. I was really sad to leave Robyn at Trio, but I am so glad I found Claudia.
Claudia is a genius. My hair is challenging on so many levels, but Claudia makes it work for me, instead of the other way around. She always explains what she’s going to do, listening to my input and answering my questions. She’s truly talented and worth every penny. I walk out of there feeling great every time. Everyone at the salon is genuine, too.

VA-​VA-​VOOM! I got the Victoria Secret voluminous long layers that I wanted from Katie!
This was my first time at Claude Thomas salon to get my hair cut and colored by Katie. And boy, was I not disappointed! You know you have a great cut when you can go home, and after washing and styling your own hair, it falls into place without much effort. And as your hair grows out, it still lays well and looks good on you.
I also got the beautiful auburn color that I wanted too. It’s been a few weeks and it STILL LOOKS GREAT! I LOVE my hair. There is nothing better than looking in the mirror everyday and loving the cut and color you have. If my hair looks great, I feel great!
I may not be a model, but I sure as hell felt like one walking out of that salon after Katie did my hair.

I’ve been going to Claudia for almost 2 years now, and felt I had to update after reading the ungrateful post by Nan G. Claudia has always taken the time to explain everything related to my hair and has strived to make me happy. People who neglect their hair for months or years, and then expect a miracle transformation are delusional.
AND Claudia is an EXPERT at extension application. After my first application lasted over 6 months, without one fallout, (I have very fine, thin hair) I did it a second time. I have seen multiple extention clients in there who have been doing this for years, and they look fabulous. And, yes, YOU also have to take care of them at home. You need to be a little gentler with them.
Sometimes things don’t come out as you may have expected, but these women work very hard to please their clients. They stand behind their work and will help to fulfill your expectaions.
And if you don’t know what something is going to cost… ASK!
Remember, a Stylist works with a brush… not a magic wand!
(and the cappucino is still outstanding!)

I recently had the pleasure of getting my hair colored here. I love it! Mattea did an amazing job I recently posted a picture on my fb and have had sooooo many compliments! Not only was i impressed with my color but she gives the best head massage during the shampoo. Everyone there was very friendly to me. I have already recommended my family members to go there and I myself will continue to get my hair colored there!

THANK GOD FOR KATIE!
I moved to Chicago seven years ago with some really «bad hair.» I thought about getting extensions, but was a bit apprehensive. Katie and Claudia performed a consultation and informed me what options were available and what the end result would look like. I got them and have never looked back!
Katie is fabulous — not only do my extensions look natural, but I get so many compliments on my hair on a daily basis! Plus, I always have a fantastic time when I go in to see her. It’s worth the trek on the Metra from Chicago. So worth it!

I had planned to delete my previous review after the owner asked me to, but on further review I decided against it for 3 reasons. 1) I chose this salon because it had such great reviews. I would not have gone here if that had not been the case, and I feel it is misleading to remove it. 2) while it was very kind of the owner to call me and offer to fix my hair, I did not expect to be charged an additional $ 60 for it. 3) while I was waiting for Claude to fix my hair, I heard another client describe a very similar experience to mine and explain that she was there to get her free hair cut to make up for it.
The color is now better than it was the first time I left the salon, but not worth the 7 hours and almost $ 300 I spent.

Thursday was my first time i went there. First of all it was an amazing salon, it looks great and it’s big. All the girls were so nice and friendly. My hairdesser was the best=] She had to dye my hair dark brown from bleach blonde. The thing is i was not sure what brown i wanted or maybe i knew but i could not really explain it to her. And also i had bought my own extensions so we had to match the color too. Turns out she did my color soooo perfect! Exactly what i wanted!!! It’s dark brown but it changes different tones of the color with different light. Omg it’s beautifull! I have never been so happy with my hairstyle, ever. Everything was perfect there. I don’t have on bad thing to say. And yes it’s a little more expensive but not that much honestly. Plus the money that i paid was SO WORTH IT!

Just went to see Katie and I am so impressed with her mannerism and talent. This is a top notch salon offering more then just the usual services. I had a Keratin treatment, cut and color and it was FABULOUS! Thank you Claude Thomas!

I go here for the spa services (facials, waxing) and think they are out of this world. SO relaxing and pampering. I’ve gotten my face «done» by a couple different facialists, they were both good. I highly recommend them for looking about 10 years younger!

Claude Thomas Salon & Spa is the best. Claudia goes out of her way to make you feel welcome, is such a talented artist and great friend. I have been a client for over 20 years and there’s always something new and fresh about my latest «do». Can’t say enough good things about this salon.
Kathy O

Very Impressed! I went to Katie for color and I have never been so pleased! Katie new exactly what I was looking for and was very thoroughand professional. Katie was unable to fit me in for a Blowdry following my color treatment, so another stylist Jen blowdried and styled my hair. I was VERY impressed! Both stylists were extremely knowledgeable and answered every question I had. They reccomended wonderful products that I am very happy with. Their rates are very reasonable and I had fun while I was there!

I’ve been going to Katie for highlights for a little over a year now. I’m so happy to finally have found someone who can get me the right shade of blonde! She’s super friendly (along with EVERYONE else in the salon!) and is very quick without compromising a job well done. Katie has also done hair extensions on me and they were perfect! Again, she was very quick (I’ve heard some people taking HOURS to get them done) and thorough with the job. I can’t say enough nice things about everyone in the salon and the work that they do. They’re great! Which is why I totally don’t mind driving to Palatine from the city. So worth it.