Liz’s Hair Care

Called in for an appointment to have my head braided and also my undercut cleaned up. The woman at the front desk was beyond helpful and my hairdresser Turquoise did an amazing job with my braids. I have never had my head braided before and I explained this and she cleared any anxiety I may have had up. I will definitely be going back to this salon!

I was in Boston for my graduation two weeks ago. I went to Liz’s because I used to go there sporadically for my wash and sets before I did a semester abroad. Sporadically because Liz’s is nothing great– I’d rather drop more money on a highly professional and clean salon that does better work, as I should have this last time I decided to go to Liz’s. For my senior week festivities and commencement I wanted an A-​line bob similar to Queen Latifah’s or Gabby Union’s, but I didn’t want to cut my own hair as I was transitioning to natural hair. I was paired with Donnette, a sassy (come to find out RUDE) Jamaican stylist. We did a consultation, and I specifically expressed to her why I wanted the style done with extensions– *because I did not want MY hair cut*. She told me to go this beauty supply store to get the extensions. I went to the store– having never bought extensions before– and told the workers what Donnette told me to ask for. When I went back to Liz’s the next day for my actual appointment, Donnette told me they sold me the wrong product. She called them up and supposedly spoke with a manager who told me to come back in for an exchange. At this point I was really annoyed because it wasn’t like I was trying to get a very long weave, I just wanted to add slight length to my hair for the bob. Liz, the manager, tried to get me to stay at the salon so that another stylist willing to work with what I had already bought could work on me. Donate rushed over to tell Liz why she was sending me on another wild goose chase. I thought I would feel bad about Donnette losing out on the appointment so I told Liz I’d just go buy the right hair and I’d come back. I have never made a more wrong decision in life– I should’ve stayed and let Mercedes work on my hair.
When I went back to the store the workers there were all pretending they couldn’t speak English, and they wouldn’t refund my money (It’s called Beauty Supply Market, DON’T GO THERE EVER, it’s dirty and the employees are rude). So I went to another hair supply store nearby and got what I thought were the right extensions. I returned to Liz’s and Donnette still wasn’t satisfied with what I had purchased, but she said she had to work with it because of Liz. So because I left during my appointment time, I had to wait for like an hour and a half for Donnette to start on me. She did my hair and it looked nice, but at this point I had been at the salon for almost five hours. Donnette seemed more put out than I was for some reason, like I was wasting her time and not the other way around!
A couple of days later I came in to have it redone so it could be fresh for a boat cruise I was going on (it was getting really itchy and tangled on my scalp). Donnette seemed agitated that I came back and that her fat ass actually had to do some work again– even though it should’ve been easier this time around. She put them back in after washing my hair and began cutting the style more. I didn’t know she was cutting my actual hair as she was cutting the extensions. You would think anyone with common sense would think to avoid the client’s actual hair when cutting extensions! When I took them out a week later, my hair was chopped all over the place! It no longer looks how it does in my profile picture here.
This entire ordeal I was extremely nice to Donnette, mostly because I’m just a polite person, but also because I believe you should be very gracious to the person doing your hair so that things like this won’t happen. It turns out just asking Donnette to complete this task was enough to make her angry and destroy my hair. Whether she was mad at me or her boss, it’s astonishing that someone could be so evil, rude, and demented to cut off all of someone else’s hair just because they were in a bad mood. I would post a picture of the end result but every time I think about what she’s done to my hair I honestly cry. At the end of the day it’ll grow back, but my hair has never been this short ever! Luckily I have a sweet and experienced stylist back home who fixed the mess Donnette at Liz’s Hair Care created. The best she could anyway.
Avoid Liz’s Hair Care like the plague. I agree with another review below that Blessing at Studio 27 is fantastic. And if location is the issue Studio 27 – in the South End– isn’t too far from this place.

I got my hair cut short by Donette and I loved it. she makes my hair so shiny and beautiful and I always get compliments when I leave. I love that I’m in and out in less than 3 hours when other black hair salons will have you sitting there all day, black women y’all know what I’m talking about. And its not one of those ghetto salons that have the stylists gossiping and eating doing your hair at the same time.

This review started out as 4 stars. I usually go to Blessing at Studio 27, but ever since her feature on best weaves in Boston came out she’s been incredibly busy. I haven’t yet adjusted my schedule to plan ahead, and I needed an urgent wash and blow dry before getting braids tomorrow.
I found Liz’s on a list of «best salons for natural hair care in Boston», and made an appointment for the same evening for a wash and blow dry, listed as $ 25 on their website. I was in a shampoo chair within ten minutes of my arrival. I asked for and received an itchy scalp treatment, which was fine. Shampoo & conditioning and rinse was also fine — pretty standard. Sure the salon was a little bit crowded but the service so far had been prompt.
It ticked down to 2 stars when the stylist insisted on putting me in an overhead dryer to air dry my hair instead of just blowing it dry. I said no, just blow dry. She called another person who called a third until four stylists were all talking down to me /​shouting across the salon that that was what they did here and asking me to trust them. I was confused — every time I’ve dried my hair without blow drying I got awful tangles that made me cry. I held my ground. Just blow dry it.
The boss said they should do what I wanted — back up to 3 stars —, which gave me room to look up the hood dryer option online. Apparently they were right: using the hood dryer to get some of the moisture out then finishing up with a blow dryer was best. Back up to 4 stars. I told my stylist I was wrong and I’d try their method. She was game, and under the dryer I went.
Afterwards, Turquoise blow dried the rest of the heat out and asked me if I wanted it in two corn rows. I said sure — how nice of her to offer. Up to 5 stars.
Time to check out. The receptionist tells me my bill. $ 57. Wait what? The itchy scalp treatment was $ 12, okay, and a freaking wash and blow dry was $ 45. What? On what planet? No flat iron, no press, nothing extra. Apparently, I had had a «senior» stylist. And so $ 57 total.
I paid up, tipped $ 10 and left. Turquoise was great, but this salon is a rip off. Never going back.

So over time I became anti hair salon. I was tired of the general lack of professionalism and terrible time management. Liz has definitely changed my perspective. I’ve been here twice and each time the experience has been great. They have worked with my daughters, treated them well and styled them to perfection. One daughter had her natural hair blown and styled and my daughter had her locs styled. I highly recommend Liz’s salon.

I emailed them earlier today about coming in to get my haircut evened out. They were able to fit me in. I just left the place a few minutes ago. They worked very fast and efficiently. I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. They are not expensive at all. I would recommend this place.

Amazing. If you’re new to the area and looking for a place for a great relaxer for African American/​black hair go to Liz’s. They do all hair types, but I’ve been looking for a black salon for a while. This is it!

Let me start by saying I’ve been to Lizs many times and was totally satisfied. However, last Friday I stopped in for a color and and trim on my already low-​cut natural hair. I should’ve followed my instinct and walked out as soon I checked in and went to consult with my stylist. As I consulted with her, the owner of the shop, Liz, interfered. She didn’t like the way the stylist consulted with me (although I had no problem with it). Seemed to be some in-​shop differences that should have been handled at a more convenient time. Anywho, my stylist was removed and she «appointed» another. She gave the color assignment to what was obviously a new shampoo girl but she helped her and that was fine. She assigned someone else to trim my already existing cut and this is when the massacre happened. The stylist completely ruined my existing cut. It just didn’t seem like she had the necessary experience. When all was said and done Liz was no where to be found. Just disappeared. I paid my money. And left with my head down in effort to avoid unflattering stares from fellow patrons and in an effort not to blow the hell up. I tipped everyone involved because they did try. What sucks the most is that the original stylist I was scheduled to see is really good. I’ve seen her work and I know she would’ve given me exactly what I was looking for. Perhaps it’s my fault for going with the flow… Spilled milk. I was prompted to create a Unilocal account after that experience. So… cheers to that. But if your looking for natural hair care this is NOT the place.

I’ve had nothing but positive experiences at Liz’s Hair Care in the countless times I have been. It was a true life saver when I was a Boston resident, and its my go-​to recommendation for those with natural and chemically processed hair moving to Massachusetts. I’ve never left without major compliments on health, cut and shine of my hair. :)

This salon is perfect if you want a simple wash and blow dry (pricey too). If you want much more than that, you should probably go somewhere else. They don’t handle natural hair well either. Don’t go here for braids or much else. Just another salon with promise that could be so much more. This salon needs to invest and find more talent. Also the wait time is horrible.

Here are my highlights of these salon after about 4 years of patronage
Donette is amazing! She has been working wonders in my hair for the last 4 years and I wouldn’t trust anyone else in my hair. She has come up with some amazing styles and what’s best is that she is honest. She lets me kno what will or won’t work in my hair. She is true to het customers, which Is great. She Is patient and always on time. No matter how damaged I’ve made my hair from my mad scientist lab experiments at home, she’s been able to fix them and has my hair looking fresh! She’s a miracle worker with short hair!
Michelle is the best wash girl, hands down. She will massage and scrub your hair and scalp so good you’ll fall asleep. She’s very pleasant and attentive to clients, like asking about the water temp, etc. She never combs too hard and is gentle.
Shaunte is the receptionist and has great customer service. She’s very pleasant and understanding if you’re running late. She’s friendly and professional.
Just made sure you ask about prices up front. More than I few times I was charged for a haircut when all I asked for was a wash/​set. I guess there isn’t s complimentary line up with a wash/​set, so ask questions early and often. I’ve walked in planning to spend 80 $ for a touch up and left sending 120 and feeling totally lost. There’s definitely a lack of communication in that area. That’s the only thing that would keep me from giving this salon more than 3 stars, because when it comes to people’s money, you have to be clear and up front, and unfortunately that not always the case.

I usually need to make appointments on short notice, which makes Liz’s perfect for me — I’ve now been to 3 – 4 stylists and they have all done my hair equally well. I’m natural and only go to salons for press and trims and they’ve all handled my hair my like experts.

The problem with this salon is consistency. I had been going to Liz’s for two years, and my experience has been incredibly mixed. Half of the time everything goes wonderfully and the other half of the time I walk out very disappointed. The majority of this inconsistency comes from the stylists involved with prep — the washing, the combing, the oiling, etc.
If you are planning on coming to the salon one or two times for a touch up or wash, you will be fine. However, if you plan on being a repeat customer, prepare yourself for trial and error process that is determining which stylist etc is your fit. The cost may be your hair.
Who to see
Donna: Donna is EXCELLENT! She does a wonderful job applying relaxer. Never burns you and gives a great cut. You are in great hands with Donna.
Tiffany: I only say her once, but she gave me that best wash and set I have had in my time at Liz’s.
Michelle (or perhaps spelled Michele): The best in terms of prep. She does a really great wash and never pulls your hair when combing.
Who to avoid
Liz: My experience with Liz was by far the worst I have had at this salon or any of my previous salons, and the reason I will no longer be coming to this salon. By the end of my relaxer, it was clear to me that Liz has no idea how to handle more than 8 weeks’ worth of growth (I had a little over 12 weeks). She was pulling and ripping my hair throughout the entire process. The worst part of the entire experience was that she was not taking responsibility for the fact that she was incapable of properly relaxing my hair. Instead, she kept reminding me that I was incredibly misinformed about how often to relax my hair. Then she showed me the chunks of hair that she had pulled out as if to say «See what you did to yourself!» During my blowout, I was reminded several more times about the amount of hair she «had to» remove and then at the end she said «no big deal.» No big deal! Those words angered me. I ended up having her cut almost 2 inches off the bottom to make my hair look healthier. When I later washed my hair out at home, I saw that 50% of my hair (or should I say, of what remains of my hair) did not even relax.
Overall
Everyone who works at the salon is friendly and professional. The major weakness is the inability to accept that a customer may have had a bad experience. A couple months before my disastrous experience with Liz, I had a staff member do a horrendous job combing through my hair. I quietly brought this up to the receptionist after the service as so not to make a scene and the response was «Next time say something during the moment.“No real apology. Another time, I was mildly burned by the relaxer and I asked about how to treat it. The response from Liz or the receptionist at the time was «Next time tell us you have a sensitive scalp.» Of course, because when a stylist is going to place a strong calcium or sodium hydroxide based chemical on my scalp that has the potential to cause serious damage, it is unlikely that I would have informed my stylist that my scalp is sensitive. Naturally, I informed my stylist.
It is really a shame because Liz’s Hair Care could be a 4 star establishment if they would be more consistent and accept when they make mistakes.
I will definitely be looking for a new salon.

Shame on me for taking so long to get this review out after the experience that I had. I’ve been in the Boston area for going on three years and in that time I’ve struggled with finding a place that I feel truly comfortable about going to for getting my hair done where they both started on time and did a really nice job
Then I found Liz’s…
So I can’t vouch for their entire staff, but the folks that I encountered there did a GREAT job. So a little over a month ago l wanted to get a haircut and have my (natural) hair straightened for the first time in over a year. The young woman that did my washing/​detangling/​deep condition — Shayla (sp?) — was super attentive and professional. She literally told me every single thing she was about to do (even to the level of «I’m parting my hair into the four sections»). Even her shampoo skills were AMAZING. I came in with a hangover and she literally rubbed it away… temporarily (the headache came back on my drive home, but that was a self induced issue).
The woman — Donetta (sp?) — that did my haircut and press/​curl knew how to do hair, very simply put. First, the front of my hair has been growing out weird for some time and other salons I’d been going to would skirt around what I viewed as «my situation». I never blamed anyone because I also didn’t how to ask for it to be fixed. She was super bold and just cut it in a way that I finally felt happy with. Even more so, she took one look at my hair and completely diagnosed issues that I’d been running into in terms of moisture retention, etc. Folks have given me really generic advice about taking care of hair, but she was the first person that literally coached me through a new regimen. She, of course, tried to include some of the products they sell as part of that regimine lol, but that’s to be expected.
All in all, I highly recommend them. I briefly met the owner and I’m a fan. Looking forward to getting my next trim/​treatment :-)

NATURAL HAIR BEWARE!!!
I have been natural for almost 10 years and always get my hair flat ironed. Donna did my hair and now I have to cut all of my long hair off because it is so DAMAGED! It no longer goes back to it’s original curl pattern and looks as though she put a chemical of some sort throughout my hair. I went for a consult at another salon that has professional stylists and they advised there was nothing that could be done to fix my hair. They were shocked at how damaged it was. Never in my life has anything like this happened. I am truly devastated. I DO NOT recommend this place if you are natural and probably not for anyone who actually wants healthy hair.
Apparently, I am not the only one that has had this problem. I hear many girls have had similar problems.
The worse part is Liz tried to blame the drastic change in my hair on the water I used at home to wash it. SHAMEFUL! I will be chopping it off in a few days and starting all over to get my natural hair back.
If you love your hair do not go here!

I had a less than pleasurable experience here. I came in for a color and a trim. I spoke to Britney prior to getting my hair done and I specifically told her that I would like to get layers (due to the lack of shape) and and highlights. She blow dried my hair and performed the cut. I was turned away from the mirror so I had no idea how much hair was removed. My highlights were done left side first. As a result one side of my hair is more pigmented than the other. That being said, I did agree to come back in two weeks to get a second color added. I have no idea if this was done intentionally and I have no intentions of going back to find out. I will have someone else finish my color. Now back to the «trim»… I left with my hair in a wash and go, I did not know how much was removed until I did I twisted my hair that night. The back of my hair was armpit length, it now hits the nape of my neck. I find this to be unacceptable. I paid and asked for a trim but I left with a big chop. I spoke to the owner and she stated that it was a lack of communication. It is a a less than reasonable excuse since I asked for a trim and layering and I left with a big chop. I would never recommend this place.

I wanted to get my natural hair straightened for my birthday last September so I went to Liz’s Hair Care.
In short, the blow out/​flat iron was just okay. Unfortunately, my hair felt dry and there wasn’t much bounce to it. My previous straightening experiences in Cambridge turned out way better than this one.
My hair was also styled quite unattractively. She made me look 55 and not 25. I finger combed it to my liking, but her initial style made me question her expertise.
I haven’t been back. I can do what she did myself. For free.

Liz’s knows how to take care of an Afro and they’re cheaper than downtown Boston hair salons. But every single time I come, on time, they don’t start on my hair for at least half an hour. One time I had to wait for my stylist to finish her lunch before she started. And my service has been interrupted multiple times so the stylist can greet and gossip with everyone that comes in.
If the cut was $ 10 that might be acceptable. But I think my time should be respected when I’m paying for a service. I’m willing to pay more if it means I’m in and out in reasonable time.

I was fairly happy with my current hair stylist (at another salon in Boston); however, she’s extremely expensive. I turned to Liz’s Hair Care after seeing the great Unilocal reviews about the salon’s prices and services. I made an appointment on the phone, specifying my hair type – biracial hair – and exactly what i wanted done – a blowdry with a round brush.
When I arrived day of the appointment, my expectation was that I’d first be introduced to my stylist and that we’d talk about what I was looking for. But instead, I was placed in the hands of a shampoo girl who washed my hair and then stuck me under a dryer. I sat there for a bit, utterly confused, thinking that maybe, just maybe, they were buying time for the stylist to do my hair. But eventually I found out there was a mix up – they didn’t have me down in the books for what I’d requested on the phone, and really intended to just have me dry out under the hood. I ended having to sit around 30 minutes or so as they waited for a stylist to become available to do what I’d originally requested.
The stylist was nice, and she did a good job on the person she served before me. But I was less thrilled with her work on my hair because no hair protectant was used and my ends looked extremely dry – there was no sleek shape to the style. No, she didn’t damage my hair, but she didn’t have a great method for my hair (and I questioned her as she was styling it). When I do it on my own at home, it comes out softer and silkier-​looking. (But don’t all us girls want to walk out of the salon looking better than we do when we do it ourselves?)
Now, despite my less-​than-​stellar experience, I still give Liz’s Hair Salon a three-​star review for a few reasons: everyone was very polite, and they were fairly apologetic about the mix-​up; from what I saw, they do fairly good roller sets (not a service I’m interested in, though); and the price for a wash and blowdry is extremely reasonable.

I cannot say enough amazing things about this place.
I was invited to participate in Harvard School of Public Health’s African Fashion Show called Karamu. The afternoon of, I began my usual routine of trying to do my own hair. My hair is thick, not curly but not straight (I hate that) and difficult to manage on my own. Nevertheless, being a student and trying to save the extra expense, I began to attempt to tackle away at doing my routine blow out on my own. Given the volume of my hair, it was going to be a one hour endeavor. 30 mins in, I gave up, and said this is ridiculous. I am in the major annual fashion show at our school tonight and it’s time to get this professionally done.
I had never been to Liz’s Hair Salon but had walked by it on my route to school on Tremont before and knew they had frequent African American clientele. I had done a Unilocal search on them before when I had spotted it and remembered they had great reviews (and I see why now!). The day of the fashion it suddenly occured to me that I should go back there, and they would probably know how best to do my hair to fit the theme of the show (since I was neither African American nor knew really the style to go for).
Choosing to go to Liz and having the incredible fortune of being assigned to Tiffany as my stylist was the greatest thing that happened to me that day. I told them upfront that I was a student and couldn’t afford any outrageous up-​do charge. Seeing my hair was already clean and dry, they gave me a great deal, and Tiffany went quickly to work.
Anyway, wow what a perfectionist Tiffany is. I think the fact that I was going to be a part of the fashion show may have had something to do with her deligence, but I think she is truly a perfectionist at heart. I loved that about her. She is really talented, efficient, and has a great way with hair. I did not stop getting compliments all night. really. all the girls especially loved it, and kept referring to me as an African princess. I cant keep count of the number of people who asked me who did my hair and where. It was a memorable night with a beautiful hair-​do!
I posted the photos on Unilocal!Thank you Liz’s hair salon and thank you Tiffany!