Color by Mia

Mia saved my hair! She was recommended to me by a friend who has amazing blond hair — I had just been given zebra stripes (I’m not kidding) by someone at a salon down the street. Luckily they gave me a refund and I was frantic because I didn’t think it was salvageable. Thankfully Mia was available right away, and she and her assistant calmed me down and walked me through the whole process for fixing my disaster!
The corrective color and balayage process was seamless, and I emerged after with amazing silky golden blond hair. I don’t know how she did it, but I wish I’d just gone to her first! Not to mention the whole atmosphere was relaxed and fun. I can’t wait for my follow up appointment.

Mia is fabulous– from her personality to her talent as a colorist.
The day I met Mia she color corrected my hair from a botched orange blonde to a beautiful natural honey blonde. Not only is she great at what she does but you feel comfortable in her presence as she is super down to earth northern Cali kinda girl. I know that when I am in her chair I have no worries and that my hair will come out exactly as I imagined– if not better!
It’s hard to come across a good colorist. Mia is a true artist. I started going to Mia exactly 2 years ago and I couldn’t be more impressed with her technique and easy going attitude that leads to perfection with my hair.
Thank you Mia!!! My color is current and chic. I couldn’t be any happier. I am a lifer! :)

I’ve been coming to Mia for 3 years and every time I see her she goes above and beyond to color my hair past all expectations. She has done natural colors, creative colors, and ombré for my hair and everything has looked amazing. Mia is an expert at taking my suggestions and innovating them to best match my hair type and facial features. She always has my hair’s best interest at heart and I leave the salon with happy, healthy hair! I take her advice on how to wash and treat my hair between appointments and the color stays rich and vibrant for weeks.
Mia is friendly and professional and her assistants are always bright and helpful

Mia is awesome at making you look like a natural blond! Over the years she has done everything from tints, highlights, and balayage to base adjusts on me. She is great at everything color. To address the review where someone said they had to wait I can say that in 17 years Mia has RARELY been late. Cute salon in the heart of Downtown/​Union Square. While she is close to the Grant gate its not accurate for the shop to be listed in Chinatown. I have also had great customer service by all the staff and her current assistant is my favorite one yet!

Mia is very cool as a person, but I had a negative experience with her at the Grant Ave location. My hair is very dark and thick and difficult to color, so I figured what better person to go to than someone with black Asian hair — surely she would know how to handle my hair? Well, she kept me waiting for 72 minutes — no kidding — past my appointment time before she was able to even put me in a chair. Then she proceeded to turn my hair two shades of bright burnt orange — very unattractive — and people noticed it, actually said my hair looked orange in the sun. Ran to Festoon the next week to fix the color, which they did. All this said, she did a great job with all of the lighter haired women that I observed while I was waiting for her…

I’ve been visiting Mia since I moved to the Bay Area three years ago. There’s a reason that I haven’t ever looked for another colorist…
Mia will definitely have an opinion on your hair — she has a keen eye for color and has talked me out of going too blonde a few times. I’m a naturally dusty blond, so we highlight with cream-​colored balayage. I walk out of her salon feeling incredible and looking awesome! Please allow her some room to adjust your desired color to a look that will work better for you! The photos you bring in will be helpful for a guide, but she may need to adjust to compliment your skintone, etc. She is SO great at this, if you trust her she will deliver every time!
Love love love Mia’s work!

Still going to Mia seven years after this initial Unilocal review, and a total of –18 years. She remains the best in the business.

The female Guy Tang of of the SF bay Area!
My hair was damaged from going to different salons that gave me bad dye jobs. She put Olaplex to mitigate any further damage on my hair and worked her magic Balayage treatment on my asian hair. WOW WOW WEEEE! Several weeks later people are *still* admiring the color on my hair.
Mia is incredible. She truly has an eye for color. I hate writing this review because it would mean she would be so well-​known and overbooked and it would take forever for me to get an appointment. But we are really lucky to have the female version of Guy Tang in the Bay Area!

I still go to Mia. She is absolute perfection at her art and a kind soul of a person. I feel honored.

Please note, this review is based on personal interaction, as i did not receive any services today.
The scenario: Mia has been doing the color on a friend of mine for a while now, and I had seen Mia once before for a Balayage treatment, with which I was mostly happy with (I had booked a full Balayage with all over tint and at that appointment she just did a partial Balayage and told me that was all she thought I needed).
Fast forward to today: I had an appointment scheduled for 4:30 — again for what I hoped would be a full Balayage. The day before the appointment I received an email from Mia letting me know that they had some cancellations earlier in the day and I could come in at several other times, including 4:00. In the email Mia noted that if the other earlier times worked, great, if not keeping the 4:30 appointment would not be an issue. I agreed that although I had other appointments during the day, I could move up a little sooner to the 4:00 appointment.
As life, and more often than it should, MUNI has delays. When I realized I was still a few stops away from the salon and approaching my appointment time I emailed Mia (the method in which we had been communicating up until this point) to let her know that I was going to be late, but I was on my way.
I arrived at the salon 13 minutes late (yet still would have been 17 minutes early for my previous appointed time.) the desk attendant told me to have a seat, and that she would let Mia know that I was there.
Mia then walked down the stairs with her jacket on and bags in her hands stating that she assumed that I wasn’t coming to the appointment, that we had confirmed earlier during the day. I apologized, and said that I had returned her email to let her know i was running a few minutes late. She said she didn’t get the message. Note: the salon did not attempt to contact me when I was not there at my appointed time.
Mia said she could still maybe do my hair, but it didn’t look «that bad» as it was, but that it could look better. I again apologized and said I was only going to be in town for a few more days, and that I was going out of town to be in a friends wedding. Mia said she was sorry, but everyone had already cleaned up for the day, but I could make an appointment with her in her Oakland salon the next day.
Although Oakland would be out of my way to get to, I agreed to do that. She told me to just go ahead online and book something for the next day and she would see me at that salon.
Of course, I get a block away and try to start booking my appointment online for the Oakland location, and lo and behold she does not have any appointments available.
Summary: I work in patient care, and if a patient is not present in the office at their appointed time I call the patient to find out if they are delayed and when I can expect them.
Mia coming downstairs to meet me with her jacket on and bags in her hand made the conversation feel very awkward, as if I was continuing to hold her up from leaving the salon.
In the future, maybe just have the desk attendant let me know that I would not be able to be accommodated because i was 13 minutes late and make an appointment for me in the Oakland salon for the following day. Oh wait, nevermind there are no appointments available then anyway…

I am not one that takes hair changes lightly. I have been a blond for over 8 years and was ready for a change. I came in to see Mia with a few photos and an open mind. Mia was just what the Dr. ordered! She talked me through transitions, options, lifestyle changes, maintenance. the full 360! We jumped in with both feet and I must say, I am one happy camper. I LOVED everything about my experience! My hair is better than I imagined and my time spent with these lovely ladies was ideal!

I have been using Mia as my colorist for a few months now and she is fabulous!!! Every time I step out of the salon feeling happy and satisfied with the color of my hair. I absolutely recommend her for anyone looking for a new colorist.
Also on another note Spruce Salon in Oakland (where she works on Sundays and Mondays) is wonderful as well, they are warm and welcoming and every time I have gone I have had a great experience.

My daughter was going through some bad times but before she left to go back to college, by some miracle, Mia the colorist voted best in the bay for several years in a row had an opening! I took my daughter down there and we let Mia decide what color to use. When Mia was done, my daughter’s spirit lifted and she felt like a new person because her hair was gorgeous. I think I found something better than therapy when you’re feeling depressed, go color your hair by Mia! Check out my daughter’s pics, it’s amazing.

Mama Mia!!!
Whatever your color quarrels, don’t worry my child, let Mama Mia take care of you.
I will start this review by saying that Mia wants nothing more than to get it right. My first visit wasn’t 100% perfect — it was a good job, no doubt — but not quite what I wanted. The biolage (sp??) method that she uses just couldn’t quite break through my stubborn head of black hair. I was left with a few streaks of orange here and there…
But whatever Mia didn’t get right the first time, I didn’t even have time to worry because she was on top of the solution (unlike, AHEM, a certain nasty beeyoch at Hair Play who did my color the first time). Mia called me, made time for me, and take #2 was all about the foil method. WHEW. Color came out perfect and couldn’t ask for anything more… Except now I want a full head of blond hair ;)
Mia, I’ll be back for that!

Mia is WONDERFUL! She is the first stylist I found since moving to the Bay Area 2 years ago (thanks to Unilocal), and I haven’t even thought about looking anywhere else. I have been going to her for 2 years now, and she always knows exactly what I want. She really knows what goes well with my skin color, even when I want to mix it up a bit with highlights, while still making it look very natural.
She truly listens to the client and gives each client good advice based on their own specific needs and wants. I am always 100% pleased with the results. Plus, she’s great to talk to — very laid back and easy to get along with.
Mia is probably the best colorist I’ve ever had, and I’m willing to pay a good price for a quality product I know I can count on.

Mia contacted me within a week of posting my review. She offered to completely refund my appointment, which was greatly appreciated! I believe this shows how much Mia cares for her clients and the overall outcome of their experiences with her. I have provided an additional star for this outcome.

So, I learned a very valuable lesson. Hair Stylist does not = Colorist.
Okay, check! Won’t make that mistake a tenth time ;)
Mia was lovely. Not only is she absolutely stunning but she has a down to earth approach. I like her straight-​forward opinions and delivery. If you want someone to tell you that you’re perfect and to coddle you, well that’s just ridiculous to start with but also not what a colorist should do. I appreciated her honesty and, even though she didn’t believe me when I said I hadn’t tinted my hair for 6 or 7 months, loved our interaction.
Yes, she’s busy but she checks in with you every step of the way. And the fact this is my first Unilocal review definitely says a lot in my book.
Loved Mia and will be going back!

Mia is one of few hair color specialists who knows exactly how to transform your hair color from ordinary to absolutely stunning. She is skillfully trained in the French hair color technique called Balayage.
My hair has never looked so healthy, naturally rich in color and luminous with shine. She really tries to understand what you want in your consultation with her, yet with her experience and expert knowledge, will let you know if what you want is going to be realistic and if it will work with your hair. Everyone is different. Hair color that looks good on Emma Stone, may not look so good on you. She takes into consideration your skin tone, eye color, the health and strength of your hair, etc.
I am usually very weary when it comes to getting my hair colored, but with Mia– I put my faith and trust in her and her skills and my hair comes out flawless every single time. Thank you Mia!

Mia makes a pretense of asking what her clients want but doesn’t actually listen. If you complain, she finds a way to make it your fault. It wasn’t just me… several times, I heard her do that with an unhappy client who was just leaving as I arrived.
Mia is a prima donna who believes her old press. She should read her 2012 Unilocal reviews.
Wish I’d bailed before, it took nearly four months for my hair to recover from her mistakes.

I first met Mia in 2009 before my wedding. I read her reviews, liked the idea of ‘balayage’ and at 49 years of age, was TIRED of trying to find the perfect highlights for my hair. I have never stayed with the same hair stylist/​colorist for longer than a year because I kept searching for better and better results. I can happily say, and my husband can attest to, I have found someone who I know I will stay with until I stop getting highlights (age 90?:-). The result is fabulous every time, and it looks so NATURAL.
My husband loves that I am so happy after every appt because for 10 years of our relationship, he knew I was never happy with my hair after every appt. He loves my hair color and style and tells me every day that I «am having a good hair day»! I love the new salon she is working at now-​Echos on Sutter St. Mia also referred me to my hair stylist Diana Gallegos, who I will also never leave until I am too old for beautiful hair styles! She, too is an expert and my hair looks and feels fabulous for 3 months — right up to the day of my next appt. Diana is also at Echos now, so it is one stop shopping for me. I live in San Rafael, and do not care that I have to go into the city (and across town) because getting what I want is so worth it! Plus — it’s fun to be in downtown SF!
I was surprised to see the less than 5 Star reviews here, because I have never experienced Mia as anything but kind and professional. She made me feel at ease from the first appt and I always feel welcome each time I go. Oh — and and as far as price goes, yes it is expensive, but NO MORE expensive than any other salon I have gone to for highlights and haircuts! Knowing and working with the public as I do, I bet those few complainers are a pain in the ass no matter where they go!