Paola’s Hair Stylist

This wasn’t my first time going to this salon. I’ve been going to the owner for maybe 3 years if that. She does good cuts and amazing blow dries but unfortunately I will not be going there anymore.
I went in 5 days before Christmas because I wanted to go ombré, a cut and blow dry. I called them in the morning and asked if Alba (the owner) was available and able to do ombré, she told me she was and told me to come at 3. Once I get there Alba tells me that the girl next to her will do my hair… I should’ve stopped there, but I agreed. The hair dresser asked me how much hair did I want to cut off and I told her one inch. She then goes on to tell me that my ends are damaged and that she needs to cut them before she starts coloring. So I agreed again. She starts to apply bleach at the ends of my hair. She then rinsed off the bleach and applied a toner to the end and a brown to the mid shaft of my hair. Once she washed everything out she took me to her chair where she proceeded to cutting my hair again mind you she had already cut it before and then blow dries it. She give me the mirror and all I see is that my ends are bleached. There is no ombré affect to my hair what so ever. I was so embarrassed. By that time it was 6 and it was packed I paid them and left. I literally paid $ 90 for them to ruin my hair. It looks like they dipped my hair into the bleach. I know I shouldn’t have paid but I was too embarrassed to say anything at the moment. I really would’ve wished that they told me up front no we can’t do it instead of attempting on me. Although Alba does do a good job I will not be going back because I feel that she didn’t want to do the services I asked for instead she passed me up to someone who didn’t know what she was doing. I will post a picture if I can of what I wanted and what I left with. Since then I’ve had to cut my hair even shorter than I wanted.

I went to Paola’s at the suggestion of my roommate who is Venezuelan and I could not be happier. I’ve tried all sorts of hair salons in the DC area from upscale, to large scale commercial, to tiny boutiques and always walk out reasonably happy but having a bit of sticker shock.
I called Paola’s this morning and they said I could come in at any time to get a wash, cut and blow dry. They fit me right in when I got there, to be honest the place was a little on a empty side. Its a dated, Latin inspired salon but appeared to be exceptionally clean and spacious. I speak very little Spanish and the woman who greeted me spoke very little English but she was able to understand what I wanted very easily and walked me back to wash my hair.
The seats and sinks they have for hair washing look like they are brand new and are some of the most comfortable hair washing stations I have ever had the pleasure of sitting in. Getting my hair washed by someone else is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me and I was NOT disappointed here. Gladys, the woman who would be cutting my hair, went to town on my head. I don’t know if every shampoo is that thorough and pleasurable or if it was because there wasn’t a client waiting behind me but she washed and shampooed my hair twice, scrubbing my scalp and giving me a paid for worthy massage. Then she took her time conditioning my hair and rinsed it with cool water rather than hot which was nice since that makes my dark hair even shinier.
The hair cut itself was pretty simple. I’d say if you wanted something more complex bring in a picture with you unless you speak Spanish fluently and can explain what you want. However, at EVERY single other salon I have ever been to, even if I say I don’t want layers they feel the need to «trim» up the ends of the layers I am growing out which results in me *gasp* still having layers. I feel like I am never going to be able to grow them out for this reason. She actually listened to me and cut my hair without giving me layers. She was quick and precise which I love.
Lastly, the blow dry, this blow dry was 10x better and more thorough than any blow dry I have ever had, even at the Blow dry bar in DC which come on, thats their specialty. I couldn’t be happier. For the first time I feel like my blow out will actually last a few days like most places say they will. She took her time with everything and I didn’t feel rushed at all but at the same time she had me washed, cut and dried in less than an hour. I’ve spent longer at some places getting a subpar blow out. So for $ 40 before tip (I tipped big because I was so happy) I got the best wash, cut and blow out I have had since moving to the DC area.
I definitely recommend this salon and will probably be going back to have them do the occasion blow outs I get, maybe 5 a year, and if I ever need an up do…
They have ridiculously cheap color and highlight prices too but I can’t comment on the quality as I haven’t used their services nor do I know anyone who has.
Their hours during the week are 9:30am-8pm. I think they are open both Saturday and Sunday as well but am unsure of the times.