Waves Salon

Waves Salon is hands down the best in abq! I can always count on the team at Waves for a top class hairstyle.

My daughter and I have been getting our hair done at this fabulous salon for years and we absolutely love it!!! Lesli our stylist is fantastic and has an amazing personality. We are always greeted with a friendly welcome and a delicious cup of coffee. The salon is located off Central between the University and Downtown. After every appointment we leave the salon feeling beautiful and pampered!

If you’re youngish to middle aged and reasonably prosperous, THIS is the place for you. If you are older, probably a good idea to keep on looking. Stopped by after work today to see if I could set up an appt. for a haircut. Several hairstylists glanced my way, only 2 actually acknowledged me. One directed me to the back where the reception desk was. Stood back there going duhhh. A stylist kept looking over at me, didn’t say a word though. Nobody ever showed up to see what I needed so I kind of wandered out the same way that I came in. Felt like a pretty unfriendly and disinterested place. All the chairs were full though so they obviously don’t have to go that extra customer mile.

Absolutely amazing! I have been going to Waves salon on and off for several years and have always loved their work. I made a poor decision to get my hair cut at a different salon last week and had the worst hair cut of my life (way to short, uneven, choppy, and split). I walked into Waves to ask if it was really as bad as I thought it was and to see if there was anything they could do without cutting off too much more of my length. Mario was able to get me in the following day and did an incredible job on my hair! He spent a lot of time making sure it was cut perfectly, blended, and even took time to style it. I left Waves with my hair feeling light, soft, and SO much better. I highly recommend this salon and any stylist there!

Go to Rosalie. I have difficult, wavy/​curly hair that I’m trying to grow out, and her cuts make this phase not agonizing. She listens to what you want, gently steers you away from bad ideas, and makes your hair look amazing. The salon itself feels very upscale and well run as well.

I’ve been going to Waves for about 5 years — give or take some time. I love it here. First, they have an online appointment system and if they don’t have an available time, you can call up the salon and ask to get a message to your stylist. They try really hard to accommodate your needs.
I’ve been going to Rosalie since the start. She’s amazing — beyond amazing! So kind and really takes the time to give you what you need. She gives the best head massages after your wash — it’s hypnotic! I have to literally keep myself from falling asleep. :)
The establishment is clean and always smells great. The front receptionist has always been kind and helpful. I’ve strayed a few times to «change it up» and I quickly come back and think, «I knew that wasn’t a good idea.» Plain and simple — they treat you like a human being and not just a paying customer. I love it here!

Decided in the morning that I needed a new look — quick search on Unilocal and was pleased to read the review about Mario and Kristen. Popped over to their site and registered for my online booking — and voila Mario was available for the time I needed. Clipped a pic from Pinterest, showed him and I am thrilled with the result. Mario took his time to perfect my cut — it has been awhile since I have had a good haircut (used to only get that service and quality cut in South Africa — too far now). Customer service 5 stars and good good coffee!

Coming from the Boston area, I’m familiar with high end salons and willing to pay for the service. Since moving to ABQ my husband and I found some good reviews about Waves and decided to check it out. This place far exceeds my expectations. Wonderful service and great talent. We have found our big city quality salon in ABQ. Be sure to ask for Mario or Kristen.

Rosalie is my stylist. She does a great job especially on color. She always gives me the best highlights. I get tons of compliments. She is awesome.
The salon itself has a nice ambience, clean and hip. Their front desk is always very friendly as well.

I grew up in the midwest. I have lived in NYC and Los Angeles in the last 5 years. I say this because I’ve gone to many salons and have had many different stylists! I am currently living in Albuquerque for a few months and I was in desperate need for a salon that would fit my style and my budget. I am so glad that I found Waves! I just recently got married so for the whole year leading up to the wedding I was growing my hair out and only getting «baby trims» to keep my length– so, yes– I was in DESPERATE NEED of a haircut. I also needed a base color touch-​up. My hair was long (but not healthy) a little below where your bra would be. I like long layers, I usually wear my hair wavy/​messy and I like my hair to have very natural looking color especially if I get highlights. Mario understood exactly what my style was and my color turned out beautiful. He filled in my roots with a beautiful brunette color that matched my old color and gave me a deep conditioning treatment. (so embarrassing. that’s how bad my ends were!) I am so so happy. He also gave me very natural highlights– they blend right in and look very natural, exactly what I wanted – I feel like I have a whole new head of hair! It’s hard traveling into a new town and trying to find a great stylist, I am very glad that I found Waves. I will be going back to see Mario for as long as I am in Albuquerque!
The salon itself is decorated very cool. Pops of color throughout. They offer great hair products too. The staff was very friendly upon arrival. I had some refreshing cucumber water as I waited. During my time at Waves I saw a diverse clientele coming in for their appointments. Most of the stylists have been there for a very long time, which I think is a great sign. I have to say in my «googling» and other research that I spent time trying to find a salon, Waves is by far the coolest in this area. Mario is a fantastic stylist. He took my straw like mop and put the life back into it. It’s fresh, has volume and it’s still a nice long layered length! Love it! Thank you Mario!

I walked in hair-​challenged (both color and cut) and emerged happier with my hair than I’ve ever been in Albuquerque. Kristen has a great eye for color and style. Salon and stylists very contemporary, well-​priced, free parking, natural lighting, and complimentary bang trims in between appointments. I guess the true testimonial is that three of my friends are now clients, too!

Leslie did an amazing job on my cut and color. The salon was beautiful and every staff member was pleasant, helpful, and friendly. I will definitely come back :)

Chris Stynen ’twas an amazing hairstylist. He made my hair feel like it was loved for the first time, after crawling through a barbed wired battlefield of chemical hairfare! Thank you Chris Stynen!

Terrible haircut on July 7 from hairdresser in sour mood. She was on a tear, finished in half an hour and, before I could stop her, I had been chopped. When she finished, she walked away and never said «Thanks» or «Good-​bye.» It’s only hair, but 3 weeks later, I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the shaggy mess she made. (Don’t recall her name with certainty but she’s the one who recently moved to Albuquerque from Dallas.)

Lesli Fisher cut my hair this morning — ’twas very frayed to begin with, but no longer (pun intended). Lesli listened to what I wanted, gave an honest assessment on what was needed to visually thicken up my thin long hair. Nice hair wash, good cut — I was very happy with the results as well as the experience.
Other pluses: nice clean hip atmosphere in downtown Abq, staff offered me a drink upon arrival, price was reasonable and the stylists themselves are fashionable, Lesli very much included. Oh! The blow-​dryers at Waves hang from the ceiling, so that the cord never gets tangled up as the stylists work around you. Ingenious!
I live outside of DC but will definitely try to schedule my cuts with Lesli when visiting my roots in Albuquerque.

I was very pleased with waves salon! The salon itself was nice the staff were friendly. I recommend Leslie for a color & cut, she saved my hair and made me beautiful!

I moved to Albuquerque from Chicago this summer. Having been born and raised in Chicago, I always had an abundance of high end salons to choose from. I was referred to Waves by a friend of a friend, and to my surprise, this little salon is everything I hoped it would be. The staff is always courteous and friendly, offering an espresso or water when you check in. I never wait more than 5 minutes for my appointment and Kristin, one of the owners, gives me a color and cut that’s easily comparable to any of the salons in Chicago that I’m used to. I would pay extra for the scalp and neck massage Waves makes customary with your shampoo. I am so fortunate to have found this place… class, comfort, relaxation and great customer service. How anyone could say it’s dirty or less than friendly is beyond my comprehension.

Just to update my review, the owner saw my review on here and called to apologize and offered to redo my haircut. I took him up on the offer and he did a much better job. I respect the fact they went out of their way to make sure their customers are happy with their service.

Nice, trendy little place to get your hair lopped off and other services to make you more beautiful.
They do good work.
Close to downtown ABQ (just to the East).