Salon Sovay

Kate Spoleti is amazing (check out her work on Instagram)! The only problem is that it can be hard to book her if you have a tight schedule. :-)
She is one of the best stylists I’ve worked with for the reason that she cares about the client more than the money. She will never oversell me on a service and doesn’t skimp. Before Kate, I walk out of a salon with wet hair on the occasions where there is no reason for me to get a blow dry. Kate doesn’t do that.

I am lucky. I get Sovay herself. Not sure that is easy to do anymore but I sure appreciat that she sees me after hours and I am sure she is a great resource to all the people that work with her. I have FINE/​STRAIGHT hair. She is the first person that got me on products that help strengthen my hair so it can be below my shoulders. My sister said the other day” you definitely have done the best you could with YOUR hair” and I agree, with Sovays’ help. It is the best it has ever been in my entire life. !

If u try to find a professional for your nails u should definitely go to Veronica ! She is awesome! She is doing her work fast and professional! Also she is very kind and easy-​going person. With her u feel calm and can be sure that after appointment with Veronica your nails will be looking gorgeous !!!

The cutest salon, it’s an older Austin house remodeled to a salon, very clean and pretty. The owner, Sovay is a really cool chic who is a hard worker and down to earth. Plus she does amazing hair, you can tell this is her passion. She only hires the cream of the crop for whatever service you are looking for. I am grateful to have such an amazing stylist.

I really loved getting my nails done here. Only thing missing was a massage chair!
My nails stayed nice for over a week, which is 4 or more days longer than usual — I’m super hard on my nails and they usually only last 3 days.
If you need a good place for a mani-​pedi, go here!

I am absolutely blown away at the service I received from Shea McJagger today. I came in with a horrid shade of blonde (supposed to be platinum) and a pixie cut that needed major help and reshaping. I’ve been so nervous about having another bad experience I had pictures and notes ready to go! Shea from the getgo was warm and friendly. I immediately asked her if we could discuss my hair for a bit before we start (something I’ve had very bad experiences with… being cut short, ignored.) and she said Of course! Shea literally sat next to me while we went over every detail of my hair and what I wanted. She listened and was PATIENT. I walked out with an ashy blonde platinum pixie cut I absolutely love. Thank you Shea for giving me back my faith in the salon industry! I will be a lifetime client as long as she’s within a drives reach.

Shea is absolutely phenomenal, and I am embarrassed it has taken me so long to write a review. I look forward to my time with Shea not only because my hair looks bad-​ass when I leave but because it is such a relaxing experience. She gives the best shampoo/​conditioner wash EVER and it’s just so great to relax as your hair is in the hand of a guaranteed expert. If you are looking for the best hair of your life, I recommend Shea beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Kate Spoleti is amazingly talented. Period!
In my first appointment (about 1.5 years ago), I took a leap of faith and asked Kate to cut several inches off of my long hair to give me an angled Bob. I was nervous and she understood that and worked gently and confidently. The result was a fabulous new look for me.
I kept the Bob for several months before realizing that I really wanted to grow my hair back out again. Kate to the rescue again. She helped me grow it out to shoulder length with a couple of cuts in between and kept my hair looking fabulous throughout the process.
I should mention that I put almost zero effort into «doing» my hair and need a low maintenance cut and Kate has always worked with that in mind.
It’s a big plus that she is really great to talk to and has an easy cheerful attitude.

I made an appointment with Sovay over a year ago to help me fix a bad haircut issue. She is experienced and highly knowledgeable in her field. She tells you the truth and wants you to be happy with results. I drive about 30 minutes to see her, but it is so worth it! Great salon!

What an amazing experience! Melinda is THE BEST. I couldn’t be happier with my hair :) She made it healthy and beautiful. She also taught me a couple of easy different things I can do with it myself at home– which is a big deal because I am usually only capable of drip drying and ponytailing. I loved the salon too. It felt comfortable and cozy but clean and modern. Can’t wait to go back !

I hadn’t cut my hair for a year because I was traumatized by the guy who butchered my beautiful beach hair. When I moved back to Austin I was in need of a cut. Kate hooked me up! She kept my length like I asked, and gave me lovely layers. I only come here now.

Shea McJagger is AMAZING at Salon Savoy. Shea became my new stylist about 6 months before my wedding. She 100% knew what I was looking for prior to the wedding and for the wedding day. She was not the actual stylist for my wedding day but she colored it prior so it had gorgeous coloration for the day AND she referred me to a wonderful stylist for my actual wedding day!
Shea is also fantastic because she respects her clients and will professionally tell them her honest opinion on their requests. I would recommend Salon Savoy and Shea McJagger to anyone, especially my fellow curly haired friends!

I had a terrible outcome with Elisabeth. I provided a full, written color formula from a previous looooooong-​time hairdresser so I know what that combo does on my hair and it always works when applied correctly. She used the same product line and still didn’t get the color right.
I went with a lopsided (on the right side) haircut from someone I tried the time before. Liz made it lopsided on the other side (left). I’ve even had people comment that they feel sorry for my outcome because it looks so bad. I had to ask her to stop cutting because she only kept making it worse. After FOUR hours with her, the final work product was terrible.
She is a nice enough person but not a skilled cosmetologist. Writing a bad review is never something I want to do but I think others should be forewarned.

I am very happy with my experience. Shea rocked it, wrecked it, carved it up and made me into a new man. I searched for weeks to find someone who could give me the proper transformation, and lucky for me, I found her…
Shea was incredibly attentive, creative and gave me exactly what I needed.. Her technique we chatted up about everything from Keith Richards to Bauhaus to traveling through Iceland. Wonderful conversations during the process. Looking forward to my next trip in!

To describe my experience at Salon Sovay as positive would be as much of an understatement as declaring that chocolate is nice or ice is really not hot. Here’s the jig y’all…
I’ve lived in Austin for about 5 years and have been to 1 – 2 hairstylists in my time here and those experiences were definitely positive but my experience at Sovay’s has recalibrated the scale entirely and I don’t think I will ever go anywhere else… even if I moved to Australia. NO HYPERBOLE.
I contacted Sovay personally in hopes of getting in her books after reading the rave reviews and how she specializes in long hair. I’ve put my head through the gamut since moving to Austin — brazillian blowout after japanese straightening after two ombrés after two full head corrective color — and my head needed some love and cleaning up.
Sovay was able to get me in afterwork on a Thursday night and she worked actual MAGIC on my hair. Sovay adores hair and adores natural, long BEAUTIFUL hair — and hell does she know how to tailor treatments and styles to her clients. As the daughter of two physicians, I can safely say that Sovay put as much thought and care to my hair as any doctor would into any patient or surgery — and she knows herself and her craft like none other. While I came in for a simple trim «just to get the dead shit off the ends» …I walked out with a gloss treatment and the best trim (cut) that I have ever had. I say trim (cut) because Sovay was able to keep my length (which I love) but give my head shine and shape like I’d never seen before. I literally came home and took selfies and stared in the mirror for an hour before finally realizing it was late and I probably should eat dinner.
It would be just unfair to not to point out along the way that Sovay’s general demeanor and attitude — east coast bred with deep austin roots and sunny california flare is FABULOUS — fun, hilarious, quick witted, honest… we chatted literally the whole time and I’m pretty sure she made me more comfortable than any therapist could. All and all, Sovay is the definition of dynamic and just effing wonderful… I even missed my morning workout just because I wanted to show off her fabulous work. While she’s tough to book given her extensive clientele and she really does just focus on long hair, I feel like I hit the jackpot and I can’t wait to go back. THANK YOU SOVAY :)!

Not sure that I can add anything that hasn’t already been said, but Shea is just so great that I’ll try, anyway. My haircut has been absolutely perfect both times I’ve been in. What I love most about Shea, though, is how much she loves her craft. It’s energizing to be around somebody who is so talented/​passionate. 10 stars for Salon Sovay!

I’ve lived in Austin my entire life and have never come to love a hair stylist as much as I do Sovay. She will keep me coming back, and even after I move away in the coming months, I will make sure to come back to her forever!
I’ve been to her four or five times for cut and highlights, and the last few times I finally decided to go for extensions. We only did a few of them, to add some depth to my fine hair, and allow me to leave my natural hair alone and let it grow on its own, healthier and fuller. Sovay and I are already seeing a difference in the health and strength of my natural hair. She really cares about your hair and doesn’t want to do anything more damaging to it. (I first considered extensions because I wanted to go even lighter with my hair color, but Sovay didn’t want to damage my natural hair.)
Long story short — she is the GREATEST and I couldn’t recommend anyone more!

You *know* you have a great haircut when it looks good no matter what state it’s in, dry or wet, straight or curly, pulled back or left hanging down, blown out or air dried. Shea McJagger knows how to work this magic and I’m soooo excited to now be on her client list!
Ever have one of those nightmares where someone pretty much ruins your hair? I had recklessly gone on a whim to a new hair place that was close to my North Austin home-​work travel path, hoping to establish a relationship with a more convenient salon than my usual downtown high end place (which requires 6 week advance appointments and has climbed up to over $ 230 per visit since I first started there). Yes, of course I read the Unilocal reviews on the new place and everything seemed good, but things did not go well for me in this experiment with someone who claimed 15 years of experience in the hair industry. After showing pictures and asking for a basic partial highlight with face-​framing layers on my all-​one-​length past-​the-​shoulders hair, I was left with a horrible, choppy cut and the worst stripey highlights I’ve ever received in more than 20 years of having my hair colored. I was worried that I’d have to go really short to correct the damage. I also wasn’t sure I could stand to wait to get this mess fixed!
Like a ray of sunshine parting the clouds as an angel choir sings, the very next day I saw the Unilocal Review of the Day on Salon Sovay. Checking out all the glowing reviews led me to the Salon Sovay website where I read about each of the resident independent stylists. Shea’s bio page
revealed not only an accomplished master hair designer but also an artist, photographer, yoga teacher, and world traveler. Shea sounded like an interesting person with whom I’d enjoy spending several hours each year, and more importantly, someone who could solve my hair emergency right away, so I gave her a call.
Shea texted me down off the ledge and suggested I come in right away for a brief consultation to assess the damage. While she agreed that the highlight job was pretty bad, she said the haircut had good basic structure and would only require a bit of touching up & blending to take out the heavy «thunks» and provide the shape I wanted without sacrificing any length. Even better, she said she’d be able to rehab the color job and reduce the stark transitions between the various shades of blonde, as well as to make the approach to my scalp less obvious. I just had to sit tight for 2 weeks until my full appointment date. Fourteen agonizing days of pony tails later, Shea applied her skills to my head and totally transformed my look.
The appointment took 4 (!!) hours due to the very careful placement of the rehab color and the detailed attention to re-​doing my cut, but I couldn’t be happier. I was almost tearful seeing the results and probably would have paid any $ amount at this point, but Shea just gave me her usual bottom pricing for cut & partial highlight ($ 175), with no pressure on product sales, either. Yep, it looks like I’m still going to be a «drive downtown to get my hair done» lady.
Shea responds to texts day or night and encourages clients to contact her directly to schedule appointments. For every 3 clients you refer via her Karma card program, you’ll receive a free haircut.
By the way, the Salon Sovay space is a quaint little converted cottage off South First, pretty conveniently accessed from Ben White if you’re coming from North Austin via MoPac to 360. You’ll know you’re at the right spot when you pull in to see a giant mural of Farrah Fawcett’s iconic blonde shag.

If you have unruly, medium to long, curly, wavy, or frizzy tresses, and if you are not absolutely in love with your mane but desperately want to be, then immediately pick up your phone and schedule an appointment with Sovay Reeder!
Not only does she really ‘get’ this type of hair, I feel like she takes my hair issues as seriously as I do. After decades of doing battle with my hair (and with most of my stylists), I have finally found someone who is able to brilliantly transform my rebellious mop into ravishing locks! I am even able to style it myself at home. I love my hair!

«Men have their cars, and women have their hair»
–Kitty from That 70’s Show
As 70’s cliché it is… it still holds some truth in the modern day & age. My point being a girls hair is important to her! From the cut, color, and style to the products to use, the products to NOT to use… it can actually be quite complicated not mention expensive!
Sovay Reeder is an AWESOME hair stylist. She really knows exactly what she is doing. I have been back to see her three times and I can say my hair has never looked so damn good ;) Also, she is an expert at hair extensions (pictures to prove it on her website)! She has a start and stay program where your price for a haircut never changes as long you come to see Sovay.
The location is easy to find, right off S 1^st, in a quaint little house with a recently added mural of Farrah Fawcett. There are multiple hair stylist that work here so if you can’t get an appointment with Sovay right away there are other professionals that can help.
As long as my hair keeps growing strong and healthy, I am stoked to be locked down at Salon Sovay!