Firefly Salon

Ellen is simply the BEST!!! She truly cares about the health of my hair and it shows — my hair has never looked & felt better. Ellen is a master at cutting & coloring and brilliant at a Brazilian Blowout. I always look forward to my appointments at Firefly Salon not only because my hair looks great when I leave, but also because I enjoy the relaxing atmosphere. Of course, receiving compliments on my hair cut & color are an added bonus — especially since that was a rare occurrence before I came to Ellen. If you are in the market for a one stop shop for all of your hair needs — look no further!

So I have been going on haircut dates with Laura Hotkiss I mean Hotchkiss since she worked at that other salon, Shear Madness. She’s pretty awesome. She is super nice and patient, on top of that she will cut your hair exactly how you want it! One thing that separates her from the rest that makes her the best is the fact that she’ll do her finest to provide the best service! I recommend her ^_​^ Oh and she will do designs in your hair if you want. I once asked her to put the classic Nike swish with MJ doing his slam dunk design. She was totally going to do it, but I chickened out: P

Laura Hotchkiss is the best hair dresser in town. She has been doing my hair for a year now and I will never go anywhere else unless she goes. She helped find the best hair color for me and the best haircut. She is highly recommended! The salon is relatively reasonable on pricing too for a Lakeview/​Lincoln Park salon.

My review if for Joe K. only. I purchased one of those online deals for a keratin treatment with him. First of all the price was amazing. I thought it was going to be good to be true. He is extremely nice and very knowledgeable about hair with 25+ years experience. I had just as much fun chatting with him as I did getting my hair done. He did a fantastic job with my very curly, difficult, and sometimes unruly mane. My hair was so straight and it felt like silk. Afterwards when I was left on my own a few days later my hair was in great condition and easier to handle and style. Just what the treatment is supposed to do. I highly recommend him as a stylist and am looking forward to going back for a cut and some color work!

A friend of mine recommended Ellen for my crazy, Irish wild curls. This friend had gotten a Brazilian blowout and it looked awesome on her. I spoke with Ellen and made an appointment. She even took me on a Sunday.
Too bad we didn’t do a before and after picture because the transformation is amazing. Got the Brazilian blowout and can’t believe it’s the same head of hair I walked in with. Fresh out of the shower, I have manageable hair instead of something I usually have to use No More Tears on just to comb.
Had a wash, cut, Brazilian blowout, color and style. The blowout is supposed to last six months. I love it and highly recommend Ellen. She works magic!

Horrible. I had an appointment with Joe K and after waiting 30 minutes he never showed. Plus, he did not answer my phone call or return my voice mail. Lastly, the other stylists were not friendly. When someone walks into a lobby its common for people to greet one another. Also, when the stylist doesn’t show generally the coworkers will ask to assist. None of this happened in my situation. I was not greeted and it wasn’t until I announced that I was going on a trip outside the USA that the other stylists became friendly.
Joe K. Offered his services through YouSwoop and did not hold up to the agreement. Glad I only lost $ 30 to this experience.

Yay! it’s unanimous 42 5 star reviews with mine. I tried Joe for the haircut and keratin. So far I only got the haircut, pre keratin. I was getting the keratin because my hair looked a MESS! horrid! I hated the scraggly curls. I was keeping it under scarves and hats until I could have it burned into straightness and chopped off. He just cut and styled it today and I never saw it look so pretty in my life. It should be photographed. Well now I almost don’t want to keratin it. But I could never make it look this nice, it must be some sparkling rare bit of chance, musn’t it? anyway, I’ll let you know how the rest goes. So far so GOOD!

First: I love Joe. He’s an awesome hair stylist (and a miracle worker) who fixed the worst haircut of my life without having to chop all my hair off. I found him through YouSwoop and the Unilocal reviews & am thankful I did.
**BEFORE Joe story** I went to another salon (it shall remain unnamed) and received a terrible haircut. I have medium length curly/​very wavy hair. I was growing my hair out and told the stylist (NOT Joe) to just shape it up. After the person was done, I walked out of there without being able to see the back (my fault) and then realized that I had a shelf in the back of my head. I had 2 very, very, very distinct layers and they were also lopsided.
**AFTER Joe story** Then I found Joe on YouSwoop and looked at his Unilocal reviews. I was really crossing my fingers — and it must have worked! He saw the ‘hot mess’ of a haircut I had and asked me what I wanted to do. I could a) have him fix it completely and cut off a lot of length or b) fix it in 2 cuts (so I wouldn’t have to lose too much length. I chose B. After he was done with the haircut, it looked like it was perfect. I’m sure he (because he’s a professional) could still see it, but I couldn’t see or feel the shelf anymore. After the second haircut it was completely 110% fixed. Tonight I’ll be going to him for a bit of color. I couldn’t recommend him high enough. A consummate professional and great stylist/​miracle worker.
*UPDATE* Got my hair colored last night and it’s exactly what I wanted. ;) Thanks again, Joe!

I have to say that after many mishaps with my hair I am very hesitant to let someone new touch it, however I couldn’t pass up the BloomSpot deal for a Keration treatment with Joe K, he even fit me in on a Sunday so that I could have my hair done for an event that night.
I have to say that this was one of the best keratin treatments in a long time and Joe was incredibly precise and attentative to detail. I added on a haircut as I needed to merely cut off some dead ends. I was nervous when Joe didn’t texturize my hair as every other stylist I had been to did just that. He ended up giving me a cut that made my hair (which is very fine) look fuller and changed my mind about previous haircuts.
Over all a great experience and I think that I have found my new hairdresser in Chicago!

I visited Firefly for my first time today and had Joe K. cut and gloss my hair. I was led here by Unilocal reviews and have to say that Joe K. did an excellent job. It was the first time in a long time that I had seen a professional take time and precision in giving me the exact cut I was looking for — I have fine hair and like keeping my long locks looking fresh and healthy and he did exactly just that. When I noticed how careful he is to pay attention to detail, I asked how many years he has been doing this, 25 years. It definitely shows with my cut. I also liked that he took everything I said with consideration and didn’t try talking me into anything else like some stylist who try to give me a bob when I asked for a trim. Everyone at the salon was very friendly including the owner. If you want to go to a salon where they will give you their undivided attention, you need to go to firefly.

I called up Katerina at Firefly Salon late on a Tuesday afternoon looking to get to my hair cut that same day. She was booked up for the rest of the day and asked if I could do it one of the next two days. I liked this because from a technical analysis perspective I would always rather go to a full restaurant than an empty one because I figure that the patrons know what they are doing. I responded back that I could do it at 8:00 in the morning the next day as I am always busy during the day and happened to have time available that morning. It never occurred to me at the time that these types of places don’t usually open up that early. We ended up agreeing on having the appointment at 8:30 the next morning which I think was early for her as I am sure she worked late the night before. She was so accommodating to me and as a business owner I know exactly what that is like so that is extremely important to me and I weigh it very heavily. She has a great personality and really listened to what my requests were and as an aside, I got a great hair cut as well which is nice.

I recently had a Keratin Hair Treatment done at Firefly Salon with Joe Kinane. First of all, he is super friendly and sweet. When I called to make the appointment, his schedule was very flexible since I was coming in from out of town. During the appointment (which the treatment can take a little over 2 hours), he was so easy to get along with, which made the appointment go much faster. He gave me one of the best cuts I think I ever had in my life. The salon is very clean, easy to get to, and there was so much free parking. As for the treatment, so far it’s been fabulous! I have semi frizzy/​curly hair when it «air» dries. After I washed it for the first time, it dried straight. You just have to run it over with a flat iron or blow dryer for a few minutes. Also, I did it when it was disgustingly humid out, and it never even frizzed! My hair can tend to be wavy when I wake up in the morning, and it was stick straight & has a great shine. Whether you’re considering a hair cut or treatment, definitely call Joe and make an appointment at Firefly Salon! You wont regret it. My one regret is I don’t live in the state!

First, 33 filtered reviews? Really? Either this place is trying super hard to pad their numbers or Unilocal went crazy on them. Hm.
ANYWAY, I purchased the BuyWithMe deal for a keratin treatment with Joe Kinane at Firefly for $ 115 — the cheapest keratin deal I’ve found yet. I had a great experience and highly recommend Joe. For more details than you probably ever wanted to know, please read on.
The phone number on my deal rang me straight through to Joe’s cell phone, which I initially thought a bit odd and maybe unprofessional but in the end was pleased with the ability to work out a mutually agreeable time with Joe himself, — without the need to go through a receptionist. My last attempt to schedule a keratin treatment at a fancy pants salon (see my review for JV) was really frustrating due to their utter lack of flexibility. I ended up taking a half day off work just to use my coupon. Joe Kinane, on the other hand, was the epitome of accommodating. I basically picked my day and time. A+ on scheduling!
Note: I later found out that Firefly is a space owned by Ellen (as noted by Unilocaler Stacie K. and on their listing), who rents out chairs to stylists. Joe is one such stylist. So this isn’t your typical salon, but rather, more informal, hence the cell phone calling instead of a receptionist etc. Not a bad thing, just a fact.
Firefly is located a couple blocks west of the Diversey brown line stop in a cozy basement space that is surprisingly bright and welcoming. The salon is clean and tastefully decorated with art by a friend of Ellen’s. There was another young, female stylist working during my appointment who didn’t acknowledge my presence and seemed kinda bitchy/​unfriendly. Joe, on the other hand, greeted me warmly and asked plenty of questions before getting started. He was also careful to make sure I understood the «rules» of keratin treatments both at the time of scheduling and when I walked in, which is really really important. The other fancy pants salon I went to really dropped the ball in that regard.
Joe completed the process on my hair in record time, and didn’t tack on any hidden charges like the Other Salon I was keratin’d at. He did spend a fair amount of time commenting on mistakes my hairdresser had made in cutting and coloring my hair, which I found a bit uncomfortable and unprofessional. However, given the economy and nature of these groupon-​type deals, I get how he needs to fight to get customers to come back to him after their deal is done.
Overall, I’m on day two after the process and my hair is stick straight, as it should be post-​keratin. Joe Kinane did a fabulous job at a really cheap price, and made my appointment enjoyable. He is sincere and honest and someone I will return to for future keratin and probably a cut and highlights too.

I’ve been going to Ellen since I moved to Chicago. and when I went to school in Ohio, I came back a few times to get my hair cut by her! She does a great job on my hair, and my hair can be difficult because of the texture and since it is so thick. She knows just how to handle it and get it under control!