Honey Child Salon and Spa

Honey Child is now closed, which may not be the worst thing in the world. Service was always hit or miss, and, on the few occasions I went there I was less than impressed with my hair for the price I paid.

Santha. Book Santha. If you need a good waxing anywhere on your body, go see Santha. She’s the bomb. Bikini waxing is so uncomfortable on so many levels but she is just chatty enough to keep your mind off the pain and über professional so it’s quick. Quick and thorough — fantastic combination. Enjoy!

Ugh.
I hate complaining about a Spa appointment, but I must…
The spa is disorganized, the employees are loud and unprofessional, and the service is over all not very «spa like». I arrived promptly at 10am for my appointment. No one was prepared for clients and I was told to take a seat. While waiting on the sofa, a woman yelled from the back, «Someone’s playing monkey business with my music!» as the calming spa music kept turning on and off. Then, my massuse entered looking quite sweaty and in dirty clothes and told me he’d be just a minute… After I’d been sitting there for twenty minutes.
Additionally, I’m someone who LOVES to unwind at a spa: read a magazine, take a steam shower, and lounge. None of that is available at Honey Child. You change in the spa room, and leave the salon oily because there are no available showers.
That aside, my massage treatment was great. But I was too frustrated to truly enjoy it.

I have been going to Honey Child Salon for a couple of years. A colleague suggested Honey Child, because I was looking for a new hair stylist. I gave it a try. The salon is very nice, the staff is very friendly. I saw the same stylist for a couple of years, I thought she was very good, the only problem I had with her is that she was often late (I would wait upstairs for 10 – 15 minutes before she came from the back). This stylist went to a different salon, but I stayed at Honey Child. From watching the other stylist the last couple of years I felt no need to follow her to a new salon.
My new stylist is just as good, but I have the same problem with her, she was late starting, and then I had conditioner in my hair forever while she was in the back chatting with her friends. I feel like my business is not important when they do this. The redeeming quality is she does a great job with my hair. If the stylist took their clients more seriously I would give Honey Child 5 stars.

*woo-​sah* This is going to be a long one.
Ok, I will start this review with a story. As a child, I had lots and lots of hair. My mother, who had once been a beautician took much pride in styling my hair. She had a wide arsenal of twists, braids and ponytails she would apply to my hair and then send me off to school. However, by the end of my day at school, my hair would be a hot mess. Why? Because all of the other little girls would want to play with my hair, and I would let them. After one too many incidents, I remember my mother’s stern, yet concerned voice saying, «Don’t let nobody play in your hair!!!»
And I have taken that lesson with me throughout life. I have always had my hair done by myself or my mom (other than the occasional trim). And as such, I am very wary of salons. And Honey Child has reminded me why I am this way.
I recently decided to grow out my relaxer and abandon most heat styling. I had about 2 – 4 inches (depending on what part of my head you’re looking at) of relaxed hair that I desperately wanted chopped off. I am well aware that not everybody knows how to cut black folks’ hair in its natural state, so I took my salon search very seriously. After perusing the internet and asking around, I figured I’d give Honey Child a shot.
I called up there to make my appointment. The woman who answered the phone seemed nice enough, but I must note that I was kept on hold multiple times for several minutes at a time. So, I told her that I was growing out my relaxer and I wanted to get a few inches cut off and I was all around confused about the state of my hair. She said they could help me with that. I asked about a consultation and she said it would be $ 50, but could be applied to the cost of my service. I was like, $ 50??? But I made the appointment anyway.
Fast forward to my appointment. I swear on my unborn children that I made my appointment for 11am when I called in previously. Not so, according to the receptionist. She informed me that my appointment was at 10am and that I was late. To which I replied, «noooo…it’s for 11». She looked indifferent and then sent me to the second floor to wait for my stylist and she told me it may be a while. I got through 1 People magazine when my stylist arrived. Second item of note… I was the ONLY person on the salon floor. What salon is empty on a Sunday?
So my stylist introduced herself. She was very sweet, but then said, «So you’re here for hair extensions?» Oh hell no. I then informed her that I was there for a haircut, to which she replied, «Oh, they had you down for extensions.» WTF. The staff’s wires are most definitely crossed. Our consultation was pretty much us talking for about 2 minutes and she advised me not to cut all of my hair off and then I told her to just cut about 2 inches off. She washed my hair since curly hair is better cut wet and brought me back to the chair. As she was cutting, we chatted… and again, she was really nice. And if this review was for «nicest hair stylist», she would have gotten a 5. But this isn’t that type of review.
So, at some point, I decided to ask her what her specialty was. She told me it was cutting hair. Remember this tidbit for the end of the review. After the cut, she asked me if I wanted a style. I decided it couldn’t hurt and agreed. She made 2-​strand twists all over my head and put me under the dryer. Then she forgot about me :(Maybe 20 – 25 minutes after I was done drying, she asked me if I was sitting there long. I told her yes, and then she apologized and said she had to move her car. She was reeeallly nice about it! By the way, only one other person had their hair done while I was there.
But then she undid my twists… and ohmygod. They looked awful. And I can’t completely blame her for this (though she should probably not have pinned my ends up while my hair was drying). My hair is very unpredictable sometimes, but my hair looked like a hot pile of doo-​doo when she took the twists down. My ends were pointing every which way. It looked very unruly and messy. She asked me if I liked it and I was completely honest with her and said I hated it. She asked me if I’d like to try another style and I said no and threw my hair in a ponytail. I asked her if I would have to pay for the style and she said, «No, that would be unethical.» I thanked her and went to pay the desk attendant. She was still kind of indifferent, not especially friendly. But whatever. My final bill was $ 55. Not horrible, but not great for the experience.
Oh, but I’m not done yet. I finally washed my hair at home and let it air dry through the day. MY HAIR IS LOPSIDED!!! This was going to be a 2 star, MAAAAAYBE (depending on my mood, but not likely) a 3 star review, but no ma’am. Uneven hair at a professional establishment is unacceptable. I will not under any circumstances be going back to Honey Child.

Heidi did my hair when I went there last, and she did an amazing job. I almost fell asleep when she was washing it because it felt like a massage. I tried Aje’s, and I didn’t really like the way I was treated. I will warn you before hand, they DO NOT TAKE TIPS ON CARDS!!! So, you may want to stop by the bank first. I didn’t know, and I rarely carry cash, so I felt like a jerk because I didn’t have time to go to the bank… Spare yourself the shame, because you will want to come back. By the way, I have short AfricanAmerican hair, and let me tell you, it looked fresh for at least a month.

Heidi has been my stylist for about a year and a half now. When I came to her, my hair was extremely damaged and over processed. She has done wonders for my hair. She is punctual, takes her time when relaxing my hair and is very professional. I look forward to my appointments with her.

Would not recommend. After getting waxed here several times, a bump formed underneath my skin requiring two surgeries to remove. It was a bacteria growth due to the waxing utensil being dipped and recipes in the same wax. By law, the employee is supposed to use a new wax stick each time it is dipped in the wax to prevent contamination.

When I was a regular at Honey Child is was strictly because of my stylist. The customer service was very poor. Before I had Erica I had Olivia and when she left no one called me to tell me they just waited until I showed up for my appointment… and luckily they gave me Erica. However-​without warning this should never be done, as I’m a Black girl with natural hair and at that time in the middle of a very successful transition with the desire to keep my straight style. I referred several friends to my stylist who came back with similar customer service experiences, openly arguing amongst the management and stylist, and lack of styling materials. In addition, the prices were raised, again without any warning when I booked my appt. Anywho, I never got to experience the spa services, I’ve heard good things about them. I hunted my stylist down when she left, wasn’t interested in being passed off to someone who didn’t know me or my hair.

This is a reluctant 4. I love the place, but mostly because I loved my stylist, Erica, and she left. :-(
I’ve been going to Honey Child sporadically for a few years. The only services I’ve ever gotten were hair related, so I can’t talk about the spa. But here’s what I love:
1. They know how to do my hair. I’m biracial (black/​white), have very curly hair, and have lost track of the number of bad haircuts I’ve gotten over the years. Or the number of times I was turned away from trendy salons who didn’t have someone who did «ethnic hair.» The first time I went, I asked for someone good with my type of hair, and definitely got her.
2. Erica was awesome. She knew how to cut it curly or straight, and I was always happy. She made a point of understanding exactly what I wanted, and talked me through the confusion and indecisiveness I often brought («short but not too short» doesn’t mean much when you think about it). Plus she was cool. Easy to talk to, but didn’t force me to chit-​chat when I was spacing out or being moody.
3. The clientele is all over the place. I usually go on Saturdays, and tend to run into women of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and dress. As someone who lives in jeans, I haven’t felt under dressed like I have at other salons.
4. The shampoos are the bomb. I tend to get there a little early (bad habit). Rather than have me wait forever, they give me an awesome shampoo /​head massage. At least twice they gave me extra conditioning treatments for free to kill some time. I haven’t had the same shampoo person twice, so I don’t think it was just the person. If I was a cat I’d be purring.
5. They listen and care about what I want. At one point I had long hair and asked Erica to chop it off (to just past my ears). We talked about it for a few minutes, and she admitted to wanting to make sure I wasn’t doing something drastic because I was having a bad day. When she realized I was serious, she got really excited and did an awesome job on my new bob-​ish cut. it was honestly the best cut I’d ever had. And when some of the other women started whispering about how crazy I was to cut my hair off, she shut them up.
6. They don’t give me a hard time about being sporadic. When my hair is straight, I come in pretty regularly. But when it’s curly, it’s all over the place, and I don’t need it cut as often. I’ve never felt guilty for not coming in for a few months (or 8).
My only concerns:
1. Parking sucks around there. I usually leave myself about 15 – 20 minutes to find a space, and usually get one about a block away. It’s metered though, so bring quarters.
2. It’s a little pricey. Ask someone who likes you for a gift certificate there, and you’ll feel better about it.
3. Erica is gone! I’ll probably end up going back there, but am a little nervous about trying someone new.

Eva and Mari are no longer at Honey Child… and I too have jumped ship.

Erica is the greatest!
I am picky when it comes to my hair because as a black girl growing up in the suburbs, you learn you can’t trust just anyone to care for the kinks!
The shop is clean and the staff is on point. (Good call on not letting my sister chop for long hair off. It’s all talk).
I sometimes wish the prices were a little better and the parking wasn’t so crazy, but I think that it all comes with the territory.

I used to go here when it first opened. Then I stopped, I couldn’t remember why, so I gave it another chance… now I know not to go back, and to encourage others to go elsewhere.
So, I had a gift card that was set to expire on the 19^th. My appt was set for the 20^th, but I was assured that it would still be accepted. That was where good service ended.
I got to my appt, and checked in. There were a whole gaggle of girls standing around and I thought one might be my facialist… nope, I was wrong. They were just hanging out… strange but whatever.
I got ushered into the weird hallway with the ultra low, really dirty brown slipcovered futon. I waited for 20 min. TWENTY. I went out at the 15 min mark and asked whether I was going to be seen, the girl at the desk acted like she was surprised I wasn’t seen yet.
Then, I went back to the weird hallway and sat back down on the low futon. I decided to give them 5 more minutes before I spend the gift card on crap they sell.
Exactly when I was about to leave, the facialst got me… great. I should’ve gone home. She reconfirmed I was scheduled for the Vitamin c facial… no. I was not. I had the power cleanse.
She does what she does, and then she said ok! All done! What?! When I scheduled the appt i confirmed that I was going to have extractions. She said, «oh no, not for this facial.»
Oh…so your staff doesn’t know what servies are offered?! Interesting.
I go to pay, and she tells me that the price list I have is invalid. What was $ 55 for a facial a year ago is now $ 60. Apparently, after telling them that I wanted the power cleanse, I still didn’t get it and had a «special» facial.
Again, NOT what I wanted. I should’ve been glad b/​c apparently the ½ hour power cleanse (which was also $ 55 on my price list from last year) had increased in price to $ 70. A $ 15 dollar increase in one year? Really? Is the facial without extractions that fantastic that it deserves almost at 30% price increase? I highly doubt that.
Never again will I give Honey Child any money. NEVER. I will also continue to encourage ppl NOT to patronize this «spa.»

I started going to Honey Child for Hair Services after moving to Chicago in December. My stylist was friendly and professional and my hair looked amazing! Although pricey, I believe the end result was worth every penny. Hell, the shampoo alone was worth it! I’m so happy to find a salon in my new city!

I go here for my bikini waxes and I wouldn’t dare go anywhere else. Santha is the best!

I am so picky about my estheticians– eyebrows can make or break your face, as far as I’m concerned…
so after years of awful salons with skin rips and misshapes, I was happy to find Santha at Honey Child!
I wouldn’t trust anyone else… she spends at least 20 minutes on your brows, with magnifying head gear and the perfect arch.
It’s a little pricey, around $ 25, but worth it to me.
oh and like most salons, you can’t tip on the credit card, so come prepared with cash… I always feel bad when I’m sans tip, and come back later.

I have only been to Honey Child once and I was very fortunate to have Mia do my pedicure. I went to them after reading a review in Timeout or Chicago Magazine. The pedicure was WONDERFUL and Mia’s hands were magical.
I would highly recommend this place to anyone!!!

I’ve been to Honey Child twice, and I am thinking about making a third trip back. I like the fact that it is an African American owned business, however, whenever I go I have to deal with some snotty receptionist at the front desk. It’s never the same one, but to me if the receptionist is not «friendly» and that’s the first person you see when you get there, it can kind of mess up the rest of the experience.
My first visit was for a citrus pedicure and manicure where they used fruits… it was great, they did an awesome job. My second visit, I was going to a spa party with several other people and some way they lost my reservation (just mine, no one else’s) even after I had called to confirm. Since it was their fault, the offered me a 30 minute massage instead of the hour one that I had scheduled. It was still nice but I was a little upset that I had gone through all the trouble of verifying this appointment and it was still wrong!
If you have the money, I would recommend Honey Child. The services that I have had so far were good, I do like the ambiance in the spa area located downstairs. It was very relaxing.

I can’t say enough good things about this place. Whether I go for a «corrective» facial or a Brazilian wax, I know I’ll leave happy. Santha, I believe her name is, has always taken care of me. Last time I went for a facial, I ended up getting a free hand massage while waiting on something to warm up. Everything smells so good here!

Great hair salon/​spa, for all hair/​skin types. The waxing services are fantastic as well, the employees are friendly and the spa setup is relaxing. You get what you pay for!
All in all, a soothing experience bolstered by fantastic results!

I got a deep tissue massage here last night and it was amazing! They’ve got a really great relaxing atmosphere in this salon, everything is really clean, it smells great, the lights are dim, and the staff is quiet while you’re getting your treatment. Their treatments are reasonably priced too, they’ve got package deals and gift certificates as well!