XO Studio

Isaac is the best! I wasn’t really sure what to do with my hair but he made suggestions and gave me a fantastic haircut. Everyone from my boyfriend to my students at an elementary school have commented on what a great job he did. Seriously.
Thanks Isaac!

What a great find! I was looking for a new salon since my old salon moved locations and became a little too challenging to get to. I found XO via Unilocal and a search for salons close to me. When I called the salon, the receptionist recommended Ellen, and I’m so glad she did!
Ellen did a great job touching up my highlights and they turned out exactly how I was hoping they would. She also did a fantastic job with my cut. She was very friendly, fun to talk to, and listened to what I wanted. Not to mention the services were very reasonably priced. I think I’ve found my new stylist in Chicago :)

I absolutely love this salon. I have been seeing Evalyn for the last 5 years and I only trust her to touch my hair. She and i always have such a good time when I am in for a cut or a touch up while still being very professional and focused on my hair. The other staff is always very nice and welcoming when I come in. I have referred three friends to Evalyn who have also loved her. I highly recommend this salon if you are very serious about your hairstyle needs as they are the best!

I hate to be a killjoy among all the fabulous reviews here, but I have to be honest. I went in for a cut yesterday and would not go here again. I asked for a simple long layered cut, shaggy bangs, nothing too thick or deep. The girl was very friendly and sweet, the layers are fine, really more than decent work, good blowout… But the bangs. Oh dear… too short and noticeably uneven. I was actually a bit worried that if I noted how uneven they were, that she would cut them ALL the way to the shortest piece and I would be left with even less hair. :(
I have never, ever had bangs cut so poorly, I’m sorry, I feel bad for even leaving this review. Everyone was lovely in the salon and the price was good, but I would have MUCH rather been given a senior stylist and gladly paid more (if given the choice), than to have too short, uneven, extremely hard to maintain style. Luckily, I’m not too fussed by having to grow them out, but it was the worst haircut I’ve ever had all told. I’ll be in headbands for the next 4 weeks at least.

I was running behind and couldn’t find a parking spot. I called to inform my stylist Ellen and upon arriving she helped me find a spot. She then asked exactly what I wanted and proceeded to mix precisely what I asked for. My hair was patchy and gold toned before coming and she fixed it! She had great customer service and engaged me right away. I will be returning every two months for my color and tone with Ellen

I came to XO Studio with grown out roots and in desperate need of a trip. I am a natural brunette with dyed blonde hair. I like being blonde and I wanted to stay blonde. My stylist was awesome, her name was Ellen. Personally a very charming young woman. We agreed upon a full over re-​coloring and a cut, $ 155. I thought I was clear in stating that I wanted to stay blonde. Ellen mentioned that she would put in some lowlights to give my hair some dimension. «That’s fine, as long as I’m still blonde.»
Well, there must have been some miscommunication and she ended up making me brunette with blonde highlights. Not what I wanted, so I rescheduled another appointment.
At my next appointment we got it fixed. I’m blonde and happy with the color and cut. HOWEVER. I had to pay to get the color fixed. At most salons if you don’t like the color, you can get it fixed for FREE. This apparently isn’t one of those salons. It cost me another $ 130 just to FIX the dye job that I didn’t want in the first place. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to sit there and fight about it since I had to catch a train (literally). So I paid it and ran out.
The service and staff are lovely, but the fact that I had to PAY to FIX my hair is a little ridiculous.

Love this salon so much. Chris is the best. He’s been cutting my hair since I moved to Chicago 7 years ago and I’ve followed him to XO from his old salon.
He cuts my sisters and brother’s hair too. My brother goes like once a month to see Chris. Great selection of products and they always fit us in.
Always available street parking. Bring cash for tips.

Had a great experience here!
I had a 10am appointment and the second I walked in (at 9:59am) I was greeted by my hair stylist Ellen right away and did not have to wait at all! I had nightmare experiences at other salons where I would have to wait at least 45mins to 90+ minutes. The fact that I did not wait at all here made my experience awesome right off the bat.
I came in for a simple trim/​haircut. I only wanted to cut a maximum of 1.5 inches to say goodbye to the split ends that were starting to form. Ellen did a great job! She cut my hair just enough to get rid of all of the split ends, created a fuller and healthier look and still left me with a long hair.
I have no complaints. She shampooed, conditioned, cut and styled my hair and the time seemed to pass by so fast.
Definitely recommend this salon!
Ps. The décor was very nice, the salon was super clean and they use quality products… have I convinced you to try out this salon yet?

I came to XO looking for a much needed color and cut as a first time mom. I wanted to feel pretty and the scraggly hair I was rocking wasn’t helping. I LOVED what my stylist did. She gave me a cut and partial highlights. If I wasn’t moving to the suburbs, she would be my go to chic.
I don’t remember her name, but she was the adorable lady from Guatemala (we talked about her hometown while she did her fab job on my hair).
Highly recommend and reasonably priced!

I moved to Chicago from the northern suburbs almost a year ago. I am pretty picky about my hair and it can have a mind of its own when it comes to color. After I moved, I continued to drive an hour north to get my hair done with the stylist I’ve seen for the past 3 years. This is obviously not practical in the long run so I decided to give XO a shot.
I went to XO for the first time last weekend and got a trim and color with Evelyn. Overall, my hair looks pretty good. The cut is great but my roots are a little lighter than the rest of my hair. My natural color is light brown and I dye it a darker brown. I warned Evelyn about my temperamental roots so I had high hopes. They’re not drastically lighter but there is a difference. I haven’t decided if I want to go back to get them fixed or just wait until I need colored again.
All-​in-​all, it was a good experience. The salon was clean, Evelyn was great and super friendly, and the other staff members were friendly. I’ll for sure go back to Evelyn the next time my hair needs done and at least give it 1 more shot. I’ll post an update once I go back.
*Update*
I caved and went back to XO a couple of weekends ago. Evelyn touched up my roots and my hair looks so good now! She was super sweet about it and didn’t make me feel like a terrible person for wanting to get them fixed. She also did it free-​of-​charge. I’m much happier now about the results and will definitely be going back to her!

I love this place and love Isaac! It was my first time in, and from the start Isaac treated me like an old friend. He understood exactly what I wanted, explained what his plan was for my cut and color, and executed it beautifully. Mid-​color I showed him a picture of a cut my friend sent me, asked him if we could do it, and he said absolutely. He was flexible and told me all the benefits of getting that cut vs. the original plan, so I went with it. I am so happy I did! I tried something new and he did a great job on top of it!
XO is very clean and all of the staff are very friendly. I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. I drove from the suburbs and it was totally worth the drive!

If you are looking for the BEST salon in Chicago, this is it!!! I was looking for a new cut and some highlights and Charlie, the owner, gave me the best cut and color I have ever had! I have tried many salons looking for a true professional… and I found him!!! You will not be disappointed! The salon is upbeat and friendly, I look forward to my appointments knowing I will leave looking great!
Enjoy!!!

I went to XO in December for my «holiday cut» and Brandt was amazing! I’ve been to this place a few times and I swear, I am always so impressed by how awesome my hair looks when I walk out the door!

Great salon, fun and relaxed atmosphere, talented stylists. Go see Ellen! She does a killer job on my highlights, cut, and blowout every time.

I’m super picky on where I get my hair cut, and often don’t end up going somewhere more than once because they don’t do a great job the first time around. Not the case with XO, I will definitely be going back. I had Leticia, and she did a great job with the cut and fixing some of the complaints I had from my previous cut. Men’s cut was $ 45 (I think), and included a wash before the cut.
Also important to note: they don’t let you leave tips on a credit card, cash only for that piece.

This was the best salon experience I have had! I am not from Chicago and needed a full highlight while I was visiting. Ellen was my stylist and absolutely amazing! She did exactly what I wanted. I wish I lived here so I could go to her every time. I’m sure all the stylist would be amazing but I highly recommend going to Ellen.

I went here for the first time today after my old stylist up and moved to Denver on me. I saw Charlie, the salon owner, and I was very impressed with the whole experience.
Charlie not only gave me a great haircut but he was wonderful to chat with and made me laugh the whole time. I will definitely be back!

XO Studio is literally at the end of my block, and I loved how it looked when I walked by so I called them and asked to make an appointment. I’ve been wanting to cut 2 inches off of my already super long hair, and finally take a chance and go blonder than my regular highlights.
Beto took care of me and oh my god did he do an excellent job with the blonde highlights! It looks so natural, sophisticated, and the perfect shade for my skin tone. He also cut great layers and really gave my hair shape. Wonderful blow out, and he used this gorgeous shimmer spray once all was said and done. I left feeling like a movie star.
I’ve broken up with Ryan at Blueberry Moon and have moved on to Beto.
Thank you for the amazing cut and color! XO Studio has totally won me over.

Haircut was incredibly expensive and took a long time and was about the same quality I can get down at Supercuts.

I am NOT one to write reviews, ever. Literally I use Unilocal for my own personal benefits, but felt like I had to share what incredible experiences (yes, plural) that I’ve had at XO.
This is the third time that I’ve been to the studio and absolutely loved the result. I once got a cut by Josh– perfection. My second time was with Leticia– I made a last minute appointment and oh my god, love this woman. The cut, blowout, everything was fantastic. I am the PICKIEST (and vainest, not ashamed to admit it) person when it comes to my hair. My hair to me is similar to what a small dog or (dare I?) child, is to some people. I just don’t let anyone touch it– so it speaks volumes that I have been to this location more than once and had different people styling me, but still had great results with both. Third time, I went to Leticia to get a cut (because of the great one I got last time) and color. I read on Unilocal that she is great with color, and LET ME TELL YOU, you previous Unilocalers were NOT lying.
I went in on Saturday. I originally had an appointment for a full highlight and a cut. When I got there, I bounced back and forth with whether I really wanted to do the highlight or just get the cut (like I said, even if I trust you to cut it I still get nervous when color comes into the picture). But! After Leticia looked at my hair and I told her what I wanted, she immediately corrected me and did a partial highlight & cut. So glad she did. It looks AMAZING!!! She took me lighter, which is what I wanted, but didn’t overdo it. I cannot tell you how many compliments I have already gotten and how much I adore the work she did. Not to mention, the amazing blowout to complement it. I don’t know how she does it but this woman is incredible.
Not to mention this space is the cutest. Right in the middle of Boystown. If you’re not close to here, take a cab. It IS worth it. You can thank me later.
All in all, best stylists and I will forever be a loyal customer! Thank you, thank you, thank you!