Strut the Salon

I’ve been going to Strut for several months after being referred by a friend with great hair. Josh is absolutely amazing and so nice! He is the first stylist to be able to take my stubborn hair to platinum blonde AND make me look good with short hair! I can show him a picture of what I want and he can match it, or I can have him do whatever he thinks is best and it always turns out great.
The atmosphere of the entire salon is laid back and friendly. This is also the first place where I feel totally comfortable and can trust that I’ll get a good haircut. Nice selection of locally made goods too. They deserve a billion stars. :)

When my hair stylist canceled my appointment less than an hour before, I was in a rut. With a vacation coming up and a trial at work, I didn’t want to look like a hobo so I decided to call Strut and they saved the day! I noticed Strut when I worked out at the Fitness Loft upstairs and when I called they were able to get me in on short notice despite a busy schedule. M’Lou gave me a great cut and nice partial highlights. She and her husband Josh were super easy to talk to and made my visit a lot of fun! They felt like old friends and I really trusted their opinions and advice with regard to my hair.
The salon itself is super cute and they have more for sale than just haircuts! I love the local art that they had on display as well as the hand-​made hats and other cool crafty items. I may have to go to Strut for my Christmas shopping this year! They also have plenty of parking which is always nice for a downtown location and you can stop in at Alchemy while you’re in the area which is another bonus!
I recommend checking out their Facebook page as they have a lot of photographs that are really able to demonstrate their capabilities.

Strut has been my salon for at least five years, possibly longer. Josh is my primary stylist and as long as he is cutting hair I will be his client! Josh provides excellent consultations; he really listens to what I want and collaborates with me to decide on the final direction for my cut and/​or color. Every time I leave I look and feel fabulous and always receive endless compliments on my hair! (I have sent male friends to Strut as well. They’ve been serviced by M’Lou and always give a rave review!) The salon environment is modern and inspiring with local artwork covering the walls and chic music always playing. I cannot recommend Strut enough. The customer service they provide is outstanding, and the work they produce speaks for itself.

I have very short hair and have trouble finding someone who will listen to how I want it cut. Rebecca did a great job on my first visit to Strut. She also got the color spot on.

I love Lyndsi. She is great! Cute adorable friendly and does exactly what I ask her to do. Prices are very reasonable and the décor on the inside is so cute

My wife tells me that I had never had a good haircut before in my life before coming to Strut. While I’m not sure I can agree with that sentiment, I can say that they do a great job and are about the nicest people I know. M’Lou and Josh are both not only great stylists, but provide amazing customer service.
I’m about as boring as they come, not what you’d consider a «wild color» person or a fashionista, but I’ve never seen anyone do colors as beautiful as M’Lou. She’s a real artist.

This place has spirit, style and so much passion! I thoroughly adore them both, and the artists and artisans they bring in and local products keep it so fresh.
Josh does a phenomenal job on my son’s hair and gives lots of heartfelt hugs and encouragement– which is fantastic for a five year old! (he had been cutting his hair for 3 years now when I allow it). Best of success to this neighborhood business with cutting edge vibe.

Love this salon! I had an awesome experience this past Friday. I told M’Lou I wanted some highlights and a trim, but the rest was up to her! I loved the cut, loved the color, everything! I ended up getting my eyebrows waxed by M’Lou as well and a manicure and pedicure from Linsey. I would highly recommend both of them. The ambiance of the salon is great! They highlight local artists and sell local products– great to see them and the entire area supporting the south end.

M’Lou does my hair, and let me tell you, I have never received as many compliments as I do since she’s been doing it. Not only does she know her stuff when it comes to color, but both her and her husband are super nice and fun to talk to. The salon has got a great atmosphere, and everyone I’ve ever met that works there has been friendly. It’s a great place to go if you’re looking for something different or are just tired of snobby stylists in upscale salons.

Went after work for a quick trim. Wish I would have just gone to a saturdays. M’Lou did my hair and although I like the cut she was rude the whole time. She kept her phone on her station and anytime she’d get a text, would stop cutting my hair to answer it. This happened several times. She even answered her phone when she got a call and then called her husband without even asking if it was okay. They then stayed on the phone casually talking to her husband for 5 minutes or so before getting back to me. $ 50 for a trim is a ridiculous as well. When I got home I also noticed she didn’t wash all the shampoo from my scalp so I had soap scrum dandruff near my hairline.
What’s more is that I made it clear that my ends were very damaged. Although the cut did cut off a good amount of the damage, she didn’t use any heat protectors while straightening it. I also didn’t like that she never really touched my hair while we were talking about what I wanted to do. I don’t doubt the other stylist are good but I wouldn’t recommend M’Lou to anyone.

This is certainly not the review I would like to give… but it happened, so I feel obligated to share my experience/​journey.
My husband purchased a gift certificate for me as part of my birthday present. My poor husband didn’t realize I had a salon I go to regularly. Anyway, It was for $ 100.00 so it certainly wasn’t going to go to waste.
I had made an appoint to have a full highlight. Upon entering I was greeted and helped right away. I love the salon, it has a wonderful relaxed vibe and very eclectic.
M’Lou, the owner, was the person doing my hair. I showed her a picture of what it was that I was looking for. I just had a baby 4 months ago, so I had a lot of my color grown out since, again… I have a 4 month old! :) The picture I had shown her was a full blonde highlight with very very little of natural hair color showing. As I was showing her, I told her I didn’t want to see my natural light brown color at all.
I ended up with very thin highlights, I, myself couldn’t even tell I got my hair done. let alone my husband. I took a day to see how I felt and decided that I wanted to reach out in attempt to have it done the way I originally asked (more blonde).
M’Lou was very sweet and scheduled me the very next week to come in and do some more. The one thing that confused me when I was on the phone and in the salon the second time is… she asked me what it was that I wanted to do. I told her I didn’t know what needed to be done in order to achieve what it was I wanted… I just thought to myself… that’s not my job? I showed her the picture again on the 2^nd visit. The same one, in order for it to make more sense as to why I was coming in another time.
She decided to color my entire head instead of doing more highlights. Which again, I didn’t know better. I never have to make that decision. After it was completed, it looked great in the salon, due to the lighting. Once I walked out I realized that it was orange from the color. And the next day in the daylight, it looked even worse! My co-​workers the next day also agreed that it was orange around my roots. My husband was actually afraid to say anything to me because at that point I was not pleased.
In the end. After the $ 100.00 gift card was spent and an additional $ 45.00 for the haircut and tip at Strut… I went to Charles Penzone for another $ 150.00 to have it fixed and the orange removed/​covered.
It seems they specialize more in what one Unilocaler calls «wild bright colors». I wish I could say I will go back, but this was not fun for me. as I don’t enjoy getting my hair done anyway, so this put me over the edge.

M’Lou does amazing things with my crazy independent hair. She also does great color, and is one of the few places in town to get wild bright colors done. Her prices are reasonable too. She and her husband are moving to their own salon soon, it’s going to be wonderful!

I have been going to M’Lou for about 2 years. I am 46 years old and she is the FIRST stylist how has even given me haircuts that i love. I have extremely thick hair that is hard to manage and grows very quickly. She is a pro with the razor! I have her take a lot of the bulk out and my hair behaves wonderfully! I just got my latest haircut this past tuesday 5÷6÷14 and this is my favorite yet!
i love the artwork in the salon and M’Lou is such a creative soul and wonderful to talk to. I have seen her pics of updos and braids and they are incredible!
also, one of my friends also gets her hair done with M’Lou. It is super short and very light blond and it looks incredible! so she can do long hair, short hair and is a wonderful colorist!
do yourself a favor and go to Strut! They are worth every penny! I used to get cheap cuts (20 or so) and i always got what i paid for.

M’Lou gave me some awesome banging bangs yesterday. She was genuinely nice and attentive to what I was looking for, which to me was a drastic change. I love my hair so much and I got TONS of compliments today. Thanks so much!!! ;)

Josh and Ma’lou should change their name to the Hair Wizards. This dynamic duo knows cut and color better than anyone I’ve ever been to.
My husband and I just moved to Columbus from Chicago 6 month ago, and we’ve been searching for the perfect place for cut and color (for me). Well, we found it. These guys are not only super talented and intuitive, but incredibly nice people.

Josh did an amazing cut on my partner’s hair. She has cowlicks on the back of her head, and every time she gets her hair cut, she has problems with them. With every stylist she’s gone to, she’s had to tell them at least once, if not multiple times, to fix the tufts of hair that are still on the back of her head after the stylist is done cutting her hair. But Josh nailed it on the first time. He cut her hair just how she liked it all the way around, and the work on the back of her head was just one part of the overall perfection.
I’ve received around five updo’s from the stunningly talented M’Lou. M’Lou grew up in a salon and was working on hair in that setting as a child. She’s an expert on retro hair styles and what she’s able to do borders on magical. She can make my just barely shoulder length hair look like a full head of hair in an updo. She’s talented, and sweet. Getting my hair done by her is one of the high points of my week.

M’lou and Josh are both terrific stylists as well as really nice people. I’ve been going to M’lou for years and she has always done a wonderful job. She is very long hair friendly and won’t try to talk you into a pixie cut or even cut above what you specify. They both also love to play with color and are highly creative.
Recently I collaborated with her on some photos for a bridal fashion editorial. And she blew me away! The retro inspired updo she created for our redheaded model was simply stunning (see photos).

I have always been a fan of M’lou and Josh. Primarily, M’lou cuts my hair, and she does a great job with it! M’lou is very intelligent when it comes to hair. Bring your questions there and she and Josh will be more than delighted to share their knowledge with you. M’lou also is very social, so don’t worry about trying to stay awake while you’re getting your hair cut. Besides, I don’t know about other Unilocalers out there, but they have a special place in their hearts for dogs, a definite plus in my book.