Robert Stuart Salon

I go to Eddie for the opti smooth straightening process. I always come back to see Eddie to straighten my hair. Eddie spent three hours tending to my hair, checking the process and the ‘hair knot’ with it’s magical powers of give and bounce. I told Eddie that I wanted to wear my hair beachy wavy for the summer. I asked him to do the same straightening that he did 10 years ago. Eddie remembered my hair! He really is amazing and genious with this smoothing process. It has lasted me six months bc he told me exactly how to tend to it. He is where smart meets art. I have never been happier with my hair. I have frizzy curls and could never, never, never air dry w/​some styling product and I then take a curling iron to a few strands. Viola!
California beach girl. I LOVE MY HAIR and it’s the same style I had ten years ago when I met my husband! Eddie is the only one I trust with straightening and I will continue to follow him wherever he goes.

Excellent experience here. Very lavish and elegant interior design. Hospitable, relaxing atmosphere. As soon as you go into through the door you are treated with the utmost care and professional service. Your coat and belongings are put away; you are provided with a robe, and they ask what you’d like to drink, then you’re seated with a stylist.
The stylist Lily was pleasant and likable. She made me feel comfortable and relaxed. My haircut is amazing. It’s outcome exceeded my expectations.

Love this place great atmosphere. With an amazing open chill space. Edgardo cut my hair he did a great job. Love when you can have a great artistic eye and share it with the world. He cut me into layers which were great lots of body and movement. The service was good and very attentive.

Meh. So this was my first time. But when you don’t have a good connection, do you want to go back? I (thought I) was pretty specific about not chopping off all of my hair… «Keep the length». «I like to see my hair below my earlobes». She said, ‘I’ll just trim this up a little.’ Ugh. Waaay too short. I’ll have to wear big earrings for the next several weeks, or else people will be saying (and I HATE this) ‘may I help you Sir?’ Upside… I guess I have several weeks to find another salon. :-/

I had a great experience the 1^st couple times coming here. The girl who cuts my hair, Mona, wasn’t available one time and I asked for her but this other Asian lady said she wasn’t there and she could take care of me. In mid cut, Mona shows up looking angry. She pulls the barber to the side, exchange words, and the Asian hairstylist comes back to finish.
I come back again next time and Mona cuts my hair. Okay cut as always though this time when I get to the cashier, Mona comes up and speaks low to the chaser. I couldn’t hear her. I gave her a polite smile as I said goodbye.
«Okay, that’ll Be $ 80.» She says with a smile.
«Wait…what?» I say. «Why so much?»
«Mona is a grandfather barber now.»
Okay, what the hell does that mean?”
–she graduated to a grandfather barber and now it costs more to get a cut from her.”
(Just so you know, I’m a normal guy. Nothing special. I changed barbers and go to a barber shop in my neighborhood –it’s better than I could ask for. Professional and they don’t rob you.)
So I ended up giving her $ 50, and then I gave her this look like (say something or I’m leaving.) she didn’t say anything.
Bottom line time. This place has good hairstylists and the nice, pretty Asian lady who cut my hair was fantastic. I always tipped really well. Don’t trust Mona. I had such a high opinion of her and then she does something as low down as this. She didn’t even cut my hair that well –seriously. For the amount of money I was spending for a stupid haircut you would expect something special every time: NOT the case. If you do have the misfortune of going to this place –avoid Mona at all costs. She’ll rip you off. I really couldn’t believe she did that to me. Who does she think she is? I’m serious, she isn’t that good. If she’s a «grandfather barber» than she is an untalented grandfather barber and she is soon going to realize that she’s in the wrong profession when so many people complain. Refuse her service if you get her. Trust me. Look at my other reviews and you’ll see that I’m fair and I’m not a yuppie or complain about stupid crap. She did me dirty and she should be ashamed of herself. SHE’S NOT EVEN THAT GOOD!

This review is specific for Melissa and the reception staff — they are awesome!
After having a terrible experience elsewhere, I wandered into Robert Stuart on the verge of tears desperate for someone to fix the massacre that had just been done to my head. The ladies in the front were so kind and friendly and totally empathized with how i felt.
As soon as Melissa came over to me I felt completely at ease with her. She did her best to fix what had been done and I have since been back to see her to continue to fix my hair as it grows out. She has great ideas and takes her time and is careful to get it just right. I will definitely keep going back.

New to the City from Overseas, searched for good reviews for Salons and found one near my hotel in the upper west side, Robert Stuart Salon website is very user friendly as I filled out the request for an appointment, The receptionist called back and fit me in immediately! I was greeted by Ray at the Salon as my stylist.
He was excellent with my color and cut! Ray’s ability sets him apart from other stylists. i travel extensively and its professionals like Ray that set the bar high!
Customer Service at Robert Stuart Salon is professional, welcoming and warm.

This is the story of a girl. A girl with a dream. A dream of turning her naturally wavy ends into curls via a perm.
To realize this dream, she attended a Unilocal Elite event at Robert Stuart Salon (thanks, Ruggy!). It was lovely. The salon was beautiful, the staff were sweet and the various service samplings were divine. She got a free hair consultation with a nice stylist named Lilly, who quoted her a low price of $ 120 for a perm. Combined with the 20% discount from the Unilocal event, the girl thought, «Why not?» and went ahead and booked a perm for the following Saturday.
Things were a little different that Saturday. The salon was packed, and no one had time for the girl. She waited roughly 20 minutes before someone came to retrieve her, and then Lilly still wasn’t available because she was in the middle of another appointment. So the perm began with a different stylist. Lilly stepped in at various points, and other people took over at other points. The entire process took over 4 hours. Not much was communicated by way of what was being done, or how to take care of the perm afterward, except when the girl asked. She was also disappointed to learn that Lilly had misheard her and thought she only wanted more waves, not full curls.
The result was a head of loose waves, like the kind you get from braiding your hair wet overnight. It wasn’t unbecoming, but it wasn’t quite what the girl had wanted. Still, Lilly, Robert and everyone else was very nice despite being super busy, so the girl considered her first perm experience a success. That is, until her hair came near moisture, and the overwhelming smell of ammonium thioglycolate was released to her senses. Weeks later, despite numerous hair washings and various home remedies, the smell of ammonium thioglycolate still would not leave her locks. Her only recourse was to keep her hair dry as much as possible, despite the current rainy weather.
SPOILER ALERT: That girl is me. And despite my lovely new waves, I shall never ever again attempt to realize my dream of curly hair, for there is no escaping ammonium thioglycolate. I conclude this tragic tale of hair woe by semi-​quoting Boublil and Schönberg’s seminal, «I Dreamed a Dream»:
«I had a dream my perm would be
So different from this smell I’m living
So different now from how it reeeeeeks
Now perms have killed… the dream I… dreamed…»

I avoid the west side at all costs. Not because I dislike it, I just hate the commute from my Yorkville neighborhood.
However, every couple of months I take the time to go to Robert Stuart Salon to visit Kelsey for my haircut. Kelsey is a great stylist and answers all of my questions. She is patient and takes the time to listen to what her clients want as well as offer suggestions of her own. Kelsey is a rising talent in this city and I highly recommend her. Some of my friends are also clients of and give rave reviews. Whenever I see these friends and their hair looks *extra* good — I ask «have you seen Kelsey?» and they always chuckle and say «yes».
The salon itself is very pretty with lots of natural lighting and a relaxed atmosphere. All of the other staff I’ve interacted with have been great and I’ve never had a problem getting an appointment for my requested time.
I wouldn’t (and don’t) trust anyone else in the 5 boroughs with my hair.

This place is alright, but I wished they washed my hair at the end of the session. Though it is in a good location for me, i need to book appointsments way in advance. Generally, haircuts are on a ad hoc basis for me. Nevertheless, its a solid place but nothing overly exciting.

Real talk: being a dude with thinning hair is super stressful. There’s no such thing as a great haircut, but a bad haircut can really screw things up for a while. So, even though it feels a little silly, a quality do is something that I’m really willing to splurge on. After spending a few months trying different places out, I came here and discovered David, who’s the best. He’s so thorough and attentive to detail that I’ve always left with an excellent haircut instead of a half-​hearted hack. On the rare occasion I’ve had someone besides David cut my hair, they’re just as high quality and careful.
The service of the staff is also really excellent. The hair washers are really nice and fun to chat with, and care about comfort. If you have a wait, tea and water are quickly out, and it’s a really beautiful space.
I mean, I wish it was cheaper, if I had any complaint. But, New York, right? This place is well worth it.

Popped in this morning to have my bangs trimmed. I was attended to immediately but the guy who deigned to do the trim could not have been more disinterested or unfriendly if he tried. I was literally in there about 2 minutes and they charged $ 15. Never ever again.

I really wanted to love this salon. After my last visit I had a hair disaster and ended up having to make an emergency visit to another salon.
I had booked an appointment for color, but my regular colorist (Claudia) was on vacation. I was assigned to Kim. The first thing she did was criticize the formula that Claudia had been using and convinced me to change something I was already happy with. Then she insisted on criticizing the cut that Claudia had given me, saying my cut «just didn’t work.» She said she wanted to trim it a bit, and I agreed because the ends seemed dry. Before I knew it, she had lopped off about 6 inches of hair leaving me shocked and traumatized. She then threw some goopy product in my hair and expected me to praise her work of art even thought it made me look like a badly groomed shitzu.
I went to the manager in tears to let her know what had happened. She had another stylist sit me down and try to fix the bad haircut by trimming it more! Then she tried to minimize my experience by saying «it’s just hair.» At that point, I wished I had said, «Oh I guess your job is just hair,» but I was too distraught to reply. My hair didn’t look much better after she had finished her fix up, and I was still very upset when I went back to the front desk. I couldn’t believe that they still charged me after all that had happened. The best they could do was give me a 15% discount.
After that experience, I started looking for salons that specialized in curly hair and treated their customers with more respect. I found a great stylist who was able to fix the haircut so it was at least wearable and shape it over several months to look great.

It is a very rare occasion when I voyage out of my neighborhood for anything. But every 10 weeks I board the subway for 82^nd and Columbus for one reason: Robert Stuart Salon.
After chatting with the girl at reception, it turns that this salon has been a cornerstone of the neighborhood for over 30 years. I get why.
The space is beautiful; you won’t see any laminate countertops and plastic chairs here. HUGE windows make it bright and cheerful, and everything looks brand new. When there are so many options to choose from, these things matter to me!
I love, love, love getting my hair washed and she did NOT skimp. Most relaxing 5 minutes of my day. I would pay extra each week just to have my head massaged here.
Lily’s my girl. I’m a pretty loyal customer and love knowing I can go in each time and she works magic. I’ve paid twice as much at other spots and came out looking like a French poodle. Hair maintenance (think blow dry, straighten, crimp, curl) is not my forte and she knows exactly how to give me a cut that is low maintenance and actually looks like I know what I’m doing. I’ll be going back next time to try a straightening treatment she described that isn’t as extreme as keratin.
Getting a great haircut is a two way street. It’s like any successful relationship: open communication, honesty, faith and a great pair of scissors. I’m all in.

This is by far the WORST experience I ever had. I went to this salon because my hair had a knot in it that I could not remove myself and for a blow dry. I walked in at 11am with a knot the size of a golf ball. After 45 minutes and lots of attitude later, my knot turned into the size of a grapefruit, literally. The stylist then was trying to convince me to cut my long hair and go for a bold pixie cut because she didn’t know how to remove the knot. Aghast by her lack of patience and awful suggestions and attitude, I left the salon and went to Blondies, one block over. They gave me the star treatment and after THREE hours and two stylists working to undo the message the Robert salon created, my hair was somewhat salvaged. Blondies told me that my scalp was red and sore when I first arrived.

I’ve had David Mary cut my hair 3 – 4 times in the past year and he is fantastic. My hair is long, down to about the middle of my back and I just get it trimmed, but people seem to notice his haircut on me for whatever reason… it always looks great and it grows out great too. He is a true pro and an über talent. Go see him!

Not impressed. I went in for a color and met with Baiba. I showed her a picture of the ombré color I wanted and she got to work on the color. The result wasn’t bad, but it was not at all what I wanted and we had talked about. It was just like plain old brown. Then I asked her about it and she told me if that was actually what I wanted I’d have to come back for further coloring. It was just an extremely frustrating appointment and I feel like if she would’ve listened from the beginning, we’d have the result I thought I was getting. I was willing to drop whatever amount to get the result I wanted and to make RS my go-​to salon. Not anymore.
Pros: very clean and modern, Brandon was great, and it was nice that the owner was there interacting with clients.
I never write these things and I hate to be mean but I was just not impressed with my color… at all.

I almost never write bad reviews but I have to write one so that nobody else wastes their money ($ 74) on a haircut by Alex.
I usually see Jenny who is awesome and I love her. But when I called for an appointment she was out on medical leave and the receptionist assured me that Alex was great (he is also a «senior» stylist). I said, I HAVE SHORT HAIR, he is good with short hair? Oh yes, sure, that’s fine, no problem.
I have been growing out my hair for 5 months because, though I liked my last haircut, I wanted something longer and more feminine this time (it was basically a pixie last time). When I sat down in the chair with Alex I told him just that. I’ve been growing this for five months so that I could have a longer, more feminine haircut. I have curly hair, I like that it’s curling with the length, can you please keep the curls in it. He even repeated what I said, like he understood.
He was cutting my hair for about 20 minutes, okay. I have no idea what’s going on because I’m not a stylist. Then he starts blow drying my hair. Then he’s still blow drying it. He continues to blow dry my hair for 20 minutes. It’s then that I realize 1) he cut my hair WAY TOO SHORT (now it’s about and inch long or less, when I came in with 3 – 4 inches of length), and 2) he knows this is a bad cut and he’s trying to style it so he thinks I won’t realize it, too.
He continued to blow dry it for a while, burning my head a few times (ignoring me wincing in the mirror). Then he started styling it with all kinds of product. Finally I interrupted him and told him I thought it was taking him way too long to style my hair, that I never spend this much time on my hair. He made up some BS about how it would look «even better» when I do it the way I do it at home (the way Jenny showed me how to do my hair), but that *HE* has to see what it looks like blown out. ???
He actually said to me, «See, this is a modern and feminine haircut!» All I could think when I looked in the mirror was, THIS IS A DISASTER.
I told him to stop, picked up my stuff, paid and left. I was so embarrassed on the way home and hoped I didn’t run into anyone I knew. When I got home I washed out all the product. My hair is almost as short as it was 5 months ago and it looks terrible. He paid no attention to where my hair curls, ignored the cowlick, and it’s uneven in weird places. I have no idea how to style this while I wait for it to grow out enough to go somewhere to fix it — it’s too short to fix now, I’d end up with a buzz cut. I guess it’s hats and headbands for me.
All I know is, I won’t be going back to Robert Stuart Salon unless Jenny is there. And unfortunately if she isn’t back by the time I’m ready to fix this cut, I’ll have to look for a new salon entirely.

Absolutely awesome. I found this place through the Unilocal reviews and I’m so glad I went.
My stylist, David, gave me what I was looking for and tailored it down to the very last detail– very professional. I’ll definitely be back!

My original review got shunted to the bottom of the pile. It should not have been, because the facts still stand!!! What I said was this:
‘Scuse me, I call bullsh*t.
The sign out front screams, «$ 35 HAIRCUTS WITH JUNIOR STYLISTS!!!» Perfect, I think to myself — that’s about all I can afford. And all I want is a trim. No dye-​jobs, foils, curls, perms, layering or blow-​outs. Just a trim. I don’t need a Senior Stylist for a trim, right?
Walk inside, confirm the price, take off all 200 of my winter layers, ask how long the wait will be…
…and am then informed that THERE ARE NO JUNIOR STYLISTS.
WTF???
This means that the best you can do here, price-​wise, is a $ 60 haircut from a «regular» stylist. For a no-​frills trim. And that doesn’t even include the tip.
**To follow up, especially since I got an email from the salon (peeved that I should write an honest review): Even though the sign out front has been removed, cuts are now $ 70 and up – and there are still no Junior Stylists. This was confirmed when I called to book an appointment for a trim — just a trim! — and was told it would cost me $ 70 bones. BEFORE tip. Noooo thank you!!!**