hello... anti-Salon

I just wanted to update my glowing review since I no longer frequent the anti salon, for a few reasons. One of which is that I live in north philly and it’s our of the way, but that’s not the main reason I found a new salon. My first impression of Liberty was that she is bold, sassy and hilarious, all true, but I found that’s not really what I’m looking for in a stylist. I really want someone who will listen to me, give me advice but do whatever possible to give me as the client what I want, how I want it. The stylist is obviously the expert but I’m just not into a stylist being pushy, telling me what will work or won’t or insisting that she knows my hair better than me. While I learned a lot from Liberty on styling and maintaining thick curly hair, the personality clash stressed me out. My last cut was from Lena who is super sweet and very accommodating, but I felt like she was way timid around my hair and barely gave me a trim, when I asked for a full on cut and change of look. I got the impression she wasn’t very confident styling curly hair. Both great people and probably the right for for you if your look is on the punky/​spunky/​pinup side but not the right fit for me.

Liberty was my hairdresser for over 4 years. I only stopped going because I moved across the country. She has consistently given me the best cuts and colors I’ve ever had. I continued to get compliments on my haircut even months after. She is always down to help teach me new styles to do with my new cuts. She helped me keep my hear healthy and happy while growing it from short to very long.
This past year I decided to color my long hair for the first time and went from Brown to red to blonde and each color looked amazing! Before we moved we talked about good options for growing out my color on a three month road trip-​ending in a move to california. She talked me into an Ombré color and am I glad she did! Her attention to deal and eye for greatness made the ombré the best and most favorite of color I’ve seen on my hair. It looks so good and makes me smile every time I catch a glimpse of it.
Liberty is someone I trust completely with my hair and is always open and honest with me. She always helps me decide what is best for me and teaches me how to maintain. I miss her terribly!

I just love everything that Liberty does!

Once again Liberty exceeds my expectations! She’s the only person I’ve allowed to experiment different colors with my hair. Recently went all blonde for the summer.

I rarely get my hair cut, and am often months over due when I finally get around to it, but Liberty and Hello salon always take care of me when I do get around to it. I never have to worry about that awkward «salon talk» where you are forced to have awkward conversations with your stylist who you have absolutely nothing in common with or asks you things way too personal. I am typically quiet around new people or those I barely know, but Liberty is so relaxed and fun to chat with! I makes my irregular trip to the salon so much more pleasant, even when I haven’t been there in a year or so.
Liberty is always giving little tips for your hair type that are right on point, and never has given me something I didn’t ask for or that wouldn’t look right on me when I have given her free reigns. She is definitely fantastic at her job!
And that pup of hers! I’d go there alone to see her if I was allowed :)
Now it’s time for my irregular appointment, so I better get to it.

Went to Hello. for the first time last night. I have super thick, dark hair and I wanted to go blonde. Lena was my hair dresser (which I was happy about after reading all the great reviews) and she definitely lived up to her reputation! She was great. it took 6 hours to finish my hair (she stayed at the salon with me until 2:30am and stayed chipper) and fed me sangria.
Liberty was around for most of the evening but digressed to her apt. After noticing we were still at it a few hours later she brought down dinner for us! (Which was also delicious).
Amazing experience. am so glad I finally have a hair dresser in Philly. I highly recommend.

I bring all my daughters here and have nothing but great things to say about this Salon. Try them out for your next hair appointment.

I generally walk away from haircuts feeling like I threw away $ 40+ because I have yet to find a hairstylist make my stick-​straight hair actually look exciting or different than how it always looks. I’m sure a lot of that just has to do with my hair. While Hello owner Liberty hasn’t blown me away with an amazing new ‘do either, she’s one of the best and most reasonably priced hairdressers I’ve ever found.
For me, the customer service has been great — she calls back right away to schedule appointments and when purple highlights washed out within two weeks, she redid them for no additional charge (they washed out again after another two weeks, so clearly my hair just won’t do anything exciting.) She’s happy to share hair-​care tips and doesn’t push expensive treatments. Her shop is eclectic and funky, yet clean, and it seems like friends/​customers just stop by to hang out sometimes because it’s so homey there. Both Liberty and Lena seem to have a lot of connections in the community and are quick to offer visitors something to drink.
I’m not a big fan of pitbulls, but the shop’s resident door guardian, Justice, is the sweetest, most docile pitbull I’ve ever met.
Overall — a great local business that I’m thrilled to support!

Liberty is the best. Period. End of discussion.
I’ve been having Liberty cut my hair for the past six years, and I have no intention of going to anyone else. She is incredibly talented, knows how to work with all types of hair (and all types of personalities), and I always leave her shop looking and feeling better than when I walked in.
Some may be dissuaded by the shop’s location – after all, it IS a bit out of the way. Well, as someone who rarely finds a reason to venture outside of Center City (hell, I consider anything past South St. to be «deep South Philly»), I must tell you that Liberty is worth the travel. In fact, when I move to NY in the fall, I will make a point of coming to Philly JUST TO SEE HER!
In closing, Liberty is fantastic. She is an exceptional stylist, extremely talented, and incredibly good at what she does. But, more importantly, she is a great person and one whom I look forward to seeing.

Wow.
I just moved to Philly from SF and when I left SF, I also left my amazing hairstylist there. After doing a lot of research and asking around I decided to give Hello a call.
After leaving a message I was promptly called back to set an appointment. I told the woman calling me I had some questions that I wanted to ask before I came in. I told her that I don’t have normal run of the mill hair and that my color was a little weird so I wanted to know who she thought would be best to do my hair. She didn’t seem interested in my concerns at all and said that I could talk to my hairstylist, then.
uh.“hello” indeed. Hello? I just specified that I wanted to ask the questions before coming in. Why waste my time and yours just to have me decide that this is not the salon for me. I told her I’d think about it and call back. I got a snotty ok and she hung up on me. In this economy how can anyone afford to be so rude? If this is how I am treated by phone i’m scared to think of how I’ll be treated in the chair.
I called the next salon on my list where the receptionist talked to me about my concerns, asked me questions, and discussed with me who he thought would be a good match. That’s all I wanted. I will take my money there.

I was waiting to write a review to give more time between salons, and now I feel it’s appropriate to go on about Hello.
First, like Jenna and Morgan, I would follow Lena anywhere. While she was in-​between Hello and another salon, I even asked Lena that if it came to it, if she would give me a cut in my apartment. Love this girl: she is sweet, easy to talk to, and really wants to give you the best ‘do she can do. She is also great to talk to about what would look best with your face shape and style, and even took time to show me how to curl my hair since I was the last customer of the evening. I don’t get my hair cut too often (last time as of writing was the end of April!), and since I’ve been going to Lena for a while, she knows this and makes sure to give me a cut that won’t look like a disaster as it grows out. Also, I only got to color my hair twice, but she seems to have a great eye as a colorist. Nevermind that her own hair (colored or not colored) always looks amazing.
Although Liberty didn’t cut my hair when I came in, she seems like a pretty awesome lady. And Hello itself is sizzling with creativity and artistic expression. Not to poo-​poo on sleek, modernist, «high fashion» salons, but I always feel uncomfortable in those places. I feel like I’m hanging out with a few friends when I come here. If you’ve got an artsy bone in your body (even just your pinky), I think you’ll appreciate the environment as well.

I’ve said it in reviews before, and I’ll say it again, I would follow Lena anywhere. I have very fine hair and she always cuts it in a way that makes it fuller and healthier. She also really listens to make sure you get the cut you want. And if you do what I usually do which is go in and say, «do what you want», Lena will give you a great cut that fits your face and your personality.
Besides giving stellar haircuts, Lena is also a genuinely nice person and very easy to talk to. She takes the stress out of a haircut.
I’m glad Lena moved to Hello. Hello is just beyond cool looking. An eclectic mix of antiques and punk rock works well to create a space that is comfortable to be in. It’s new, it’s retro, it’s classic, it somehow works. The owner, Liberty, seems very nice and knowledgeable. While I was there I watched her give some super cuts to two very adorable little boys. One even got a mohawk, faux, of course.
I love Lena and now I love hello…

I highly, HIGHLY recommend this anti-​salon — especially if you have an unusual hair type. I have wavy, fine hair, which most hairstylists can’t seem to wrap their heads around. When I came to Liberty with my far-​too-​long mane, she sat me down and had a conversation with me about what I wanted. She asked me about my daily routine, how I dry my hair, what products I use, etc. and showed me both products and methods to get the best look for my hair type. I had initially come with pictures, but I decided to not take them out, instead giving her a general summary of what I wanted. She gave me a perfect cut for both my hair type and my style desire; it was different than what I had imagined, but it works better!
The great thing about Liberty (besides the fact that she has an adorable pitbull named Justice who hangs out at the shop) is that she’s a person. She plays great music in the shop, has a sense of humor, and listens. She is totally willing to meet you halfway and it’s clear that she is a hairstylist because she loves it. And she is skilled — she seems to know what the final product is going to be even before she starts cutting. I didn’t feel awkward or unwelcome for a second while there.
The only drawback is the pricing, which is a bit more than you would normally pay. I cringed a bit when I paid my total, but I had also purchased products, and I’m a bit of a cheapskate. :P I would be willing to pay twice as much to get the same care and result that I got. Run, don’t walk!

Liberty first cut my hair back when she was with Bubbles Salon on Walnut. She was fantastic there and I am sure is even better in her own environment.
If I weren’t so lazy I’d go to her new place to check it out and support. Too far to walk… lol.
Just go check her out, she’s great!

I had read on here that she was a good stylist. That needs revised: she’s an amazing stylist! I called Wednesday and was able to get a Thursday appointment. I walked in and she was welcoming and friendly as was Justice, her welcome-​pooch, which turned my bleak day right around.
Since I’ve had maybe 1 or 2 good cuts in my life, I had nothing specific in mind. But after a few minutes discussing a) general haircare, and b) possible ideas, she got right to it.
I love this cut and she’s not going to let you walk out of her salon with a bad haircut either. My only suggestion is bring ideas and/​or pictures to help her out.

Wow. The first time i went to Liberty, about three months ago, I had no clue what to expect. My cousin had given me an idea about what she, and her place, was like, but you have to go for yourself to see what an amazing person and stylist she is.
I never really had any good haircuts, just ones that were okay, but then Liberty told me exactly what I was doing wrong and what I should be doing, and she knew exactly how to cut my hair to bring out the curls. I’ve gotten so many compliments on it since then.
Now, three months later, I’m gearing up for my next visit to Liberty. I recommend her to anyone and everyone.

Hello!
I am so glad to have finally found Liberty. She is so knowledgeable and welcoming. And (like many other reviewers have pointed out) she shares her wealth of killer style by giving tips and advice for hair care/​styling. Instead of boring small talk you will most likely leave Hello having learned a thing or two.
Another perk to Liberty’s amazing hairdressing: she won’t bend you over financially like many other salons in this city.
Philly would be a better place if more people were like Lib: quick to make eye-​contact and say a warm, hearty «HELLO».

What can I say about Liberty… She’s unique :)
I made the appointment largely based on Unilocal and her pricing (which I called about before making the appointment). For some reason I missed the «its in way south philly» part and thought it was on 19^th somewhere near me until I actually looked at the address. So I looked at the subway and made my way into scary south philly… for a hair appointment. I made it there alive and was welcomed by a closed sign :(But wait! She was there, she just forgot the switch the sign… day saved!
She finished up with a client and then it was my turn in the chair. I talked to her about what I wanted over the phone and brought my computer to shower her a few pictures, then she played with my hair a bit telling me to stop putting my hair up when its wet (how did she know!!!). Lesson learned. We did the wash and the cut and then got started on the color. Conversation was flowing and it was as if I had a new best friend. The color was in and she made me coffee while we waited for it to color (she also has wine/​beer).
We washed out the dye and she told me all about «no-​poo» shampoo (which I did buy… and LOVE). We started the blow dry process and alas, the color wasn’t dark enough. It was fine, but I wanted something a little more extreme. No problem, we added a little more, gave it 10 mins, and I got yet another wash. She taught me how to style it curly before she blow dried/​straightened it. My hair was so silky and amazing… and DARK!
I bought the shampoo and the curl crème (she keeps them in the back to keep the pushy «buy this!» vibe at bay) and walked out feeling like a million bucks. The cut/​color was only $ 90 which is phenomenal and worth the trip to scary south philly. When I finally showered I decided to test out the curliness of my new cut and it was the BEST my hair has ever looked curly. I’m just amazed with Liberty and will definitely be back (and will suggest her to anyone who asks!). She taught me so much and gave me a great cut and color all the while having a great conversation and getting to know me better than any hairstylist ever has, what more could a girl want?

If a customer goes through the trouble of choosing a specific hair style, shares three photographs of someone modeling the exact hairdo, and discusses it at length with the hairdresser, then it should stand to reason that the customer receives that hair style. Not in this case. I must have caught her on a bad day.
Liberty took it upon herself to cut an extra six inches off my curly hair, which I didn’t see until the haircut was complete because she had me facing away from the mirror as she worked. When I confronted her about it, she said the girl in the pictures was «tiny,» so the hairdo wouldn’t look good on me. I regret paying for this abomination, much less leaving a tip.

Liberty knows hair.
I thought my hair was some sort of in between straight and curly, so I chose to straighten it daily for years. The first time Liberty touched my hair, so told me that my hair was actually curly. Turns out, she’s right. I have curly hair and I didn’t even know it, and Liberty noticed it immediately! Needless to say, my hair no longer goes through the pain of frying it with an iron daily. THANK YOU LIBERTY!
Also, GREAT prices.
Also, A GREAT time! The salon has the feel of your best friend’s living room. She’ll even let your best friend hang out in the salon while you get your hair cut.
Also, FLEXIBLE scheduling.
Also, she did my wedding hair and makeup. She is a very talented makeup artist, and my hairdo was exquisite.
I’ll go to Liberty until she or I move out of Philadelphia. She doesn’t always do what you ask her to do, but she always does what looks best. She is a true hair genius!