Raven

I’ve probably gotten my hair colored here about 5 times. The first person who did my hair was Nicole, who was wonderful. I asked her to do a red ombré on my long, naturally dark brown hair and she was able to do it in less than 3 hours. Then Nicole left so I figured why not try another stylist. This person talked a big game, but it took her five hours to do a red ombré. When she stormed out to smoke, leaving a foiled piece of hair hanging near my eye (which started getting irritated), I was so fed up that I stood up and asked to leave in the middle of the service. They convinced me to stay, and the owner, seeing how upset I was, gave me a 50% off next service card, which I really appreciated. When I returned to refresh my color, I was assigned to Curt, who apologized for what had happened and was friendly and competent at his job. Overall, the good experiences have far outweighed the bad, so I plan on continuing to come here.

Love every cut and color I get there!
Amazing service with totally reasonable prices. Great atmosphere and super staff!

I lost a lot of my hair a few years ago due to a brain tumor, and when it grew back it was thin, stringy, brittle, just terrible. After I stopped wearing wigs I got used to just tying my hair up in a bun on the top of my head because I didn’t know what else to do with it. I finally mustered the courage to go get it cut when I met a lovely young lady with a killer haircut. I begged her to tell me who cut her hair and she directed me to Kate at Raven.
Kate is damned good at what she does. Her technical skills are awesome and she knows her craft. No, she will not give you the high-​end salon experience (dish out insincere compliments while trying to push expensive products on you). She will give you a sweet sweet haircut and maybe even give you a yo-​yo demo halfway through, for half what you’d pay at a fancy salon. I was scared shitless to cut my hair but she took what little I had and gave me something that is low-​stress and looks great. I’ve gotten a million compliments on the cut and I don’t cry anymore when I have to style my hair. Thanks Kate!

Super friendly, chill environment with a fun, trendy, well done cut. I will be a repeat customer!

I put a high premium on a few things when I’m looking for service no matter where I am.
1. Friendly people
2. Ability to accept credit/​debit cards
3. A price that seems reasonable for the market
In a city you normally have to look hard for #1. The aesthetic of Capitol Hill is still grungy, impersonal and dedicated to being against the corporate machine, regardless of the fact that it’s de facto no longer the case. I don’t care about this aesthetic very much when it comes to where I eat or get my hair cut and I love chatting with people as I’m (like more than 50% of the people living here) from out of state originally (Ohio). Raven has nice, friendly staff. They’ll leave you alone if you don’t want to talk and they’ll chat you up if you do. It’s perfect in that regard.
1. Friendly People — 5 stars
It pisses me off that places want to accept exclusively cash. Just pass the cost of processing transactions on to me and get off your high horse. I don’t carry cash. Not because I’m afraid of being robbed but because, like many others, I’m never without my phone and these days my phone doubles as a wallet with a few cards and no billfold. Additionally, call me a techie millennial nerd all you want but the ability to track my expenditures automatically through an app gives me a desirable picture of where my money goes, which I like. Also I used to always forget my wallet (which barely ever had cash in it anyway) and I would get incensed when I wanted to pop into a barber shop (or anywhere) and be turned away by the ridiculous anachronism of a «Cash Only» sign. You’re not cool for not taking cards, folks. Raven takes cards so.
2. Ability to accept Debit/​Credit cards — 5 stars
For whatever reason there is a place in Capitol Hill (now there are 2, actually) where (aside from only taking cash and being perpetually busy for no apparent reason) thinks that charging slightly above market price is reasonable. If I think something is priced reasonably my custom is to tip generously. If something is below market I tip very generously but if I feel I’m being taken for a ride my tips become very tepid. This means I almost always end up paying about the same, but I feel better about paying for something that I think is priced well. At $ 25 for a hair cut at Raven and their loyalty punch card (which they keep for you at the shop and remind you about each time, which is awesome because you’re crazy if you think I’m going to remember that card every time) thing where the 10^th (12^th?) cut is free, it just feels all warm and fuzzy.
3. A price that seems reasonable for the market — 5 Stars
By all my measures this place is the best around. I didn’t even mention their haircuts deserve 5 stars because that goes without saying. They have a great staff and I will continue to patronize this place until I’m given a compelling reason not to.

Great Blow Out!
It was a case of my blue-​purple hair vs. Rainy weather, the only possible cures being
A) ruin my hotel towels washing my own hair possibly leaving my suck for the bill
B) leave it to the pro’s and get a blow-​out
After foolishly walking downtown to the mall is search of a blow-​dry bar i was left 1.5 hours later tired and let down. I found salons that fit the bill but none were willing to do a quick walk in.
I walked up the hill to my hotel heavy hearted and greasy haired ready to arrive to work tomorrow with a hat on.
Amazingly a block away from my hotel i found Raven, service was kind, quick, and affordable.
Icing on the cake was the comic books supplied as reading material, and free yo-​yo show provided by one of the other stylists!

Despite not taking appointments, I was able to get in without much wait to see my favorite hair-​cutting person, Kate! Her cuts always look great!
The shop is super clean and everyone with whom I interacted was nice.
I took off one star since they charge extra for flat-​ironing.

I work downtown and called over to Raven to see how long the wait was. They had an open chair and I headed over (10 minute walk). The staff there was great to work with (took my vague description of what I wanted and turned it into a really good haircut). I had been going to Acme, who are fine, but found Raven’s staff to be a bit more personable, a bit cheaper and there was no wait. Hard to argue with that.

Great place, nice people, super reasonable prices. Open on Sunday and they let me take my dog in.

Patricia did a fantastic job walking me through what hairstyle I was looking for, and was sure to make incremental steps towards the final result so that she could check with me to ensure I was happy with where she was going, which was super awesome because I ended up leaving it a little longer than I had planned!

Noooooope! I arrive 45 min to close with no one else in line and one guy getting a buzz cut (nearly finished) with two stylists! Casey couldn’t fit in a men’s cut. I understand it was a nice Seattle Saturday, but this is your job. You are expected to be a professional and follow your own posted schedule. Change the hours if you can’t. I went to Bang instead. Costs a bit more, but they were professionals.

I went to Raven a little randomly. I had am appointment at a different salon for a balayage in a fun teal color but due to a miscommunication they ended up not having that specific dye and we were going go have to reschedule.
I had had a super bad week and was really bummed and frustrated by the poor customer service. So I called around and eventually talked to Naomi at Raven. She had me come in to see some dye she’d mixed but after seeing some of my reference pictures she and another stylist said they were going to use a dye they didn’t have at that moment but not to worry While Naomi worked on lightening my hair the manager ran out to a reseller and bought the specific color dye for what I wanted.
It turned out AMAZING and I couldn’t be happier. For the balayage they charged me a great price and I am for sure 100% coming back and telling all my friends. Excellent customer service and amazing product. GO HERE!!!

Updating my review of Raven. I gave them another chance, popped in for a haircut, and was promptly greeted, and within 5 minutes, was in a chair, had a jovial conversation with the stylist, and got some great style recommendations from her.
It appears that my initial negative experience was either a one-​off bad apple, or they remedied the problems I had. Either way, it’s nice to know I have another option on the hill to get my hair cut.

Becky saved my life!
I had the worlds worst haircut and self inflicted hair color disaster upon arrival…
She worked magic, all fixed and perfect!
Well done will be back for sure

I’ve had 4 haircuts here over the past year. Two were good, two were bad. Since I don’t visit very often, and have a pretty casual hairstyle, I don’t get to fussed about a mediocre cut. But the last was so poor that I’m done with trendy budget salons like this. I went in mid-​day for a cut and the stylist went at my thick hair with gusto and in 10 minutes I had a messy, choppy, really crooked cut. What made me really upset is that I told her I had a job interview and wanted to look really nice! Now I have to get it re-​cut and styled so I don’t look like a ragamuffin for my interview. Sigh — you get what you pay for.

I’ve had anxiety over haircuts for many years. I used to put them off as long as possible because I generally find them to be stressful experiences, and the first few places I tried after moving to Seattle didn’t help much.
I’ve been going to Raven for about two years now and haven’t had a single bad experience. There’s only one haircut I wasn’t completely satisfied with, but I kept it anyway to try something new. I am 100% confident that I could have had them adjust it to my liking if I’d bothered to go back in afterwards.
Great stylists here (and I’ve seen many of them), I doubt you can go wrong.
The only real quibble (to echo someone else’s review), has been lack of acknowledgment when you walk in. The last two visits no one has really looked at me, said hello, or anything until my name came up, making me wonder if I should be loudly clearing my throat or something.

I’ve seen Casey about 4 times over the course of the past two years. I’ve been living in Seattle for about 12 years and it took me this long to find the one I want to cut my hair.
My hair type: moderately tight curls, fine hair, just past shoulder length
Tips: the sign outside says «Raven Barber Shop». When I think of a barber shop, I think of men’s haircut establishment. Just to make things clear, they do cut women’s hair! Call ahead to make sure your stylist is working that day and then put your name on the list.
There are several reasons why it took me so long to find the right hair cutting establishment: I don’t like the cost, hairdressers push product too hard, lack of knowledge cutting curly hair, awkward conversation, the results of the final cut feel like a crapshoot (inconsistent results).
At Raven:
— Cost = $ 37 for long hair. This is reasonable to me. When you get over $ 40, I really question the value.
— Product pushing = Casey has recommended and used product in my hair, but he doesn’t belabor the point to the extent that you feel uncomfortable.
— Curly hair knowledge = I’ve been really happy with the method and results of Casey cutting my hair. He takes a look at it dry, listens to your ideas, assesses the situation, then gets the hair wet and cuts it with a razor blade. I’m not expert, but i think this is supposed to make the ends lighter to promote more curls. One time, I visited Raven and Casey wasn’t there. I thought it would be fine to see someone else. I don’t remember their name, but the result of the haircut was the shape of a triangle — wide and poofy at the bottom and little at the top. Because of that, I’ve decided to call ahead to make sure Casey is working the day I plan to come in.
— Conversation = Doesn’t feel forced. I don’t expect a stylist to remember me when I come in every 3 – 4 months. They see a lot of people. Casey always has good recommendations for me: use a diffuser, be careful removing hair ties so you don’t rip your hair, etc.
— Results of the final cut = I always take my bicycle to Raven because I hate parking in Cap hill. I always tell Casey that he doesn’t have to spend time styling or drying my hair because I’m going to put my helmet on and bike home. He styles it anyway just to give me an idea of how nice it can look. It’s always tough for me to see how my hair is going to look after a cut because all the brushing and combing causes the curls to straighten out. I don’t get a good idea of the cut until I go home and shower and let the curls form from air drying. I have to say, I haven’t been disappointed yet.
Conclusion: I know finding the right stylist is specific to a person’s hair type, personality, and expectations. Maybe someone who reads this has similar concerns, hair type, and salon/​barbershop expectations and might want to give Casey a try.

I love going to Raven on Pine. I’ve been seeing Casey for over a year now and he always does a great job on my hair. I’m mixed and it’s hard to go places where people feel confident enough to do my hair.
Casey is always up beat and creative. I can walk in and tell him make me look like a peacock and leave looking great. I would recommend him to anyone and everyone.

Raven treated my hair with kid gloves. He was very honest with his tips and opinions. Friendly and professional. The flow was constant. Casual and laid back atmosphere.

I used to get my hair cut at raven’s once a month. I’ve had my hair cut by just about all of the stylists, who all did adequately. The salon is laid back, good magazine/​comic selection, and you can call in to get your name on the wait list. For the price, it all worked for me. Then I met Rebecca. She’s weird, fun, and gets my hair to look the way I want it without me being able to describe the look accurately. She is very focused on detail, and has no problem spending an hour on a men’s haircut. Maybe she’s not for everybody, but she’s definitely for me.
So the low star count is because she doesn’t work there anymore. Sounds like she wasn’t getting her tips. If I’m tipping my stylist, it’d be nice if she was the person to receive it. Needless to say, I’m following Rebecca wherever she goes. Two stars because there are two sides to every story, but businesses need to show some respect to their workers!