Kisma Hair Co & Spa

This location closed and moves over to «MFX Salon» in the domain in December 2013. Same phone as before.
I love my cuts with Melissa — she gives a great cut and is always fun to talk to!

I get my hair done by Chase, he has done a fabulous job every time. I chopped my hair off before coming to Kisma and decided to grow it back out, Chase has been amazing at keeping my hair look cute, even during the «in between stage». I have recommended Kisma to my friends and they have received great service as well.
The hours are perfect for me, I work late most evenings and no time on the weekend so basically its hard to find time for my hair, but the hours at Kisma are great. Open until 8 PM.
I did not give 5 stars because they still need to work on their kinks with their new system. I was disappointed when I made an appointment online and when I called to confirm the morning of I was told the appointment never went through, even though I received a confirmation online.
The people are nice and do a great job. Overall I am happy with Kisma and don’t plan to go anywhere else.

After much convincing, I got my husband to try an Aveda Salon one more time. Our first experience was at Maximum FX Salon in Circle C Ranch which he disliked. I’d been to Kisma several times and had a great experience twice. I got my husband to try Kisma and he has been a regular customer — twice a month — since. This has been for the past 2 years.
I was so upset when I found out Kisma sold out to Maximum FX Salon. Big, corporate with no personal service. I thought, well, we’ll see. And now, my worst nightmare. My husband calls me to ask where he can go get his haircut as Kisma can’t get him in this week. NOT ONE TIME has he ever had a problem getting in to get a haircut in the past 2 yrs. You call and you get a machine and have to leave a msg. My husbands exact words — It’s Maximum FX and they don’t have a clue who I am. They just said she’s booked and they can’t get me in. He LOVES his stylist!!! I know if she knew he was trying to get in, she’d make her schedule work to get him in. This is EXACTLY what was I was afraid of. I told him I’d handle it — however, you can no longer reach a real person when calling! I’m livid and now on the hunt to find a new stylist for my husband.
You just lost a customer of 2 yrs who came in 2x a month! He was even willing to pay the higher price when they sold out to Maximum FX. Yep — that was the first thing they did — raise the prices. His stylist is so sweet she told him she understood if he didn’t want to come anymore because she had to charge more. NOT her choice!

I’ve really liked this place, not because of the place so much as because of my stylist. I followed her here from another salon. But, I’m unfortunately going to be leaving her because prices have gone up to an unreasonable level with nothing changing in service. My stylist is the same & the place is the same. The only thing that’s changed is they have a new owner & are moving to the Domain. None of that should be prompting a price increase this significant. I’m no longer finding the value in my cut & color for this price & so I’m looking for a new stylist. :-(

I would just like to give Chase a HUGE five star rating. My hair artist recently moved away and I’ve been hesitant to go anywhere. I braved a new salon and I must have new beginner’s LUCK! This boy did an AMAZING color correction for me… I was all sorts of smart and messed my hair up bad after my hair gal left. Anyway, I have gorgeous, natural looking blonde hair with highlights. I get compliments all the time! He cuts very well as he’s a perfectionist. He’s also a visionary because he can see a work of art before he even starts with your hair. This boy did an updo on me for my engagement photo shoot — I let him just be creative and it was elegant and perfect with my outfit. I’m booking him for my wedding for all my bridesmaids, and myself, of course.
I was brave enough to send my mom and aunt to him. Both are probably more picky than I am. They left the appointment with gorgeous cuts, happy faces and raving reviews. My mom told me she will be visiting him as her personal hair artist. I must say, I’m very impressed.
You want good hair? Go to Chase at Kisma. You’ll feel like a NEW person when you leave his chair. Stellar job!!!

Kisma is a great shop and has earned 4 stars. This review, however, is about their stylist, Lee. Lee rates 5 stars.
It’s that typical story… my stylist wasn’t available, so I took the next suggestion from Matt.
Lee’s attention, care, and expert skill are top-​notch. At the end of the cut, when she was ready to blow away the tiny clippings, she draped my boots with a towel so I wouldn’t walk out with tiny hairs all over them. THAT is attention. When I nodded-​off during the shampoo, Lee took my arm to help me back to the chair. As she finished, she looked for and trimmed individual hairs that would otherwise stick out. All this may sound a bit frivolous, but these are the small extras. The big stuff is just as amazing. Lee is an artist.

Wes has been cutting my hair for years and I followed him here. I have very thick curly hair that’s often difficult to manage, but Wes knows what he’s doing. So far he is the only person I’ve found that can cut my hair the way that I like. I also bring my daughter to Wes and he is great with kids! She loves it!

This place is the best high end salon in North Austin. I’ve known the owner for over 15 years, and she runs an exceptional business and puts her life into it.
Service:
Always perfect. Hair cuts are always great and the head or hand massages are amazing while you wait. They definitely have some great quality people there.
Salon:
The salon just recently went through a renovation that made it look even better than before, with a very simple, modern look.
Stylists:
I feel like family every time I walk in. Everyone there is so nice and accommodating. You are always offered coffee or water when you walk in the door which makes it even nicer. Everyone is very professional and makes your time there enjoyable.
This is such a great place to get your haircut and I always look forward to coming here. I would definitely recommend anyone there, but especially Anet. She has the most experience.

Just an update to state that since writing the original review, I have moved to Houston — but I still come back to Austin to get my hair cut by Justin at Kisma. Not only that, but my girlfriend now gets her hair cut & colored by Justin as well. We were at Kisma last Saturday (10÷13÷12) & now we both have great new haircuts. Thanks again Justin! I wasn’t even scared or nuthin!

This is the a story of having love and lost. Starring Alison L. and Kisma Hair.
Alison L. had just moved back to glorious Austin, TX and was in search of a worthy suitor (stylist). The mysterious powers of the universe (and the internet) had led her to a salon near her place of employment who happened to be running a promo for first time customers.
Full of anxiety, her precious hair was surrendered to a complete stranger and she didn’t know it at the time, but this inaugural haircut was to be her best haircut amongst 6 other haircut ventures this year. During an unsuccessful effort to rekindle the relationship, Alison L. was devastated to find that her stylist has since moved to Houston. Some people just don’t know a good thing when they have it.

I am new to Austin so have only been a couple of times. I have had different sylists each time and they were very professional and performed exactly what I had asked for.
My husband goes regularly and sees Lee. She does a great job trimming him up.
One thing they do not do is online scheduling. I also wish they would call with appointment reminders. To me that would make better costumer service.
They are a full service salon so I still have yet to try out the spa services but is on my list.

There aren’t enough words to convey all the wonderful-​nous that is Kisma.
The owner has been a stylist in Austin for 20 years and I couldn’t have been more thrilled when she decided to jump in and open her own place a few years ago. Since then, it has thrived — and even won some prestigious national awards!
It’s the one place I know I can recommend to friends — and I’ve never sent anyone there that didn’t love the experience and become a «customer for life»
I read some of the other Unilocal reviews, and feel the need to remind people that no business is going to be perfect 100% of the time.
It’s a salon, and there are always going to be some variations on experiences. You may have a longer wait than you want on a busy day (but there will be a nice person offering you water, coffee or wine!). If you just take the first available stylist, it may not be your perfect fit. But if you call and talk to someone about what you want in a stylist, you might find yourself thrilled from the start. The beauty of Kisma is that it’s NOT a chain store. The stylists are all talented — but they all have their own style!
The one thing I know for certain is that the management team really CARES about the customers. If you aren’t 100% satisified — speak up! They will do everything in their power to correct the problem and ensure that you are thrilled.
(Justin is amazing — but please don’t book up all his appointments!!) :-)

I love this place. After having my salon in Brentwood, California I thought I’d never find another place that compares, but I did!
Hilary is fabulous at eyebrow waxing. she’s not only sweet and very easy to talk with, but her work speaks for itself. As far as my brows are concerned, she owns them!
I’ve always had the worst of luck with hair places. and after living here for a little over a year and a half, I’ve gone to several places where they just butchered my hair.
Lee is a true professional. I also had her cut my daughters hair, from long to short for the very first time in my daughters life. I was brought to tears because my daughter not only looked stunning but I knew I had found an amazing stylist.
If you’re searching for eyebrow waxing and a new hair cut, I strongly suggest going to these two extremely talented women.
I did have a not so good experience with another younger stylist there one time, I swore to myself I’d never go to her again. I hate feeling like i’m being rushed off the chair, and the fact that I had to fix this «stylist» mistake at home because I just didn’t want her to touch my hair is ridiculous.
Overall, I do love this place.

This review is about my overall experience this one time at Kisma Salon.
If I were to review the salon alone, I’d give it four or five stars. The staff was very friendly, offered me a glass of wine as soon as I stepped inside, very sweet and chatty. The place is clean and well-​kept and the ambiance makes you feel like you’re about to be pampered.
My beef is with the stylist that worked on me. This was my first time at Kisma, so I went with whomever was available. This is why I didn’t like her:
— She never asked which cut I wanted. Instead, she inspected my current cut and made up her mind about giving me a trim (keeping the same cut). I told her that although I wanted to keep my length, she should cut as much of the dead ends as possible (they were pretty pad). She cut only an inch of hair off, so I still have more dry ends than I’d like.
— She told me I have the tiniest forehead she’s ever seen and that she cut my hair and layers blunt so it would «look less stringy.» When I mentioned to her that I’d noticed hair loss recently and joked that I thought my hair was going through menopause, she said, «Yeah, that’s probably it. Hormones.» I’m 32.
— She wasn’t very engaging at all. Made absolutely no small talk while cutting my hair. This is actually a pro for me, because I like to treat haircuts like massages – relax and not think – but I know most people like to cut the awkwardness with talk, and if so, don’t look to this stylist for it.
All in all, I’d give my experience with Amber a 2 instead of a 1, because the haircut isn’t bad. I would say if I had come in for just a trim, I would have been very happy with it, actually.
To summarize, I do recommend Kisma Hair Salon, but Amber’s chair-​side manner leaves much to be desired.

This place was great. I was looking for something close by, and somewhat reasonably priced. After Unilocaling and google-​reviewing for a little while, their coupon finally sold me. They offer 25% off to first time customers (if you mention it when paying).
I booked with Amber, who was new to the salon but had just moved back to Austin. She was so sweet and so helpful. She wasn’t overly chatty, but made my hair look great! she was honest with what she thought needed to be fixed, then made me look fantastic because she knew I was going out that night.
I will definitely be returning here and I am so happy I found this place! Really, not a single thing here that I didn’t like.

Being new to Austin I searched Unilocal for a hair salon nearby and thankfully found Kisma.
I booked with Lee who was new to the salon but definitely a pro! She did a great job with the layering of my hair and even pointed out that the last person who cut my hair used a technique that does more damage then good and to never let a stylist do that again. I appreciated the hair info she gave me as she went along and totally saw a fantastic difference with how Lee cut my hair compared to the last person.
Another thing I love about Lee is that she isn’t a chatter box. I’m not anti-​social or anything but when stylists constantly talk about whatever, I worry that not enough attention is paid to the cutting of my hair.
It’s been 3 months now and my hair still looks great. I went in for a bang trim with Lee and she even did a little bit of touch up to my ends. I’ll definitely be back again and again.
Ask for Lee, you won’t be sorry!

LOVE my haircut! I’ve had several cuts here and this I was really heard, which resulted in a haircut that I LOVE!
Only downside: my hairdresser dropped the comb, NOT ONCE BUT 3 TIMES ON TH FLOOR…2 times she picked it up and USED IT!
Let’s just say, I was mortified and speechless. The third time she dropped it… I said, «I hope you won’t use it again.»
She didn’t…thank God!
I still left a tip because I really like my haircut… but it was half what I would’ve left, had she not used that comb again!
I know it will be better next time!
I will go back here because they use «cleaner, greener» products which for me (Chemically Sensitive) is very important.

In preparation for my honeymoon and after reading several reviews, I decided to book my first bikini wax at Kisma. Daniael was my aesthetician and she was fantastic! I was a little nervous, but Daniael really helped to calm my nerves. She offered me some tea or water and led me to her room. The room was very nice and secluded from the friendly chatter on the salon floor; there was quiet, relaxing music playing and the lights were nice and dim. She was confident, quick and explained everything in detail so I knew what to expect. Like another Unilocaler mentioned, she compared the various poses to yoga poses — it did help me feel more comfortable with the situation.
A couple of days after my treatment, I had some questions that I hadn’t thought to ask previously and left a message with Kisma’s front desk. Daniael called me back almost immediately and answered all of my questions. She’s absolutely great and I’d recommend her to anyone considering a bikini wax!

I get my hair cut regularly with Tammy. Very friendly and down to earth stylist. She does exactly what I ask and is a wizard with a round brush on my very thick, long, wavy hair. I’m trying to grow my hair long and she recommended just nipping the ends and layers every two months with one bang trim in between. Nothing fancy-​shmancy over-​the-​top, «let’s try this!» bullcrap. Just exactly what I want. I love walking out of the salon with a silky, fresh-​feeling haircut.
I also recently got a bikini wax with Daniael. Her waxing studio is great and I felt very comfortable and relaxed. She dims the lights, there is light music/​sounds playing in the background, and she compares the weird poses we girls do to wax all those fun spots down there to different yoga poses, which takes a little bit of the awkwardness out of it. She’s also very fast and efficient. This is SO IMPORTANT for bikini waxing! She waxed quickly and rarely had to go over an area twice. After tweezing a few stray hairs, I had perfectly smooth lady parts and it was all over. Not a fun experience, but with the right aesthetician, not really so terrible.
I’m also considering trying the facials they do here, but I’m waiting for a special or a coupon :)

If you know me, there’s almost nothing I like more than stuff that’s free (besides world peace, of course, but something tells me that don’t come cheap). I went to meet up with a buddy at their open house, and when I walked in I was warmly welcomed to Kisma and what it’s all about. I spotted the free yummy treats and wine and thought I’d partake as soon as I located my friend. The place isn’t huge, but I couldn’t find her. Six rapid-​fire calls later, still nothing. Suddenly, she emerged, looking refreshed and weak in the knees. She’d smartly muted her phone during a free eye treatment. «Wha — where are those?» I wanted to know. Just through those magical doors, she pointed.
I don’t remember much, except: 10-​minute massage of wonderfulness from Geri; special eye treatment with tea packets and a head massage (not ideal on curls but worth it); foot soak and calf massage; hand massage; white wine; sweet things; hair tutorials; makeup. I thought: if I ever hit it big as a hired assassin (fantasy job) I’m so totally treating myself at Kisma. It’s an unassuming little spot, but it packs quite the self-​indulgent punch/​massage.