Franz Sebastian Salon

I LOVE MY HAIR, so does everyone else! I’m getting non stop comments on it. I just moved to the area and was in need of a haircut and coloring. Found the salon on Unilocal,booked my appointment online (super easy). I booked it with Ashley. Let me just say, she is absolutely amazing! Super sweet and really listens to what you’re wanting! She did a half balayage and full highlights to my hair, because I had so much grow out. The process was quick and easy! Had such a great experience at the salon, Ashley totally made that happen for me. She is definitely my go-​to stylist from here on out!

I had a balayage done by Ashley and it came out great. I initially came in for a haircut only but decided to dye my hair on impulse since I have had bad experiences with bad hair dyes in the past and had a hard time getting past it. I’m so glad I took the plunge.
I have extremely dark hair that most hairstylists in the past have had hard time understanding dying it orange or platinum blonde, when all I wanted was a simple shade of brown. Clearly Ashley understands dark hair and then some. She managed to find the perfect shade of brown with honey and blended it well for a natural look. The highlights were strategically placed for a sunkissed look that is low maintenance.
Another huge bonus was that they did not charge me extra for having Dominican hair. From my experience, some salons charge extra if you do not have the texture or hair color that they want.
I will definitely be returning.

I called last minute and was lucky enough to get an appt with Farrah. Amazing. She listened to what I wanted and was very communicative. I am so happy with the color and partial highlights. Will definitely be back. Salon is well situated in bethesda and has a nice flow and feel.

This is a nice salon, with a friendly, relaxed vibe. I have been to Ashley for color and cut and she is WONDERFUL! She is very professional and skilled with color, and has such a lovely way of listening and making suggestions. I have felt very comfortable trusting her recommendations, which have been spot on, and I’m so happy with my hair. I highly recommend Ashley and the salon.

First trip here. Wanted highlights and entered in half sure of what I wanted and 100% sure what I didn’t. Emma was kind and listened to my concerns from prior hair colorings. She took her time and when I expressed a concern I would probably address on my next visit, (after the blow dry) she offered to fix it immediately. I was very impressed by all in the salon and listening to the owner sing in the background was quite the comic relief. Now I feel like my hair is ready for all the weddings I must attend over the summer. Thanks Emma!

I am a total nut when it comes to my highlights. I have been going to the same person (in NJ) for the past 20+ years even though it’s a 4 hour drive each way. (Yeah, I’m unhinged.) However, every single time I’ve tried a different salon, I’ve been sorely disappointed (customer service, price, and/​or actual color).
EXCEPT THIS TIME.
Knowing I wouldn’t be able to make it to NJ in the next few months, and with my roots/​greys beginning to give me an unintentional ombré, I started the search for a Bethesda-​based salon. After a lot of research, I picked Kathryn Olsen at Franz Sebastian Salon and I am SO happy I did!
–When I called for the appointment, the receptionist was super nice and accommodating, fitting me in just a few days later.
–When I arrived for the appointment, everyone was warm and welcoming. No sense of snootiness whatsoever.
–Upon meeting Kathryn for the first time, I had a good feeling about her.
She was incredibly kind when I handed her a written list of my do’s and dont’s. She could have rolled her eyes and said «don’t tell me how to do my job» (and I wouldn’t have blamed her) but it was quite the opposite. She genuinely cared about my preferences and took time to listen and ask questions. Overall her personality is stellar — she will happily chat with you but will also work in companionable silence.
I could tell Kathryn was well respected by other stylists because twice during my appointment, she was asked for her advice. During our conversation I also found out that she is a legit «color expert» and teaches classes on color techniques, products, etc. She took her time doing my highlights, got the color PERFECT, and avoided the «stripey» look that I’ve ended up with when I strayed from my usual salon. Then, Kathryn offered to cut my hair (for which I didn’t have an appointment) and I loooove it! The proverbial cherry on top — she took extra time to show me how to get the perfect barrel curl. I think this woman was sent from the heavens.
I went in to the salon with the usual sense of doom I feel when I am forced to try some place new — and I left a convert. Thank you Kathryn and Franz!

Whitney did my hair and she did an AMAZING job. I’m always scared to try somebody new, especially with my hair because it’s short/​thin. But she knew exactly what she was doing. Definitely going to her from now on.

My hair is smiling and singing praises for Emma!!!
Going in with hair that was in a ombré style of my natural brown hair flowing through to blond needed some good tweaking! I felt my hair needed some love and the colors needed better blending done at a different salon. Emma looked at my facial features and what I desired, showed me some online picture options and we chose the best course of action! Emma conducted a different technique of applying the color than putting thin sheets of paper in between instead of the foil usually used– which Emma explained is a healthier technique and doesn’t speed up the drying/​frying process.
My sister and niece have been seeing Emma for around 7 – 8 months now and Emma’s done Keratin on my sister twice, advised on the best hair color options to suit her style and that would complement her facial accents and carried through. On my 11 year old niece who has very thick course brown hair she’s gave beautiful hair cuts.
Franz Sebastian is a welcoming and quaint salon on St. Elmo street centered around great restaurants and a yummy donut shop called 202 Donuts up on Fairmont Ave. Parking options include two hour street parking meters or a sprinkling of parking garages– (I parked at Fairmont Ave garage for $ 10 cash or credit that you pay to the friendly attendant for unlimited hours) and you park your own car.
*pictures to follow

Came here to fix an ombré gone wrong and saw Kathryn whose coloring skills transformed it into a beautiful warm balayage. I hadn’t even heard of that term until I met her. lol. I called several months later to make an appointment for a cut, she wasn’t available so I decided to make one with Bethany. She gave me an awesome haircut with some bangs and even gave me instructions on how to style it. Both Bethany and Kathryn are great at what they do. And I should add that my color still looks fairly fresh months later, especially after this cut! Plan to return and make it my new home for my hair :)

Franz is such a nice man. Did my hair perfectly. Also all his other stylists are all very nice and the salon gets quite busy. The salon is in Bethesda so depending on the time you go, parking might be hard to find. Franz gave me a bunch of highlights which I was skeptical about since other stylists have tend to do a poor job in my opinion. either the highlights were too think or didn’t blend well but Franz did a great job. I would definitely recommend people to come here!

I am so pleased to have found this place. Jessie is truly fantastic and has transformed my hair with captivating hues that blend so well together and complement my skin tone. He is a fast worker and an excellent stylist. The salon makes scheduling easy and has plenty of satisfied customers. Tip: Jessie is only there on the weekends.
Update 5÷10÷2016
Boo-​hoo! as of the end of last year Jesse is no longer working at this Salon. I have been transferred from stylist to stylist and unfortunately the three different stylist who have worked on me have not been able to come even close to what Jesse use to do. :(
I write this as I am making an appointment to redo highlights that came out way to brassy. Oh well. time to search for the next place.

Great place and Gustavo is the best colorist!
I have been going there for many years and recommended many people to Gustavo. Keep the good work!

Emma is awesome. Quickly understood my style and color talent is top notch, so I highly recommend her. Salon is nice and front desk is helpful.

Let me start of with I went in feeling like the ugly step sisters of Cinderella. I had a bad experience at the previous salon I went to in Wheaton. The mission began to find a new place to go to. And I wanted something different than the options in Wheaton. I saw great reviews on here of this salon and decided to give it a try. And super happy I did! I called and made an apt with Emma. Right away I knew I would leave happy! And was offer something to drink which I was in need of. The salon is so nicely set up and very fancy. I had great conversations with Emma. I felt so bad cause my hair gave her a hard time but she did not give up. I wanted something new and different than my usual mostly black hair. Emma gave me great tips on how to keeping my hair healthy and solutions to my hair issues. I got an ombré, hair trim, and got my hair curled. I lost my favorite Tiffany earring and the ladies and owner were so kind on helping me look for it. And even tho I know my earring is long gone and I’m heartbroken I appreciate them trying to help me look for it. I am all for customer service because of my job. Emma sure gets a 5 in all metric from me. And for going out of her way. Thank you so much for making me feel like a princess.

Kathyrn Olsen is an intuitive color expert! I came in to Franz Sebastian with a vague notion of «summer hair». I gave my best attempt to describe what I expected and she smiled and went to work! Perfect work again. As a side note– for the first time in twenty some years, I’m washing my hair and letting it dry naturally. My hair has never been in such great condition. Thank you Kathyrn

Love this place! Was in town with my husband for the holiday weekend and really needed a trim. Found the salon on Unilocal,and with the great reviews had to give it a try. My stylist was Jessie, and he is amazing! The whole experience from the wash, cut to the style was enjoyable! Jessie was so affable and I will definitely be back!

Kathryn totally made my day with her amazing touch! I gave her a high level idea of what I was looking for and she provided some great constructive feedback as far as maintenance is concerned and guided me down this great path. I ended up getting partial hand painted highlights in honey like color And mid-​length, face-​framing layers. She even went above and beyond and curled my hair to give me the wavy beach look. Along the way, she would give me a bunch of styling tips. She’s godsend! I’m converted now.
Also, the service is just impeccable here. Not only did the assistant give me an amazing scalp massage, she also went to feed my meter in the pouring rain!
Love this place!!!

Whitney is amazing. She understands how to cut my fine hair to give it body, and Ive never found another stylist who can do that (at other salons). Ive also gotten beautiful highlights from her. Can’t recommend her enough.
The salon is also beautiful and kept nice and clean. Very happy to have found this place!

After a botched ombré job that looked like I had been dunked in bleach, I desperately searched for a place to get it fixed. Luckily stylist Ashley at Franz Sebastian was able to fit me in on Sunday and it was a fantastic experience! Great customer service! She explained the color process clearly and was super helpful discovering a solution for the situation that was cost and time effective.
I came in with mismatched tones of yellowish orange hair on my dark brown head. It was yucky. Since I had Just gone through all the bleaching, at that point I wanted to keep the lightness while finding a way to blend it better. She toned out the yellows, applied low lights and lifted my roots to create a significantly better blend of colors! I came in feeling like a DIY teenager and left feeling like an adult!
Since it was Sunday she was the only stylist there so the salon was nice, quiet and not rushed! Before even coming into the salon Ashley was super helpful and let me send her some photos in advanced to determine a plan of attack.
She was really professional and strongly recommended I get my money back from the salon I had gone to before and I took her smart advice and worked out a refund! Thanks for the words of wisdom!
Great service! Great atmosphere! Great talent!

Kathryn is the best!!! I had never dyed my hair before but after years of my hair getting so much duller in the winter, i bit the bullet and went to Franz Sebastian. Kathryn made me comfortable right away and did an amazing job, and i’ve already been back a second time since. She always goes above and beyond, and really takes her time to make sure your hair looks perfect– i never feel rushed or like she’s in a hurry to finish up. I suggested a friend who has been dying her hair for years go there and she said that it was the best dye job she had ever gotten. I cannot recommend her enough!