Shear Success Salon

April did such a great job! I showed her a picture of what I wanted and she copied it perfectly. She was really sweet and helpful, as well!

I bought a Groupon to be used at Sheer Success… MISTAKE.
Never before have I felt like someone did not want to be at their job as much as the chick that did my hair today (well… other than the DMV, but who would want that job!).
You know how you get a certain «vibe» from certain types of people? Well this girl was one of those people. From the get go she said NO MORE THAN 20 WORDS TOTAL TO ME THE ENTIRE VISIT. Isn’t that kinda your job to make some type of small talk? I asked her a few questions about the salon and then left it be. The silence was awful; kinda like a bad blind date.
I’d scheduled myself for not only the haircut with deluxe conditioner (which on their wedsite states come with a head massage-​UHM NO), but a brow wax as well. She had to be reminded of the brow wax and did the minimal amount of waxing known to mankind on my lower brow edge and was calling it a job well done. I told her that I needed ALL of my brows waxed (above my brow and between my brows as well) she reluctantly did this only because I MADE HER!
The speed at which this girl did each of the task was breakneck, I had all of my services done and was home (2 cities away) in less than 40 minutes. So much for the leisurely salon experience Id expected.
When I go to much cheaper salons they typically dry my hair thoroughly, she did it about 40% and again called it a job well done! Perhaps she should work at the DMV where 40% may qualify as a job well done.
This was an experience that has cemented the simple fact that Fantastic Sams and the like does a MUCH BETTER JOB OF CUTTING HAIR AND WAXING BROWS THAT SHEER SUCCESS DOES.
For the price that I paid for the Groupon and brown waxing I could have visited my local FS 3 time over and given a nice tip each time.
Some where out there is a low end salon that is missing this tactless stylist. Take my advice and save your money and go to Cost Cutters, Great Clips or FS, you will not feel like you got the shaft when you walk out the door. The old saying «you get what you pay for» does not apply here.

April is great!
She cut my hair just the way I wanted it – minimal trim with layers.
My hair feels great, and I’m getting tons of compliments!

Based on my personal experience today I would not recommend anyone especially with long hair to visit the stylist named April.

You know the experience won’t go as well if this happens in the middle of your haircut:
Hairstylist: Sorry about that, I had to answer the phone.
Me: That’s ok.
Hairstylist: It was somebody from… Unilocal?They wanted to talk to the owner and she’s not here so I told him I’d take the message and have her call him back. He asked me if I wrote down all the info but I didn’t…oh well.
Me: Ohh ok…
It made me wonder if she knew any idea of what Unilocal was and made me not tell her that I may or may not review this experience. I may not review all the time, but for the most part, people always remember their not so good experience so here goes nothing:
I got a tip from one of our managers on our floor where she got her last haircut and I was in dire need of a haircut (hadn’t gotten a hair cut in almost a year so the mop on my head was was in desperate need of TLC). I told her that I loved her hair and she had a good experience with the girl at Shear Success. I said I am totally going there and happen to see they had a Groupon. Score for me — made me look forward to it even more so.
Finally the day arrived to get my haircut and I was anxious all day for it because I was ready for healthier and lighter hair. Unfortunately for the hairdressers here, I compare their work with what I get back at home in Michigan. I’ve lived here for the last 5 years and CANNOT find THE hairstylist that is a keeper. I told the hairstylist you can do whatever you’d like to my hair, all I ask is that you do not give me face-​framing layers and that it’s no shorter than my armpit. I would think there would be endless possibilities as my hair was waist length.
So this is what happened:
She took the shears and cut off the length with maybe two cuts. Then proceeded to color my hair with partial foil. When she got to the hair closest to my forehead she slapped it on and probably punched my right eye a couple times in the process. I would have told her but I probably blacked out both times.
And here is where I should have stayed quiet and not ask any questions:
Me: So… what do you plan on doing with my hair (this is while she is blowdrying my hair, at which point makes me think she was close to being done)
Hairstylist: Oh what do you mean?
Me: Like what kind of plans do you got for my hair? Layers? Etc?
Hairstylist: I already cut your hair, I’m just going to texturize it.
Me: Oh ok (in my head I said, hahaha, just kidding).
I don’t know if it was because I had a Groupon in tow, but I felt like she did a half-​ass job. Like she just wanted to get the job done. I was disappointed that there wasn’t more dimension in my hair. If I wanted to get my haircut at one length I felt like I could have done that myself. I asked her if she could go back in and put some layers in there and she said that there already were layers in there but I just couldn’t see them.
At that, I tipped her nicely — probably more so than I should have, but since I don’t think I’ll go back, it was my «I’m not coming back and guess what, you’ll be on Unilocal.» Overall, it wasn’t a botch job, it was not horrible, I’m not a person that is attached to my hair, I think I was just disappointed — hoping for more creativity. And onward goes the search for the perfect hairstylist…

Had a manicure with Alice this morning — just like the other post, she’s a really great person and great conversationalist. She did a great job on my cuticles and did exactly what I asked for on the shape and color. We’ll see how long the polish lasts.
The cost was high, but definitely in line with others in the metro area.

I used a groupon to try out Shear Success and I was so impressed I have been back 3 times so far. The hours are tough if you work full-​time, but they will schedule on Saturday or evenings if you book enough in advance. The salon is pretty small, but very functional. Erika is a great stylist and colorist and I totally trust her. I was paying a lot more for less service and expertise at another local spa/​salon so I couldn’t be happier that I found Shear Success.

Last night was my third appointment for a mani/​pedi at Shear Success in the last six months, and it was just as wonderful as I expected. SS is located in the same corporate building as Kincaids, and is only open during business hours, Monday through Friday. This makes it ever so slightly more difficult for me to get in, but I make it happen in the afternoons or on days off because of Alice.
I could tell you quite a bit about Alice, but I will leave out the details so you two can chit-​chat when you go to see her. I will say that she has been doing nails for 12 years and it is her second career — although she will tell you its more like her hobby than her job. She is the perfect combination of talkative, sincere, sweet, and adorable. Most salon gals that I have been to in the past, whether for hair or nails or spa services, know that part of their job is asking you questions and letting you talk about your life and drama and etc, and then acting like they are really interested and completely on your side. Let’s be honest, salons are the perfect place to unload all of the shallow, high-​school-​gossipy B.S. you think on a daily basis, but try really hard not to actually say now that you are a mature adult woman (or man). Alice does not subscribe to that stereotype at all. Our conversations are happy, positive, and full of sunshine at all times, because that’s the type of person she is. She actually stops to make eye contact when you are making an important point, laughs infectiously, and remembers the things you talked about at your last appointment. She refers to a lot of her clients as friends, which I think is because Alice is the type of person you want to be friends with.
Of course I have to mention the mani/​pedi, because that is probably what you are interested in hearing me review. My nails are impeccably shaped and polished, my cuticles are healthy and soft, and my fabulous french tips are even and flawless. I get Shellac on both my fingers and toes, and it lasts for weeks. The salon and equipment are very very clean, the foot bath has a disposable liner, and the files are one-​time use as well.
Alice and I are very excited for my next mani/​pedi, in which she has suggested we do something a little more daring. Blue tips? Purple lunula? Glitter? I don’t know! But I’m excited to find out, and to catch up with Alice again :)

Worst mani and pedi I’ve had. I went to Shear Success for the Radiance mani and Radiance pedi and was completely underwhelmed. For the price ($ 35 and $ 55 respectively) and the name («Radiance» v their cheaper one «Express») I expected more. It was essentially a polish change so I don’t know how Express could be any faster! I have had pedicures all over town, and most places for over $ 50, or even over $ 30, you get exfoliating, massage, cuticle care and polish and leave feeling pampered and relaxed. At Shear Success, it was very rushed. The technician told me to «hurry up and pick my color» because she had a client booked after me. She didn’t do much shaping, my cuticles looked like hell and my skin was so dry. I won’t be going back.