Roots Radicals Salon

Every time I decide trying a new place is a good idea I always remember why the commute here is worth it. In January I went to a place in the Heights due to an excessively busy schedule, for a birthday haircut. My hair is curly so finding someone who is knowledgeable about curly hair is really important. I won’t mention which place it is but this woman went suuuuper scissor happy on my hair and not only chopped the layers, but managed to make it look like the mushroom smoke of an explosion. Think mushroom top with a mullet. Horrendous. I knew I had to wait to grow it out a bit before I could take the damage back to Jamie who is my stylist. Upon entering shamefully after cheating on her with someone else, she said my hair could be salvaged. I knew that she would work her magic she took her time to fix it carefully by taking care of what looked like every single strand. This place is female owned and run which is another reason I like to come here. She made me feel beautiful again and that feeling is priceless.

Ever since I went platinum blonde, I’ve been coming to Roots Radicals. Considering the quality of the stylists’ work, I haven’t found a better price for a double process. They take their time and no one tries to hawk the salon’s products (like so many salons do). The atmosphere is laid back and unpretentious. Depending on scheduling, I go to either Shannon or Haley. They’re both amicable people with great talent.
I’d definitely check this place out, especially if you’re going/you’ve gone blonde. And as a former Manhattanite– I’d say it’s worth the train ride to Brooklyn. :)

Had an awesome haircut with Kim– she was professional, and listened to what I had to say to execute exactly what I wanted. A wonderful salon and will surely be returning!

I’ve had my hair cut twice at Roots Radical in the past few months, both times by a senior stylist (more expensive). The first time, I was pleased with it; all I asked for was a small trim to tidy it up and that’s what I got. Sure, I would have preferred not to pay $ 70 for something so small, but that’s how it is.
A week ago, I went in and the same stylist cut my hair. Again, I asked for a trim. It looked nice when she was finished, but later on that day I realized that she had taken out all the nuance from the style. I used to have a reverse graduated bob, so it was shorter in back, and the layers around my face were really flattering. She cut the front too short, and completely leveled it at the ends, so there are these awkward chunks around my face; the back on the other hand, is too long and does a weird flippy thing where it meets my shoulders.
It looks like I had it cut at the Hair Cuttery (you know, the suburban chain, which costs $ 20), which would be fine except that I paid $ 70 (before tip) and now have to live with this really unsophisticated hair style until it’s long enough for me to get someone else to try to make it look good again.
Nice people working here, and the environment is nice, too — and I am sure others who give good reviews are legit, but for me this last cut was such a bummer — especially since there’s nothing I can do. Can’t get my money back, can’t get my hair back. Sucks.

I’m having a really great hair day and realized this review was long overdue.
I’ve been going to Roots for a little over a year now and I can’t recommend them enough. Kim is the best and the boss-​woman of hair and I couldn’t have more trust in someone to cut and color my mane. (And I take my hair way too seriously!)
I lost my stylist of 7 years to Florida and after moving to Brooklyn, I had no idea where to go!
After finding the lovely ladies of Roots Radical, I couldn’t be happier.

Totally recommend it! I had 3 hair cuts in this place with different stylists each time and always left satisfied with the results. Price is fair and everyone is gentle and professional.

Well, the girls are hot, tattooed, lots of skin, they massage my head, touch my head and speak in my ears, I am a guy, a happy guy. Oh, great haircut!

I’ve been coming here for two years and love my stylist.
Unfortunately, a few days ago I scheduled and confirmed an appointment but when I called two hours beforehand to double check that I had the correct time, I was informed that my stylist would not be coming in and that they rebooked me with another stylist. I’ve always seen a senior stylist, but they decided to rebook me with a junior — and apparently it didn’t dawn on anyone that they should maybe let me know.
I get that things happen, but the fact that no one bothered to call me to let me know that there had been a change is completely unprofessional. I live in Chelsea and work in Midtown and if I hadn’t happened to call, would have gone completely out of my way to Williamsburg to learn this information in person. While I’m sure a junior stylist is perfectly competent, I specifically requested a senior stylist. In addition to this unannounced change being unprofessional, I find it odd that the salon thinks their junior and senior stylists are so interchangeable.

I would strongly recommend this hairdresser, good prices, top class service everyone is friendly and fun and not pretentious at all ! I have been here twice already and will be back

Got an evening same day appointment with Natalia, excellent. After a year of mulling over it, on a whim, on a trip to NY, after a day of drinking, I decided to take the plunge and chop my long (wish I could say luxurious) hair off. Despite being totally unprepared and having no pictures to go off of, Natalia understood exactly what I wanted.
She followed my natural waves and curls, cutting dry, and didn’t even judge me for having no ability or care to even «style» my hair. Do you understand just how hard it is to have in-​between-​wavy-​curly-​super-​cowlicky hair? And what a miracle it is when someone can cut it for you and you can just wash and air dry and look and feel amazing all of the time???
I may have to make special trips from LA to get cuts from Natalia.
Also, SUPER reasonable at $ 60 a pop, just be sure to bring cash tip.

After receiving a totally disastrous color job elsewhere, I came to Roots Radicals Salon for a total color correction + cut to minimize the damage. Shannon is an amazingly thorough and knowledgeable colorist, and Aggie asked all the right questions and worked with me to give me a new haircut I’d love. I’ve never been to a salon where the stylists took this much care to achieve what I wanted while also ensuring my hair remained as healthy as possible. The color correction wasn’t particularly cheap but totally reasonable for several hours at a high quality salon in New York, and DEFINITELY worth it. Will definitely be coming back.

Kim is such a solid stylist. Good person too. Her place has a really great vibe and I would always send people there.

I was in serious need of a cut and color, but wasn’t sure where to go. My boyfriend drives past this salon everyday and liked the name, so I gave them a call. To my luck and surprise they had one appointment open with Jaime. She was going to have her work cut out with me because my bangs were a nightmare (having formally been twist and cut off), my color had faded to an ashy brown green mess and I had layers in my thin hair that looked like straw. The amazing news! Jamie saved the day. I left with a chic, chocolate brown lob (longer bob) and perfect bangs. And, it wasn’t a surprise, she told me every step and asked questions to get this look that makes me feel like a million. I have been getting compliments like crazy! My head has found a new hair home in Jamie and this salon.

I really hate to write this review because I really thought this would be my new salon and that Natalia would be my new stylist. After the last time I went there — never again.
Natalia has cut my hair a few times before and always seemed to do a good job. In January, I went to get my hair cut to start off the new year, and I decided I wanted to bring my side bangs back. After having them for at least six years, I spent last year growing them out to try something new. I realized I really missed my bangs, though, and that they compliment my face really well and I look way better with them. The haircut in January went well — I had a normal cut all over (it had been about 9 months since I had last seen Natalia) and she cut my side bangs. All seemed in order, I was happy, etc.
Last Sunday, I went to Natalia to get my bangs trimmed as it had been two months since my cut and they were entering that stage where they weren’t so much bangs anymore, but a long layer. I had an appointment for 1P, but when I got there, Natalia was in the middle of cutting someone else’s hair. No biggie — I sat on the couch and was content to wait until she was done with her current appointment. She came over to me, however, and said she could cut me when I was ready. I told her I wouldn’t mind waiting, but she said it wasn’t a problem. I wish I had waited.
I don’t know if she was rushed or what, but I sat in the chair and she took about 45 seconds to «trim» my bangs. What she really did, though, was massacre them. I loved my bangs and the way they looked — the ONLY thing that needed to be done was to trim them an inch or so shorter. Instead, Natalia hacked away at them and I don’t know what she did. She made them SUPER short, to the point that you really could not consider them side bangs. They were side parted, sure, but they just fell straight down on my forehead and were so short that you could not swoop them to the side. She also took it upon herself to cut extra hair into bangs and make them very thick and super blunt, and it looks fucking terrible. Then she used the razor or whatever it is to sort of feather the ends of my bangs, making some pieces EVEN SHORTER. The way the «bangs» fall on my forehead, it looks like I have some sort of lopsided bowl cut in the front.
To emphasize how bad this looked, I scheduled this bang trim before the second day of my grandmother’s wake. I had to go home and change and go to the wake right after the cut, and my bangs were so bad that my family members actually paused from their mourning to cringe and ask me what happened to my hair from the day before. I then had the pleasure of trying to explain why my bangs looked like Freddy Krueger decided to trim them. Then a friend who I see occasionally saw me — she cuts hair at a salon in the city, and she even grimaced and asked me who the hell cut my hair.
Then, to add insult to injury, I was told that you get a free bang trim after a haircut. Despite this, I was still charged for the trim. If I wanted a hatchet job done on my bangs, I would have saved myself the $ 18 and cut them myself in front of a mirror with a pair of scissors. I’m willing to bet I would have done a much better job than what Natalia did to me. A bang trim should NEVER go this wrong.
Ladies, you can attest to how important hair is to you — it can make or break your face. My hair is the only part of my appearance I give a shred of care about. I don’t even wear makeup — my hair is literally the only part of my appearance I nurture and take care of. I never wear it up or clipped back because I don’t have a face that can pull that off. But now, I am forced to spend the next three months with my bangs clipped to the side while I grow out this Edward Scissorhands cut (actually, we can’t even call it that, he was an artist with his tools) and avoiding having to look in a mirror to see the tragedy currently sitting on my head.
I will definitely not be going back to Roots Radical, that’s for sure.

I have a mop of 4 heads of hair on my head and get anxiety about going to salons because stylists usually freak out and butcher the crap out of my hair. A friend of a friend of a friend blah blah blah got their hair done a couple months ago at Roots and Radicals and recommended that I sit in a chair with Natalia. I was so impressed! She seriously took off so much needed weight, layered it just the way I wanted (long layers) without it looking too choppy and stringy like some 90’s alternative pop star (which is always my biggest fear). And I just had a great time in general chatting it up. I learned a lot more on how to take care of my long hair. I can now walk around with out the neck cramps LOL!

I love this place! I’ve been twice and was styled by two different girls. First time, went in with really long hair wanting to go short, but a little panicky. I came out incredibely happy. And! didn’t cut or feel the need to adjust the haircut for 6 months (I know. not the healthiest choice for my hair). Second time I went it was to shorten just a little and give a little more movement. Such a great job again! Definitely recommend them!!!

Literally the worst salon I have ever gone to. Save your money (and trust me you’ll be spending a lot) and go elsewhere.
I read so many good reviews so I was so optimistic about going here. I asked for an extremely light blonde. I was very open with what I wanted as long as I had a super light blonde in it. (Ombré to light blonde, or light blonde all over). I showed a couple pictures of things I would be happy with, all basically the same thing – a very light blonde. I SPECIFICALLY expressed I did not want a caramel-​y color and thats exactly what I left with. Whats even worse is that the stylist kept expressing how you should never dye your hair a caramel color because it looks horrible. I should have told them I wasn’t happy while I was still there, especially because I paid $ 300, but of course I felt too awkward because when she was done the stylist said «Do you like it? You’d be insane if you didn’t. If you didn’t like this we’d probably all talk about you after you left.»
Since I felt too weird to say anything in person I decided to email when I got home that night. I attached pictures showing what I wanted versus what I actually got. After a few emails with no response (which is understandable because they were out of the office) my mom called to complain since I was working all day and couldn’t talk and we wanted to talk with them as soon as possible. She treated me to the appointment so she’s extremely mad thats what her money went to. She called and they told her the manager would call back, and of course she never did. So she called back again and talked to her and tried to reason with her. The manager was extremely rude and persistent and said that I never showed any pictures of what I wanted. Basically calling me a liar. I’m not sure why she would lie about this considering I had someone there with me who saw and heard everything the entire time. At this point they’re basically playing he said/​she said and of course my word will never be anything against the manager. Finally when my mom expressed how upset and unhappy I was with what I received the manager said «well thats the risk you take when getting your hair dyed.»
For a salon that charges that much money for a hair color I think they’d have a bit better customer service. I will definitely never go back to this salon.

I want to like this place, really I do. But I just can’t. I’ve been there three times with middling to poor results. The first time I had a cut with Leigh, which was actually pretty great, but she has since moved on. I was impressed so came back the next day for balayage highlights with Jamie. I wasn’t so impressed, she didn’t seem to get how light I wanted to go, and I left feeling disappointed. I called later that day and to their credit they immediately offered to fix it, and didn’t make me feel weird at ALL when I came back. So props for that.
However I went back to Jamie for a cut and single process colour (having grown out the highlights) some time later and again, she just didn’t seem to get what I was saying about the colour, and didn’t mix it nearly dark enough. She also didn’t give me the style I wanted, it’s fine, I don’t hate it, it’s just not what I wanted! And to add here I did bring pictures of both cuts and colours to every appointment.
So, I won’t be back again, it’s a shame, The salon itself is cool, vintage style seats, complimentary beer, friendly and relaxed staff, and a puppy! But they just can’t seem to get my hair right sadly!

I’m a guy. And I had been cutting my own hair from 15 – 32. Finally I realized I should go pro. Aggie has been taking care of me since then. She’s funny, polite, etc., but most importantly she is a total pro. Lots of communication and always pleasant.
Roots is a great place, with an unpretentious vibe. Awesome playlists too. I have friends who go to places «off the Bedford stop» who pay double what Roots charges.
Go there. Always.

Had an awesome experience here earlier this week.
Hadn’t been to a salon in over a year and a half because last time I got my hair colored it somehow ended up literally dark purple when I had asked for a medium warm brown. Traumatizing! I vowed to never put my hair in the hands of others again, but eventually (18 months later) it was beyond ratty and in serious need of freshening up. Plus I had, like, 6 gray hairs and was losing my mind over them.
I saw Natalia and told her that I wanted to do a super-​subtle reverse ombré – ie, dye my roots and the top of my hair a shade or two darker and leave the rest as is to create a slight gradation. Also, a serious bang trim. She was totally into it, communicated really well, and even offered me a glass of white wine to sip while she was at work (which I gladly accepted).
I was in and out in just over an hour with a cut and color, and it came out perfectly! Plus, pretty reasonably priced compared to some other salons in the area that I had checked out.
I’ll be back!