Hair Mechanix Salon

This is the best salon I’ve ever found. Mary consistently gives me a great haircut. So glad to have a regular spot in the neighborhood.

I have been coming to Mary for years and she’s awesome. I always go before a big event because I know my hair is going to look great afterwards.
Here’s an example of her greatness: A few years ago, I had been thinking about getting bangs, and I had very long hair, so cutting bangs meant cutting off over 1 foot of hair. I had told her I had wanted bangs, but in the moment when the scissors met the hair, I was clearly having doubts, and she could see that. She snipped a small bang, and told me to see how I liked it, and then the next time we could do more if we wanted.
I got used to the bang and then on the next visit I went all in! And I loved the hair cut!

So disappointed! I had high hopes based on a friend’s recommendation and the positive Unilocal reviews. I’ll preface with the good points of the service: the haircut was fine (I just asked for a trim), and Mary has good highlight technique — I asked for them thin, not stripey, and that’s what I got.
Unfortunately, the main thing I asked for is decidedly what I did NOT get. I said I wanted to go blonde — not platinum, mind you, but a natural-​looking blonde, in a single process if possible. I left it up to her to decide how best to do that. Omitting a bunch of details for brevity’s sake, she left me with extremely noticeable roots — she did not color them saying that the virgin hair (I had significant growout) would pick up the color differently but that there would not be a line — however, there most definitely IS a line; I look like I got my hair done two months ago, not two days. And while the highlights were, on the whole, well-​placed, she did not put in nearly enough to make me anything close to a «blonde.» I’ve asked four friends, checked in several different lightings — it just looks like the color I had, only shinier, and there is no lighting that makes it blonde or hides the roots. Nobody has noticed the change at all — and the truth is I can’t blame them.
To top it off, I expressed my displeasure at the service; after much circular discussion, I basically gave up. Upon paying, she said I owed $ 105; I handed her my cc thinking that was an odd number and that she must have given me a discount — I asked for the price sheet and lo and behold, she had given me a discount. A $ 5 one. So basically I paid over a hundred dollars for shiny hair — and only 9/​10ths of it, at that. I don’t know how I could have expressed myself differently — I said I wanted to be blonde, she said her plan would achieve that — it did NOT and she did NOT make it right with me financially. Despite the good points (for which I am giving the two stars to be fair), I consider this visit to be a complete fail :(
EDIT: In response to Mary’s private message and public response here — first I do not object to the cost of the service in absolute terms — I’ll pay well for a good result, and happily, though I would expect additional costs based on hair length to be disclosed before beginning a service (if you were intending to charge me more for the length of my hair, you certainly did not say so before we got started).
And, yes, she did offer to work on the roots (this was the circular discussion I omitted for brevity’s sake) where she said she could try to make them look less noticeable by adding in «caramel» highlights, (for an overall darker look, thus taking my hair color in the opposite way I had intended); or attempt to «color match» (though she seemed very hesitant about this being successful especially as my hair now had two different tones in it plus the roots). So, yes, I certainly did decline to have additional procedures done to my hair. Why would I sign up for more services if I’m STILL not going to get what I want? I appreciate your follow-​up but we obviously do not communicate clearly with each other and I’ll wish you well with your other clients.

Mary has been cutting and highlighting my hair for about 2 years. I have very fine, dirty blond hair that is prone to breakage. Mary has time and again done a consistent job. Both the cut and color are the best I have ever received, even compared to pricier salons. Mary is also a joy to talk to and her customer service is top notch! My schedule is hard to predict and she has squeezed me in on several occasions. I now live out of the area and will arrange to see her when I am visiting, as it’s not often you find a talent like hers!

I got my 2^nd cut here not too long ago. She’s consistent. I’ll be back for a Trim in a few more days.

Got my haircut here today. Nice cut. Just what I wanted. Shampoo and scalp massage then nice cut and blow dry. $ 35 and out in about half hour. Parking easy on street despite NW Portland address. Mary is who I’ll be coming back to when time for next cut. Very satisfied!

I choose this salon because of Unilocal but if you have CURLY HAIR, DO NOT GO HERE! I wanted the sides to be thinned and my bangs trimmed. She has no idea how to cut curly hair (spoiler: the correct way is exactly how you cut straight hair). She took my hair and twisted it around her finger and then cut it, making all the hair uneven lengths. She did the same thing to my bangs. My bangs were just below my eyebrows and I wanted them just above the eyebrows (I even had a picture for reference). Instead she «texturized» them. The end result is the longest part of my bangs are well over an inch above my eyebrows. She removed 2 – 4 inches of hair. I have a chunk of hair at my hairline in the middle of my head thats only an inch long now. So now my bangs are all different lengths and look thin. Also, because of the different lengths they’re super frizzy, don’t curl together well and look damaged. I can no longer put my hair in a bun because chunks of bangs just fall out. My hair won’t look normal until it all grows back to one length which will take 5 months. I wish I had never went there. I wish she had told me she was going to «texturize» my bangs and I would have walked out. Its been a month since my hair cut and I’m still upset.

Mary is wonderful. She did Japanese hair straightening and it changed my life. It took 4 hours with her and assistant. I have very long, thick, coarse hair and it worked! I don’t need a flat iron, I can just blow dry my hair and go or let it dry naturally. I also have been in humid weather and my hair still stays straight and smooth. Thank you so much!

Mary was great. I showed her a picture of what I was looking for, and she nailed it. Not only was the haircut good, but the whole experience was awesome. After trying to work around the impossible schedules of the inconvenient local barbers (the modern man), it was a breath of fresh air to deal with Mary. Great haircut, great price, and extremely convenient. I just moved to Portland and I can say I found my «go to» spot.

Awful experience, awful haircut. I went in to get a super simple buzz cut. I always get a trim every 2 weeks, always using a 1 ½ guard. The hairdresser did not use a 1 ½ as I asked, and I could tell during the cut. Asked her if she was sure she was using a 1 ½ and rolled her eyes and said «yeah, do you want to go shorter with a 1?»
Unbelievable, also left stray hairs visibly uncut, did not blow dry off the hair when finished.
DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!

I found this place through other Unilocal reviews and I have to admit that everyone is right, Mary is awesome.
I was unsure what to do with my hair and she had great ideas and explained in depth why the cut would be flattering on me.
She was easy-​going, hilarious, and great to talk to.
This hair salon has great customer service which can be hard to find sometimes.

One word… MARY! Okay maybe three words… MARY IS AMAZING!
Thanks for taking good care of me for all these years!

I’m picky about my hair. Like, insanely picky — and I don’t like when I have to get it cut unless I’m in a desperate need for it.
Luckily, I have Mary to go to who is not only amazing, but really listens to what I need and want in a cut. She’s the only one I’ll go to in the city who will really take the time and make the effort to know what you want and make me feel good — and that’s how it should be when you’re getting your hair done.
If you want an experience that makes you feel amazing when you get your hair cut, go here!

Mary is the best! I am really cautious about who cuts my hair (due to previous traumatic experiences), but was recommended here by my husband.
The bottom line is that Mary just gets it. I showed her some general pics of what I wanted, and she listened really well while offering some suggestions of what she thought would work. She gave me a cut even better than what I would have expected!
Mary was super sweet, funny, and also gave me an awesome head massage while she shampooed my hair.
I will definitely be back and would recommend anyone to see Mary. This lady works MAGIC. Intuitive hair genius. You will not regret it!

Mary, the owner, is great! Be prepared to wait for her because she is very busy, which is a good thing as this shows she does a great job. Bring something to read if you are having a lot of things done. Definitely make sure you book with Mary. I wasn’t planning to do as much with my hair as we ended up doing, but she was very willing to go out of her way and even stayed late for me. I will definitely go back to see Mary!

Mary I miss you so much since I’ve moved to Seattle. You gave my long, thick and curly hair the very best cuts I’ve ever had. Since I moved a couple of years ago, my hair had been completely butchered by two salons. Before I came to you I also had hair tragedies at most salons I went to, no matter how much they cost. Other salons charge more than you and provide half the service and quality cut. Mary you are truly a genius. Thank you for the great hair years and when this mess grows out, I’m going to travel down to Portland for hair cuts again because you are simply the best.
You also gave my ex a complete make-​over. Dare I say he had a dorky do before he met you and left a beef cake.
Also, the highlights you gave me were so beautiful and strategically placed that they grew out completely blended with my natural color. One new stylist about a year after seeing you thought they were natural and my next stylist gave me awful highlights that are unflattering and also made my hair frizzy.

Christina Tattooed does the best blow dry straight and she said its therapy. She was quick and very sweet. Cute neighborhood right across from a restaurant. I would come back to Portland just for her. I gave her a $ 10 tip on a $ 20 bill because she was so good. Cute shop with license plates on the wall and a clock in the shape of a bike wheel. It’s a small little shop but they’ve got a great little area to sit and wait while your wife gets her hair done. It’s also next to a cute little coffee shop.

Normally I wouldn’t write a disparaging review about a hair salon for giving me a bad haircut, I would just make them fix it.
What happened to my head hard be fixed.
I paid at the front and left. The whole walk home I kept myself from bursting into tears.

$ 30 for shampoo, condition, head/​neck massage, cut, and style. I’d say that’s a deal. I like the way Mary cut hair and how she listens. She’s very talkative… I’m not very talkative; no offense.
I’d definitely go back but it’s hard to find parking. Anyone know when’s the best time to go so you can find parking more easily?

So today (July 9^th, 2012) marks the day that I have finally found my go-​to hair stylist. And this fabulous person is Mary (the owner of the salon).
I have rolled with the «big dogs» as well as some «small cats» (lol) of Portland including: (prices are just for haircuts)
Robert from London Influece ($$$) hair wash, cut and style
Christian from Rock, Paper, Scissors (also Wack Salon) ($ 55+) hair wash, cut and style
Heidi from Heidi Hair Design ($ 15+) no hair wash, no styling after cut
Various ladies from Dosha ($ 35+) cut and style
I have fine, thin Asian hair that looks best with an even length, soft layers, side bangs and blunt cut. Mary helps me achieve this look wonderfully. For $ 30, you get a hair wash, head massage, hair cut and style… great deal! Will be back for sure!