Visible Changes

I had my appointment with Laurie last week & I was really impressed with how well she knows her craft! She explained every step & what my hair needed. I had total confidence in her because of how well she talked to me. I could tell she wasn’t just trying to impress me but this is how she works. She even made a comment that I was very calm while she was cutting my hair. The finished product was very nice!!! I absolutely adorned it!!! The compliments I got from my family & friends were just remarkable!!! I will definitely recommend her!!!

Came here again to see Laurie after my first poisitive experience with her. Laurie is so amazing with hair. I wanted something similar but different and she delivered just what I was looking for and exactly what I needed to freshen my old highlights. Love my 3 different color highlights and lights. Thank you Laurie, your the best.

This was my first visit to Visible changes and now I might confidently say that I found my perfect stylist here, in the Bay area. Laurie (the owner) is just awesome!!!
I moved to the Bay Area for work about half a year ago and had been trying to find a decent stylist ever since. It was a reeeeeal pain, believe me! I have very fair, Slavic blond and quite thin hair, which should be treated extreamly carefully. And the only person who managed to give me an excellent, natural color accompanied by the really fine hair cut and super gentle treatment for the last 6 month, was Laurie!
Girls, if you want to end up in the right, gentle and professional hands Visible changes and specifically Laurie is the right place and person for you. Trust me, you won’t regret. She knows her stuff!!!
It also worth mentioning, that the atmosphere in the salon is relaxing and totally enjoyable, people are friendly and outgoing, the salon is clean and specious. The perfect place to get a great service and a couple of hours of friendly and refreshing chat and rest.
Laurie is very energetic and open. She will suggest the most beneficial style and treatment for you hair and will not spare time and effort to bringing the results of her work to perfection.
Moreover, Lauriewill give you a good price for her outstanding services!
Enjoy ladies!

Laurie is AMAZING! I just moved to the area from Florida and desperately needed help fixing my hair, i needed something different in my life. Finding a new place is a little stressful but as Laurie said, it was meant to be. She did an excellent job! She is personable, funny and very knowledgeable.
After having a baby my hair was super messy and I could only wear it in a bun. period. So I made an appointment, they were very accommodating to my schedule. Super efficient and beautiful job, exactly what I wanted! I have gotten so many compliments and I am really happy.
Pricing was very reasonable and the salon was clean and up-​to-​date. I will definitely return!

Jessica did a great job and I am really pleased with how my hair looks like (had partial highlight, deep conditioning, and haircut). Will definitely come back again! Looks so beautiful and I am very happy

I came in pretty unsure of what I wanted and just said that I wanted a change! Laurie knew exactly how to help me. Considering how vague I was, she immediately came up with a plan of attack! She also was explaining in great detail why she thought this cut and color would be a great choice. I rarely have my hairstylists tell me the «science» for why what they’ll do will work. I was really pleased with the results as well! And she made me feel really comfortable the whole time! It’s a great salon!

Found this place from groupon, but no need to purchase the groupon! They will honor the discount without having to go through the third party.
Laurie, the owner, highlighted (balayage style) and cut my hair. She is definitely an expert cutter! The first round of balayage highlighting didn’t come out as we wanted/​anticipated so I came back within the next week and she worked on my hair again to our satisfaction, only charging for toner for the second round. She listens well and is very generous! She gave me a good amount of violet conditioner to take home to help neutralize any brassyness. We had fun playing with my hair and I definitely enjoyed my time spent in the salon chair chatting it up with Laurie!

Mona is amazing! This review is long overdue. I moved to the bay area about 2.5 years ago and I was so worried about finding a good hair stylist. I tried a few people out and I was lucky enough to find Mona on my 3^rd try. She not only does beautiful work but she’s a genuine, warm hearted, wonderful lady. She pays attention to what you are looking for and walks you through options that matter to you. For me, I have naturally wavy/​curly/​coarse hair I like blonde highlights but I want them to look natural, not brassy or too gold and I care about how much damage it’ll do. She totally understood me and offered me options so I could figure out what’s the best way to go. For my first hair cut she did beautiful layers and Kept asking how I felt about the length she was very cautious and didn’t over cut my hair the way some stylists do when they get scissor happy. The result: many layers with great texture, no more damage, and beautiful length.
Pros:
Hair color she uses is gentle on hair (more of a natural line called Keratin Systems)
She’s cautious but does what you like
She is relationship driven and over time you’ll feel like you made a best friend
She’s good with every hair type! (Seriously, my hair is really tough for stylists)
She’s not pushy, she will never bother you to buy products from the store.

I’m so excited to have found Mona! I have had bad experiences all over the peninsula with hair cuts. I text Mona today and she was able to get me in! I explained exactly what I wanted and she gave it to me! She was understanding of my nervousness and really did a fantastic job! I have finally found someone to do my hair and my daughters! Thank you so much Mona! I LOVE my haircut!

Mona is the best! I found her when I lived in San Mateo and continue to go to her even though I moved to San Bruno. I can count on a consistent, stylish cut every time. And she gives good advice on length! I’ve now got my mom and a friend going to Mona, and they say her color jobs are fantastic too.

Jessica is absolutely OUTSTANDING. I’m pretty low-​maintenance with my hair, and she gave me super gorgeous layers that give my hair great body and style but are very manageable to work with and maintain.
She pays very close attention to detail, going over the cut multiple times to make sure everything looks fantastic. It’s clear that she’s got serious talent! In addition, she’s lots of fun to talk to and makes the whole experience relaxing and enjoyable.
Sadly, we are moving from the area and I won’t be able to continue getting fabulous cuts from Jessica. I don’t know what I’ll do with my hair after we move! I can’t recommend Jessica highly enough, I’m so lucky to have had her as my stylist!

Mona is my hairstylist. I go all the way up to San Mateo from San Jose just because she is the best! I tried many salons and hairstylists but finally I feel like I found mine!

Amy is fabulous! She has been cutting/​highlighting my long blonde hair for about 4 years now and has also fixed a horrible hair cut I unfortunately got from someone else in San Francisco. Thanks Amy!!! Great prices and perfect highlights.

Jessica is my new favorite stylist. Original appt at 6, but someone cancelled so she called to see if I can come in earlier (not in a pushy way) which is better for me. She will match the groupon $ 69 deal but plus $ 20 for toner for my hair. Toner is not included in the deal and expect to pay extra $$ depending on how much is needed. I started around 5pm, and didn’t leave until 8 for a hair cut, partial highlights and deep conditioning… I feel like it’s fine as long as the whole process was thorough. Also I believe she was double booked at one point since she had to attend to another client at the same time. She made me feel comfortable and she’s very knowledgable of what’s best for your face shape, hair type, etc.
Tip well. She accepts credit cards using square. Will definitely go back since she gave me a 25% off card for my next visit. :)

I cannot say enough good things about Jessica! She did it again! If you need s color job go to her she is amazing!

Jessica is the one to go to! She is amazing.
I originally came back in December to do a drastic cut from above the butt length hair to shoulder length. I was not sure how short to go but I had some pictures as examples and we ended up going with a long bob which was perfect. I was surprised how accommodating Jessica was especially considering it was the day after Christmas I came in for an appointment.
Now, jumping a couple months later to today in March, I came back to Jessica to go shorter and add some color. I wanted to do a shorter A-​line with a darker shade and blended peek-​a-​boo purple & lavender color. I showed her some examples and she will explain every step for the process. Super sweet and nice! Definitely knows her colors; she asked me if I wanted to add another shade or purple which was not on my mind and it happened to mesh very well with the rest of the purples. I love the cut, but she even gave some ideas to add more color next week which I agree would make everything pop. The cut is even better than I pictured.
It’s hard to find one place for something as precious as your hair, but I’m happy to have stumbled upon this place. If you’re looking for full treatment, great hairstyle, and overall satisfying haircut/​color, make an appointment with Jessica!

This review is mostly for Glory. She’s sweet, she’s honest, she’s accommodating and she’s a great stylist! However, I think the other staff (especially the people answering phones at the front desk) are super rude. When I’ve called they’re rude, when they call to confirm appointments, they’re rude or very short with me. I’ve also seen them be a little snippy with other clients while I’m sitting there with Glory. It just seems like everyone there needs some basic customer service training. Glory’s great though!

The deal:
Came here with a Living Social deal for ombré highlights and haircut with Mona. First of all, you can’t use the deal alone, you MUST pay $ 30 – 35 extra for toner after bleaching your hair. I don’t understand why they are offering a deal for ombré hair if you cannot redeem the deal alone. In essence, they are offering a partial deal. Why not just package the $ 35 into the deal if you always have to add that? It just says to me you are trying to lure a customer into the door by advertising a false price.
The atmosphere:
I admit it, I was 35 minutes late, but I called twice to apologetically update, and was not told not to come in. I came with my friend and we made back to back appointments 30 minutes apart, and she had another client 2 hours later, so I can understand why Mona was not happy. However, I couldn’t help but be envious of the other clients who were offered tea/​coffee and had friendly chats with their stylist. In comparison, my visit was pretty much silent. Since we were late, she offered to color our hair and save the haircut for another visit. She did end up giving me a 5 minute trim. (On a side note, I told her she didn’t have to cut my hair during the current visit as I’d be happy to come back another time. She mumbled that she’ll do it for me but I should blow dry myself… she did end up blow drying my hair.)
The (lack of) consultation:
I showed her a few pictures of what I wanted. I told her I wanted a nice gradual blend into the ombré, and not an awkward sudden contrast of color. In order words, please don’t make me look like I have roots growing out. Again, I take some blame because I was late, but I felt like the consultation was rushed. She kept saying «don’t worry» as I tried to explain more about what I wanted. Needless to say, it didn’t turn out the way I wanted.
The outcome:
She doesn’t color the hair for the ombré highlights; she only bleaches the hair and applies toner. She told me that the deal was only for bleach, and if I wanted color, it would have been extra. (Nowhere in the deal does it say bleach only.) She basically bleached highlights into the bottom portions of my hair, as opposed to a true ombré. Ombré means a gradual fade where the ends of your hair is the lightest compared to all other parts. The result looked like I just got highlights in the bottom portion of my hair. Picture grown out highlights. I have to admit, it did look natural, but it looked nothing like the pictures I showed her. It was so natural that I went to work the next day and no one noticed. In fact, I work with mostly women so you know they’re observant. Visible changes… more like INvisible changes. Except… for one panel of hair that was shades lighter than anything else in my hair. (See photo.)
By the end of the visit, I had been at the salon for 4 hours (I waited for my friend to finish for 1+ hour), and Mona was busy with her other client, so I didn’t mention anything since I felt bad for being late. I don’t like to be demanding, and thought I could live with it. However, I went home, saw it in different lighting, and decided I had to say something. I spent $ 100 looking like I did nothing much except for the odd strand.
The salon was closed the next day, so I contacted Mona the day after. I told her about the panel and that I felt like the rest of my hair was much darker than the pictures I showed her. I told her I didn’t think what I got was ombré since my ends are not the lightest parts of my hair. She made me feel as if I changing my mind. She said «you had 45 minutes while waiting for your friend so why didn’t you say anything» and «you said you liked it and now you are saying you do not.» She refused to do any modifications beyond toning down that blond panel.
So I went back in to tone down the panel of blond. Not once did she apologize. She applied toner to the strand of hair. At the end, she didn’t even wash the toner off of my hair. She just sprayed water onto it and then wiped it off with a towel. I understand if she didn’t want to wash my entire head of hair, but at least put some shampoo into that panel and wash out the toner?
In summary, ombré to Mona = highlights on the bottom of your hair.
One star because I was late. Another star because it doesn’t absolutely look like death, save for that one blond panel.

Just so you are aware, this is a salon that rents out space to individual stylists/​technicians. So basically, when you go to Visible Changes, you are going solely to see a specific person… if you’re a new customer, you will want to do your due diligence in researching which person you’d like to see before you make your appointment.
Lured in by a Groupon, I made my eyelash extension appointment with Chini. She was sweet, and much better than the last extension technician I had encountered in the Bay area… she was also pretty honest, as she advised me to let my lashes grow out naturally for a little while after seeing her, since a lot of my lashes had already fallen out.
She recently relocated from SoCal, where getting your eyelash extensions done is pretty common, so you can rest assured — she’s prepped with a good amount of experience.

Visible Changes matches Groupon in-​house. I held off on purchasing the Groupon and glad I did because the salon and stylist offer more flexibility when you’re deciding exactly what you want done. After I saw all the positive reviews on Unilocal for Visible Changes it was a no-​brainer.
Letting ones gray grow out is a slippery slope… and it’s not pretty. So I needed a haircut as well as help in deciding how to proceed in the ‘gray area’. Unilocal reviews named several stylists and that gave me more confidence when the receptionist Jessie told me that Mona was available and also had an in-​house Groupon equivalent.
I arrived a bit early and noticed the salon was fairly empty which concerned me since it was a Friday; however, after Mona got started the salon got busier.
Mona and I talked about my concerns regarding how to proceed in letting my gray grow out and at the same time make it a little bit less noticeable. We agreed that just a few low lights was the right way to go. It did change the value of the ‘Groupon’ but not enough for concern. After she shampooed the color out, it was time to decide how much to cut my long hair and how to style it. When I first sat down in her chair, I think I might’ve said cutting 2 or 3 inches would be ok. But when we got to the point of actually cutting we both agreed that 4 or 5 inches would be better. Cutting more length off and more layers would be healthier for my hair and at the same time let the gray grow out faster.
My hair is looking healthy now and the low lights makes the gray growth area less noticeable. I’ve already shampooed and blown out my hair myself and it looks great! That says a lot to me — that I can do a good job on my own hair!!!
I can’t thank Mona enough!!! She has a good eye and the experience needed to guide clients professionally.
**The salon does not take credit cards or debit cards. Only cash and checks.** I didn’t notice if any reviews on Unilocal mentioned this tidbit and Jessie never mentioned it when I made the appointment. Not a huge deal but inconvenient in the moment.
I definitely recommend Visible Changes! Friendly and CLEAN! Would make Tabatha proud!