Daryl Christopher Lifestyle Salon and Spa

It is a rare occasion I leave a negative review, but this salon deserves it. I had an appointment for an eyebrow wax and they receptionist told me to take a seat and that the esthetician would be with me shortly. 20 minutes AFTER my appointment was scheduled to start (mind you I was on my lunch break!) the esthetician finally finishes with another client and takes me. She does a decent job, but I felt the wax burning my eyebrow almost immediately. When I looked in the mirror after, she had indeed burned my eyebrow.
For $ 30 dollars, to wait for 20 minutes and then to have a mediocre job done is not worth it. I will not be going back and I advise anyone else to build in a cushion of time for your appointment.

I was there this weekend and had a great 50 minute massage. The masseuse (male), did exactly what I asked and was pleasant and friendly. The atmosphere was calming. I would return for another one for sure. Thank you!

This is a long overdue review. Donna Paradise is a master colorist and master stylist at the salon. She has done my cut and color off and on since 1998. Parking is a breeze and free, and it’s just of Rt. 95. Donna is always prompt and attentive and adorable and fun, but the reality is SHE IS THE BEST! I have tried to save money and/​or find someone closer, but my hair NEVER looks as good as when she does it. She keeps up with current hair styles and trends, and no one does a better blow out. It isn’t cheap but not significantly more than the other salons I have tried when all is said and done. I’ve decided I would rather save on other services and splurge on my hair because it’s worth it and I’m worth it! :-)

Can you say «false advertising»? DC can. Check out the Website where it states that there is a blow dry bar available without an appointment. There’s even a ‘sunrise service’ for $ 20 before 10am M-​F. Arrive and be told that there is availability in a few minutes. With Donna. Whose blow outs cost $ 55 (Wut?) What about the $ 20 or $ 30 blow outs? Oh, I need an appointment. In the AFTERNOON.
No thank you.

I have been to many different spas and decided to go to Daryl Christopher based off of a recommendation. I must say that this has been one of the best spa experiences yet. The staff was attentive and friendly, and the place was clean and serene. I got a facial from Olga, who was wonderful. I would highly recommend Daryl Christopher to anyone.

I have had a variety of services done at Daryl Christopher and I have thoroughly enjoyed every single one. Hilda is wonderful with hair, she knows exactly what to do without me even having to tell her. Ann Marie is amazing if you are interested in a massage; she is very kind and you feel rejuvenated after an hour with her. For a great facial, I would recommend Olga. I have been going to her for years and have yet to be disappointed. Overall a great spa and salon team, as well as a serene and spotless atmosphere.

Worst up-​do of my entire life. I walked in with a picture of a loose, casual, low bun with a few curls dangling down in the front and back. Very simple, very casual. After spending over an hour with the stylist, repeating, looser, lower, please allow some hair to fall, and repeatedly showing her the picture I wanted, I eventually gave up and walked out of there with a super high, super tight bun and two Jewish man curls hanging down in front. $ 80 later, utterly disappointed. Hanh Dao Ivas was my stylist, «master» colorist and stylist. I ended up going to supercuts, having them comb out my hair (Hanh teased my entire head), remove the rubber bands Hanh put in my hair, and curl it proper. Luckily, Supercuts sylist Leah saved the day.
I will NEVER be returning here and I advice going elsewhere if you’re looking for an updo.

DO NOT BLOW DRY!
I was given a gift card, so I went for a cut. It was OK. I never would have paid that much on my own, but why not with a gift card? After the cut, I had $ 25 left and the stylist and receptionist convinced me to schedule a deep conditioning treatment. Since I was quoted $ 50, I was OK with using the last of my gift card and only paying $ 25+tip out of pocket.
So… on to the deep conditioning. I got there, was given to an assistant to wash my hair. She was very sweet and gave a great scalp massage, but there was confusion with what I was having done, so she actually went through the shampoo/​conditioning process 3 TIMES before actually getting it right. It wasn’t until I already had the deep conditioner on my hair and was under the hood that my stylist even came to say hello. She did absolutely nothing until it was done.
Now, with my hair soaking wet after having the deep conditioner washed out, my stylist said «blow dry?» It’s the middle of December and all I have is a wet pile of hair on my head. Why wouldn’t you blow dry? I have very fine hair that only takes about 10 minutes to dry. So she dried it, I got up to pay, and I was SHOCKED when they told me $ 90!!!
$ 40 to blow dry my hair. That’s $ 4 a MINUTE. That’s $ 240 AN HOUR!!! They never warned me it would be extra (I know it’s on the «menu» at the front desk, but really?)
A salon that thinks it’s as great as it does should really think about including this in the price of the service. Even if you increase the total price, at least it’s not a massive shock afterward. I can’t imagine any salon would want one of their clients walking out into a lobby and then out into the cold with a wet mop on their heads; what does that say about their customer care and quality of work???
Needless to say, I will NEVER go back here. Even if I was willing to spend the amounts they charge for things, there are much nicer salons with more updated and cleaner facilities in the area that I would choose.

Angela Guido truly understands hair, health and beauty. I’m impressed that despite years of experience she and the staff at Daryl Christopher are always open to trying and learning something new. What a wonderful experience!

Darryl Christopher has been my giro salon for years. The service is always friendly and attentive. I wouldn’t get my hair cut anywhere else.

The last time I went to this spa was about 6 months ago and since they have Sunday hours, I went ahead and had a swedish massage with Ann Marie. She did such an amazing job and I was so relaxed afterwards. It’s clear that she has great technique and a lot of years experience.

Not only were the services we had at Daryl Christopher all terrific (facial, massage, mani/​pedi), but the staff could not have been more accommodating and wonderful. I took my mother as a gift, and we had to do a lot of rescheduling for medical reasons. Not only could they accomodate us graciously schedule-​wise, but once there, everyone was highly supportive and respectful of her needs (she has several physical limitations now).
Providers we had included: Janice and Jess for the facials and Theresa and Rosa for the mani/​pedis — all were great.
While the prices can be a little steep — they often have deals going on as an incentive!

The good: Some of the hairstylists are great — very talented, no attitude, good at cut and color.
The bad: Overpriced manicures that don’t last.
The ugly: Unfortunately the front desk service is clueless at best — they mix up appointments, give out conflicting information, and take forever to calculate a simple bill.
Special mention: When I wrote to the owner about a recent gigantic service mess I encountered, she was extremely responsive.
Summary: If you find the right hair stylist and can tolerate borderline incompetent front desk service, it’s a great place. Expensive but fair. Free parking.

I’ve been to high-​end places in Boston, mid-​priced day spas in Waltham/​Belmont/​Watertown, but when it comes to being able to conveniently schedule an appointment (last minute after work blow-​dry) and consistent quality of experience… Daryl Christopher always delivers.
This place is a very good go-​to full-​service salon when I’m not interested in exploring. The staff is cordial and efficient. Free parking at HealthPoint. Robert does great cuts/​blowdrys, and my course hair is no picnic. I’ve never used them for a massage, but I did some facial waxing and their spa technician was WONDERFUL. (Wish I remember her name). Usually, my face is a cherry bomb after a wax. She used Neosporin and another crème on my face afterwards… no redness after 20 minutes. What a surprise! With my ultra-​sensitive skin, I was expecting to have to go into hiding.
This place may be higher-​priced than other metro-​west day spas/salons…but it’s worth it. You can get hair, nails, spa stuff all in one place. Bottom line: clean, convenient, good scheduling availability, and nice, proficient staff.

Like many Unilocalers, I initially discovered DC via a BuyWithMe deal for a mani/​pedi, facial, massage and express highlight/​cut/​style. Unlike most, I had no problem finding the salon (carefully follow the signs from Winter Street and you should be fine) and I’ve become a regular client.
Since my initial visit, I’ve enjoyed services from three different, talented nail techs (Theresa is my favorite just for the conversation). I love the relaxed spa-​like atmosphere, complete with lemon water and hot tea, and the organic nail polish options. My only complaint: the nail prices are a bit hefty compared to other salons; if DC drops their nail prices a smidge, I’d become a regular for these services, too.
The massage and facial were good but not amazing. For the extra money you spend at DC, I expect the amenities found at other high end spas (paraffin hand treatment and massage while you wait for the mask to dry, more attention to extractions and less reliance on the needles, larger more attractive treatment rooms, etc.).
The reason I’ve become a regular client… NAOMI. She does a great cut and color, and I love the express highlight option. Worth every penny. Plus, the scalp massage is excellent — better than any other salon experience I’ve had in the Boston area — and the hair products are all organic. And, their salon prices are competitive!
Thanks to BuyWithMe for getting me in the door; thanks to Naomi for making me a believer!

My friend and I bought a buywithme deal together for Daryl Christopher (massage, facial, and mani/​pedi) and one for our other friend as a birthday present.
To sum up:
–good luck finding this place
–steer clear of older brunette at front desk
–staff could communicate better
–sanitary, but could use more frequent tidying
–treatments not worth full price or the drive
First, THIS PLACE IS NOT EASY TO FIND. I am not at all surprised to see that MANY other reviews (even positive ones) say this. You might think the salon would A. update the website directions to say something a little more clear than «turn on the 3^rd street,» or B. ADMIT they are hard to find! When I casually mentioned to staff that they were kind of hard to find, no one acknowledged it. Secondly, just know that my party was LATE. I completely admit it.
We noticed we were getting lost, so we called the salon to say we would be 15 min late (arriving right at 10am). They’d asked us to arrive at 9:45am, 15 min early for our appointment – understandable. Whoever answered the phone didn’t know how to look up appointments and was very confused by us calling.
When we finally arrived at 10:20 (I admit, much later than we predicted due to the difficult location of the salon and a whack GPS) they were unhappy with us, even though my friends and I walked in very apologetic. The blonde at the front desk was polite, but it was clear that she was the one who had answered the phone because she also didn’t know what to do when we walked in. After we apologized for being late and gave her our names, she called over an older brunette woman with glasses, who was positively nasty to us. The brunette was completely unwelcoming, scolded us for being late, and was unclear about what we were supposed to do next. She hinted that our massages would be cut short, but still no clear options or directions. I asked her to clarify our options: I mean what else might we do but take a shorter massage, I said I didn’t really want to reschedule because I wasn’t going to drive out there again. This pissed her off even more. The brunette said we could get a 30 min massage rather than 50 min. We were totally okay with this, as we WERE late, but a little ruffled by her demeanor and tone with us.
Finally, in the waiting area, the manager approached us. This woman was very nice and had a much better response to our profuse apologies for being late. The manager said that we had some «new client» paperwork to fill out, and by the time we were done with that and got changed for the massage table, it would hardly be worth it. She persuaded us to skip the massage for the day. I asked her if we’d lose the service, or if we might be able to reschedule. She said it was not their policy to reschedule late clients who paid with buywithme coupons, but she’d see what she could do. Her tone definitely made us feel more okay with giving up the massage. I said we completely understood, because we were late, so that was that. But she never got back to us about «seeing what she could do» even though were were there for another 3 hours.
Without the massage, we had time to kill before our facials, so we sat in the waiting area for 25 minutes. It was nice that they had snacks and refreshments, but there were dirty glasses and trash on the tables. No visible trashcan, so I assumed staff were supposed to clean it up but no one did. While we were waiting, the massage therapists showed up looking for us. This was awkward, because we had to apologize for being late and explain that the manager had suggested we wouldn’t have enough time, so we had decided to skip massages. The staff could have communicated much better so we’d avoid that conversation. Also, this could be personal preference, but I might have been uncomfortable with a male massage therapist, especially on the older side (²⁄₃ were male, one older). I was a bit relieved to miss it.
Then we went in for our facials, which were just okay. I had Robin, who was very nice and polite and did a nice neck/​shoulder and arm massage. As expected, she lectured me about my skin and tried to sell me products «that would really help» but she didn’t push too hard. I’ve had enough facials to know that salon products are usually a rip-​off and there are cheaper treatments out there that are more relaxing. But maybe I was just extra stressed about being late and getting lost.
The best of our treatments were the mani/​pedis. Both were up to par for anything you might get in Boston for the same price. The manicurists were very sweet and good at small talk, but not annoyingly. However, I wouldn’t trek out there just for the mani/​pedi.
We happened to be there on a day when they have a complimentary makeup service. We did it, and it was nice, but a little much.
I don’t see any reason to come here again. Buywithme served its purpose: we saved $ 126 (with tip and without the massage) and we got to try a new place, which obviously needs buywithme deals for business.

Love the place — especially the highly efficient and very friendly, attractive front desk associates — great facials, but, because of the efficiency and great ambience of the place, I’ll go back for more services.
Thanks to all. And, here’s to lots of spa-​ing in 2011!

I also got a Buy With Me Coupon for a facial, massage, mani/​pedi.
For the facial, Robin was great! This was the best part of the experience, and I feel like the facials at Daryl Christopher are the best service to get here. I would gladly pay $ 100 for this. Robin was very nice, altered the facial to my needs, and made my skin look amazing.
For the massage, it was pretty disappointing. I would never pay $ 100 for what I got. No real pressure, just kind of a «meh» experience. And the woman’s hands and oil were cold, and she never smiled.
For the mani/pedi…the pedi was ok. I actually felt like she spent a lot of time with my toes, and she was a nice person. The manicure was pretty terrible. It looked good on the way out, but started peeling off in large pieces the very next day.
So, the facial gets 5 stars, massage 1, mani 1, and pedi 3…

I got a promotion at
After getting lost a couple of times, i arrived sharp on time. The girl in the door was rude, asked me for my coupon, altough I had already given my number on the phone. I forgot it in the car, and took me 5 minutes to go and get it, then another 5 minutes to have the room set. The massage started at 19:10, and was supposed to last one hour. It was 19:50 when it finished, so actually it was a 40 minute massage, instead of one hour.
The massager asked me what kind of massage I liked, and I asked for something with hard pressure, she replied she didn t do massages with a lot of pressure, and she only did relaxing massage. I said ok, it was an OK massage.
Overall, I feel that if you have the discount coupon, they treat you different. I can t believe they are this rude to people who are paying 150us/​hour for a massage.
Did not like the place…

I was in the Waltham area over Valentine’s Day weekend and spent a very relaxing few hours at Daryl Christopher.
The moment I walked in the door I was greeted by a friendly receptionist and while I was about 15 minutes early for my appt they took me right away!
My first appt was for a Daryl Christopher facial. Wow!!! The room was very cozy, the bed was heated (unexpected pleasant surprise), it even had a relaxing smell! I was asked a few questions at the beginning but was basically left to chill while she did her magic on my face! I think I fell asleep! Afterward she gave me a little advice on my skin and my regimen but did not push any product whatsoever which was good (nothing worse than pushy sales people wanting to sell you their product)!
Next up was a wash, cut and blowdry with Hilda. I was a little hestiant at first having a complete stranger cut my hair as I have been going to the same hairdresser for 10+ years at my home in FL. Should not have worried at all, Hilda did a great job. She listened to exactly what I wanted! The products that she used on my hair left it so shiny and in amazing condition that when checking out I had to buy them!
Last but not least was a manicure and pedicure. As I sat back and read the abundance of magazines that they had on hand the technician went to work! I love that the manicure and pedicure was not rushed. There is nothing worse than having someone not take their time! She did an amazing job, and I was surprised that the polish stayed on my nails longer than usual! Need to find out what she did different as the polish usually chips off within a day or two. At one point I asked if they had a mint as I was super hungry and knew I had at least an hour before I was finished. The technician came back with a plate full of yummy ginger cookies and chocolate! So sweet!
Checking out was a breeze. The receptionist was extremely courteous and very friendly! I wish I lived in the area so I could make this my local go to place! They have everything under one roof! Heck there is even a gym upstairs.
The salon is located in a corporate park and not that hard to find! I live in FL and was able to find it with no problems.
I will definitely go back to Daryl Christopher next time I am in the area… I might even book a trip for an excuse to come back!

Color is gorgeous, but I’m done with stylists in Boston. I don’t know if it’s a case of let the new girl get her haircut by the person no one wants or what. I’d like to be listened to JUST ONCE.
Haven’t felt like this since I was six and my mom cut my hair off and someone called me a boy.
So, first things first. It’s hard to find.
I know they are green, but recycling someone’s dirty, broken cabinets and salon furnishings doesn’t make me feel pretty. Call me crazy, but I like sparkling clean salons and spas. Andif this is a «new» location, why not a fresh coat of paint to make the place look new.
I really wish I hadn’t paid so much money to have to put my hair up everyday until this grows out.
I asked for a trim of my long bob, and was talking into layers, as I was told I should keep the length. Somehow that meant chopping off 4 inches, and giving me bangs, which I always say NO to. I didn’t get a chocie here. I was told it was a side sweep, but somehow it ended up being bangs that I will be pinning back daily until they grow out. Yippee.

Would you like to commute through rush hour traffic on the green line after work for a massage? Then wait 15 minutes for an awkward male who lightly rubs you down talking the entire time and cuts you 5 minutes at the end? THEN proceeds to complain about how they over book him at the salon and he’s taking up to 8 hour long appts a day and by 6pm (when you are there) he’s wiped out! That he also thinks the salon’s prices are too high but «it is what it is»!
I left completely un-​refreshed, annoyed and pissed that I spent any money at all. Not to mention the guy was so friggin awkward and weird I have no idea how he wanted to enter into a field that requires you to touch people all day for a living. Thing about touching people is you might want to think about THEM and what they are experiencing.