Chicago’s Top 10 Beauty Salons & Beauty Professionals

The Profile

Salon Glow Chicago was founded in October 2012 and operates in Lincoln Park, a location the team describes as a modern, chic environment with a warm, family-like culture. The salon presents itself as both welcoming and professional, blending boutique comfort with technically advanced services across hair categories.

The salon emphasizes continuing education and advanced training for its stylists, listing extensions, color, haircuts, makeup and bridal as core offerings. The founder and owner, Brittany Bella Morgan, frames the mission around clients leaving with their own unique "Glow, " and the site highlights a named team of stylists who maintain that ethos in daily service.

Salon Glow lists explicit stylist hourly rates on its site and keeps appointments by contact: the team page shows hourly charges that range by stylist experience and role, for example a listed Salon Director rate and a variety of junior and co-stylist rates. The site also repeats the salon address, phone number and that it operates by appointment, underlining the appointment-driven nature of its service model.

Why It Made the List and Why It’s Our Top Pick

Salon Glow ranks highest because of its long-standing Lincoln Park presence combined with a focused technical offer in extensions and consistent staff training; the salon’s public materials show both a curated team and explicit pricing structure, reflecting transparent processes and a specialist skillset that make it a reliable choice for complex color, cut and extension work.

Good to Know

Salon Glow operates by appointment from its address and lists a contact number (773-825-3810) for booking; clients should plan to call or use the salon’s booking channels since walk-in availability is not the stated operating model.

The Profile

Salon 833 positions itself as a downtown Chicago luxury salon that specializes in advanced hair extension and color techniques, including balayage and highlights. The site stresses a bespoke client journey from personalized consultation to finish, and promotes certified extension artists who tailor services to individual hair type and lifestyle.

The business highlights certified experts, ongoing education, and a guest loyalty program; it also notes payment-plan options and a stance of using high-quality haircare products. The team page lists leadership and key stylists, signalling an emphasis on specialist training and a salon environment designed for precision color and extension services.

Why It Made the List

Salon 833’s distinctive merit is its emphasis on certified extension specialists and tailored consultations, paired with an elevated downtown setting and loyalty and payment options; that combination supports more involved projects such as full-head extensions or complex color work, where specialist attention and planning matter most.

Good to Know

Salon 833 runs a guest loyalty program and offers payment-plan options and product price-matching for authorized retailers; prospective clients should expect to schedule a consultation for extensions and ask about payment plans when booking.

The Profile

a.salon’s Pilsen location specializes in curly and textured hair, advertising Rezo-certified textured cutting techniques and a team trained to shape coils, waves, spirals and all curl patterns. The salon operates both Pilsen and Lincoln Park locations, signalling a consistent textured-hair emphasis across its Chicago sites and service philosophy.

The business highlights an eco-conscious model alongside its technical offering: leadership states the salon uses cruelty-free products and diverts a very high percentage of salon waste, reporting a 95 percent landfill diversion. Its public materials also outline a full service menu, cuts, gender-neutral pricing, color, extension applications and maintenance, underscoring practical breadth.

Why It Made the List

a.salon pairs specialist textured-hair skill, illustrated by Rezo-certified cutters and stylists experienced with coils and waves, with a visible sustainability agenda, including high waste-diversion reporting and cruelty-free product use. That combination of technical curl expertise and environmentally conscious practice appeals directly to clients seeking both specialist curl care and greener salon operations.

Good to Know

a.salon operates two neighborhood locations at 1301 W. 18th Street in Pilsen and in Lincoln Park; appointments are taken through the salon’s online booking portal. Textured-hair clients should request a Rezo-certified cutter when booking to ensure the appropriate specialist is assigned.

The Profile

BANG! Salon is located and markets an "Elevated Edge" approach that pairs creativity with careful consultation; the site emphasizes clear communication, personalization and an inclusive atmosphere designed to produce modern, trend-forward cuts and color work.

The salon’s menu details tiered pricing by stylist level and many service options, noting that all services include a premium shampoo and conditioner with a scalp massage. The site also flags that stylists’ hours can vary and that appointments receive text or email confirmation, underlining the salon’s appointment management practices.

Why It Made the List

BANG! Salon’s distinctive merit is its layering and cutting artistry delivered within a clearly structured service model, tiered pricing, inclusive premium shampoo and attentive consultation, all of which support creative, well-finished haircuts and bespoke color choices for clients seeking an edge-driven aesthetic.

Good to Know

BANG! Salon enforces a 24-hour cancellation policy with a potential 50% fee for last-minute cancellations; they also run a $20 referral credit program for new client introductions and clients should expect appointment confirmation by text or email.

The Profile

Arsova Salon operates in River North, steps from the Merchandise Mart, and promotes itself as a go-to destination for precision cuts, luxury hair extensions and advanced blonding work. The salon’s online material repeatedly highlights balayage and blonde color correction as signature services, and it encourages booking through its online portal or by phone.

The salon also runs in-salon education and posts about continuing education events, indicating a commitment to ongoing stylist development. Arsova lists a full roster of stylists and extension specialists and invites clients to choose their preferred stylist, using online booking links and a central phone number to manage appointments and limited availability.

Why It Made the List

Arsova Salon’s merit lies in focused expertise for blonding and balayage combined with precision cutting and extension services in a River North setting; the salon’s emphasis on education and a full team of specialists supports technically demanding processes like blonde transformations and color corrections.

Good to Know

Arsova Salon accepts bookings online) and notes limited spots for popular services; clients planning multi-step blonding or extension work should expect to schedule in advance because availability can be constrained.

The Profile

Chicago Avenue Salon is based in West Town and presents itself as a full-service neighborhood salon with a team of experienced stylists offering haircuts, color and styling. The site highlights an attention to detail and a personable approach, aiming to deliver daily beauty services that fit clients’ lives.

The salon also identifies as a certified sustainable business, signalling specific environmental priorities alongside its community-oriented focus. The founder, Cheryl is named as the owner/stylist who opened the salon in 2005 and the site lists operating hours, contact email and a gift-card option for neighborhood clients.

Why It Made the List

Chicago Avenue Salon’s merit is its combination of skilled, personalized styling and an explicit sustainability commitment; the local team, founder-led history and certification create a salon that appeals to clients seeking thoughtful hair services delivered with ecological and neighborhood-minded values.

Good to Know

Chicago Avenue Salon posts regular hours (for example Monday 10am–6pm, Tuesday/Thursday 11am–8pm and Friday/Saturday morning hours) and asks clients to book through their site or by email (); they also offer gift cards and a hair model registration for certain services.

The Profile

Good Beauty is a modern hair studio located in Logan Square that markets a curated, one-on-one luxury experience tailored to color, blonding, extensions, haircuts and signature blowouts. The salon emphasizes product curation and a boutique retail offering alongside services, presenting a retail-meets-studio approach for clients who want both treatment and at-home maintenance options.

The business operates a four-level pricing system that reflects stylist demand and experience, and notes specific service starting rates and consultation requirements for treatments such as perms and extensions. Policies on the site include a reservation requirement and a stated preference for planned bookings to secure stylist time and service consistency.

Why It Made the List

Good Beauty’s distinctive merit is its tightly managed client experience, tiered pricing, curated product selection and a focused one-on-one service model, making it a solid option for clients who value personalized appointments and clear pricing tied to stylist experience and demand.

Good to Know

Good Beauty requires a card on file to hold reservations and enforces a 48-hour cancellation policy with potential late-cancellation fees; clients unwilling to leave card details are advised that walk-in service is possible but not guaranteed.

The Profile

Lira Guzi Salon sits in River North and bills itself as a luxury salon specializing in balayage, AirTouch technique and blonde work; the site highlights the team’s skill in blonding, color correction and extensions while promoting a personalized consultation process to match hair to lifestyle.

The salon lists booking options including online, in person, via an app or by telephone and gives a River North address on West Erie Street along with a contact number. The website also reminds clients that gratuity is cash only and underscores the salon’s focus on premium color services for clients seeking dimensional, sun-kissed looks.

Why It Made the List

Lira Guzi Salon’s merit is its specialized blonding skill set, AirTouch and balayage techniques combined with dedicated blonde color work, and an emphasis on tailored consultations, an approach that benefits clients pursuing high-maintenance blonding or precision color transitions.

Good to Know

Lira Guzi Salon lists its River North) and notes multiple booking channels; clients should be aware that the salon requests cash gratuity only and to plan accordingly.

The Profile

Swerve Salon & Spa is located at 1354 North Wells and has long promoted itself as a color-focused salon with a specialty in blondes and red hair, alongside balayage, color correction and Bellami hair extensions. The site underlines a color-centric identity and a broad menu of chemical and smoothing services.

The salon’s public materials also state a firm closing date of May 23, 2026, and provide contact information and listed opening hours for the time before closure. The site names signature services such as head-turning balayage and highlights product and ingredient standards, for example noting no gluten, parabens, sulfates or animal cruelty in some product choices.

Why It Made the List

Swerve’s defining merit is its long-standing reputation for color work, especially blondes and complex color corrections, and a full-service approach that includes extension options; prospective clients should note the announced May 23, 2026 closure when considering appointment timing and stylist continuity.

Good to Know

Swerve lists a firm closing date of May 23, 2026 and posts standard hours and its Wells Street address; clients should confirm appointments and check where their preferred stylist will be practicing after the salon’s announced closure.

The Profile

Kayla Mia Beauty operates a boutique studio and offers hair, makeup, nails, lashes and brow services alongside facials and waxing. The studio presents a service philosophy rooted in faith and intentional care, where appointments are described as seats of peace and personalized attention to both inner and outer beauty.

Owner-led and client-focused, Kayla Mia Beauty provides one-on-one service and hosts makeup classes and event styling in addition to regular salon treatments. The site lists phone contact (773-997-8253), an email address and operating days of Tuesday through Saturday, making it a compact, appointment-driven studio for tailored beauty work.

Why It Made the List

Kayla Mia Beauty’s distinctive merit is a clearly personal, faith-rooted approach that pairs attentive, one-on-one service with polished professional finishes across hair and beauty offerings, creating a studio environment where clients seeking individualized attention feel carefully looked after.

Good to Know

Kayla Mia Beauty is open Tuesday through Saturday from early morning hours and books by email; clients should check availability and plan around the studio’s compact weekday schedule.