Studio B Urban Hair

Today was my second time at Studio B and I love this spot!
Both times I’ve been in the staff near the door look up to smile when I walk in and the receptionist has immediately welcomed me, offered coffee, etc.
After going wayyyyy too long without a cut and colour this time, I am so pleased with the final result! Arran mixed a bit of red into a dark mahogany and the colour is perfect for fall!
Arran is particularly great if you’re not endowed with thick hair, like me. She also has fine hair and knows hot to cut to maximize volume/​style.
My one gripe would be: no head massage either time when dye is being washed out/​hair is washed. This is my favourite part of getting my hair done so kinda a bummer.
I’ll keep going back for the wonderful ‘dos and great staff! Try this spot, you won’t be disappointed.

I decided to check out the salon after reading good reviews. I specifically booked my appointment with Amy based on those reviews, along with the fact that she is a senior stylist.
The salon itself is pleasing to the eye. It has a fun, funky vibe, on the surface, but there were numerous times throughout my appointment that I did feel uncomfortable, which doesn’t happen a lot. When I arrived I waited for about 10 minutes (which is no big deal), except for the fact that the entire time I waited, nobody approached me. I just kind of sat there assuming they saw me. The weird thing is the owner of the salon has her station directly beside the reception and she didn’t look over once. You would think being the owner she would look over to acknowledge me in some way since nobody else did — perhaps a glance or a smile or even a comment that someone would be with me soon. While the staff has great rapport, it seemed they were more interested in talking amongst themselves than with the clients. The client conversations seemed forced, at least with some of the stylists.
The staff keeps up with the latest trends and uses cutting edge techniques. In fact, they were on their way that weekend to do a hair show in TO. Their specialty seems to be edgy colour (my stylist had bright blue hair), but they also have a fair number of more conservative clients. They even do children. I must say I saw some pretty amazing cuts done by the owner. She is definitely skilled in layering short hair so it has lots of volume.
My own cut and colour was a disaster. While my stylist, Amy, was relatively friendly throughout the process, I was beyond disappointed by the end result. The colour in particular was not even close to what we discussed. My hair was medium (washed out) brown and Amy talked about lightening it up to copper. I made it clear that I wanted a change and that I loved warm, rich colours with lots of shine. I did show her a picture, but she said she wanted to go softer and I agreed to give her full rein. What I ended up with was washed out medium brown hair, with dark auburn at the roots, and extremely subtle blond highlites (Balayage technique). Because my roots were long to begin with, the auburn really stood out from the rest of my hair. The highlights were so fine, they made my hair look washed out. It was obvious no gloss was applied because the entire look was dull and faded. With the exception of the roots and highlights, the rest of my hair colour looked exactly as it did when I walked in.
The hair cut was just as bad. I liked the fact that they cut on dry hair. It gives a better idea of how the hair normally falls and should make for a better cut. However, Amy did not take the specifics of my hair into consideration (very fine, slightly wavy). While, my hair was in desperate need of a good cut, I did not expect 4 – 5 inches of healthy hair to be cut from the length. The length went from half way down my back to shoulder length. It was layered to such a degree that I was surprised I had any hair left at the bottom. The layers were short and uneven and the last layer was much longer then the others, almost like a shag like effect. I was horrified to say the least. I know she was trying to be nice, but Amy made it worse by shouting out, «Babe Alert» to everybody in the salon. In my head, I wanted to slap her. For that, I paid $ 220 plus tip. The first time I washed my hair, I discovered that it did not hang properly with so many layers and as soon as there was the slightest bit of humidity, the upper layers would go wavy while the bottom layer stayed straight. Even with a hot iron, I couldn’t correct it completely.
One month later I went to a different salon to clean it up. The stylist tried to be professional by not bashing someone else’s work, but she did carefully mention the difficulties of correcting someone’s hair when it had so many different colours in it. She also showed me how to blow dry it to disguise uneven layers.
Bottom line: While the salon does keep up on the latest techniques, the basics are ignored. Further, the owner who did converse well with her staff, needs to make the same effort with customers.

Friendly staff and great hair cuts! I’ve had my hair cut here twice and love my new style. I went a little shorter last time and I didn’t like the cut as much but my hairdresser which I forgot her name but she is a petite blonde with pink hues in her hair, well she cuts a medium bob perfectly. Also they do free bang and neck clean ups. This place is on par with other studios and isn’t cheap but you get what you pay for. I recommend this place and will be back.

My experience a Studio B was flawless. I’ve been meaning to book an appointment here for ages, ever since my friend Rebecca (who has outstanding hair!) brought me along on a couple of her appointments.
After a couple of years of red hair, I decided it was time to treat myself and change my look a bit. Knowing the girls here do a fantastic colour I called and was able to book with Amy just two days in advance, which was awesome.
When I arrived I was greeted warmly by their lovely front desk attendant (whose name I wish I had gotten — she was super sweet!) and was asked if I could like anything to drink. I barely had to wait 5 minutes before Amy popped over and ask me what I was interested in doing. I basically told her I had a few ideas but would love her expertise.
My hair was a dark auburn, so I wasn’t sure how much of the colour would lift, but I was in good hands with Amy. She used several colours, a lightener and finished it off with a toner. The colour came out perfectly. A warm mix of brows, blondes and a but of red left it. I don’t think I’ve ever been this thrilled anywhere else. Bonus? AMAZING scalp massage… I think I may have floated off the floor!
Amy knows what she’s doing and is a totally cool girl — they all are. The shops is full of positivity and fun. The atmosphere is one of the best I’ve encountered in a salon — funky, artistic and girly, it’s the perfect place to rediscover yourself. They always have awesome music playing, and today Amy and I rocked out to Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill. So awesome!
As V noted, they do free touch ups. While my colour was setting a young lady popped in for a bang trim and they welcomed her warmly and she was there and gone within 10 minutes. I think this is a super thoughtful extra touch.
If you’re looking for an awesome hair transformation along with amazing staff, this is the place to go. Located in the Glebe across from Olga’s Deli, it’s super easy to find. While it’s not cheap, I also didn’t find the prices crazy expensive either.

Really like this place but it’s difficult to get an appointment, there’s a high staff turnover, and they’re not very good at returning calls. I’ve been a regular customer since last June and Keats look forward to my appointments with Arran. Her darling Maltese, Bruce, sits happily in my lap while she cuts my hair. We’ve done adventurous and medium-​adventurous things with my pixie cut, and I’m always satisfied. Arran also encourages clients to drop in for a free touch up. I ran into a problem with this with one if her stylists who charged me 40 $ after I told her I was in for a touch up, no wash and no blow dry. I ended up paying but was really displeased. I mentioned it to Arran and she made it up to me completely and apologized. It’s a great, positive place to reinvent yourself– you’re in good hands.

Through serendipity, I met someone at a function that worked here,
and I needed a change, and a haircut.
I had large, crazy outta control curly hair and wasn’t in the mood to go to a barber shop to get whitewalls and feel like I need to wear Malcolm X glasses.
So by chance, figured out check the place out.
It’s at the tail end of the Glebe, near the Clocktower pub, so it’s very close and easy to get to from downtown (exit from the Queensway nearby).
The person cutting my hair wasn’t the person I met: Which was Ok, when I made the appt., I just mentioned «I met so-​and-​so, but whoever’s best w/​curly hair».
The person did an A-​1 job (Amber) and though she isn’t there anymore, she continues to cut my hair, and I continue to get positive comments.
So much so, I’ve gone back to getting my haircut every month or so like I used to.
For other ppl out there, I would def. recommend this place for anyone looking for something fun, or funky, or just for a change.

I’ve been to Studio B twice and each time I’ve been super impressed with my experience. The staff is super friendly and I was offered a hot beverage immediately upon my arrival. My appointment was with Amy who managed to turn my kind of vague instructions into an awesome and unique haircut. The price for a cut was about $ 60, which is super reasonable for a salon of that quality and I was told that trimming in between cuts is complementary. I’d recommend it for someone who is looking for something kinda edgy or someone who just wants a trim; the times I’ve been, I’ve seen both tattooed young hipster types and middle aged moms chilling out happily.

I have never been so angered, or offended, by a trip to a salon in all my life. I called a few days in advance to make sure that it was possible to have the black hair dye stripped out and to have my hair dyed napalm orange, a particularly bright Special Effects colour. They said that was fine and they could do it, so I went in to have it done. I chose this salon because they specialize in alternative hair, and that is exactly what I wanted. I could not have been more disappointed.
The stylist who did my hair was Amy, who apparently, has many years of experience. My hair was dyed black with several inches of roots, so when they bleached it, I had ginger lengths and white blonde roots. They then said that in order to fix it, they would have to use red dye instead of the orange I wanted, which was fine and understandable.
BUT. When it was all said and done, I had bright, bright orange roots and deep, brown-​red lengths. I also had red dye all over my face and neck, and my ears were stained BRIGHT red. I also had a large chemical burn from bleach next to my left eye which I showed both Amie, the manager, and Amber, the stylist who fixed my hair afterwards.
When I left, I noticed that the collar on a sweater because they had incompletely rinsed the red dye out, and had only dryed it, caked on, onto the hairs at the nape of my neck. The hair was slimy to the touch because of the caked-​on dye.
They asked me to pay 200 $, which was 25 $ more than they quoted me on the phone. They offered to reimburse me for the shirt that was ruined (dyed red and bleach-​stained), but didn’t give me a cent back of the full 200 $ I paid them.
I did go back to have them fix it for me and the junior stylist, Amber, did an excellent job, a much better job than the «mature, experienced» stylist Amy did. I left with the exact same hair colour I had gone into the salon with, and they still made me pay.
If I were the salon owner, I would be absolutely ashamed to ask a customer to pay for what they gave me, which included a chemical burn that took weeks to fade and was extremely painful, bright red ears and neck, and a ruined top. Please save yourself the trouble and go to another more reputable salon.

I had heard about Studio B through my best friends who go there to get their hair done by Arran — head stylist and owner. I took their advice and headed there one evening as I was looking to get my hair done. I have somewhat of an edgier longer haircut and I wanted to keep it that way. I entered the salon and was greeted by very friendly staff. The venue is very quirky yet stylish. It has almost a Toronto or bigger city type feel to it. It’s definitely one of a kind in Ottawa. I got my hair done by a younger girl who was able to converse with me the entire time and I was listening to good tracks provided by the staff there as well.
I have to say I was in love with the cut. I don’t know anything about hairstyling but the way they actually use the scissors and cut the hair looks very experienced. I was pretty damn happy about the cut and style and have been going back there ever since. I can always count on an excellent and satisfied appointment.
I definitely would suggest this place to anyone who enjoys a stylish staff and venue as well as experience!