Gro Salon

After my last stylist moved, I struggled to find a stylist. I got some pretty awful hair cuts looking. Finally, a friend with great hair, told me about her stylist, Dennis at Gro.
Dennis always looks carefully at my hair before wetting it, then asks me what I liked and didn’t about the last cut. I like that since he usually solves any «problem» I might have had with the cut (my hair is mostly straight with random waves on one side of my head). The cuts grow out well and never need product. He’s given me a number of different styles. I pretty much let him do what he wants within a length range. My hair always looks good enough that I get random compliments from people I know and people I don’t. What’s not to love?

I came for the a special I got for checking in, but was not at all disappointed. I had a highlight done by Brittany, she was great with understanding what I wanted and executing. I have been slowly going more and more white/​blue/​grey with my not naturally blonde hair and she knew exactly what I was going for.
An averagely clean/​trendy ish salon setting, noting to call home about. The other stylists seemed friendly and on their game as well.

This Salon and staff are the best. Gro has been doing my hair for many years. When I moved to Chicago I was so nervous about finding a Salon and stylist I could trust. A friend recommended this Salon so lucky I found Gro and her staff. All very professional and welcoming.

I only got my hair cut once here so far, by Karen, and she was fantastic. She did exactly what I asked for, considered my preferences as far as maintenance and styling products. I am coming back.

I love my haircut. It’s exactly what I wanted.
My favorite part was when Gro asked me if I wanted products and I may or may not have shuddered-​but she said something like,“a good haircut shouldn’t need product.” And I was like Hallelujah!
I’ve had so many terrible haircuts spackled down by hair glue and ferocious heat. Yikes.
Natalie gave a great shampoo.
Oh and I think I had a nice glass of iced tea. I can’t remember exactly because I wanted to test drive the cut before I Unilocaled.

Pricey. The regular stylists seem to be nice. The problem is with the apprentices/​assistants or whatever they’re called. Not sure if management knows but one I dealt with awhile back gave out cards with special «deals», then other special «deals» that were advertised differently but the price was the same. The last «deal» was borderline bait and switch, but the manager was nice enough to sort that out for me. I was also yelled at by the aforementioned assistant for not letting her know ahead of time that my hair was longer which meant she had to do more work. Glad she’s not there anymore for other people’s sake. Great coffee though.

Really like GRO Salon… go to Brit Rodriguez cuz I saw another gal with long thick hair that was beautifully color highlighted. That’s how I pick a hair designer. I’ve gone to Brit for several years I appreciate her amazing talents in both color and style and now Brazilian Blowouts.

I’ve been here several times to get a haircut, and every time they have done a great job. If you’re looking to do something different with your hair, but don’t know where to go or who you can trust, this is definitely the place to go. I came here a couple of weeks ago to get my hair cut with Dennis. My hair was long and thick, and I was looking for a change. I had some pictures of a long bob that I wanted, and discussed it with Dennis. He totally understood exactly what I was talking about, and gave me a cut that fit my face shape and what I was looking for. This isn’t the place to go if you’re looking for a salon where you can socialize, get a head massage, and coffee. They just get right down to business here, which has never bothered me since they do an excellent job at cutting hair.

Brittany is fantastic! She is creative and accommodating and best of all an excellent stylist. Her cuts and color are always spot on. The best stylist I have ever had. Seriously! If you are looking for the prefect cut or color, ask for Brittany!

I have been visiting Gro Salon for many years. I always feel taken care of and leave with a fresh stylish hair cut.
Gro is a master of her craft, she has been in business for a long time, and knows exactly how to work with every hair type.
I was born and raised in Chicago, and I have visited dozens of salons throughout the years.
Gro Salon has a cool laid back vibe, unlike a lot of pretentious Chicago Salons.
With that said, I highly recommend Gro Salon, this place is truly one of a kind.

The stylists here have YEARS of experience, high end cutting edge. I believe the prices are equal to the style, cut color services that are offered.
To the complainers out there, if you come in with a bad cut or a horrible color, I am sure that the stylist at Gro do their best to correct the mistakes that were made by wherever and whomever. However, cut and color corrections often take more than one visit to remedy.
I would highly recommend this salon. I have never had an issue in any of the 20 years I have been coming here.

It is hard to believe that I have been a client at Gro Salon since 1999 and this is my first Unilocal!Never the less, here I go.
Over the years, I have probably had my hair styled by as many as six of the stylists at gro and colored once by a colorist (my midlife crisis point around 2004). The coloring was perfect thanks to Allison and I would say nearly every one of my cuts turned out as good or better than I expected and if I got nuts and asked for a style that just wasn’t me or wouldn’t work with my hair, they let me know it.
I am a young professional (or at least i was when i first started coming here) working in a conservative work place, yet gro salon stylists have always been creative enough to give me a versatile style that allowed me to be polished at work and myself after work.
Now before I wrote this Unilocal,I took a look at all the other Unilocal.Lots of great Unilocal!And some not so great Unilocal (mostly from the great groupon fiasco). Sorry Gro, but reading some of those groupon Unilocal made me laugh till my cheeks hurt. I have been a client long enough that I have experienced it all, but I keep coming back. Why? The people, the location, the interior design (all done by gro herself, an accomplished artist) the music (fix the radio already), the great service, and of course Mr. «Duke» Lafferty or Dennis — my current hair architect trained by V.S. himself.
Anyone I have recommended Gro Salon to has not been disappointed. I simply recommend that they not schedule an appointment on groupon day.

Shayna is leaving. Seems like all my flipping hair colorist run with the wind and off to California somewhere.
Thank goodness I’m not blonde and too high maintenance now… So Giselle will be my next stylist. Rockin woman. For sheez.

I had a fantastic experience my first time at Gro Salon! The space and décor set this place apart from other bigger, noisier, warehouse-​like salons i’ve been to. The owner, Gro has great taste and unstoppable creative energy! She really made me feel welcome and included even though it was my first time there. I could tell right away that she values a familial setting and comfortable feel in her business.
My colorist and stylist (both of which she is a true master of), Giselle «Gigi’ Maldonado did an amazing job with my knotty, faded locks! She has been doing my hair for years and has always been able to tame and fix whatever problem I had. Before I knew it, my hair went from a faded, ratty bun on the top of my head to shiny, beautiful, straight and healthy. She cut bangs and layers but my hair still looks long. There’s no such thing as cutting it too short or dying it too light or dark with her. Her knowledge and extensive experience has her getting it right the first time, every time.
Several years ago, my transition from a level 10 blonde to a level 3 brown and back to blonde again within a period of a month did not leave me hairless or disappointed — this girl knows what she’s doIng! I’ve seen her work on others, including any kind of extensions, dyes, and treatments you can think of, and she excels at them all. Her range of expertise is limitless and with Gro being such an inspiring hub of good vibes and creativity, she had found the perfect place to open up her bag of tricks.
Go see her at Gro Salon ASAP!

Ok, let’s get to the punch. Do not go here if you are a micro-​managing control freak about your hair. My philosophy when it comes to hair is, go to the experts and let them do their job. The stylists here are hyper-​creative and shine when allowed to express their technical abilities. Gro and Dennis are both adept at looking at a client’s face, feeling the hair’s texture, how it falls, etc and recommending the best cut for you and your style.
Dennis is really great at giving those classic Vidal Sassoon inspired cuts (5 point cut anyone?) He even has a plate on the wall signed with a congrats note from master Vidal himself!!! Dennis is also loads of personality and will be very honest about what works and doesn’t. Highly recommend.
More recently, Gro has been cutting my hair after she mentioned in passing, «you should get something a bit crazy.» I took her advice, and she took my hair in her hands, giving me that perfect blend of edgy but attractive/​cute. She knows not to go too far just for the sake of something trendy. I look forward to my Gro cuts, since they complement my face and my vibe. She knows how to communicate via hair, making the details count. She also has stories galore — including her experience at the very first gay pride parade in Chicago!
Amazing. Done.

Gro makes me feel young, stylish and pretty.
You know the icky feeling you have about yourself when your hair is unfashionable? I always feel a million times better after having a cut from Gro, the owner. I kick myself for waiting so long between cuts.
Gro is a creative stylist who can take my mushroom shaped head of hair and effortlessly shape it into something ultra hip. I’m always amazed at how quickly she works. Snip, snip, a blow dry and I’m done. What I love the best about Gro is that she makes me laugh. She has a dry sense of humor — maybe some Groupon clients didn’t get it?
The staff is friendly, with lots of cool characters. The salon is clean and the design is sophisticated. And they never pressure me to buy salon products (my biggest pet peeve). I highly recommend this salon if you are tired of your old boring ‘do.
Gro, YOU ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST!

Just went here for the first time to see my stylist Giselle who thankfully just left a snooty Lincoln park salon with terrible customer service skills to work at GRO!
YAY!
Loved the décor and the funky people who worked there!
P. S. did i mention Giselle??! She’s amazing! Beautiful! AND knows how to cut/​style/​and color my thick A%S curly unruly hair!
She’s amazing and I’ll follow her wherever she goes, which happens to be Gro!
Check her out!!!
Go to Gro ;)

It finally happened…
My stylist of 6+ years uprooted her trusty, dusty post, packed it up, and left for greener (blonder?) pastures. Such scariness! Lucky for her, I’ll follow that girl anywhere, and where-​oh-​where has she wound up?
Here. Gro Salon.
For those who may be looking for Giselle (aka GiGi) of Salon 1800 fame, Gro is her new hairdo home and you’ll find her trademark brand of sexy tresses flowing freely here, in this hip Bucktown salon.
While it’s quite the departure from the big, bright, one-​stop-​shop behemoth that was, ahem, that *other* salon, the vibe at Gro is cool and funky while certainly bringing much more of a neighborhood feel to the party. Smaller space, more intimate experience, less snooty front desk hassle. Win! The staff here all seemed friendly and professional, with my first experience being positive, though not overly fussy.
Ultimately I was extremely pleased, how could I not be, I’m still getting the typical Giselle hair perfect treatment. Do I wish Gro carried a bit more product? Yeah, they’re pretty much Bumble & Bumble exclusive and I like to mix up my haircare repertoire a bit, but I ain’t complainin’… Moroccan Oil flows like wine here, I’m uberthankful for that.
Looking for amazing cuts, color, extensions, keratin, blowouts and more, More, MORE? Get going. I mean, GROing.

NO JOKE, THIS ONE IS REALLY BAD!!!
I bought a Groupon for any hair service at Gro. I have never been disappointed at other salon Groupons, and this had more good reviews than bad, so I figured this would work out, and hopefully get a permanent colorist out of this. Boy, was I wrong in all levels!!!
1. When they called the day before to supposedly confirm my appointment, they asked me to come in an hour earlier b/​c they double booked. I agreed, and went to my appointment an hour earlier. (It would have been nice to have been called earlier, instead of the night before)
2. I had to wait an HOUR until the receptionist sat me.
3. After seating me, the receptionist told me I have to wait another 30 minutes until I could be seen by a stylist. So I waited (only because they didn’t have any other availability for another 2 weeks)
4. My colorist kept talking to me about salon gossip, including a stylist at Gro who is an alcoholic, and who gets drunk while styling people’s hair. (Call me crazy, but isn’t that unprofessional??)
5. My shampoo lady told me that she doesn’t know how to style, so she can’t style my hair after blow drying. (How do you not know how to style hair if you work at a salon??) She then asks me what products would be good for my hair that they offer at the salon. I didn’t know that answer b/​c I’ve never used their products before, and also b/​c I’M NOT THE STYLIST. So then she guesses (I know she was guessing b/​c she had a puzzled look at all of the products, and said, «ehh, this looks like it will work» at the products she choose for me).
6. My hair looks a lot lighter at the top, than at the bottom, but my colorist told me that it will look lighter once I’m outside in the sun and my hair completely dries. So, I didn’t make a big fuss about it.
7. I had to wait AGAIN 20 minutes for the receptionist to come back to her desk, so I can pay, even though she saw me walk to the front desk
8. I wake up the next day, and my hair has THREE DIFFERENT TONES (blonde at the top, ash brown in the middle, pitch black at the bottom). The bottom is darker than it was before I got it dyed.
I called days later complaining about my experience, and the receptionist hung up on me TWICE.
I finally got a hold of the owner (who was apparently my colorist… the gossip queen who gave me 3 tones) and she got upset with me because I couldn’t go to the salon that day to fix it (sorry I have a full-​time job). She then continues to argue with me about my complaints, then tells me, «We’re busy this week, so do you want me to fix your hair today or not? Because if not, then I really don’t have time for this». I told her No, b/​c I’m working, so then she hangs up on me
Needless to say, nothing got resolved, and I am still 3-​toned hair girl.
I wish I never got that Groupon…
*****She also told me that my blow dry experience was «complementary» b/​c they usually charge people extra to get a blow dry and style if you’re only coloring your hair. That was not mentioned at all the day I got my hair done… I don’t know a single salon in Chicago that charges extra to get a blow dry after they color it. So, if you’re cool with leaving the salon with wet hair, then this is the place for you!********

I found Gro Salon on Unilocal about 18 months ago. After a good 6 – 7 years cutting my own hair after a traumatic haircut incident as a teenager, I was nervous. I called and asked for the first available appointment, as luck would have it, I got Karen.
I have baby fine yet curly hair, therefore it is a bit of a challenge to cut well so as to reinforce the curl pattern. When I arrived at Gro for my appointment, I knew immediately that Karen would be the boss. She has curly hair too!!!
She did an amazing job, my hair has never looked better. Shortly after my haircut, I went to a family reunion and my cousins wouldn’t shut up about how amazing my hair looked. Thanks Karen!
I had to knock it down one star because I sometimes feel as if the administrative staff (receptionist, etc) are somewhat unprofessional, and are not attentive to clients.
If you have curly hair and are not satisfied with your cut, suffering from triangle hair syndrome, or other similar conditions, I highly recommend Karen.