Sine Qua Non Salon – Andersonville

I called them and left a message and no one returned my call. Big turn off!

The best. I will never go to another salon if I can help it. Absolute wizards when it comes to short (and in my case, receding) hair.

I’ve been seeing Valerie at Sine since i moved to Chicago. She does the best haircuts ever. Seriously. I’m a 24 year old male and am very squeamish about people cutting my hair. She does it perfectly every time. When she cuts your hair you can just tell the technique and talent while she works. She always has the best recommendations. And always wants to make sure that what she’s doing is what you want. I absolutely love her! It’s a little treat to see her every 2 weeks :) and the customer service by the amazing receptionist at differing locations are all amazing too!
Thanks Sinequanon and Valerie! You all are amazing

I’ve been going to Jennie for years and absolutely love her! I recommend her to all my friends and co-​workers and they all love her too! Our conversations are always great and I always walk out feeling refreshed and ready to show off my new do. Jennie has had really great ideas when I feel like a change and I always trust her judgement. I get constant compliments on my hair (cut and color) and was so grateful she was able to do my hair and my bridal party’s hair on my wedding day. I couldn’t imagine having to change stylists or salons…

This is a long-​overdue RAVE about this salon and its staff — especially Yola. As a middle-​age woman with long brown hair that needs grey covered, I’ve been a customer here for several years, after decades of experiences here in Chicago and downstate, The only time I’ve been this pleased before was in Springfield, IL when my stylist Bernie Koch was the founder of both the school and his salon.
Here at Sine Qua Non with Yola I have consistently received the best cut and color from a stylist who is exceptionally professional. She actually cares about listening to what I want, not judging, remembering me and specific requests even if it’s been months, and making sure I was taken care of seamlessly when she went on maternity leave. The manager and the receptionists are also friendly and professional, and the interns all do a good job. I like that they make sure you know in advance you’ll have a service from an intern, and they work with challenging schedules (both mine and a very popular Yola’s). This is not an inexpensive salon — you get what you pay for — but I’ve been to Oak Street, Oak Brook and Lincoln Park and paid more and received much less service. Kudos!

Jac gave me a phenomenal haircut. I have wicked curly hair, and she knew EXACTLY how to maximize its potential. I have never been so happy with a haircut in my life! It was my first time meeting her, and she took an hour and a half to make sure it looked awesome (and she gave me hints for humid weather that WORK). Heck yeah, I’ll be going back.

I went here based on the previous reviewer who said Nate was a curly hair whisperer. Sadly, he was not able to whisper my hair into submission. I can only call this haircut mediocre to poor. I have thick, wavy hair with a lot of body, and the shape he gave me just doesn’t work, definitely more of a christmas tree shape than the cute curls I was hoping for. I won’t be back.

I was really excited about my haircut. I called to make the appointment and questioned how much it would be. I was told $ 50. After spending a total of 25 minutes in the chair I was charged $ 75 and then asked if I would like to add gratuity, right in front of the stylist who cut my hair.
Really disappointed. When questioned they said $ 50 was an estimate. I can’t imagine how a haircut that took less than a half an hour could be worth $ 75. My hair length is above my shoulders.

Nate is the curly-​hair whisperer. Mine is a hot mess and he manages to shape it and tame it and order it to behave. For curly tresses a good stylist is a rare find… Nate is a gem. Additionally, the service at the salon is top notch. They’re exceedingly polite, generous with the coffee, and on one occasion gave me a steep discount after a disastrous blow out by a junior stylist. I can’t speak to other locations, but this one is great.

What a delightful surprise! I’m in my 60’s, so if I figure right I’ve had 1,200 –1,500 haircuts in my life. I had pretty much assumed «a cut is a cut is a cut.» Then I went to Nate, and for the first time in a very long time I’m delighted with a haircut. Who’d a thunk it? Amazing how much someone who is skilled & creative in his craft can make a difference. Go let Nate do your hair: you’ll be glad you did. D

Anna is awesome! After having a not so great experience elsewhere I wanted to do something different with my hair. I’m super picky and spent so much time researching someone new and figuring out exactly how I wanted my hair cut. I have pretty curly hair and was planning to go from a below shoulder length to kind of chin length bob. When I met Anna I was amazed by her confidence– not cocky confidence at all, but it’s like she really knew exactly what I wanted without me having to go into a detailed explanation of the cut i had in mind and I didn’t have to show her any pictures. I immediately felt comfortable and trusted her. Her skill level is really excellent. She cut most of my hair with a razor which totally blew my mind! I wound up leaving with a way cooler cut than I even knew I could have. 2 – 3 weeks later I am still getting tons of compliments. Thanks so much, Anna!

This salon is terrific — the owner is a badass, and JB has taken care of me terrifically. I also really appreciate the free touch-​up they offer between cuts. Thanks guys, keep being awesome!

After months of looking, I found this place which is near my house and decided to give it a try. I went to get my hair done a few months ago and upon going in I didn’t know what to expect. I must admit I was a bit intimidated when entering, but soon after I was greeted by the front desk and my stylist (JB). She was very friendly, she seated me and asked me what I wanted. I wasn’t too sure so I showed her a couple options I had and told her what I would like. She made some recommendations and soon she was styling my hair. The end result was great, I was extremely happy with it and would definitely go back. Thanks JB!

Finally found a new stylist! I was in hair mourning since my regular lady moved away. I know some of you can feel my pain on the finding of the new hair person. Searched and searched for a few months and decided to give a nice place in my neighborhood a try. Based on the stylist profiles, I chose Jennifer. Completely sweet and listened to everything I said. I even took a chance with color! This is probably one of my favorite haircuts and colors of all time. All the staff is great too.

Just went to Sine Qua Non as a walk-​in on a Friday afternoon. I doubted they would be able to fit me in, but much to my surprise they happily accommodated me. Everyone was extremely friendly, the place was clean and I got an excellent haircut. I’ve been looking for a new stylist for quite some time and I’m glad to say that I think I finally found the right place.

I’ve been to Sine Qua Non several times now and seen two stylists, Nate and Jack (she’s a lady!). I have curly hair that is the opposite of cooperative, so I’m selective about stylists. Lucky for me, Sine did not disappoint.
My first cut was with Nate, who is just the most dapper man I’ve ever met. He did an incredibly adorable short bob for me, and didn’t mind at all when I whipped out my phone to show him pics of Lizzy Caplan as inspiration. He was interesting to talk to, too, and didn’t push products. He gave me tips on the best ways to style it quickly (cuz I’m lazy), too. Best of all, he didn’t discourage me from certain styles! He seemed to know intuitively how my hair would actually behave with certain cuts, rather than assuming like some past experiences I’ve had, and he was not wrong. Also? Epic shampoo.
My second visit was quite a few months later, and he seemed to remember me, which I loved. Also, he didn’t push talking when I wasn’t feeling talkative. This is huge to me. I’m sure some women enjoy the social aspects of talking to their stylists, but I talk for work — I love being able to quietly enjoy my cut more often than not. But like I said, when we did talk, it was awesome and he’s just a great guy.
Jack! Jack is wonderful. I snuck in an appointment the day of a wedding in mid June. My hair was getting shaggy and I lucked out because she had a cancelation and the wonderful receptionist (I believe her name is Katie) hooked it up pretty last minute. I was nervous because of the aforementioned finicky hair, plus I love Nate already and have some serious stylist loyalty. But my hair needed to go, so I took the shot and man. Bullseye, my friends.
Jack is, first of all, just a joyous magical person. She also has curly hair, so we discussed ways she keeps hers so tame and lovely. I went in with a kind of vague idea that I wanted a pixie style that would look cute when I put like 2 minutes into it. She totally ran with it, and it looks amazing.
She also recommended one product, a pretty inexpensive Aveda liquid gel. I was hesitant at first because gel and my hair have never mixed well before but yay for Jack — This stuff is great! I swipe it through my hair with my fingertips and comb my bangs straight, then absentmindedly scrunch the gel soft when it has mostly dried.
Also, shout out to the guy at the desk that was patient while I fumbled in my purse and forgot my debit pin. You’re a classy gent!
I’m satisfied with having two amazing people I can trust with my untrustworthy mop of hair, and can’t recommend Sine Qua Non enough. It’s just a fantastic, professional environment.

I’m not someone who gets her hair done often, mostly because it tends to give me anxiety and I am usually very attached to my hair. But my boyfriend and I both decided to do some major changes with our hair– him donating 15 inches — and me, well I had no idea what I was going to do. I met with Jill who was hilarious, fun, easy going and knew just how to make me feel at ease about taking a big risk. Not to mention she did an AMAZING job on both our hairs (I got a long bob). I’ve been spreading the word to all my friends about how wonderful she is so I figure why not share that with Unilocalers?! Such a great experience.

Finally, finally, FINALLY — after eight months and five salons of searching, after haircuts ranging from «good» to «meh», after hours spent in the chairs of different stylists of differing levels of skill and sociability — I HAVE A STYLIST!
This was, in all seriousness, going to be my Last Stop — I think I may actually have run out of salons in the area to try. And they’ve all been good! Or at least good enough. But hairstyling is an art, and a very personal form of art, at that — and «good enough» just doesn’t cut it (no pun intended) for me. I regularly spend a lot of time coloring my hair, and I want a stylist who cares as much about making it look awesome as I do, who gives input and makes suggestions and hopefully is a halfway interesting conversationalist to boot. As a friend of mine put it, «I don’t want a servant, I want a collaborator.»
And I’ll be damned if I didn’t find one. JB was everything I hoped for and more — when she saw how much I cared about the particulars of my hair, she talked with me very specifically about what I wanted, and made suggestions for modifications here and there, all of which worked out beautifully. And when she turned me around to see the back and sides, and then proceeded to *explain everything that she’d done*, I looked up at her with starry eyes. «Do you want to go steady with me? Pretty please? Please say yes.»
I walked out with precisely the cut I love, after an hour of chatting with someone I click with. I’d nearly forgotten what a thoroughly fantastic feeling that is.
A standout point for the salon: While they do sell styling products, and JB did show me which ones she was using, I didn’t feel pressured to buy any of them — in fact, she gave me samples of the ones she used, so I could play around and see if they were worth the investment to me. Now *that’s* how you sell products!
Also note that they don’t allow tips on credit cards — you can run a debit card and put a tip on that, or tip cash.

When you find a fabulous person, you will pretty much go anywhere to get your haircut/​colored by them! I absolutely LOVE Jenny, she’s awesome — so friendly, always listens, but doesn’t talk my ear off if I just want to relax when getting my hair done.
I have very fine blonde hair, she knows how to cut it to put some texture and volume in it, and highlight the blonde so I always look sunkissed.
The staff at the salon has always been friendly and helpful in scheduling and if I’m running late. Love the hair products they use and how I feel when I walk out.
For me, the price is worth it and pretty average for a full cut and highlight. Well worth a visit!

The hair cut I received was fine, all but my bangs were to bluntly cut, I prefer a cleaner look to them. The stylist was very pretentious, only tried to up sell me products, and let me sit there for about an hour not once offering a magazine, water, etc. Thankfully I had my phone I could read the news, etc. at least.
He barely talked to me at all expect to ask what I wanted in my cut and to again try to up sell me products. Ask your clients how their day is or something! I felt like I was a bother that he had to cut my hair at all.
I won’t be back.