Elixir Salon

OK, i have to say, it was my first time here. I was going on a trip the very next day and needed a cut quick. Woke up at 9am and Unilocaled a salon near by. Elixer popped up and I called. A woman picked up and she said she had one slot for the day and that was in half an hour. I’ll take it! Got to the shop (a little difficult to find if you’re not looking for it) and there was only one person working there. It wasn’t the person everyone was raving about on Unilocal so I was a little disappointed.
Amber cut my hair. She asked me what I wanted and I described it to her: light layers and swept bangs, keep the length. Another person came in about half an hour later and bam! she was done! I was a little nervous, but when she blew dry me and I took a good look, it was great! Exactly what I wanted. She said if I went home and decided I wanted more bangs to just come back and she would cut it for me! Awesome. Took a risk and it paid off! Will surely be back!
ps. the aveda shampoo/​conditioner is to DIE for.

I’ve gone to Elixir twice now, but as I have just found myself on the edge of my office chair excited for this weeks appointment, it seems like the time to write a review.
Let me explain. I’m not a real high maintenance kind of girl. I don’t get manicures, pedicures, facials, really anything like that. But I really, really care about my hair. I like to try different things in both cut and color, and because I don’t always know exactly what I’m looking for, I have to have a hairstylist I can trust.
I used to go to Allen Edwards in Los Angeles, seeing Hortensia who I absolutely loved. Moving to Northern California, I needed someone new. Over a series of years, I have tried, Blow (eh) and Peter Thomas (terrible, terrible, haircut) in Berkeley. In S.F., I tried Vertical Clearance (eh again) and then was going to Curl Up and Dye for a while, which I really liked, but it was a bit out of my price range.
So, flash forward to my hair looking a hot mess, and me feeling pretty darn run down because of it. So, as if a parting of clouds (or maybe it was just steam from the espresso machine), appears my barrista with the cutest bob I have seen in a long while.
She sends me to Judy, my hair savior. I was pretty apprehensive at first. I have a style that’s a little hard to put a finger on, and to top it off, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Like at all. Like I knew I wanted to to be short. And look good. I ended up meeting with Judy and then spastically spitting out some things I wanted «edgy but work appropriate!» «classy!» «I just want to look really good!»
And I did. Judy listened to everything I said and gave me the greatest face-​framing asymmetrical cut. The great thing about it was that the longer piece went with the wave and movement of my hair naturally.
The other great thing about a haircut from Judy is that her advice stays with you. She told me my hair would take a little bit to «figure out» the new cut, and after the bliss of salon hair was taken away by the first wash, my hair had certainly NO idea at all what to do.
I had flashbacks to the cut I got at Peter Thomas… NO, NOT SHORT LAYERS… DON’T DO IT… NOT THE RAZOR!!! They did. I looked like an electric cactus. For months.
But I digress. A couple days later I awoke to hair that knew EXACTLY what it was doing and looked as fabulous as when I walked glowingly out of the salon. Compliments abounded, and I sent them Judy’s way, hopefully to start the cycle over again.
Since, I have been back to Judi, for color. I have sported black, chestnut, red, red-​red, and very unfortunate Vitamin-​C orange hair, but I had never even considered trying blond hair until Judy put the seed in my head as we were talking about my past hair-​story, if you will (though you don’t have to, that was pretty awful).
So, back I went, after deciding to take the leap, though I had only seen Judi once before, and though I had no idea if I could pull blond off. With a series of hair colors in tow (more that I absolutely HATED and would not have upon my head) Judy and I discussed the possibilities and she totally got the color I had in my mind, that I didn’t even have on paper. It looks great and it is quite fun being a blond. We stuck with a pretty tame cut to let the color do the work, but as I am returning this week for a cut and touch-​up, I will try something more adventurous. I know I am in good hands, and I can’t wait.
I would highly recommend Judy. A stylist who can listen to what you are saying while being able to read what you aren’t saying enough to understand your style and then cut a mean head of hair, without breaking the bank?! I couldn’t ask for more. Thanks Judy.

I saw Perrin here. I showed her a picture and she gave me a haircut that looked pretty much the same as when I walked into the salon except my hair was a little shorter. Perrin said that she gave me what I wanted so I guess I must have given her the idea that I wanted to look like I needed a haircut after my haircut. A few days passed and I looked sadly at my reflection in the mirror. My cut didn’t make me look good but made me look worse.
I remembered that Perrin said I could come back for a complimentary «adjustment» within two weeks and decided that I would take the offer even though I’m usually shy about these things. Luckily Perrin was quite gracious about seeing me again and we had a long talk about what I didn’t like about my hair and she fixed it. I was very happy with my look after and I’m very glad that I came back for the adjustment. I think it’s nice that Perrin offers the adjustment so that clients can be ultimately happy with their haircut. Thanks Perrin!

I’ll give this place a 1 start because they are nice. But. over all I had a bad experience.
Started going to Elixir because I couldn’t afford the $ 65 hair cuts I was getting in Berkley.
I was refereed to junior hair stylist Judy, who gave me a hair cut, it was ok. After going to her a few more times for hair cuts. I decided to ask about coloring my hair a few shades lighter since at the time I had color treated black hair. She did explain to me that black hair is hard to dye, but assure me that she was able to do it. I was shown color swatches and after several consultations and several times of me asking if she was sure she could get my hair lighter we agreed to start the process on my hair.
At first she quoted me a price of about $ 125 for the process. But when I got there for my appointment she told me she was going to charge me $ 50 dollars for every half hr. (which turn into a 4 and ½ hour ordeal) at some point the owner even poked fun at me with another client saying I have been there too long and black hair is usually very difficult to dye lighter. After almost half a work day at the salon my hair was not even a shade lighter. I complain and insisted that it was not what she had promised me. Judy said it was in my head and that i should give it a week for my hair to light up a bit.
Within a few days I called back and told them I was not satisfied with my $ 250 botched up hair dye. All they could offer me was a hair mask to keep my hair from freezing up. It has been almost a year since and I have been growing my hair out ever since. After several haircuts (of course somewhere else) my hair still has damage from the job I got at this salon.
I don’t understand the 5 stars on some of the reviews. But personally I would never ever ever go back.

My favorite place to get my hair done!
I’d been to the Berkeley location and then I started going to this one when Berkeley was really booked up. I like this one even more because it’s a small place and quiet. Perrin is so great! She cut my hair wet, which a lot of people don’t do because it is curly and I wear it blown straight. For the first time ever I can a haircut just like the picture I bring in! She’s cut my hair three times and each time I say «this is the best haircut I’ve ever had!»

1^st star-​Came here about 2 months ago because I finally got sick of driving 30 mins away to get my hair cut so I decided to give another salon a try. I am soo picky with my hair and I hate finding new hairstylists. I called the salon on my day off and the receptionist was able to fit me in the same day.
2^nd-​4^th star-​Perrin was soo wonderful and knew exactly what kind of haircut I was looking for. I asked for short choppy layers to give my hair more volume but I still wanted to keep the long length. She did an amazing job. It’s been almost 2 months and I’m still getting compliments on my haircut. I will definitely be going back!
5^th star-​Receptionist said the haircut would be $ 45 when I called but when I went to go pay she said $ 35. SCORE!!! and plenty of parking in the back! No hassle of parallel parking!!!
Only downfall is if you’re paying by card, you can not add tip. Elixir will only allow you to tip in cash or check. Since I wasn’t aware of this until after my haircut, poor Perrin did not get the tip that she deserved. I will definitely not make this mistake next time.

Went again … Yes, 2 years later. This is how much I don’t fuss with my hair and well, my overall fashion.
But…I’d like to say that I am glad that I stick to this salon. My original appointment was at 12PM but giving blood lasted a little bit longer than expected AND I left my cell phone at home. Fast forward to 1:30 PM when I finally am able to call back Elixir. I first listen to the voicemail and Judy sounded just like a friend saying «Hey, what happened? Where are you at?» without much judgment. I do call them back to explain what happened and they can quickly re-​schedule me to later on in the afternoon at 5:45 PM. Whew.
Fast forward to 5:45 PM. Judy is working on someone as I arrive but I wait less than 10 minutes. As soon as I sit in the chair, she and I have a discussion (a discussion!!) about hair in general, what is best to do with my type of hair, and a little bit about each of the pictures I showed her. I emphasize discussion because she asked me questions and I asked her questions. It wasn’t just a one sided conversation where she is staring at me with a blank face. She really took what I said, paused to play with my hair, and then did her magic.
Oh, AND she talked to me the entire time. I don’t know how other people feel about that but just like how Judy and I discussed my hair, she and I continued into having a conversation while she worked on my hair. It wasn’t the stereotypical «Uhuh. Yeah, sure.» comments from the hair stylist. She told me about her life and I told her about my life.
Overall, a GREAT experience despite the missed appointment.
$ 45 total which includes shampoo/​conditioner, haircut, water :) (or tea), blow dry (Why can’t she style my hair everyday?), and whatever product she put in my hair that made me smell like a eucalyptus garden all night long.
FYI — I have typical, straight, jet black Asian hair. I just wanted side swept bang and some layers that give texture but don’t thin out my hair. And well, that is exactly what I got. Another FYI, I do not go to the salon a lot. My hair usually just grows out until I feel super shaggy then I get it cut… by Judy @ Elixir Salon :)
One thing to note though: Elixir Salon only takes tip in cash or check form. They cannot add it to your credit card’s final total. Odd but well, everyone has their own thing.

Been going to Elixir for going on 2 years now and I still love it!
Amber — I love my new haircut and product! Thanks for helping me find just the right amount of change! It looks so cute!

I have been going to a salon in San Francisco for the past ten years and am very loyal to my stylist. However, I didn’t have time to get an appointment, nor the patience for parking and dealing with traffic. Not to mention that my SF salon is very pricey. I drove by Elixir and then looked up reviews on Unilocal.I was not disappointed!
Perrin was terrific. She was amiable, skillsed and I enjoyed my time in her chair. She did a super job with my thick mane of hair. Most importantly she listened to me and understood the type of hair cut I need for my lifestyle. Minimal maintenance! The price was terrific and the end result was well worth a little anguish for the switch. I’ll give the new cut a few days to wash and wear, but I am confident that Perrin has just gained a new client.

the first time i went here i was unhappy with my cut by judy so Alex offered me a complimentary cut by herself. It took her a few attempts until i finally agreed to let her cut my hair, which shows that she’s very persistent and wants everyone to leave her salon happy. I’m always reluctant to get my hair cut because it’s short so if someone screws it up its not like you can just cut a little more to fix it.
Alex did a great job! I can tell from the cut that she would do a great job on anyone’s hair. You can tell she’s been cutting hair for a long time because you don’t need to give her much direction, though she is happy to listen.
I’d highly recommend her. (but get in line, shes always booked)

I would give it 5 stars but don’t want Unilocal to delete my post!
Perrin is wonderful. I recently gave her a try because I can’t afford my super-​talented-​but-​super-​pricey stylist at Festoon. I was honestly amazed by Perrin’s talent. I have very dark hair, she did fantastic highlights, the kind you pay big bucks for. They look so natural, not stripey or cheap. She also did a great job on the cut. I’ll admit I was nervous leaving my long-​time stylist, but am so very happy I made the switch. I get the cut and color for the price of just a cut previously!
The only weird thing is getting into the building the first time you visit. There’s a parking lot and door in the back — use them! Don’t go out front.

Should have an easier way to simply enter the salon.
Made reservation for my mother in law, who is a senior citizen. She went to the appointment at 12:30pm and they didn’t answer the door callbox. She waited out there for over 1 hour (not knowing what to do). People from the Jazzercise class next door tried to help her get in. Continued to have no luck with the door callbox.
Contacted later that day by the management and received a sincere apology. Still doesn’t change things, but do not think the mistake was intentional.

Getting a facial with Erika at Elixir is the nicest thing I do for myself.
I have access to some pretty awesome massage at the clinic where I work, but what REALLLY relaxes me is the absolutely heavenly touch of Erika. It’s like getting a face massage from a baby… her fingers are so soft, so gentle. The energy of the session is one of pure nurturing, complete with silent or spoken blessings to support your goals and dreams in life (no kidding!). Erika takes EXTRAORDINARY care to make sure you are comfortable and that the treatment meets your needs. I practically float out the door, and I’m glowing for hours afterward. I wish I could always look the way I do when I leave.
I have had only one other facial, also from someone terrific, but the truth is, the experience is so extra special wonderful, I wouldn’t dream of sending anyone anywhere else. She’s also reasonably priced and reasonably easy to see within a couple of weeks (I both hope and don’t hope that changes once you read this review!) Oh, and AVEDA products smell and feel AMAZING… better than the other place I’ve gone.
If I want to give a really wonderful gift to someone I really love, I give them a treatment with Erika.