Salon DeStefino

I got a pedicure here right before Easter, and a month out it’s still going strong! Granted I have touched up my toes twice since my original pedi, but it was just a few swipes of polish on the edges. The color overall has lasted. My service provider Heater was very nice, chatty, but not overly so, and did an excellent job. I would definitely come back here again for a pedicure as they offer an «express» pedicure for $ 28. Granted, it wasn’t as fast as the name suggests, but I did hang out a bit to make sure my color set b/​f putting my close-​toed shoes back so, you know my bad. The price though, for what you get, it right on. I may also try their standard facial at $ 65, but I’m not sure, judging from the space, where that services occurs…

I’m changing my review after a bad hair cut that was not handled correctly. I went in told her what I wanted, showed a picture and she decided to barely look at it and totally ignore everything I said. I said I wanted some short layers in the front and long layers in the back and I wanted victoria secret model hair. Instead she took the opportunity to do whatever she wanted and I ended up with chopped off layers of one length on the sides and no long layers in the back. It looked like I had 2 haircuts one that was shoulder length and the rest long. Nothing was blended, it just did not make any sense nothing about it was good. It was horrible.
When I went back to get it fixed by her she just kept trying to defend why she did the hair cut and why it looked good. Ignoring the fact that I was unhappy and I didn’t like it. She just kept trying to cover her ass instead of listening to my concerns. The fix turned out ok but still not what I wanted in the first place.
I just wanted her to listen to me and stop making excuses. And I thought the manager or head stylist should have come over to talk with me but that never happened. The front desk girls were not friendly or helpful as well.
So I will never go back and I’m sorry for suggesting this place since I only got a trim the first time I went here and could have had the same cut from anywhere.

Great salon for hair… not so much nails. My hair stylist Vanessa is great. I can go in without a clear picture of what I want and she gives me exactly what I wanted. I get so many compliments on my hair.

The pedicures at DeStefinos are a complete rip-​off. IMO
When I booked the $ 53 pedicure, I was told
(1) it would last an hour, and would
(2) include a foot massage
Not true: the manicurist was done in 45 minutes. and
The advertised foot massage consisted of a quick rub of my feet and lower leg, finished in two minutes or less.
When the manicurist was done, I complained that
my feet were still rough. «You can’t possibly expect your feet
to be smooth after only one pedicure.»
Excuse me? and why not? Every other pedicure I’ve had
(for much less money) got my feet smooth,

Platinum Blonde Perfection. Jay works wonders and he has given me the best platinum blonde ‘do ever. It was gorgeous. My hair looked like corn silk. If I had boat-​loads of money, I’d fly him out to LA every 6 weeks for a touch up. Go to see Jay… tell him Laura from LA sent you.

I love Jon. I went there and enjoyed his awesome services (and his assistant Cheryl’s) for the three years that I lived in Pittsburgh and could afford that kind of thing. I went probably 10 or 15 times to them.
I give Jon 5 stars for highlights (always perfect. Once he suggested something that i didn’t feel like doing and he was totally cool about it, and then I regretted it in 3 weeks. He was right!) Also note that hair blow outs don’t come with color treatments, so times that I was poor and didn’t feel like paying 10 more bucks or whatever, awesome Jon would give me a blow dryer and let me sit and dry my hair myself if I wanted to. No attitude about it.
I give Jon 4 stars for haircut. My hair is very dry and thin, but I’d always ask for something ‘hip’ and requiring lots of thick hair, which is both not doable and not Jon’s thing. He likes to do more ‘classy’ conservative haircuts. This is important to know if you want ‘hip’… The nice thing is that he’ll be up front with you. I’d show him a picture and he’d be like, «I can’t do that with your hair, let’s flip through this mag and find something you like that will work.»
Never really interacted with anyone else there besides J and C, they were my people and so fun to be around for a few hours. Can’t speak to any other stylists or treatments at Salon Destefino.
I really miss this place now that I’m in Austin.

I’ve given DeStefino 3 shots with 2 different stylists, but it just didn’t blow my skirt up. Ladies at front desk have a snotty attitude. Haircuts are conservative and expensive. Stylists are awkward to talk to. Overall vibe is VERY Shadyside, if you know what I mean — aging upper middle class ladies aspiring to be cosmopolitan.
I’ve heard rave reviews of one of their stylists, booked with him, and he called out sick just two hours before — and it was a day before I had job interviews! I got stuck with some random guy who talked about conspiracy theories. Bleeechhhh.

I’ve only come here for threading, and the woman who threads only comes in a few times a month. I can’t say she’s best, but she gets the job done. I am generally willing to spend dough on beauty services, but for what you get here, the price is kind of a rip ($ 16 for eyebrows) — especially since it’s usually under $ 10 at most threading salons around the country. Anyways, it’s a decent option, considering there are no other alternatives in the city.
They also have a large nail salon, but $ 50+++ for a basic pedicure is practically a sin. There isn’t even any kind of use of specialized products or posh ambiance that might justify the price… just chairs by the large windows with aging tint. In almost any other major city, I can sit in a spa chair and get a french pedicure, and still walk out paying less.
As for the salon, I think the alleged «snob vibe» is confused with its effort to rise about the early 1990’s image it presents. Seriously, we’re almost at 2010 — the place (and the website) really could use an upgrade. From what I’ve generally seen, you’ll probably get a «safe» haircut here… meaning a clean ‘do, but nothing that’s going to make you bring sexy back. The front desk folks didn’t really cause me much concern, but I agree that they could work on being (or at least pretending to be) more friendly.

If you’re looking for a competent (and relatively painless) wax near campus, ask for Paula. She’s talkative, quick (!), and she knows what she’s doing.
I also got my brows threaded on a different occasion. (There’s only one technician, but I’ve forgotten her name.) On a scale of 1 – 10, the experience was a 7 — she seemed fairly new at it – but I’m not sure there are many options yet in Pittsburgh for threading.
The salon also offers cuts and coloring, which I haven’t experienced. The salon is on the third floor and has big windows, and the presence of outside light is refreshing. And once the manager leaves in the mid-​afternoon, they turn the music up!
(3÷14): I got my hair cut here a couple days ago, and I’m pleased with it. I explained what I wanted her to do, asked for her input, changed my mind, and was generally pretty confusing. She did manage to do what I wanted, though: thin and layer my overly-​thick hair without doing away with much length. $ 40 plus tip … a bit steep for a maintenance cut in Pittsburgh, but I’m used to much worse.