David Rios Salon and Spa

Cyrille gave me one of the worst haircuts… I have tons of layers and they are all choppy. He did a good job with the blowdry, though some of my ends were burnt. He was recommended by the staff, but I will never go back to him. For $ 120, I expected, at least, a great haircut.

Was a great experience until the end, when they completely took advantage of me. I made sure to arrive early to talk to my stylist about what I hoped for my hair, the fact that I had been saving up to do this treatment, and that it was a lot of money for me but a special occasion for my new job. The straightening was great, and then at the end she said she was going to do a quick cut since the straight hair showed some unevenness. When I went to pay, they had charged me an extra $ 100 for a haircut that couldn’t have taken more than 8 minutes. Not professional at all. Very disappointed in how they took advantage of the situation.

They saved my botched haircut and bleach job. They know what they’re doing. Worth the money. With the loyalty.

This is a late post from services provided in late September. I received corrective color and full bayalage by Kelly Fox. Kelly truly knows his stuff and is a color genius and he deserves 5-​stars. Due to schedule conflicts for both he and I, we decided to split the services over two days. The first day we did the color correction and the next day was the bayalage. I only met one of the owners (Didié (spelling?)) and he is super nice to all of the clients and very enthusiastic about his salon. Since my services were being split over two days, he made sure the stylist gave me a blowdry both days, but didn’t double charge me, which I was very thankful for. After the first day/​color correction, Cyrille did an excellent job with my haircut (a corrective haircut since the last place butchered my hair). The blowdry by Cyrille was not so great. I figured maybe it was because he knew I was coming back the next day to finish my color, so why put in a great effort to only have to redo it the next day… but unfortunately, the blow dry was a little worse the next day. He’s just very rough (I’m not tender-​headed at all) and doesn’t really do any styling. My hair was still petty wild, frizzy and semi-​damp when I left. I originally wanted to give a 4-​star rating because of the blowdry with Cyrille, but I don’t think that’s fair because Kelly Fox’s color, Cyrille’s haircut, and Didie’s hospitality are all 5 stars. After years (9) of searching for a good hair place in DC, this is the crème de la crème and I will definitely be back… just with someone else doing my blowdry.

The best haircut in DC. I have been to numerous upscale salons in the area and David Rios is the best. Although not cheap, their skillful stylists are the best.

You know why David Rios charges $ 180 for a hair cut? Because he can. My hair looks really great and it’s very low maintenance

Absolutely loved this salon– beautiful space and kind staff. Very peaceful and the newly remodeled space in the back is gorgeous– there is a small patio too!
Went to David Rios for Cynthia Santana haircolorist. Cynthia has recently moved on to start her own salon and is no longer with David Rios.
Overall good experience at the salon — take a taxi though as parking is tight in this part of town.

I have been at a loss to find good stylists since I left Manhattan two years ago but now that I’m leaving DC, I’m going to have to come back just to get my hair styled here. Cyrille did my cut and I love it and Patrycja did my color. This is the best my hair has looked in two years. Definitely one of the best salons in DC. Worth the premium they charge.

Ok. Where to begin. I came into David Rios Salon after a bad experience at another salon nearby. Cyrille is THE BEST. His haircuts and blow outs are the best I have ever had!!! Patrycja did my highlights and my hair had zero damage (which was a huge deal becauae my hair was very over processed from previous salons). They use great products and have the full kerastase and inoa haircare line. LOVE IT. I even have my mom coming in now.

Michelle Niculae is a true artist with her color and cuts, and is the only stylist I will let touch my hair. She has crazy style and color abilities. I have had highlights, lowlights, balayage, bangs, all different styles and lengths. Since I have been getting my hair cut and colored by Michelle, my hair looks and feels better than it ever has. She has coaxed my hair from dry and brittle to soft and flowy and when I leave the salon I fell like a million bucks. Don’t go to anyone else, she is truly gifted, knows what looks good and makes you the best version of yourself. I highly recommend.

After trying this salon I will never go to any other again! Both Alex and David are stylists to go to If you’re looking for a special haircut: they listen to exactly what you want, always remember what they did visit to visit and give you styling tips while they’re cutting. They are amazing and words are not enough to describe how wonderful my experience is every time I come…
I really would love to share my last experience there. I love curls but usually they never last more than one evening. I lived in Italy, Spain and Boston MA and got my hair done several times trying different salons but I never found a good stylist. So far I can say Cyrille (hope I spelled his name correctly) has done the best curls ever and he became my fav. I told him that I had 3 events to attend over the week end and asked if my curls would last and he made it happen! I got my hair done Friday afternoon and the curls are still beautiful today (Monday)! I got so many compliments and I promise so many people kept touching my shiny curls!
The salon is beautiful, clean and the people who work there are extremely nice and knowledgeable.
I am so happy I found a salon where you can get an amazing hair cut and wonderful blow dry! If I ever move elsewhere, I will have to come back to DC to get my hair done here!

So after looking through pretty much EVERY salon in DC, no joke, I found that this salon had portfolios for pretty much every stylist. (DavidRios). I fell in love with Michelle Niculae’s portfolio, which showed true talent and decided to take a chance! If it happened to turn out bad then I could pay more to get it fixed.
The end result was perfect! She got just the right tone I was looking for! She is a magic worker. I think I’ve finally found my color guru in DC.
I CAN’T SAY ENOUGH PRAISES!
Michelle Niculae is just fabulous

Patricia does wonderful color and is skilled at creating a very natural looking blond using balayage (she does both lowlights and highlights to create depth). She has corrected my color several times, toning my hair to eliminate a brassy orange (and other botched color jobs as a result of going elsewhere!). She gives a thorough initial consult in order to make sure she can give you exactly what you’re looking for.
Beyond color, great cuts here. Having very thick, long hair is difficult because it tends to be boxy, but Patricia keeps my long layers fresh and tapers the ends nicely. She takes the minimum off to preserve as much length as possible.
Very happy to have found this gem! Staff is friendly and attentive, and the ambience is lovely, with a nice patio area and snacks, drinks, and other refreshments to enjoy while you process. Worth all five stars!

My first time here… I am more than happy! Zobeyda did my highlights and Cyrille cut my hair! Eli washed it and they are fantastic! They are just amazing, my hair looks gorgeous! I fly to NY weekly and Zobeyda accommodated me in her busy schedule! Top notch customer service, and experienced hands! I highly recommend this salon!!!

Starting off by saying #1) I don’t like to be nickel and dimed… and #2) I don’t like my time wasted…
My apt was with Patricia at 3:30, when I arrived I was given a gown and was seated in the coloring area. I proceeded to wait 40 mins for Patricia to finish with another client.
When she finally did arrive I explained what I wanted and we looked at some pictures together on pinterest. After deciding what I wanted we proceeded. I had explained that I wanted a partial and Patricia proceeded with foils all over… after asking if she was doing full foils she said «I decided to just go for it». I am happy with the full foils, but the highlights are so subtle and before I left Patricia and the owner responded that next time it will be lighter and more obvious. So what did I pay for then?
What a waste… my mom and my sisters couldn’t even tell the difference.
At the end Patricia explained that Cyril will be drying my hair, he seemed rushed and I felt like I was getting my hair ripped out. At one point I thought I was going to fall out of the chair!
Their website clearly states that the blow-​dry is included with the color… but when I went to pay I was charged extra for the God awful blow dry experience.
So today when I called to speak to them and the rude front dest girl proceeds to tell me that the blow dry is included with the color BUT they still charge for it which makes absolutely no sense… She was so incredibly rude that she proceeds to tell me that I could’ve waived the blow-​dry and left with wet hair… Excuse me?
I am willing to pay for excellent color and great service but I have to say this place was a major disappointment!

Oh, thank god I found this salon. I’d been bouncing around at a salon or two here in DC, desperate to find someone to do my color the way I’ve been searching for and dealing with unsatisfactory, ship-​em-​in-​ship-​em-​out quickie balayage that hurt my heart and my wallet. Worse, I was headed back to Austin for Labor Day weekend and my so called «ashy balayage» was really more «kind of coppery orange that’s really brassy and oooh, maybe don’t look at it in the light». I called David Rios, frantic to get it fixed before my trip, and they booked me for a color correction the next day.
Can we give a straight up Hallelujah for Patryjca Mikos?
I walked in, showed her my color, and then showed her what I have been trying to get corrected for months. Long story short, I have had dark, auburn-​y brown hair for years, and I’m realizing warmth doesn’t work for me. Pulling warmth out of the hair sucks and is an ordeal. However, other places (which I will not name) have been taking my money in the «gradual process», that’s just left me with brassiness that needs fixing every month. What I wanted was my natural root color, ashy dark brown, leading to a pale silvery platinum in a soft ombré halo. Girl took one look at my pictures and was ready to boogie.
Patryjca spent five frigging hours on me, y’all. First was a depositing a semi-​permanent color to match my roots, and getting some education that permanent was just going to go brassy, so we needed to «band-​aid» the hair until my roots had grown out more. Then, it was too warm, so she went over it again with another color. That was the first two hours. After that, she hand-​painted and foiled my hair for a faux-​balayage to get the highlights brighter. Also, Patryjca used Olaplex to protect my poor, fried ends. I cooked with that for a while. Enter toner to get the silvery ash, then a protective treatment, and another deep conditioning treatment, and halle-​friggin-​lujah.
I’m walking around with the prettiest color I have had in YEARS. It’s ashy, the highlights are bright, and after two washes it hasn’t shown a hint of brass. I cannot wait to see what happens as we work on it over the next year.
Five giant, shiny gold stars!

Patrycia (sp?) is awesome. So had a horrible horrible hair coloring job done at another hair salon and I came to David Rios salon to get it fixed– based on reviews. She listened to what I had to say, offered her opinion and how she would change it. She was honest about how it may take more than one visit– and what to expect in the coming weeks after she corrected the color. She was fast, professional, and overall my experience was great. She did an excellent corrective color job– I will be coming back.

I really love going to David Rios Salon. I usually go for hair cuts, and always ask for Kalizya. The salon is very nice inside, with a really pretty courtyard where they have events when it’s warm.
Whenever I go, Kalizya takes good care of me and answers my (many!) questions about the best products and practices for taking care of my hair. I have very thick, curly hair that can be difficult to manage but she makes it look so easy. The blowout from my last haircut lasted for several days and seriously has not looked better.
I find the prices to be pretty reasonable compared to similar salons in the area, and have never felt pressured to buy products or get certain treatments.
I would highlight recommend giving it a try.

I loved my experience at David Rios Salon. I called them for a last minute hair color and highlights after my plans in Baltimore fell through during the week of the riots. They were kind enough to squeeze me in the next day. I worked with Patrycia Mikos. She was lovely to work with and was very attentive. I love the color and the highlights extenuate my curls beautifully. I have had many compliments and my hair feels soft and nourished. The salon was relaxing and beautiful. Everybody was kind and attentive to my needs. They offered drinks and water, and even the option to order food for me when I got hungry. They even called the nail salon close by to come do my nails while I waited for my hair to dry. That saved me time and it felt nice to be taken care of like that.
The only reason I gave them a 4 star is because we had to redo my hair color or lighten it up because Patrycia did not understand what I wanted in the beginning. That took an additional few hours to fix and I was there longer than I anticipated. She also deep conditioned my hair twice due to this matter and I was charged twice for the conditioning. Nonetheless, I love the result and the whole experience at their wonderful relaxing salon and would definitely go there again.

The only reason I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is the price. They charge for EVERYTHING which is a lot different than a regular salon where you pay one price for the entire process.
About 2 weeks ago I had a first time with Cynthia. She is a hair God I promise. I told her what I wanted and she was very good at explaining every step and product and she let me know if something was going to cost more and ask if I was ok with what she was doing before she proceeded. Very knowledgable and after I left the salon I emailed her questions in which she was happy to answer. I can’t speak for the rest of the staff but the receptionists and Cynthia made me feel comfortable during my first visit. I plan on seeing Cynthia again in about 6 weeks.