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Bubbles Hair Salon
Category: Beauty and Spas Hair Salons Hair Salons [Edit]
7475 Wisconsin AveSuite 102
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 652-3918
- Nearest Transit:
-
Bethesda Metro Station (Red)
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- By Appointment Only:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
E Y. said: "Kindle and Boom is located right by Congressional Plaza in the same shopping center as REI. There's a lot of parking and Kindle and Boom can be seen from the main roads, so it's easy to find. I went in there, let the receptionist…" read more »
22 reviews for Bubbles Hair Salon
22 reviews in English
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Review from Kathryn W.
Kensington, MD
12/1/2011
Maria and I had a color consult,copper is the color my friend.Over all the cutepie razor short cut inspired me. I had color, face highlights and a beautiful cut.Highly recommended $120. I have wavey parched hair. So I am really enjoying working my new hair doo.
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Review from laura w.
Carrboro, NC
10/24/2008
I was a little traumatized when I left Bubbles with a big ball of poofy hair after a hair cut with "Frederick." You know it's bad when you leave the hair salon, and all you can do is put your hair back in a pony tail and try to forget about it.
You see, I have (well, had) long (now medium length), curly, thick hair. It is also (not unlike its owner) quite temperamental. If it is not treated gently and kindly, it becomes a big, angry mess of undefined frizz and pouf. It gets sassy with those who do not try to understand it and instead attempt to manhandle it into submission.
I say this having owned this hair for some 23-plus years, and having been through a quite awkward stage in my teenage years when I tried just about every gel, mousse, cream, blow dryer, hair brush, comb, and curling iron there was on the market, my hair and I have somewhat come to peace with each other. There have even been points when I managed to have pretty nice-looking hair. So, there is no excuse for me to leave the chair of a professional with a big head of poof.
Little did I or my hair know that we were in for a little "treat" with Frederick at Bubbles. The first thing that Frederick did was give us a long sales pitch about products I should use. You know how it goes: Hair stylist asks what kind of product you use, then prods you to tell him the brand, then you know what's coming: "Oh. NO. You should NEVER use that!! You need a MOISTURIZING shampoo!"
It was so obvious at one point that he adjusted a bottle of gel on his table (the girls on The-Price-Is-Right couldn't show it off as much as he did) so I could get a nice good long look at the brand label. Avocado and wheatberry, please. Aren't those things people eat? Should I sent this hair gel to a third world country to starving children who would benefit more from this?
Anyway, I should have left after my bad shampoo. Big chunks of soap suds were actually flung onto my sweater from his careless shampooing. I was not impressed by his attempts to run a laundry business on the side, really.
The hair cut itself was ok. He did some nice cutting to give me some bangs in the front, so that was cool. My hair's a bit shorter than what I would have liked, but that wasn't his fault since my hair is naturally dry at the ends. We'll see how it turns out a few weeks from now.
But the styling. Oh, the styling. It was the sloppiest, most appalling mess I have ever seen. It was like he had never styled curly hair before. First of all, he raved about his light-weight styling gel (the one with the avocados). I was skeptical (from all my bad experiences in the past with styling gel), and my suspicions were confirmed yet again. He proceeded to rake out all my curls and pouf them out into frizz with big sloppy man hands, effectively turning my head into a mushroom. He kept asking, "Doesn't it feel lighter? Don't you love how light it is?" Well no kidding it's lighter, you just cut off part of it! That's physics, not your hair styling "wizardry." The more he touched my hair, the worse it got. It was all I could do not to shot "Stop! Just please stop touching my hair!" and run far, far from Frederick the Poofy Hair Wizard.
Then, after I told him it was way too poofy, he said, "Yeah, that's probably because I used a diffuser." Excuse me? Aren't you the professional who's been trained to dry hair? And, by the way, I have had plenty of other stylists dry my hair with diffusers and it does NOT come out looking like that.
Then he held me hostage under a hot air dryer cap, and then he manhandled my hair a little more, until my hair looked like it belonged to someone who wears mom jeans. "Doesn't it look GREAT in the back," he gushed insincerely. I told him, no, I thought it didn't look right, so he eventually cut out some of the thickness with some thinning shears. It looked somewhat passable at this point, but nowhere near what I would expect from a professional.
Maybe you will want to go here if you do not have curly hair like me, or if you'd like to have styling products pushed on you. Otherwise, I would steer clear of Frederick, the Soap-Sud-Splashing, Hair-Poofing, Singing and Dancing Hair Stylist at Bubbles.
P.S. - Oh! And he was bad at small talk!
P.P.S - I just washed my hair and styled it myself. Whew! It didn't dry poofy - it just needed to be styled correctly.Listed in: Trainwrecks
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Review from Alexis G.
Falls Church, VA
8/15/2006 1 photo
Yes, I have gone to Bubbles many, many times -- and my friends make fun of me for it. But this place can always fit me in at short notice for a haircut and it's not too expensive. For some reason, I just can't pay $75 for a haircut. I'm not poor but I ain't no Paris Hilton.
If you are considering a trip to Bubbles, I would suggest asking for someone young. There are a lot of older women at this location in particular and most of them do not speak English well, so may not understand the type of cut you desire. I ended up with a semi-mullet once, but they fixed it free of charge. I would say the same for getting your hair colored here -- ask for someone young, especially if you are making your hair blond. -
Review from Sarah M.
1/3/2009
3 of us walked into this place, and the second we got home, all three of us washed our hair and fixed everything ourselves.
Have you ever walked into one of those places where the hair stylists were gorgeous, well-dressed, with AWESOME haircuts leaving you hopeful? And then once they're done with your hair, you want to cry because it looks so awful and you know people will stare at you once you leave and not in a good way, and you wonder how people with such awesome hair have managed to screw up so royally. Then you discover it's probably because they went somewhere good to do their hair? This is the place.
I have long, straight hair and when I asked someone to straighten my hair like I usually do, I ended up with a ball of poofy hair that made me look like I had a guy's haircut. I don't know where they managed to hide my hair b/c they didn't take any length off...but it looked terrible.
My roommate went in with the hopes of getting her hair highlighted. I love my roommate to death and she's one of those people who can pull almost anything off...but she looked like a skunk when she came out. She has dark brown hair and wanted her hair highlighted so it was "lighter." She ended up with a big blonde streak down the center of her head and when she parted it, it looked like someone had painted the top of her head bright yellow.
So disappointing, Bubbles. So disappointing. -
Review from Alicia G.
Updated - 8/18/2008
**4.5**
I am very spontaneous about getting my haircut. It can be as simple as me in the bathroom in my office (which is right down the street) and deciding that I should stop in and get my haircut before I go home. This is exactly what happened this past Friday.
I called ahead to make sure they had time to take me at 5 and I had no problem getting an appointment. I don't know why, but I didn't ask for my usual stylist, Patrick. I just decided to chance it with another person. I ended up with Helen and she did a fantastic job. Though it took longer than usual because I think she was afraid to cut off as much as I had been asking. So after she'd finish one section, I'd say it's not short enough and she'd have to go back again.
Ultimately, I ended up with a haircut that I love. Bubbles is definitely remaining my permanent salon..well, as long as I live in the District anyway. $30 for a shampoo/cut/blowdry...why go anywhere else?Listed in: Mirror, Mirror on the wall...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/6/2007
I've been to a few Bubbles Salons - but the one in Bethesda is my favorite. I've yet to come here… Read more »
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Review from Chelsea K.
Arlington, VA
9/26/2008
I'm not one of those girls who is so attached to her hair that she cries at the thought of getting her hair cut, and I've been known to sit down in the chair and say, "do whatever you think will look good, I'm feeling adventurous." However, I should add that I only say that in one chair, the stylist who has been doing my hair my entire life. In fact, before today, I had only ever had Michelle cut my hair, save one cut in South Africa when I realized I couldn't go 6 months without cutting my hair.
That being said, I was nervous today. Not necessarily about how my hair would look being different, but more about my first DC haircut (for the past 4 years I've gone home to PA for haircuts). Kika was a great stylist for a first time customer, and she sat me down at her chair before we did anything to talk about what I wanted, and then discussed price with me right away, which I appreciated. She took very good care of me and was very sweet, although she occasionally stopped to yell at me for how much my hair straightener is damaging my hair.
It cost me $40 for a wash/cut/style, but that was with a $10 extra charge for my long hair. More than what I pay in PA, but in the metropolitan DC area, I'll take the $40 any day. -
Review from Kate B.
Washington, DC
6/19/2008
I've been going to Esmeralda (or Esme, as she likes to be called) - the salon manager - for about a year. I always leave her chair a happy customer. She delivers on every request (i.e. If I request an inch off, and an inch off is what I get... not 3....). I can usually get a same-day appointment, but that's because I go at slow times, like 2 PM.
I've only gone for trims/cuts, so I can't comment on the color and waxing services. A trim/cut costs me $50 because my hair is long. But it's well worth it.
Added bonus: it's right next to the Bethesda Metro. Very convenient! -
Review from Janine K.
Washington, DC
2/9/2009
I started going there in '06, by Kristi at the time, moved out of town, came back and she was gone.
So, I moved over to Patrick. I get my cut and color done by him and he always does a great job. I never left unhappy.
He asks what I want, though by now he knows me and what I like. He dies my hair based on how I want it cut later, so I always looks great.
I can't talk about the other stylists, but Patrick is great!! -
Review from Lauren R.
Silver Spring, MD
7/16/2011
Went to see Tiffany at Bubbles and I was very happy with my haircut! At first I was super nervous since it had mixed reviews on yelp but I left very happy with my cut! I asked for as little length off as possible long layers with face framing and she did exactly what I asked. I think it cost $40 which is a great deal. They also have excellent prices on color/cut packages which I will try next time. Located right across from the bethesda metro so super convenient.
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Review from Lauren B.
Healdsburg, CA
2/25/2009
The salon was nice and they were able to take me right away. I love the Pureology products and they left my head and hair feeling wonderful after the shampoo/conditioning.
My stylist was Kika - she was nice and made sure to understand what I wanted, asked questions when things were unclear and did exactly what I wanted, even showing me how much hair she had started to cut to make sure it was okay - and when you have short hair that matters a lot!
When I walked out the door my hair looked how I wanted it, I didn't have to run to the nearest restroom and fix it or flatten it down and the products she used left my hair SO soft it was kind of unbelievable (again - love Pureology).
I'm not completely hooked on the salon, but for a basic haircut or trim for a little cheaper than your average place I think it's a great place to go. There were quite a few regulars who walked in while I was there (men's haircut, women's color, etc), so clearly there is a lot of trust in the people who work there. -
Review from Danielle D.
Rockville, MD
9/15/2009
Bubbles is moving! they are headed over to the newly developed section of stores on Bethesda Lane... where the cobble stone is.
Formerly Salon Cielo: Bethesda Row 7118 Bethesda Lane Bethesda, MD 20814
Right now they have a walk in special! $30 cuts! Get it while it lasts, lol. I've never known Bubbles to be a pricey place, and they've always done my hair well.
Samantha is great! She's extremely attentive, friendly, listens and communicates well - what kind of cut you'll get. I once got my hair custom colored with her, turned out great, and she always does a great blow out.
I've also been styled by Frederick, and Effie. They are wonderful as well.
I hope this helps gettin' the word out that they've moved! Check out the new salon - then grab dinner in the neighborhood after! -
Review from Ashley F.
Oakland, CA
6/10/2008
I was surprised at how good a haircut I received at Bubbles. I'm used to paying $60-80 for a haircut. Here, I got a simple trim for around $40. But, of course, I don't remember the name of my stylist.
I also got an appointment the day I called...very convenient.
I give it 4 out of 5 because I'm not sure I would go there for anything other than a trim if you're a chick. -
Review from D D.
Silver Spring, MD
10/28/2007
Amy cut my hair and she did a pretty good job. My hair looks fine, but it wasn't exactly what I asked for. That can happen (and often does) at really expensive salons though, so for $30 (before tip) I got a decent cut.
One thing -- they charge an extra $10 to blow dry your hair if it's long or thick because it takes longer, which they tell you upfront (the receptionist told me about the policy when I booked my appointment and Amy told me before cutting my hair). You can decline the service. -
Review from Crys B.
Washington D.C., DC
4/22/2011
I was really scared to visit this salon based on the reviews!
I wear my hair natural aka kinky/coily/curly but I know I need a trip so last night I decided to do the initial wash, detangle and straighten myself but was not going to do my own trim!
So on my way to work I stopped in to make an appointment. The receptionist was friendly and made a 1pm appointment for me with a Tiffany. However, when I returned Tiffany was busy (thank God and you'll see why) so I was serviced by Delise. Delise greeted me with a smile and took my coat. When I sat in her chair she asked me what I was interested in and about my hair current condition. She looked a little concerned when I told her I only wanted a dry trim of less than 1 inch but listened to me and did it anyways.
I soon became very comfortable with her and changed my mind - allowing her to also style my hair with a flat iron. She did cut more than I wanted but it was necessary and did not reflect poorly. She gave me some advice on caring for my hair based on what I told her. She only "pushed" (it was a nice suggestion lol) one product on me and suggested a couple of others on the shelf. I am happy with the service and results! I will definitely return to her. The services was I believe $40 (with 20% off) even though I did not get a wash and blow dry. But Im ok with that. I also asked the receptionist if I would be charged extra to do the wash, blow dry and flat iron for natural hair and she said no. That's fair!
So I had to leave a good review... -
Review from Susan A.
Takoma Park, MD
11/28/2010
I've been to this Bubbles location as well as the one in Tysons several times. Reading some of the other reviews, I can't say I had the same experience. I've never been forcefully roped into buying a product, but then again, I really hold my ground against stuff I don't think I need. One firm no and they usually take the hint. I've also gotten a dark blonde dye job to match my roots, and it was fine... didn't hold for more than a month or two, but I had some serious highlights underneath, so I expected them to shine back through eventually.
The one thing I'd say to be on the lookout for is picking your stylist. Bubbles is what it is: a chain. So the stylists come and go, and I'm absolutely going to start paying attention to whom I schedule appointments with from now on. BECAUSE...
The most recent time I went to this location I had Sarah. The cut ended up being fine (not great, mind you, just fine), but the whole time I was really nervous about what I was going to find myself with. SINCE...
For starters, she was late showing up for the appointment-- not because she was with another client, but because-- and she tells me this straight off-- she was asleep in her car between appointments. I mean, it's not like, a sin against nature, but seriously? ... Seriously?
I asked for a single-length bob, and she whined about how hard single-length cuts can be for her. Yeah, I hear you lady. And tipping makes my fingers cramp.
She didn't towel-dry my hair so it was sopping wet for the duration of the cut. (It also made me nervous she couldn't comb a straight part.) So it took forever (like, FOREVER) to get it blow-dried, and frankly by the end I was itching to get out of there, so it made me even more uncomfortable.
The small talk was weak. You could tell she wanted someone to gripe to over having to work on a Sunday. Maybe some other Yelpers will read the review and it won't be a problem for her for long.
Still, Bubbles is the only place I've found that gives consistently moderate to moderate-plus service for $30 for a cut. I'll be back, but I'll be careful. -
Review from Sarah M.
Denver, CO
10/29/2010
Love Mimi!
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Review from Karin B.
Chicago, IL
5/12/2009
Great location, walked in with out an appointment. The stylist was great, my hair looks great. I want to send all my friends....but I can't. I'd be too embarrassed because this is the filthiest place I've ever been. The walls and baseboards were caked with dirt and grime. The ceiling not much better. It was so hard to relax and enjoy the experience when all I could think of was not to touch anything. It's a shame. I hope the owner reads this because CLEANING is FREE! and this place needs it. so go get in there and scrub this place so I can come back.
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Review from Jen L.
Washington, DC
4/3/2009
The attentive hairstylist asked a lot of questions to understand what I wanted. Unfortunately, the result didn't turn out exactly as I had requested since the stylist cut too much and made my hair shorter than I had specified and the technical aspect did not seem very precise. However, the hairstylist was familiar with stylish hair trends and styles and offered both fashion-forward hairstyle advice and helpful at-home styling tips. The customer service from my stylist was spectacular.
At Bubbles, the skill, experience, and quality of the service really depends on the individual hairstylist. There seems to be a really diverse group of stylists working there with a wide range in skill, experience, and knowledge of the current fashion/style trends. If you find a good hairstylist, Bubbles can be a value since the prices are reasonable. I definitely would not recommend getting a drastic new hairstyle for the first time unless you have already found a specific stylist you trust and like. -
Review from Melissa G.
Rockville, MD
4/29/2011
Allegra has been doing my highlights and cut for almost a year. Not only does she do beautiful job, but she honest and very ethical. Allegra listens to what you want and will help you create a perfect look! Some of the staff is not a s friendly, that's why I only gave it four stars.
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Review from Tara A.
Dallas, TX
12/21/2008
After reading these reviews I walked in without an appointment . Frederick as my stylist, which worried me since another reviewer said her he left her "a little traumatized." But Frederick gave me a good haircut based on a photo I brought. My shampoo was done by someone else, and it was fine. My only complaint is that Frederick didn't handle my hair gently. My blow dry felt like a tug of war between Frederick and my head. I think because he is a male with short hair he really just doesn't understand that pulling someone's hair is uncomfortable. Overall, good haircut for a good price.
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Review from Josephine A.
New York, NY
4/20/2008
Crappy receptionist. The bridal party (out of towners) that I was a part of had appointments here for updo's for a wedding. The bride, the bride's mother, and groom's mother were the only ones that looked decent. I had a bottle of hairspray in my hair which made it look hard and plastered to my head. I did like the intended style of the up do but the half can of hairspray made it look trashy. After leaving, I worked the hairspray out with a comb... so it wasn't so shiny and hopefully looked natural. Everyone else in the bridal party wasn't too impressed. Everybody else's hair was falling down a couple of hours later. Maybe, their hair should have been plastered to their head like mine. Oh, and the lady who did my hair was very nice, but decided to add an extra $5 to my bill. When I asked the receptionist why there was a color correction amount of $5 added, she said she didn't know why but the stylist added it to the updo cost... perhaps it was to replace the bottle of hairspray she used on me.
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Review from Marisa M.
Washington, DC
8/15/2009
I just had a cut and color with Samantha at Bubbles. She was nice, fast, and offered that I could come back the following day for highlights (that I wasn't scheduled for but was considering). She also did a great blow out, did not push services or products, and custom-mixed the color. I will surely go back!
