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James Craig Salon
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Tue. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Wed-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- By Appointment Only:
- Yes
26 reviews for James Craig Salon
5 stars for a great blow job by Stephanie! Haha....
Seriously. I was in Saratoga for a wedding and needed a place to get my hair blow dried/flat ironed. You know, by someone who knew the right product to use and to make sure every strand of my hair was taken care of. I have a lot of hair on my head, and it's super curly.
I was talking to my co-worker and he told me he knew someone who worked at James Craig. I was already sold. Afterall, I didn't have a lot of time to go door to door and say "can you handle this wild animal (point to my head)?"
Stephanie did an amazing job blow drying my hair out to perfection. I love my Peter, but if I visit Saratoga, or any of the neighboring cities again, I would love to see Stephanie again.
I have made it my life's mission to tell as many people as possible how badly this salon treated me and how outrageously unprofessional they were. This place acts like its some exclusive high scale salon but it's like an old lady with too much makeup on. From far away, looks good but the closer you get, the uglier it gets.
I had been on chemo and all my hair fell out so when it grew back (2 years later) I was nervous about having it colored and cut. I told the girl this and she reassured me that everything would be okay. My appt. was at 1 pm and I had a lengthy consultation with two stylists about the color and cut. I even brought a picture of how I wanted it styled and told them very clearly that I did NOT want my hair to be red...please no red! So after my consultation I'm left sitting there for an hour, just sitting there. After many attempts at getting my stylists attention, she seemed to be juggling 3 or more clients at once. She finally turned her attention on me and began applying the color. So there I am sitting for an hour with this color on my head and a towel wrapped around it, I reach up to scratch my head and see that my finger is a bright cinnamon RED! I jumped up and ran all around the salon looking for my stylist and found her outside having a smoke and a coffee. It's now 3pm. She takes me back inside and says "OOPS" but incredibly insists that I told her that I wanted my hair red. So she shampoos it out (roughly I might add) and because it was such a deep red and she had left it on my head too long, she began a "color correction". It's now almost 6PM!!! She finally finishes and cuts my hair but tells me that she doesn't have time to blow me out because they're closing. So she pushes me out the door with wet hair. It's now almost 7PM. Later that night when I got home and my hair finally dried it was a flat, monochrome black color and my bangs had been cut so short ( 2 inches above my eyebrows) that it looked like a dead spider laying on my forehead. It was ridiculous. I looked like a cross between Morticia Adams and a Goth punk rocker! Although my husband got a good laugh out of it, I was not amused.
I went back the next day and asked politely for the manager or owner to take a look at my hair. I wanted them to recolor/re-cut it or give me my money back($250). Instead my stylist shows up and begins to berate me for keeping her so long the day before. She is loudly gesturing and making a scene. I was calm and I asked her if she or another stylist would correct my color and cut and she screamed in my face , literally screamed "NO". So I very politely asked for my money back to which she replied "YOU RECEIVED YOUR SERVICE SO LEAVE!" I asked to see James Craig the owner who was downstairs. He came up and looked at my hair and then gave me this limp-wristed dismissive hand gesture and walked away. What the hell was that? They refused to correct my hair and refused to give my money back. So after about a month of heated emails, they finally relented and gave me my money back.
My hair was so damaged from all the color treatments I got at James Craig that day but luckily I found a really great salon ( Dustin David) that corrected the dye and cut and I've been going to them for years now. Dustin David is warm, inviting, PROFESSIONAL and they make me look like a Million bucks every time!
I was so traumatized and humiliated by the James Craig Salon experience that I take every opportunity I get to tell the world how truly shitty it is.
Thank you yelp for giving me this opportunity!
This place is professional and comfortable. Two things that I highly desire and definitely respect.
So, here's my story in a nutshell:
I dyed my blonde hair Nice 'N Easy Blue Black (Permament) while I was in highschool.
The outcome: six years later and my hair is still black and I hate it.
Well.. Not anymore! Denny at the James Craig salon is AMAZING. I truly mean A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
I've gone to dozens of places since high school trying to get all of this back out of my hair and have heard the same things over and over.. "Oh we can't do that.." "Oh, your hair will fall out," "It'll cost you hundreds and hundreds of dollars.."
..That's not what Denny told me and look at that.. a few months later and I'm a much lighter color. What can I say except for THANKS DENNY! You're the best!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this place.
I've been going here for 10+ years and have only left disappointed once (went back the next day and they fixed it and apologized for even letting me leave the previous day not happy).
I've been going to James Craig ever since I moved from Chicago. I had other sytists that I liked, but I totally Love Irene. Ever since I started getting my hair done here; I've never been disappointed. You can hand signal your request to them, and they will know EXACTLY what to do with your hair; whatever type of hair it is - and whatever style it is you wanted. The customer service is great, and they are always on time and they're very professional!!!!
I haven't written a review on here for ages but had to come on and write one about my favorite stylist, Emily. I've been going to her for years now and she has never, ever failed to give me a fabulous cut. I am one of those unfortunate women who have no idea how to style hair,despite my best efforts. Emily understands that and gives me an extremely easy to style cut that I can replicate myself when I get home (unlike those salon cuts that are only good when they've been styled....then you go home....and you never see that pretty cut again). The only times I've strayed were when in Asia for prolonged periods and they cannot compare.
I'm Asian and Emily knows how to cut Asian hair so I'd recommend anybody with Asian hair to go see her. She also gave me great color a while back, and she is really talented at working with you to figure out a color that you are comfortable with and that will suit you.
I've also always had really good experiences with the people at reception. Overall five stars.
I first went to here to fix tragic mall salon highlights-gone-wrong. Ever since I have been super happy. I drive every other month from San Francisco and I think it is definitely worth it.
Jay is awesome. If I want the exact same cut/color as last time, I know I will get it and whenever I want something new, Jay is able to figure it out despite my poor explanations. I always leave incredibly happy.
It's a little pricey, but I really think that you get what you pay for!
Jay is AMAZING! I just moved to San Jose from New York City, and had my hair cut by a crazy lady who didn't even wet my hair before she ruined it! Needless to say, I was distraught. However, Jay saved my hair, and now it is ten times more fabulous than before I let that witch near it.
I will go to Jay for LIFE! No Better Stylist In The World! Only Ask For Jay!
Hurrah for James Craig Salon!
This place was GREAT to begin with.. I had Sara K. as my stylist for about half a year, and then she had to go on maternity leave. She was a great stylist, but not very much fun to have a conversation with. So, when she left, they sent me a $50 certificate to use it on a new stylist.
I decided to go with Eve ( a guy), because my friends liked him. He was just okay, not that great with long hair. And I realized both my friends had short hair, so maybe he was only good with short hair?
THEN he left! I got ANOTHER $50 certificate to try another gal, forgot her name, but she was NOT GOOD. . .After she styled and cut my hair, it looked great because it was nicely styled (all she had to do was blowdry and straight it out because that's how I like my hair). But the next day, I showerd and when I was drying my hair, I realized she didn't cut it right. I asked for layers, but she made it look super wacky! I can say the only good thing was the conversation. Other than that, I was very disappointed. I would think a salon in downtown saratoga would be professional and precise, but it's NOT what you think you would/or should be getting from the salon.
You know, I just have no witty way to say this so here it is:
Bill gives a great haircut. When he really gets inspired he can cut a head of hair for $85 in a style that gives Mark Lewis at Spaghetti Ravioli a run for his $150.
When he isn't inspired you have to inspire him.
He sold me on color. Well actually at James Craig they call it "a brightening treatment," which is foo foo salon speak for bleaching. So I was blonde for a couple years. That was fine. But get this: I make my bleaching appointments with Bill but some other person always did the color. Bill didn't even touch my hair if I wasn't getting a cut.
And if you're not getting a cut with your color you don't get your hair styled. Not even dried. WTF? I can't believe they let me walk out of the place looking like that. Maybe they thought I wouldn't go back to work with a wet head of hair but James Craig Salon doesn't know who they're dealing with when it comes to me. I am an engineer. The sheer fact that I get regular haircuts gives me extra brownie points with the boss. I could not care less about going to work with a wet head of hair.
If I'm driving all the way to Saratoga to have some chick who doesn't even introduce herself to me color my hair while my payment and tip goes to Bill who merely gives the orders to nameless coloring chick then I'm not paying extra for a hair style.
The hair styling I got with my haircuts made me look like I should be voting Republican and wearing pearls. Yuck.
I did that for two years. WTF was I thinking?
I had a little crush on Jay. I could lay in the shampoo bowl and listen to him talk with that sweet voice all day long and he is such a hottie. Seriously my day was better when he washed my hair.
Sometimes a girl would wash my hair after I would get color. Each time she would say, "your hair is really damaged, would you like a deep conditioning treatment?" And I'd think to myself, "well who the F's fault is it that my hair is damaged? Why don't you ask Bill? He's the person directing the chemical traffic flow on my scalp, maybe you can get him to actually touch my head today if you tell him my hair is damaged."
And I have short hair. I mean how stinking damaged can it get from single process color? It's not like I had bleaching AND color AND highlights. Just bleaching and I'm not that dark to begin with.
All that being stated, I like Bill. I think he's talented with a pair of shears. If I only ever needed haircuts I would probably still be going to James Craig...though each time I drove to Saratoga from North San Jose I came to loathe the trip more and more. Not James Craig's fault, just a Saratoga thing.
Desk staff was sometimes snotty and a lot more interested in the employees than the customers. I'd arrive, check in to the squished reception area and then sit and wait and wait and learn that they never notified Bill that I had arrived.
I think you can do a lot better than James Craig if you don't have your heart set on getting your do did in Saratoga.
Eve (with an accent on the second "e") gives the best hair cuts and styles. I've been going to him for just over a year. It's amazing what he can do with my wavy/curly hair with just a brush and a blow dryer, no straight iron. His prices seemed reasonable. My only complaints are they don't do special occasion styling and the salon's products (Redken and Kérastase) make my scalp itch within hours. But the minor irritation is worth Eve's cuts. I just wish JC would go Aveda. Love the gift certificates to neighboring retailers, too. Also, you get ~$20 gift certificate to JC for referring friends to the salon.
Update: Eve left the salon. And JC offered to let me bring my own products in, if I like.
I have been going here for 8 years now and I always leave happy with my cut and color. I originally went to Tara (who I believe is still there) and she is adorable, sweet and a hair goddess. Her prices went up 'cause she's THAT good so I decided to switch. I see Jay now and I love him too. He's one the only hair stylists I've ever been to who wasn't afraid to go "reallllly blonde" like I requested. He's fun and a great person to chat with, which makes the often tedious process of a dye job go much faster. The massage after you get you hair washed is also a nice touch.
I can also recommend Eve (Ev-ay) - my brother loves him. And my mother often sees Bill or Jay. Yes practically my whole family frequents this salon. And if my dad actually still had hair on his head, he'd probably go here too.
I have been going to James Craig for about 7 years now and I absolutely love it. Everyone there is so friendly and the stylists are amazing. I've been seeing Emily the entire time and she is a GOD SEND!!! I have very difficult, temper-mental curly hair and she is the only stylist that hasn't ruined my hair or completely dried it out. Even when my hair is in total distress I can always come out of the salon with beautiful hair that even my HUSBAND notices looks better than when I went in. My hair is always complimented on and I trust her completely to know exactly what is going to complement me best.
Yes they are a little bit pricey but soooooo worth the extra price. I couldn't imagine going anywhere else!!!
UPDATE 4/11/08 - I had Emily and one of the other stylist Shannon perform a treatment to help eliminate frizz for good and I've got to say that it's absolutely AMAZING. My hair has never looked better and it's so much more manageable. I also don't have the mass amounts of hair loss that I used to have and I have to use less products (yeah)!!!! If you have difficult, frizzy hair, I definitely recommend you call and make an appointment to have this done. You won't regret it.
Update 4/17/08 - I've had this service done for several weeks and I've got to say THANK YOU SOOO MUCH Emily and Shannon for taking the time to do my hair. I was able to go on a motorcycle ride without tying up my hair and it looked as good as it did at the end of the ride as when I first got on the bike. The ride even finished drying my hair since it was damp and I swear I could have gone to a wedding right afterwards without having to shower and do my hair again. I recommend anyone who has trouble hair to see Emily or Shannon for this amazing service.
Earlier this year I had a hair emergency. I just moved from San Francisco and was looking for a new stylist and colorist. Searching for something funky and fresh I tried two other salons before finding Eve. He was amazing! I have worked with him for six months now and we have changed my style and color three times. Each time I'm amazed by how he transforms my idea for "mahogany" into what I really want.
Everyone I've met in the salon is really nice and they take great care of you. As a new customer you get an envelope with great gift certificates. I agree they are a bit expensive; however, for the quality it's worth it.
James Craig is a great salon. Everyone is friendly and professional and I especially love my stylist, Shannon. Yes, she is related to me (through marriage), but she always makes me look amazing!
Tara Bong does amazing work! Although the salon is on the pricey side they are not snooty at all. The attention to detail and customer service is the best I have encountered. I have always had long hair in excess of two feet long and was terrified to go short no matter how badly I wanted to try. Tara was able to encourage me and I have the best cut ever!. Totally wash and go. I don't need to use any product or even a dryer. The cut literally just falls where it should. Every time I see Tara I walk out feeling beautiful.
I highly recommend James Craig Salon. I go to Stephanie, and she's been awesome. Pricing is competitive to other salons I've been to, but they're a lot more friendlier and professional. Atmosphere clean, modern, and relaxing.
THIS PLACE SUCKS!!! Don't waste your money on this crappy salon that acts high class but got no style in cutting or coloring. Simply overpriced and will leave you disappointed. Stay way!
I have never come out of here feeling anything other than fabulous. If I'm looking good, it's usually because of Holly who has been doing my hair for years. She is particularly good with color. I don't think it's all that expensive, particularly for Saratoga, but it is not cheap either--you will pay less than the cheapest stylist at Jonathan but way more than a chain. It's worth it. The atmosphere is great too, particularly if Jay is around being his catty but endearing self.
I've been going to James Craig for about a year and a 1/2 now, and I'm a big fan. I have tried many Bay Area salons over the years, but I'm sticking with JC now because it's always a great cut and great service. Emily takes care of me and has gotten to know me and my style. I never feel like I'm being coerced into something I'll hate tomorrow, and I love the Kerastase products! I am not a chatty patron - I really look forward to using my time there to relax and catch up on magazines, and they respect that. The complimentary massage post-shampoo is a great starter! So, while it is an indulgence (as Karen O. stated), to me it's totally worth it.
Went last year as I wanted to have a new color with highlights. Very professional staff, not your average hair place..neck and shoulder massage while waiting for color to take.. But beware and ask prices.. I had one process color and very subtle highlights..was talked into added on color conditioner, bought the shampoo and conditioner they recommended..and total with NO haircut...over 320.00! Ok, so if I was in Beverly Hills that would of been the price of a haircut..but come on! But that was my mistake by not asking prices..I guess I felt if I was in a fancy place I shouldn't ask... Overall, if I had unlimited funds I would go back again because I did like the service. But since I need a color job every 6 weeks need to stick to lady clairol..
A friend of mine recommended James Craig and I can't thank her enough for that recommendation. Although a bit pricey, this salon is awesome! Everyone I've dealt with has been extremely nice and professional. The salon itself is really nice and totally sets the mood for a relaxing experience. I've seen Emily twice - once for a cut and another time for a highlight. I have curly hair so it is usually really hard to find someone who actually knows what to do with my hair. During my first visit, Emily spent about ten minutes discussing my hair with me and what I wanted to with it. She gave me a great cut that was exactly what I was looking for. I went back a few weeks later and got a highlight. Again, I was really happy with her work. Highly, highly recommended (especially if your hair needs are complicated).
I went to get my hair cut my Hollie based on a recommendation from a co-worker. I loved my cut and the whole vibe of the salon. The post-shampoo massage that many have mentioned was nice, but honestly the massage was kinda weak. That doesn't really affect my opinion of the place though, because I came for a good haircut, not for a good massage. Hollie was super-nice and even sent me a thank-you note in the mail a few weeks later. I've already scheduled my second appointment.
Love this salon! Robert is phenomenal. What a great guy. Finally I do not have to drive to San Francisco for a great haircut/color. He's innovative and always in a really positive mood. The salon experience is relaxing and you do not have to sit there and listen to people gossip. Plus he's talented and will not allow you to have bad hair - my hair is in the best shape as its been in months. From the receptionist who answers phones, to the massages you get during the shampoo/rinse out to when you depart - the customer experience is awesome. Check this one out it is fabby!!
Shannon is the greatest stylist for my money and James Craig Hair Color and design is the best salon in the bay area. I always get compliments on my hair when she has styled and colored it. I have never had such a healthy head of shinny hair. Even the process' seems gentle. Love it, love it, love it!
