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Will Charles Salon
Rating Details »
Category: Hair Salons [Edit]
Neighborhood: Back Bay11 Newbury St
3rd Floor
(between Arlington St & Berkeley St)
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 375-0002
20% Off!
20% off cut and/or color services for 1st time client with select stylists. Mention Yelp to redeem this offer. Discount expires June 1st.
- Nearest Transit:
-
Arlington (Green)
Boylston (Green, Silver)
Back Bay (Orange)
- Hours:
Tue-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- By Appointment Only:
- Yes
16 reviews for Will Charles Salon
This business is a Yelp Sponsor
10/23/2009
10/29/2009
8/30/2009
6/23/2009
2/7/2009
4/13/2009
8/9/2009
2/3/2009
3/3/2009
6/9/2009
2/22/2009
9/17/2009
2/10/2009
3/11/2009
2/7/2009
3/10/2009
One of the Business' Favorite Reviews What's This?
I have been coming here for almost a year and, while writing bad review about this OTHER salon that I just tried for a quick cut, realized that I had never actually reviewed Will Charles.
Let's just say fabulous and leave it at that...ok, maybe a little more detail. Billy is great, he always gets my color right and is hilarious to talk with, he was the first person to "win me over" at the salon. Erik cuts my hair and is always a total sweetheart and does exactly what we have discussed.
The receptionist used to be a bit rude, but I think that they have recently replaced her. Other than that, my experiences with Will Charles have been impeccable. The friendly hair washing woman and her magic hands are a bonus!
I am also a Billy/Erik groupie; but to be honest; I've had a chance to have my hair done (for cut and blow dry) by almost everyone there; and its fantastic. Billy is the only one who has colored my hair at Will Charles, and he is the master of color.
Highly recommend!! Enjoy!
My hair behaves badly. It's thick, it's textured, and 90% of stylists I've been to end up scratching their heads when my cut doesn't end up looking anything like what I asked for during our consult. So it was with some serious skepticism that I ended up at Will Charles with a Groupon in hand, ready to get a triple whammy of gloss treatment, conditioning treatment, and shampoo/cut/style. I ended up with Diane, and WHOO BOY, she did me right.
I actually got there a little late... the place is hard to find if you're not keeping an eye out - but Diane took the time to hear me out and HALLELUJAH, actually gave me a dry cut! (which, I must say, is a refreshing change after a more recent stylist asked me if I "got a perm or something." yay for cultural insensitivity.) I was super happy with the two treatments, which left my hair more manageable than ever, and I was even happier with my newly reshaped cut - which magically tamed my hair's thickness while embracing its natural volume and texture.
Usually I rush out of salons dying to throw my hair back up in a ponytail, but I can't say I didn't end up strolling around the Back Bay as my hair whooshed and swayed ever-so-sexily in the wind. Two thumbs up to Diane! (ah, and cash tip only.)
I had at a fantastic experience at Will Charles. For starters, I did use a groupon that for $65 gave you massage, hair masque, gloss treatment, and cut and blow out. The salon itself is on the second floor of Newbury so if you arent watching the numbers you can miss it all together. I recommend taking the T to Arlington - because it is literally a 3 minute walk from the t stop.
My stylist was Kerry Lee and she did an amazing job on my hair, which is long and extremely thick. I brought in pictures of Leighton Meester's layers and a few other pictures to convey how I wanted my hair. Kerry spent over an hour cutting the layers into my hair, alternating between blow drying and then cutting more. My hair looks and feels great and once I am able to afford a non-groupon price haircut I will return!
I've been going to Erik since he was just starting out and training (more than 3 years ago!). I have really, really thick, curly hair - see my picture. It is incredibly hard to not only find someone who knows how to cut curly hair without ruining it, but to also find someone you can trust when you say "I want something different." I was getting a little bored with my huge hair recently. Erik thinned it out. At first, when I saw the amount of hair on the ground, I was freaking out, and my hair felt so thin - but it looks amazing.
I need my bangs trimmed about once a month, and that's never a problem. Erik also does such a wonderful job with my hair, I never need to get it cut more than once every 4 months - a huge help!
Anything that can be said about Erik has already been said - never a complaint from me!
I also go to Billy for my color now, rather than driving really far away. Billy is a genius with color. You tell him what you want and what your concerns are, and your hair turns out amazing. Billy is well-worth it, and I get so many compliments on my hair, I can't help but smile.
I have been under Billy & Erik's hair care for many years and they are the BEST! They are dedicated to ensuring the satisfaction of their clients. Billy is a master of coloring. He gives me the exact color I want & I often receive compliments on how nicely blended my highlights are. I wouldn't trust anyone else with my hair. Erik is always thorough, taking his time with my haircuts and he styles my hair to perfection. The salon staff is very friendly & they go out of their way to make customers feel relaxed and pampered.
Regarding Julie S.'s review - this salon does not even have a $200 conditioning treatment , did she dream up that review?
i've been going to Erik Howard for over 3 years now, and will never cheat on him. i have course, thick, wavy hair, that i tend to wear in a permanent bun (i'm a grad student, i have an excuse) but whenever i leave the salon, i always come out leaving with pageant hair, styled to perfection. i have a fantastic time here, the staff is incredible.
Billy is my colorist. He to can highlight my hair to perfection. It looks natural and not processed.
While genetics has blessed me with a great head of hair (thanks genetics) Erik and Billy are an awesome dynamic duo, that make a trip to the salon a great experience, and the end result makes you feel glamourous!
GO NOW! it's customer appreciation month (till the end of August--they are offering a complimentary conditioning treatment, my hair is so silky smooth!)
I'm a big fan of both Billy and Erik. I love how long my haircuts last (and I have short hair). I can go almost two months without another cut before it looks too shaggy or hideous. It's very impressive.
Plus, they're both really sweet, good guys and I'm proud of them for taking ownership of the place. Billy's an excellent colorist who really listens and Erik is an amazing stylist!
I had the best experience at this salon. First of all, the salon is beautiful and welcoming. I felt right at home as soon as I arrived. Billy is a very talented colorist. He colored my hair, and the color looks natural and healthy. Erik cut my hair, and, after growing it out for a few years, I decided that I wanted it shorter again. He was very supportive of my decision and did a great job. And, besides the fact that both of these guys are terrific, kind and genuine people, their prices are fantastically reasonable for Newbury Street. In addition, I like that the salon is so close to my office.
Both Billy and Erik went to great lengths to ensure that I was happy with my hair. I am looking forward to my next visit already!
I didn't pay full price for the hair treatment + cut I received. So my dissatisfaction may be related. I got a groupon for shampoo, treatment, style, and cut. Well, the shampoo and treatment part I'm very happy about. I used to a similar treatment once a month with a much bigger price tag so no complaints what so ever. Now the styling and cut. Because I've had bad experiences every where else besides this two Chinese salons in New York, I pretty much won't let anyone else cut my hair. The problem is that I haven't had time to go to New York for the past 2 months or so and the split/dead ends are coming out. I said: just trim and get rid of the dead ends. Diane (pretty new) was good at following that instruction. Although I thought it was a little strange that she didn't flow dry my hair straight when she was trimming it. Instead, there was a curl at the end. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but when the client is Asian and has naturally pretty straight hair which she intends to keep straight, why would you curl the ends while cutting it? Anyway, it was fine. However, when it came to my bans, I was very specific. I said: I normally get a sweeping ban and gestured the angle it would fall in front of my face. Well, I did not get the sweeping ban, instead I would call it semi-straight front at the very top. I'm sorry but why can't non-Asian hairdressers figure out what a sweeping ban entails? You do not part the hair as a straight line and try to put the two sides of hair behind ears and leave the forehead out in the open. That's not even a ban.
One other small thing: using hair straightener is not necessary, at least on Asian hair that's naturally straight. Blow drying does a fine job and much less damage. Everybody knows that straightener hurts your hair no matter how expensive they are. Some people have to use them, and I feel your pain. But when it's not necessary, please leave it out. I just got a hair masque treatment not to make sure that I can abuse my hair more.
I'm sorry, but I think Will Charles adds to my list of reasons why I should never tempt to replicate what Asian hairdressers can do to Asian hair for 30 bucks in a non-Asian Newbury streetesque salon.
The Will Charles Salon is a new incarnation of Runway Salon. Billy (the head colorist) and Erik (a stylist) have taken ownership of the salon from its previous owner, Nino (who was awful by the way).
Prior to moving to Boston, I was living in NYC and getting my hair done at one of the top salons in the city. After moving here, I had a hard time finding people who I thought had comparable skills to those of the stylists I was seeing in NY. When I found Billy I was really happy with his work and thankful that I could stop going to NY to get my color done.
I've been going to Billy for the last 3 years and overall, he is fantastic. He understands color, particularly color on asian hair (a lot of colorists will automatically suggest ash blond highlights to me without taking into account my coloring). Billy is very friendly, does not have an attitude and will listen to what you want and deliver on it. Billy is the salon's head colorist and trains the rest of the staff on color. In addition to color, he also does hair extensions.
I've only been to Erik once. He's very friendly and chatty and does a decent job cutting but I think he's inexperienced. I think he started at the salon as an assistant and was trained by Nino (who was the previous owner and who was riding on his experience as a hairdresser in Beverly Hills and not very good IMO). Consequently, Erik's only been cutting hair for like 3 or 4 years (though he may have been cutting longer due to previous experience). I'm surprised it ended up being Erik who became part owner of the salon as opposed to one of the other stylists who were more senior to him. Honestly, I thought Erik was the most junior of the stylists until the recent change in ownership.
Every once in a while the salon sends out a little something for $25 off or 20% off for you and the same for a friend who would be a first time client. It's nice way for them to reward you as a loyal customer.
Overall, I think the salon is great. However, beware when they try to push services and products very subtly and next thing you know it's an additional $100 you've spent for a conditioning treatment and bottle of shampoo.
I was a new client and was matched with Patrick. He is polite and pleasant and took great care of me and my hair. I got a great cut and color and will definitely return to see him again and again. Thanks, Patrick!
Billy is a terrific colorist. He really knows what he's doing, and he works very hard at his craft. This is a terrific place to get your hair done.
I usually don't go for high-end haircuts, especially on Newbury Street. However, I've been losing weight and wanted an affordable splurge. I looked up previous yelp reviews and based of the recommendations booked a cut with Erik. When I first got there I felt totally out of place putting on the robe, but I then started to relax and read a magazine. A nice assistant offered me orange or cucumber flavored water so I felt kind of pampered. She then did a wash with a nice little head massage. Finally I met Erik- I expected him to be older because of the reviews but he was pretty young, in his twenties. He was very friendly and did an amazing job on my hair. I have long straight boring hair- all my friends told me to go short but I wasn't convinced and wanted to save some length. I told him to do whatever he wanted. He cut it a little long than shoulder length, with these beautiful angles and layers that really flatter my face (which is round). I left feeling really grown up, it was a nice sophisticated cut!
I would definitely go back if I had the money. The rates are good for Newbury Street- however I might still go for 15 dollar trims at places I would rather not admit :)
I have been going to Erik for 3 years, and he has always done an excellent job. The salon has recently changed management for the better, and everyone is very friendly and seems to genuinely enjoy what they are doing. They give awesome scalp massages too.
dont go here- i had scheduled a cut and color with a DIVA- who refused to "touch" my hair until i had a $200 conditioning treatment. believe me, i am more than happy to spoil my hair, and was totally in agreement that conditioning could help, but i refused because he was so rude, full of himself and so unwelcoming- this was my first visit. please, get over yourself. nothing is that serious.
