Antonino Salon & Spa

I waited a week before writing this because I wanted to find the right words and be clear. Jackie was a ‘nice’ person but I do not think she was very professional. Every single thing about my entire service felt rushed. Rushed and frantic. It was my first time at your salon. ( I had explained to the person booking my appt that I am accustomed to working w top pros in Boston for my natural looking blond highlights). I would have thought that the first thing that Jackie would have asked me was to see pictures of the color I was looking to achieve and have a professional real consultation - not talk at me. Instead she went into her technique which is the ‘michigan helmut’ so her foils were going to look different than what I was used to…. Ok. Again, the job itself was rushed and fast… bc she was thinking of how much needed to be done in a short window. And to be honest, the helmut feels like a faster way of doing highlights & not the most detailed and precise way. Maybe your salon forces stylists to fit more ppl into a day? Not sure. Either way - this rushed service is horrible. The bleach was flying around and landing on my robe and I was afraid my black sweater or jeans would be discolored. I voiced that concern and when my hair was done being highlighted - I was given a new robe. As my hair was processing - Jackie asked me ‘you like an ashy blond, right?’ That was beyond alarming to me. Why wasn’t that question asked in the beginning - of what kind of color I like? If she had looked at any pics to begin with and asked me to see what I like, she would have known. Not to mention that my own highlights were warm. I responded, ‘ashy?? No. What would make you say that? Did my highlights look ashy to you’ and she responded no they were warm. I thought it was a careless and thoughtless question to be asked as you are trying to judge when you are going to lift the foils towards the END of the processing. That is how little you care? She then informed me next, my hair would be washed & conditioned & that I would have to wait 15 minutes or so to get my hair blown out by her. I was not pleased and asked why - and she said that she had a man’s haircut appt in between. I said why would you do that? And her response was that it is the Xmas season and it’s busy and that it was going to be very ‘quick’. I found that completely unprofessional on her part and on your salon’s part if you either allow that- OR you mandate this rushed level of service so that you can make more money by seeing more ppl in a day. Have junior ppl blow dry if you don’t have time or don’t book a hair cut in the middle of MY service - but don’t have your paying customer wait a half hour to get her hair blown out?? After my hair was washed - I asked the girl doing it to set me up at a chair w a blow dryer & brush so that I could quickly blow out my own hair. Which I was happy to do at that point. No need to spend more money on a rushed blow dry with someone that didn’t care about a potential new client or to make me a repeat customer. And I was seated right next to Jackie cutting this man’s hair. All while my phone, glasses and bag were tight in front of him. Which again I found so unprofessional and disgusting quite frankly. She looked surprised and worried that I was blow drying my hair. At this point more than 20++ min had gone by and she was still cutting this man’s hair. So, I don’t know what part of me waiting with cold wet hair for 20-30 minutes seems appealing or appropriate to her or to your salon. But that’s unprofessional and actually ridiculous. The color is ok. I have had better - the service was just bad. And this is supposed to be a top salon in Birmingham? Truly disappointed and shocked. Jackie having done this for 30 years and working at the same salon for X number of years - shouldn’t make ppl complacent in their service, their techniques and being ‘nice’ enough is not a substitute for being rushed ot sloppy or fast. Why would I ever come back or refer anyone to your salon or to Jackie? I wouldn’t.

Em might be my niece, but I've been to many hairdressers trying to achieve a certain color in my hair for well over 12 years, and Em nailed it the very first time she did my hair. Initially, I went to her because she is my niece, but I continue going to her because she is one heck of a hairdresser. When I decided I wanted to give in and go all silver, something that in the past every hairdresser I went to had tried to accommodate, and within a few washes, all their work and my money literally went down the drain. I've not had that problem since I started coming to Em. I drive over an hour just for Em to do my hair; she's worth the time, gas, and distance I spend in addition to paying for the service. I always walk out loving my color, my haircut, and I receive so many compliments, and it's all Em. She's very good at what she does, and I tell everyone about her.

Asked for the pic of the blonde and to have layers but also take some length off. The result is the after when it had to be fixed by another professional to try and fix this mess. I have little no layers at all after asking so many time and now it's short and ugly. Rip my long beautiful hair from before. I didn't know it was possible to mess up hair so badly. Like no need to blow it out of proportion but it's kinda just straight up ugly and now I have to wait for it to grow out.

Warning: if you get your hair cut here, make sure you ask what products they're using up front. I went to Olivia for a simple haircut, and without asking (or telling me beforehand), she inexplicably used a harsh stripping product on my hair. A friend of mine in the industry confirmed that the product is normally used to strip color deposits or treat well-water hair; I neither color my hair nor use well-water, so I assume she just saw it on TikTok or something. By the time I got home, my newly-cut ends were already matting and fraying. When I searched for the product she used (Malibu C), I found numerous internet reviews that warned that the product can be very damaging if used incorrectly. I have now been using deep conditioning products to try to save my hair, but I'll have to get it cut to remove the damage she caused. Not only did she ruin my hair, she ruined my Thanksgiving, and probably the work trip that I have in a few days (as I'll either look like a frizzy or greasy mess). In fairness, Antonino's did refund my visit; however, they also offered to have me come back in and have Olivia do a "deep conditioning" and a blowout. I'd have to be an idiot to let her near my hair again and the last thing my incredibly dry hair needs right now is a blowout. Given same, I'm not sure they quite understand what happened, so again: ask about every product they're using on your hair.

This salon is amazing. I’ve worked with a few stylists there and they’re all great. Currently Claudia is taking care of my hair … great color, cuts and blowouts!!