Salon Prive in Alamo, CA

I've been going to Shirley every 6 weeks for several years now and love what she's done with my hair every time! I've gotten hair cuts and a perm, but I mostly get my hair colored. She's taken me from jet black, all the way to blonde, then to red, pink, and most recently purple! Shirley is always honest about what colors will work best with my skin tone and whether something I want to do may be too damaging for my hair. She'll work with me to address my concerns, such as making sure my hair isn't too "out there" for work. I trust her completely to take care of my hair and teach me how I can best take care of it too. I'd definitely recommend going to her, especially if you want someone who will work with you to figure out what color (or cut) will be best suited for you. For reference, I have thick coarse hair.

For great experience, go to Shirley! She is fantastic at, color, and had a great demeanor. Both my parents and I have been going to her for years! She listens to your thoughts and gives positive feedback on your ideas. I highly recommend Shirley!

I must say this place is as much of a jewel as the owner herself, Shirley Smith! Her artistry is one of a kind which is why each client leaves looking and feeling tailor made. My biggest pet peeve in dealing with previous salons is punctuality and functionality. From the moment you walk-in her time is devoted to you from start to finish - no interruptions - and you never have to worry about someone else's hands in your hair. These days you see salons cutting corners on products, not here though. I'm in love with all of the amazing lines used in my hair such as Rene Furterer. During my last visit I stocked up on much needed shampoo, conditioner, thermal protection and a cute pink flat iron in support of breast cancer awareness month. Last but not least, I must tell you about my most recent recruit, my mother. She was interested in Shirley's permanent makeup services, specific to her eyebrows. During her initial consultation Shirley addressed my mother's expectations and shortly thereafter returned for the finale. Boy, did her eyebrows turn out amazing! She used to pencil them in daily, but now she wakes up looking glamorous! I witnessed the entire process which was performed in a clean and sterile environment. My mom bragged about how painless the process was and we celebrated her new look with a little shopping afterward. Shirley truly has a knack for perfecting beauty and her works speaks for itself! It's been 6 years and I will NEVER go elsewhere, period.

Strangest salon I've ever been to. I went there a few months ago to get some products and see what services they had to offer and when I walked up I wasn't quite sure if they were open because there was no-one to be seen, the place seemed dark and, actually, closed. But, the door was open so I went in there and there were two women sitting in chairs deeper in the store and they asked what I wanted. I told them what I was there for and they told me that they were out of it but to check back. No interest in assisting me, explaining what services they had available, when the product I was looking for might be in stock, etc. There were no customers in there and it appeared to be only those two women and they seemed more interested in gossiping amongst themselves then in running a business or helping customers. I went back a while later, thinking maybe that was just an off day and . . . it was even worse. Again it seemed closed but the door was open so I went in and this time, there was no-one around. I called out and one of the hairdressers came out of a room and asked if she could help, I told her what I was looking for and she went to get the owner who, it turns out, was one of the two women I saw sitting around on my previous visit. Again -- no products in stock. When I asked about the different services they offered turned out that they really didn't have anyone on staff other than hairdressers. No estheticians, etc. So, I gave this place one star because Yelp doesn't allow no stars but, frankly, I'm not sure that the owner of this place is interested in actually running a business and building clientele. Her attitude was fairly indifferent to downright unpleasant and . . . there's never any customers or products in there. I'd say it was kind of creepy. UPDATE - I just saw the owner's comments which are bald faced lies. She doesn't know who I am or what I was looking for but, she did send me a couple of messages begging me to change my review because of the potential impact. I refused because, what I wrote is true. Apparently this is her way of dealing with it. Her actions say it all.