To Boldly Go Salon & Barber in Portland, OR

oh, what to say about Kris and her skillZ...
I had just moved to the area and was looking for a high-reviewed stylist nearby, walking distance.  I'm SO glad  our paths crossed and I found her! I started going to Kris several years ago now - via looking through all of her impressive client-reviews from way back then. Nothing has changed other than she continues raising the bar for herself AND her clients.  She makes certain to be educated in her field WELL above and beyond what is above typically experienced, and it shows if you ever scroll through her online presence, or have been in her presence. In addition to having competitive pricing for the outrageous outcomes, Kris is caring, empathetic - incredibly intelligent in her field and beyond - and will make you feel as if you're her only client when you're in her chair.

I can't believe I haven't left a review for Kris! Been seeing her for 4/5 years and she always kills it with my reds.

Prior to coming here I would cry every single time I got my haircut but not anymore!!! I always leave happy and confident.

When i go into the salon Ihave an idea of what I want but I trust that Kris will help me make decisions that will work with my hair lifestyle [color once a year - so room for seamless grow-out and low maintenance styling]. She includes tipping in her rates which is a huge anxiety relief.

Kris is emotionally aware that we are complex creatures and have different needs and levels of comfort. I have bad social anxiety and it's hard for me to sit in a chair for hours but she has never made me feel weird, or like I have to be talking for hours on end.

Kris is all around a lovely human being and is thoughtful, energetic, and passionate. Highly recommend following her social media as well. I have attached pictures of my last 3 cuts/color and mid year grow out!

Go see Kris! Support small local business!

Kris is a very talented stylist and colorist.  Especially recommend her if you have curly hair!

I had a mixed experience recently here- Gretchen was very nice through the appointment and seemed very knowledgeable and helpful. She responded very quickly to my message quickly when I expressed dissatisfaction with my hair afterward, and offered to redo the color but I'd rather wait for my hair to grow out as it's several inches too short and already has layers of color in it.

I arrived at 11am for an appointment that my confirmation said would last until 1:30pm and we didn't finish until 4pm. She did my cut first and then did the baby lights- they added nice color and dimension to the hair as desired. But she then did my roots and combed the color through. While my color was processing, someone arrived for a haircut and had their haircut done while my color sat. Around 45 minutes later, my color was washed out and was darker than I expected- most of the baby lights were no longer visible. She mentioned the color will fade to be lighter as expected, but the result was surprising.

I also asked for 2 inches or so to be cut, and mentioned I wanted to be able to put my hair in a ponytail still. When facing the mirror, the length was going great and she showed me it could still go in a ponytail. When turned around, I lost several inches for some reason and there was no going back. She took off even more in the back, and I left unable to put my hair in a ponytail. I'm not sure if there was a miscommunication and she thought I wanted the grow out to be able to be in a ponytail, but I don't think so since she initially showed me she could put it in a ponytail. By 4pm I was tired and hungry and ready to get home- she asked if I wanted to see the hair blown out and styled which I did but just wasn't up for given the 5 hours I'd been there so I said no. There was also another person waiting for their 4pm appointment to start.

When I did straighten it at home, I was surprised by my hair. I've gotten cuts that suit curly hair on many occasions and have always been able to wear the cuts straight too. This cut when straight appears uneven and choppy. The transition to the short back is awkward. She'd mentioned that at the end she'd go through and do any evening, cutting of long pieces etc needed but by then, as I'd mentioned, someone had shown up for another appointment at 4 and no additional cutting was done. I'm not sure if it was an off day, if my hair just took a few hours longer than expected or if she typically stacks appointments but things seemed rushed between the clients. I've never had someone try to do a whole haircut while dye sits on and I felt like my dye was likely left on too long due to it which resulted in the darker hair and missing baby lights.

I've included pictures of my hair before the appointment length wise, what I asked for, and what I got. Given the many positive reviews, I'd say this could be chalked up to an off experience but given the starkly different results I thought it was worth sharing.

I worked with Gretchen and could have had a better experience.  The consultation was great and I felt really comfortable with the plan we made.  From a design standpoint, she really nailed the style and I have received countless compliments.  My review is regarding the customer service side of the appointment.

My appointment was Monday at 11a, and Gretchen was about 70% finished with my service as of 5p.  To me, that seems like a long time.  Gretchen was doing a service on another client while I dried, that seemed to be taking a while too, so I decided to leave.  I was processing and drying for 2.5 hours, with more processing, drying, and styling to do once she finished with the other client.

Gretchen did apologize and offered to finish the service at another time or refund the part of the service we did not do.  I agreed to the refund.

She's been really hard to communicate with since, and as of 8 days post-service I haven't received my refund.   I called and texted the salon on Friday
about the refund and finally received a reply from Gretchen that day that she does not work any day but Mondays, and I will have to wait until the following Monday for my refund.  It's Tuesday and I have yet to receive it.  I made a Venmo request for the refund and I'm hoping we can resolve this soon.

I'll be honest, I left the salon in tears and I'm still upset about the delayed communication.  The nature of the whole situation feels passive-aggressive.  So much so that I thought twice about contacting the salon.  I don't feel like To Boldly Go has my back, and will allow their stylists to treat their customers however they like.