Tips Salon

Wonderful!!!
Paul is truly the best colorist in the town and Lawrence gave me the most amazing hair cut i’ve ever experienced!
I highly recommend this salon

Kudos. i really appreciate all that Lawrence and Paul have done to make this place the best salon in the South End. My experience with Lawrence as a stylist is that he listens to what you want from a haircut and now how to make it happen. I’ve really enjoyed being a customer there, and they come with my highest recommendation.

Paul and Lawerence are the
. Best cut and colorists in town! I get compliments on my hair all the time. Not only are they excellent at their craft, they’re fun guys with great clients and the experience of getting my hair done is amazing. From the conversation to the drinks to Kaptain the world’s cutest bulldog, this salon is awesome.
Annabelle you belong somewhere else clearly.

This is the best hair salon I have ever been to! Lawrence will give you the greatest cut you’ve ever had and Paul is an amazing colorist! Consistently beautiful haircuts! So friendly and knowledgeable! The atmosphere is laid back and very comfortable.
Best salon in the south end!

This salon is FANTASTIC! I had the best haircut of my life there.
Lawrence is so nice, listens, offers suggestions and take his time while doing your hair and blow out.
They have a very relaxed atmosphere and the salon is immaculate.
They use a variety of products and do not try to push anything down your throat.
Aside from the fantastic service, and reasonable pricing, the dog Kaptain who chills out in the window makes it all worth while.

After moving up to Boston about 3 years ago from Atlanta I was tasked with the terrifying situation of having to find someone who could cut my hair just how I like it, because if not, I would look like a cross between Justin Bieber and Ellen Degeneres… yikes.
After a couple failed attempts at places and 3 months going without a haircut I finally did my due diligence and landed on this place. All I can say is I deserve a pat on my own back for picking the right place, and Lawrence deserves two pats on his back for how outstanding he is. I have never had a person take so much time to understand exactly what I was going for with my haircut. He even busted out his iPad so we could determine exactly what I wanted. Next was the hair wash/​head massage — amazing. Almost fell asleep! Once we got around to cutting my hair he brought me an iced tea and starting digging into my mane. Scissors, straight razor, you name it; he pulled out all the stops to get me exactly what I was going for. I walked out of that place about 2 inches taller with confidence and can’t wait to come back for my next cut.
You can truly tell this place is great because of how many people stopped in just to say hi to Paul and Lawrence and well you will be treated when you come in. This is a top of the class establishment.
Also +100 points for the bulldog.

These days, depending on where you live it can be a challenge to find a good hair salon with a barber who knows what they are doing. As a New Yorker who moved to New Hampshire 7 years ago I had a challenging time finding a hairdresser that was equally good to the one I went to in NYC. I tried a good number of salons in the part of New Hampshire I live and they all sucked. They have no artistic sense or skill. They are the type of people who could be in McDonalds flipping burgers. Luckily because I live only an hour and fifteen minutes from Boston, I tried a couple Boston salons. I was not a fan. Then, a few years ago my family and I discovered TIPS while strolling around the South End. Boy we were lucky we did!
There are only two guys who work there and run the salon. One is Lawrence, the hair cutter and the other is Paul the colorist. They are both really nice guys who have a great sense of humor and are fun to be around. They love what they do, therefore, they take pride in it. They treat their job like it is an art and want there customers to go out looking good and feeling happy with their experience. The salon itself is very pleasant. It is clean and modern with big glass windows that look out onto the street while you are getting your hair done and has two floors. Then, while you are getting your hair done, Lawrence or Paul always offer you any beverage from iced tea to hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows and even a glass of wine. The price is $ 75 with no tip. The price may seem high but is not. It is actually a great deal because you get a free trim a month later each time you get a cut. Also, from Tuesdays-​Fridays Lawrence’s adorable white bulldog hangs out in the shop! One of my favorite parts about this salon! Then during the holiday season and some other times, they sell and have samples of these delicious homemade caramel candies that Lawrence’s partner loves to make! Must try!
In all, this salon rocks! I would definitely vote it the best hair salon in Boston! I always walk out in a good mood and with an awesome hair cut! Lawrence knows what he is doing and never messed up my hair! He always does what I ask him to do and does it perfectly, which goes the same for both my parents and sister who get their hair done there as well. If you are in Boston looking for a good hair cut, TIPS is the place.

yeah, i’m reviewing a salon. what of it??! tips is run by two guys, lawrence and paul, who know how to run a business. though i’m sure this is a relatively high-​end salon, they run it with almost quaint southern hospitality. they are very unassuming and welcoming and put all their clients at ease. they will offer you a drink and introduce you to their guard dog, kaptain. (not really a guard dog). lawrence cuts my hair and he does a great job. he uses scissors on almost everything and cleans the back of my neck with a straight razor. this more detail-​oriented approach is a welcome departure from the hapless relieance on the clippers you’ll find at more traditional barbershop guys. plus he interpets my awful attempts to describe what i’d like done and makes it happen. he’s also gone beyond the call of duty in educating me on how i should be taking care of my hair, now that i’m wearing it considerably longer (hippie!!).
great product + great service — cloud of arrogance — $$$$ = great business. not my formula. i’ve heard that’s the first thing you learn at harvard’s mba program.
can’t rec them enough.

I have been going to Paul for over a year or more now and he is great. The color he does is so perfect and detailed people think this is my natural color. I get more compliments for my hair than is decent and Paul and Laurence treat all of the customers so well its a real pleasure to go to to the salon and relax. I actually look forward to going and its worth every penny.

Honestly, my cut and color haven’t EVER lasted this long. Lawrence and Paul are the bomb!!! They’ve got a quick sense of humor and call it like it is. Tips is the Cheers of hair salons; people constantly pop in just to say «hi.» My cousin has been going to them for years since they were in Portsmouth, and now she drives down from Maine to see them. I left looking hot with a swagger in my step to boot (thanks to the complementary wine).

After work last Wednesday, I had an appointment at a new salon to get my hair colored, something was desperately needed. Tips in the South End is so named because they don’t accept them! It is a cozy, two floor salon with hardwood floors and the funniest two male salon owners ever! One of them has an adorable white bulldog which is actually the reason I stopped to make an appointment in the first place. I was seated and had my consultation, then was offered wine! With a glass of red in hand, and some trashy magazines, I was quite happy with my hilarious company and comfortable seat. Paul gave me a book of color, I chose one, he explained the process and the expected outcome, and we were on our way. He was very sweet, quick, and thorough.
I have not been this happy with the outcome in a VERY long time. And it was super cheap for Boston, only $ 75. For the quality of the work and the relaxing experience, they could definitely be charging more! It was a good way to end another not so great day.

I switched to Tips from Athena in the Back Bay, and I have had two appointments with Tips this year. Both were fantastic– at Tips, you feel like you are getting your hair cut and colored by two friends of yours who happen to be incredibly talented stylists. They make you feel at home. Also, they have an adorable bulldog named Captain who spends most of his days at the salon, which is enough to make anyone want to stop by!
I have been particularly happy about my highlights with Tips– they look extremely natural, and the guy who does the highlights is willing to spend as much time as necessary to make them look perfect– even if you’re just getting a partial.
Also, because they don’t accept tips, the price ends up being about 20% less than most local high end salons.
I would HIGHLY recommend Tips to anyone who’s thinking about going!

I just moved to Boston, and to the South End, in September and was hunting around for a hair salon. I had walked by Tips a few times, as it is very close to my house. After searching around I decided to try Tips. I have gone there several times now and have had great success with both haircuts AND coloring. My hair looks fantastic! Not to mention the fact that I get to enjoy a complimentary glass of wine as my hair is being done. Tips has a very relaxing atmosphere. Tell all your friends! :)

So, I used to go out to Worcester to get my hair cut & colored b/​c I’m very very particular and hard to please. About a year ago, my mom started going to Tips & got me a gift certificate. I was unsure about going, but went anyway and am so glad I did!
Lawrence (not Larry) gave me the best haircut I’ve had in a decade while I drank cocoa with homemade marsh mellows his partner made and Paul did a kick ass job on my color. Despite earlier reviews, Paul knows what he’s doing. He perfectly matched the color from my old salon and left me with beautifully highlighted hair! I won’t let anyone else color my hair.
I always leave this salon feeling great and looking great. I consider these guys my family and look forward to hanging out and catching up when I get my hair done.
Great job guys! Big hugs and see you soon! :O)

Hey, the cross-​out in tips means no tips, but it also means a great haircut and a lot of fun chatter/​vibes. Ok, so I was freaked by the $ 75.00 price, — after I tip for shampoo and operator on Newbury Street, this is about $ 10.00 more — so what makes it worth the price? Well, for one thing, there’s the mid-​cut trim. Lawrence, the main man, invites customers back for a neatening. I went, and it gave me two more weeks between cuts, so I’m not spending more — I’m just looking better. My favorite moment is when the bottle/​can collector guy comes by and stops in for a Hiya (and maybe a few cans). He gets treated with respect and friendliness, just like the customers in this pretty, open space.

*Regarding Katia’s review of my review*-
Believe whatever you want Unilocalers, but what on earth would I gain by giving a salon a bad review? It doesn’t do me any good to say nice or bad things for a salon, I just wrote what happened and felt I should warn others about my experience. I maintain that I am telling the truth, so believe me or not, it makes no difference to me. I am just here to help others make informed decisions about places in Boston.
I was torn up about reviewing this place or not because my experience was so bad, I almost didn’t want to write about it… but I believe it is my duty as a Unilocaler to tell the truth… so here goes. Long story short, I came in for a free consultation after some girls at work told me about this place. I met with Paul, the «color expert» and asked him if he could make my hair look how it did in the two photo’s I brought in with me from about 2 years ago. He assured me he could, no big deal and I made my appointment for the next Saturday. Saturday I come in, get my HUGELY overpriced ($ 75 dollars!) hair cut from Larry and then off to Paul I go. SIX hours later, I leave in tears because my previously blond hair is now GRAY. Not just light gray either, it is black on the bottoms, white on top and brown underneath. Somehow, according to Paul, the color «expert» the low lights touched the blond in the rinsing bowl and combined with the other chemicals to create gray. Ha ha ha. I ran this theory of this past many other stylists I know (unfortunately they live out of state other wise I wouldn’t have gone to this place in the first place) and they all laughed uncontrollably and told me that cant happen and he was basically trying to save his ass because he made a mistake. So I leave the salon (I was in shock at this point) and walk about 2 minutes away and call Paul to tell him I am really unhappy and I need him to fix it. Well he tells me I have to wait FOUR days, mind you, I have GRAY hair at this point and couldn’t even wear it down because it was so heinous. So I wait, and go see him on Tuesday. He attempts to remove some of the black (which is mixing with the over processed blond that I will be referring to as white because no blonde was left whatsoever). It doesn’t work. Then he uses a toner because the white is so white he described it as «clear.» Well all this does is turn the white YELLOW so now I have yellow on top of black with brown underneath. At this point I am so fed up I leave to ask my friends their opinion. They suggest calling and asking what more he can do to fix it. So, I do and again his suggestion was humorous because it was so unhelpful. My stylist friends actually laughed again and at this point I decided he was incompetent to fix it and I needed to go somewhere else, so I ask for my money back.
As if my experience wasn’t bad enough at this point, they continue to make it worse. They tell me I need to come in so they can see it again before they will refund my money. Obviously I didn’t want to do this because I had already been here 3 times, but I go and proceed to get yelled at by the owner Larry. He told me I needed to learn to count (because I said I had been there four times, which as your Unilocalers can see, this last time was the FOURTH time, he somehow only counted two times) he told me I was vain for caring about my hair and basically made me feel like shit. Finally after I just stopped replying to their antics, I got my refund. As I am about to leave, receipt in hand, hair ruined hidden in a tight bun, Larry has the nerve to say «so I guess this means you wont be back for a haircut?» HA HA HA. I will never ever go near here again and after the girls at work saw what happened to me, I can guarantee they wont be going here either.
Save your money and go somewhere else. Lastly, $ 75 for a mediocre at best haircut is ridiculous. There are plenty of places in Boston that are nice and courteous and will not botch up your life that charge way less.
On a side note, they did offer to continue trying to fix it, but my hair was so damaged by his other attempts at doing it, and it was so ugly, that I really didn’t trust them to do anything anymore. However, they deserve one star for offering to fix it, even though their suggestions were ridiculous and ineffective.