Freyja

Sarah is a color genius, she is smart, well educated in the hair coloring process, and charges really reasonable rates. I have blond hair and change up my services and I have been 100% satisfied with the end result after showing inspiration photos and giving her probably not enough information.
This is a great neighborhood salon at an unbeatable value. Bonus that Sarah is down to earth and fun to chat with along the process.
I highly recommend!

Sarah the owner and hair stylist is amazing. She really has a lot of knowledge and knows what she is doing when it comes to hair. Very friendly, and out going. The salon is cute, with a homey feel. I got my hair blown out a few times as well as a cut and color. I couldn’t be happier with my results! It’s by far the best salon in the city, you won’t be disappointed !

I love this place. Very bright and open. A nice cozy but professional atmosphere. Sarah Thompson is magical! Best hair cut I have ever received. I sat down and she asked what would you like done today? I did not have anything in mind beside a nice trim to get rid of all the dead ends. She nailed it! The scalp message was amazing! The products left my hair so soft and they smell amazing. She added layers in the back and face framed the front. So happy! My hair feels light and beautiful again. She is truly talented. So helpful with all my hair questions and very friendly. We had nice chats. I will def be recommending this Salon to friends and will be coming back!

I love this place and have been coming here for two years. Sarah has worked miracles on my very temperamental, over died, curly hair. When I leave this place I get compliments for days!
Sarah is professional in her technique and personable in your needs and experience. Highly recommended!

Kelly is the worst hair stylist!
As most of the time you get you’re hair done, you and you’re stylist chat about little things. It’s normal.
However when I went to Kelly, she asked me personal questions and even questioned my job and my husbands many times. Along with other personal questions. Sorry but that’s unprofessional.
She then complained about her boss at this salon, «how worthless her boss was, how her boss was cheap, how her boss bought the place but rips off the employees, how her boss doesn’t care about the place, her boss is never there, just on and on».
It was self centered and annoying to say the least, if you’re not happy leave.
She doesn’t know how to keep her personal life separate from her professional life to say the least.
Kelly even went to my house to keep the money for herself.
While at my house she then asked my husband again «so we are out of the salon what do you really do for a living». Are you kidding me?
When I asked her what that was all about, she got nasty with me.
Not only that but while I was there Kelly was running late another client came in and she demanded me to blow dry my own hair. I’m sorry am I not a paying customer? You’re not done with my hair yet. It was winter and cold outside and you leave me to either blow dry my own hair or go outside with it wet.
I let that behavior go because I thought «okay she’s busy». However after posting my review, Kelly then sent me a text «threatening me with the police because of my Unilocal review «. Really? I won’t let you threaten me to have a voice on my experience with you and you’re bad behavior. It’s unbecoming of a hair stylist.

Sarah is awesome. I just had my 2^nd haircut and first highlight/​color with her and she is fantastic. She really listens to what you want and takes her time making wise decisions about what she’s doing. Love this place!

Initially, I went in for a haircut to correct a horrendous cut from another salon. The cut came out okay so I scheduled a dye job for the following month. I asked for red streaks but they instead decided to put in red highlights. Whatever dye they used, it washed off for close to a month. Whenever I lay head on my pillow, whenever I washed my hair, pillow cases would stain and the water from my wash would be bright pink for all the dye coming off. Decided not to go back after.

You know you’ve got a great hair stylist when you can put your complete trust in his or her hands to get your hair done correctly, and he or she can be 100% honest with you.
I had to get a hair updo for a formal event and was deciding between Freyja and another salon. I’m so glad I decided to go with Sarah at Freyja because she did an excellent job with the updo. I received multiple compliments throughout the night, and the pictures speak for themselves. She put a lot of time and care into making sure my hair was how I liked and wanted it. I counted 32 bobby pins holding up this bad boy and yes, it took some time to take down, but totally worth it!
Side note — Sarah is currently renovating the salon and getting new chairs, painting the walls, and redoing the carpet. It’s walking distance from the Damen train station.
I highly recommend Sarah!

I used to salon hop based on groupon offers and cheap Asian hair cuttery places to cut my tresses, but seldom am I satisfied with the outcome. After getting promoted and got a few extra clams from my big boss, I decided to splurge on a non-​discounted haircut with Sarah (found on Unilocal) a year go. I tried to haggle the price with her before hand, like any old-​fashioned Chinese person would, but was unsuccessful (shameless, I know). Nonetheless, she exceeded my expectations with the red hair color dye job and hair cut! Because she is a great listener, understands what I want and is able to execute the hair I want, I loyally returned to her many times over the past year for hair cuts, refreshed dye job, and complimentary bang trimmings. The price of her services are not cheap by Asian standards, but she’s worth the trip and her prices are very reasonable for the quality.

Sarah is fantastic in every way! Just came home from my second cut with her, and I’m a customer for life.
She always listens attentively to what I tell her I want (the full gamut from «I want this section one inch shorter» to «just…make it… uh… better… y’know?»), and delivers flawlessly. Both times I’ve gone to her I come home with my hair even better than I imagined it would be. She’s also the perfect kind of friendly to make the whole experience very relaxed and fun, plus she offers super reasonable prices. 10 stars if I could!

Kelly is my girl always so kind, and honest. More like a friend then a stylist to me. I always go in there with the same thing but each time she makes me love the result even more

Great salon! Sarah has been able to take my hair (done by suburban hack) that was short choppy uneven layers back to original short smooth Sassoon bob. She has been so patient and really listens to me and understands what will work. I appreciate that she understands hair, knows styles and is willing to take time to make her customer happy!
I am very happy to find this great salon in Andersonville and only a couple blocks from where I live!

I’m tempted to avoid telling others about Freyja so that I can have Sarah all to myself, but, of course, the salon really deserves more attention! Sarah has done a wonderful job with my thick asian hair. She’s also great to talk to and makes the environment laid back and friendly.
After moving to Chicago from Cali, I was really picky about finding an asian hair salon to be sure that the stylist would have experience with my type of hair, but since many were out in the burbs, I was willing to give a few nearby salons a shot. After searching on Unilocal,I tried a different salon in the neighborhood of Freyja and had a TERRIBLE experience. I was afraid to try another new place, but the reviews for Freyja (formerly Charm) seemed promising, so I bit the bullet and gave it a shot.
I got an appointment with Sarah and haven’t looked for a new stylist since. I brought my own picture in and Sarah did my do PERFECTLY. After my first appointment, I’ve gotten a regular cut and dry as well as partial highlights — all very consistently positive experiences.
NOTE: There’s no receptionist, so you may have to leave a message for an appointment. I initially had trouble calling in to make an appointment and ended up walking in to schedule it (so ymmv), but other than that slight annoyance, I don’t regret finding Sarah at Freyja!

I’ve been going to Sarah for just over a year now and I will never go to anyone else as long as I’m in Chicago.
My hair has never looked so good, so consistently, for so long. After a less than lovely haircut elsewhere (soccer mom isn’t cute on someone my age) I went a few months too traumatized to get it cut again. I found Sarah (and formerly Charm Boutique) on Unilocal and I am so glad I did. Every single cut I’ve gotten with her has been amazing and she charges appropriate pricing for short haircuts (I have less hair, it takes less time to cut, and I’ve always chafed at other salons charging $ 50+ to cut it solely because I’m a lady) plus gives free neck/​bang trims which has saved my life (okay-​my vanity) during that in-​between time.
Most importantly, Sarah is one of those stylists who knows hair. I don’t even need to discuss it with her anymore and I trust her implicitly to give me a great cut every time. She’s easy to communicate with about what you want, but she also makes sure that what you get is flattering and she’s willing to spend the time ensuring that you love it.
I’ve never been loyal to anyone in Chicago for more than a few cuts. There are good stylists out there, but Sarah is the best. I have and will continue to recommend her to everyone.

I wrote this review a few months ago, after I got an amazing cut at this location! Since then, ownership has changed hands. I wanted to migrate my review here, so that it reflects the fantastic experience I had at the boutique that is now called Freyja.
Old review:
So if you’re a lady with curly hair, you have probably read about a million and a half reviews about a life-​changing but super expensive but worth it haircut. I know I had. And I dropped a bunch on cash on places that had that type of review. Here in Chicago and over in New York City, too. But the cut I got with Sarah at Charm Boutique was the best I’ve ever had, and by no means the most expensive.
Sarah really took time to listen to me talk about my hair — which was especially nice of her, because I was kind of just dithering about how poofy and curly it gets and how it feels like it’s trying to eat my face if I go for more than a few months without a cut. She cut out a bunch of the insane volume and got the layers right where they need to be. I was super into it the day of the cut, and a couple of weeks layer I still love the way it looks. Thanks so much, Sarah! I will for sure be back!
New thoughts:
Sure enough, I came back! And I have yet another beautiful cut to show for it. I’m so thankful that Sarah consistently knows how to deal with curly layers. If you have curly hair, you owe it to yourself to give her a try!

I have been bouncing around different Chicago salons for the past 6 years, not really finding one that was awesome all across the board. Upon a (very enthusiastic) referral from a friend, I decided to try Freyja and am completely convinced that this is my new hair place!
Kelly is fantastic — skilled, friendly, and fun to work with. She gave me what is easily the best haircut I’ve gotten in Chicago. My hair is both fine and thin, and I hate styling, so I need a cut that will create some magical volume. I love the cut she gave me, and she was able to keep most of the length, which some stylists really struggle with.
I can’t say enough good things about my experience — great vibe here, cool people, excellent service, and reasonable prices. I will certainly be back!

Mary is my favorite hair dresser. I love coming to her and have been for last three years. Mary Is great with her skills, including customer service and she makes the time fly by no matter how long it takes and since I have long hair for a color to show it takes bout hour and half but with her skills it feels like nothing. I love her work and I will not change to any other hair dresser unless I leave the state… Best best of anyone!

Freyja is the perfect neighborhood salon! Sarah is so accomodating and I have never trusted anyone more with my hair! I always look forward to coming here. Everyone is welcoming and friendly, not stuffy, and there are laughs and conversation every time I’m here. Great music’s always playing and the door is always open. I’m so glad I found this gem and so happy that Sarah runs it now!

Great experience all around! Searched for a new hair stylist and the Unilocal reviews were extremely helpful in bringing me to this salon (formally Charm) but specifically to Kelly! Her expertise and personality are a great fit! I came in for just a cut but then made an apointment for color two weeks later. And keep coming back! Happy gal am I!

The name of this salon has changed recently so most people will know it by it’s previous name (Charm). The same great stylists are here — Kelly and Sarah and am so thankful Kelly is still there! I’ve personally been going to Kelly for about 3 years now after finding some great reviews on Unilocal.I am always really happy with her work and she is just hands down a nice and genuine person.
My hair is thick and can be a challenge to manage but she always cuts it in a way that not only does it look great and is easy (and quick) to style for work each morning, but as it starts to grow out, it grows out really nicely so I don’t have to have it cut constantly to maintain it — which means I end up getting my hair cut only a few times a year… though I know I really should have it cut more often than that. I admit, I’m lazy…
Aside from the great work she does, I appreciate the fact that the atmosphere is comfortable and friendly and I thoroughly enjoy chatting away and catching up with Kelly every time I see her.
Cheers to Freyja for a long and successful venture!