Mes Amis 193

I moved away and have yet to find a stylist like Brenda Ancheta, who understands my hair and gives me STYLE. Once I started just letting do her thing, I loved the results. I never even thought twice about my hair with her — just looked forward to whatever fun new thing she wanted to do. Love that woman and miss her like crazy. The salon is small and low key. Great people there.

I discovered this place when I was living upstairs in the same building in the late 90s/​early 2000s. Gene is the man! Went there the first time out of location convenience but soon discovered that he cuts some mean hair! I was never disappointed with my cut and he’s a super nice guy.

So friendly and the food is delicious!!! Never thought to try this particular venue until I read the reviews– excellent. The owner and hostess are very kind, very generous. We had the dishes recommended by fellow Unilocalers. My chicken champagne was lick-​the-​plate good, and my husband’s lamb dish was the best he ever had (his words!). Oh, and the fries. YUM. Can’t wait to go back!

I went back for a cut and color touch-​up, and golly, is this just the nicest salon ever. With only four chairs, everyone is chatty with each other and the whole experience is so friendly. My purple from my last visit had lasted the longest out of any other fantasy color I’d done, but I still wanted to touch it up in places a bit before the holidays, as well as cut off the dry ends. Jerry is a great communicator about what he’s doing and he takes great care with his work. He gave me a cute, fresh cut and some amazing curls over my newly brightened purple, and I left feeling amazing.

Just arriving from Paris. After some research online I decided to disregard the Union Square saloons and selected Mes amis 193 for a few partial highlights around the face. I have ginger hair. Awesome experience. She did them so thin that it blends very nicely. Very friendly atmosphere. Very nice pros. Will return.

Gene is a master, a master who happens to be your friendly neighborhood stylist and who also happens to share a name with the neighborhood, Hayes. That is not to say his shop is not a destination in itself. I used to drive 65 miles for Gene’s services every 3 months and am happy to now only be the distance of a few neighborhoods. On my last visit, he had a regular customer from Australia in the shop. I have been going to Gene for 4 years now and have never had to give him any direction. He just goes to work. My last appointment was early Saturday morning and although I slept through most of it, my cut and color turned out as great as ever.
My Hair Profile: Long, Blonde, Straight. My Service: Partial Highlight, Trim, Shampoo and Blow dry. Gene knows just the right amount of color to use to brighten my blonde and match my fair skin tone. I leave looking like me, just more vibrant and healthy.
I also appreciate that the shop specializes in hair and does not try to be a full service salon. They do one thing and do it very well. It is also not the type of place where one person is doing your color, another doing your cut, another shampooing, and another doing your blow out so by the time you’re finished, you’ve sacrificed half of your day and spent $ 50 tipping everyone who touched your hair. Bottom line: if you are looking to be fussed over, do not come here, but if you are looking for first class results without pretension, this is the place.

Gene is really great! He did my blonde highlights and the result was amazing! 100% recommendable place!

Moved here from Texas a year ago and started going to Gene almost immediately after researching SF salons online. Gene did what no stylist in Fort Worth was ever able to do: turn this lifelong brunette into a blonde without some kind of drawback (ex. brassy or dry and damaged hair… you get the picture). I feel like I owe him a lot, because I’ve always felt like a blonde but had given up on the possibility. I’ve never loved my hair, until now. In addition, he’s a delightful person with a wicked sense of humor, and the shop has a happy vibe. If I move out of SF, I’m still going to go to Gene — I don’t care how long the BART ride takes!

I LOVE JERRY!!! About five months ago, he dyed my «virgin» Asian hair (ombré) and did a fantastic job with it — he took his time and was exceedingly careful and skillful, walked me through all the steps and 5 months later, my hair still looks awesome. I don’t get my hair did very often but Jerry — and this salon — are my no-​questions-​asked go to.

I got a partial highlight from Gene last week. It was the best and fastest highlight I’ve ever received! I highly recommend him not only as a fine hairstylist but also a lovely person to work with. He’s a real gem!

Jerry gave my dead hair life, volume, and a great look overall! He explained everything, and took my wants and needs into consideration. He even took the time to put in a few curls to my blowdried hair. I was really pleased, and will be back!

Good haircut and really nice people working there! I’d give five stars if the blowout post-​haircut was a bit better (in my opinion, this should be part of the haircut experience). My hair was still damp when I left and I prefer leaving with a bit more of a ‘hair high’ from a haircut rather than having to fix it up when I get home.

Gene has been cutting my hair for a while. He is very talented, experienced and fun to work with. He always follows my wishes and does not have the usual hairdresser’s syndrome of cutting off hair too much or perceiving your head as their canvas. I fully trust him and his judgment.

Gene’s awesome, great haircut, conversation, and environment. Gene’s also super fast yet precise, got a lot of compliments and will now be a regular.

Gene is absolutely the person to see in SF for cut and color!
The best part of the experience is he is a color educator so he understands how to make your vision a reality. He can create any look.

Consistency, great service, fair prices and a fun group to chat with. I’ve been seeing Gene for years now and he nails it every time. It’s always tough finding the right stylist but gene takes the time to understand your style, makes great recommendations and does a good job explaining what’s going on with the latest trends. You can’t go wrong with anyone at Mes Amis 193, give them a try!

Fantastic salon. Gene is super friendly, professional, and made the whole thing a smooth experience.

I have gone to many different hair stylist over the years as I’ve moved around a lot. I have always been loyal to a hairdresser when I’ve found a good one and always willing to give them multiple chances. I’ve also always believed in trying new cuts cause after all hair grows back. Gene has cut my hair three times now and I won’t be returning. I have short hair at the moment but I have done all lengths in the past. He is a lazy hair dresser. He razors your hair most of the time instead of using scissors, which can cause a lot of damage. My hair never blends well and it always grow out awkward because the razor cause such harsh lines. My most recent hair cut I brought a photo and got a hair cut NOTHING like the photo. I’ve been wearing a hat because I hate it so much. It looks like a man’s hair cut. Lucky for me my hair grows quickly.
I would never recommend this salon to a friend.

If I can give this salon 10 stars I would. My experience was superb that after having a Unilocal account for years, This is the only establishment that made me right my very FIRST review!!!
I called the salon for a same day appointment after going to a barber shop where they just butchered my hair and they were able to accommodate me last minute. Luckily I snagged Gene as my stylist, (probably the best part of my day) As soon as I walked into the salon, the vibe is already friendly, with regulars chatting with their stylist which felt like a small family. I was offered a beverage upon waiting which was a great welcome. I could tell that Gene is busy and apologized for the wait. At that point, I was already having fun as I was already chatting with the regulars and some stylist and i didn’t even feel that I was waiting at all. Gene chatted with me while he was attending to his client and was very engaged with everyone. I told him my barber shop nightmare and he promised that he will fix me up! I did not even have to explain what I want as Gene already started working his magic on my hair. I could tell that he is an excellent stylist — every cut he does was with confidence and skill and I felt that I can really trust him to correct this haircut nightmare. I was very happy as soon as he was finished. The previous style did not leave a lot of room for improvement but he was able to turn this around. He proposed for other appointment in a week after my hair grows back for more proper styling. I cannot wait to come back next week! Gene knows the industry and truly cares for his clients. THANK YOU again Gene! You have made a lifetime client!

Got a chance to work with Gloria at least a couple of times and now I feel silly for having gone to other places for my haircut before. The folks at Mes Amis put are very honest and meticulous in their work and the end result reflects that. I’ve already been complimented several times on the new cut, so I’m pretty going to have to stick to these guys for the foreseeable future.
If you’re like me and always went for budget 10 minute haircuts before, give these guys a shot, you’d be surprised by how much difference it will make.