Salon Medusa

I went to Salon Medusa after purchasing a Living Social haircut deal. Though I’ve only been once, I cannot understand the reviews that say the staff was rude. I spoke with three different people in the course of booking and confirming my appointment, and everyone was very friendly and helpful. The woman at the reception desk on the day of my haircut was extremely outgoing and nice, gave me directions when I got lost, and even went outside in the freezing cold to flag me down. I got my cut from Mina. I’m a person who hates every single haircut I get for at least the first month. I go into a serious post-​cut depression. But this time I LOVE MY HAIRCUT for the first time in years! She kept it nice and long while still making it look healthy and new again. Great, smooth layers – it looks gorgeous. Highly recommend.

If I could give this place no stars I would. I just moved to WH and made an appt for highlights and cut based on reviews I found on Unilocal.I made an appointment for 2 p.m. on a Saturday and arrived promptly at 1:55 p.m.
As soon as I arrived, Mary (the stylist with whom I had my appt), approached me and said that she had tried to call me because she was running a little late. I didn’t receive any calls and come to find out it’s because whoever made my appointment wrote down the wrong phone number.
Mary said she was running a «little behind» and that she would be with me in about 15 minutes. She was doing the hair and make up for a high schooler (I assume?) who had prom (I think?) that night. I could see the entire process being done because Mary’s chair was in full view of the waiting area.
I wasn’t kept waiting 15 minutes. I wasn’t kept waiting 30 minutes. Instead, I was kept waiting a FULL 60 MINUTES past my scheduled appointment time. I was only offered something to drink because I started hacking. I should have just left. But, Mary finally ushered me to her chair. However, I also heard her tell the girl «let me know when your mom gets here.» Sure enough, just as she started working on my hair, the mom arrived at which point Mary then left to go talk to the mom and the daughter about «how great the hair and makeup looked» leaving me in the chair for another 15 minutes. It was clear that she wasn’t just a client, but also a close friend. Another stylist took sympathy on me, and went up to the desk and she must have said something to Mary because shortly thereafter, Mary came back.
Now… for the cut and style… The color isn’t so bad but the cut is AWFUL. I can, in most situations, work with any cut that I get even if I don’t think it’s the greatest cut. Not so with whatever Mary did. I went to another salon to get help and I was told that my hair was «over layered.» It was another $ 50 to get the cut fixed. The color, which Mary described as a «sunkist ombré» is just a typical color. For both the cut and color, I paid $ 135. Not tooo bad, really, but more than I would have liked for what I got.
I’ll never go back to Salon Medusa. It almost seems as if it operates as a «boutique» type of salon where the stylists manage their own schedules /​clients. I don’t know who manages it or if the manager was even there. There is a front desk area but no one was consistently there — there was a guy who was there occasionally but he was reading the newspaper the whole time or going to the back door to smoke. A manager or front desk person should have observed that I had been kept waiting for an hour. I wasn’t offered any kind of apology for the inconvenience — Mary and the (aforementioned) guy who casually took my payment acted as if this was no big deal and /​or just a normal part of how they do business. On top of that, I had to pay extra money to extend my parking time (there is no free parking in central WH). I saw there is another reviewer that had a similar issue. It also seems that whether you have a good or bad experience is based on the stylist. Regardless, when you’re in the service industry that operates solely based on appointments, and you are also a business that is located in area where people have to pay to park, you should be respectful of people’s time and — bottom line — you need to be able to efficiently manage your client flow. And if you, the stylist, can’t do so, then the owner or manager should be doing so on your behalf.
I don’t recommend Salon Medusa.

I have been going to many different hair salons in West Hartford and never been satisfied until I walked into Salon Medusa. I had my hair done by Lena for the first time 2 years ago and never looked back. The service and the staff is great as well as the salon’s hours. My hair and eyebrows are perfect every time. I feel totally relaxed and comfortable here and would recommend this place to everyone.

I came in on a weds asking for my roots to be done and for a light dusting on my ends. A man by the name of Dom was my stylist, he ruined the ombré that I spend 250 $ on. He dyed my roots and it bled through to my ends and then once he realized he had done that he began hacking away at my hair. What was supposed to be a light dusting turned into a little over an inch and a half taken off of my hair.
He blow dried it and when I looked at it my layers were beyond choppy and when I commented on it he said it was the way he blow dried it and blamed the bad lighting at his station… I called back about thirty minutes after I left and had gotten an opinion of three girls I know personally and who are hair dressers and asked to come back in to fix it…
Jump to friday, I come in and he begins to cut into it more taking off more length. I had enough asked him to stop and he said I’m sorry, have a good weekend. I went to the front desk in tears and asked to speak to someone about my visit and the owner came up and asked what the problem was m, so I told him and his response was «well what would you like me to do? I can’t put your hair back.» I asked what they normally do for clients who aren’t happy with their cut and he said they would just refund me my money. I took my money and left.
I immediately called the gallery in farmington which is where I normally go and asked if I could come in on an emergency basis and explained what happened at medusa. Here I am sitting in my stylist Leslie’s chair writing a review and my hair being fixed.
The lack of sympathy and professionalism from salon medusa was appalling. I will never return there. My hair is drastically shorter than I ever intended and any women who have long hair know how upsetting it is to ask for a trim and come out much shorter than you ever wanted.

I work an insane schedule and have a 2 year old so I never get time for myself. At the recommendation of a friend I booked an appointment at Salon Medusa. I arrived for my appointment at 11am with Sandro, and waited. And waited. And waited. AT 11:@0 the receptionist told me he had had an emergency and would be in by 11:30. Another client showed up for him at 11:30 (not sure how he was planning on cutting, coloring, and styling my hair in a half hour– obviously I wasn’t going to get a lot of attention) who also got told he was running behind.
At 11:40 I told the receptionist I had to be back at work by a certain time, and was not going to be able to do so running 40 minutes behind schedule. At no point did she offer to try to rebook me or offer another stylist, or any kind of customer service. She actually appeared to think it was funny that I had spent 40 minutes, plus my drive time, waiting for a stylist to show up. This has never happened to me before anywhere else.
I would never recommend such an unprofessional place, and I am livid at the complete lack of respect of a customers time.

I’ve been going to Salon Medusa for a few years now.
Like several others who have reviewed Salon Medusa, I go to Lena and she is so great. She’s funny, friendly, always on time, and goes the extra mile to accommodate her clients. Just recently I called with a «hair emergency» and she squeezed me in that same day. The salon is clean and convenient (close to town and parking) and I’ve never experienced a hint of rudeness from the staff.

I checked out like ten places, my daughter needed her hair done, she is working in CT. This summer! I researched and read reviews, and choose Salon Medusa! I called them telling them I will pay for her hair, she will tip! I felt like were were taken advantage of, Prices way higher than menu, actually Extremely higher than menu states. I am in the salon business as well and I am NOT happy! Not sure where other reviews came from but this wasn’t fair

I’ve been going to Salon Medusa for years now. Everyone is friendly and relaxed. The salon is clean and professional. Lena is my stylist and she always does a great job. I love this place!

This is a top-​notch salon that delivers consistently beautiful results time after time. Every visit ensures a beautiful cut and color. I am particular about my red, and Steven gets it perfect every time. These people are seasoned professionals.
There’s that feeling of fabulous hair from a professional stylist — you know what I mean — and it happens every visit. I love this place. I always see patrons looking amazing when they walk out the door. Thank goodness I can get this kind of service in the Hartford area.

I have been going to Salon Medusa for at least 6 – 7 years after seeing it was voted as «Best Salon» by the Hartford Advocate Reader’s poll. I had been seeing someone in Norwalk for many years but had moved to the Hartford area and didn’t want to continue to travel that distance, plus my hairstyle needed an update. I totally lucked out in getting Lena as my stylist at Salon Medusa. She is nothing less than a complete professional, plus she is friendly and prompt. She has never left me waiting or given me a less than excellent cut.
The salon itself is funky and cute, and I have never had any annoying experiences there whatsoever. The staff has always been very nice to me, and no one has ever acted snotty or ignored me when I arrived. I doubt that anyone at this salon double books themselves — I have never seen anything that unprofessional in all the time I’ve been going there. When customers arrive late or complications in doing someone’s hair arises, a busy stylist might get backed up once in a long while. I honestly don’t know how long some people have been going to salons because they complain about things that I think are par for the course at salons in general. Then again, I am 54 years old and a veteran of salons in NYC, Fairfield County, and now Salon Medusa.
Once a few years ago when I had a vitamin deficiency and my hair started breaking, Lena helped me get through that difficult time by cutting my hair in a shorter style until my hair recovered. She was a savior. I don’t know what I would have done without her.

I was really disappointed with my experience here. I booked my appointment based on the Best Salon Award they seem to keep winning in the Advocate. I got my appointment with Donald and he seemed nice enough, but I felt like he’d rather be doing something else. Maybe he’s as socially awkward with new people as I am. Not a good thing in the service industry. I was cutting off quite a lot of hair and donating it to Locks of Love. I told him I needed at least 10 inches to donate and I had about 15 inches, so 12 inches would be long enough. I definitely made it clear that when my hair was dry, I wanted it to hang just below my chin. He cut off all 15 inches. And tried to convince me to get a color. I was upset that I wasn’t listened to. He didn’t make me feel like I was a waste of space, but the other employees certainly did. The owner was sitting behind me the whole time gossiping with friends. He never acknowledged my presence. You would think that in a small business like that that the owner would at least say hello to the few clients in his salon. I won’t go back there. I had made an appointment for a color, but when I got home I canceled it. When you’re shelling out over $ 50 for a haircut, you should get what you want and you should be made to feel at ease. This place makes people feel like a high school outcast.

At 11:30 on a Tuesday, I decided that I needed a hair change. My regular stylist could not get me in for a week. I called Salon Medusa and made a same-​day appointment with Lisa. I’ll admit that I was a little concerned because I always assume that its hard to make a same-​day appointment with a good stylist. Boy, was I wrong. She did a great job! I am very happy with my cut and color. Also, I really appreciate her low-​key manner — no frills, no fuss, just a good cut and color. I already booked my next appointment with her.

Salon Medusa was the first salon I visited when I moved to the Hartford area four years ago. I booked an appointment because it was voted Best Salon in the Hartford Advocate. The bright, funky interior drew me in too.
Amanda did my hair, but… she double booked herself. In other words, she was probably greedy and wanted more moolah. She was also coloring another client’s hair when she was cutting my hair. For the stylist’s convenience, I brought in a photo of the cut I wanted. She gave me something else that was probably more convenient for her, yet I was not happy, especially since I paid $ 50 for the cut.
I agree that the front staff desk were not pleasant, looked down at the customers. A young man had the expression of «eew, who do you think you are?»
Several months later, I got a call from someone that Amanda transferred to another salon and if I wanted to book with her. My thought was heck no. I just simply hung up.
I noticed that this Salon has not received that Hartford Advocate accolade in sometime. The stylist and their immediate families probably submitted their votes. Whenever I past that salon, it seems like the staff is looking for people to come in. They now have the «walk-​ins are welcome» sign hanging.

I went to this salon when first searching for a new hairdresser after relocating for law school. Admittedly, that was in 2010. However, while trying to make a last-​minute appointment today, (my normal hairdresser was totally booked and I was looking for another salon) I ended up reading some reviews of Salon Medusa on google. After seeing accusations that the negative reviews were all written by the same person (who, the reviewer felt, was a liar) I felt the need to write down my own experience, since it caused me to run far, far away and never look back.
Basically, I walked in expecting fun, funky people, to match the funky exterior of the salon. It certainly looks bright and trendy on the outside! Upon my arrival, however, I was completely ignored by several individuals who were chatting with each other at the host desk. Finally a third person walked up and took my name. I waited about ten minutes and was escorted to the back to have my hair washed. While sitting in the chair, I noticed that the back door to the salon was open a few feet away. Outside leaning on the back window was a stylist, smoking a cigarette and chatting with some people that looked as if they had just wandered over to hang out. Meanwhile, I’m left to sit and smell the secondhand smoke that is being blown back into the salon by the open door!
I’m not particularly sensitive to cigarettes, but I am a non-​smoker, so I tend to give smokers a wide berth on the street when possible (ugh the smell). When it comes to salons, however, I find it extremely unprofessional to light up anywhere near a place that is supposed to be clean and fresh. I’d like to walk in and smell the pleasant odors of freshly washed hair, or maybe something floral. I certainly don’t want to worry that I’m going to walk out smelling like cigarettes myself! Imagine my disgust, then, when I discovered that Smoky the Stylist was the one cutting my hair! Not only did I have the displeasure of being a captive audience for his doorway smoking sesh (and probably now have the beginnings of lung cancer to boot) but I was forced to sit for an hour while he leaned over me, smelling entirely of stale cigarette smoke! It was awful. On top of that experience, I paid over $ 70 for a wash, cut and blowdry. Needless to say, I took my business elsewhere.

One of the best haircuts and blow outs i’ve ever received in my life! Steven has amazing talent. Being a visitor from out of town, I trusted Steven for my engagement pictures in west hartford and he did an amazing job. My fiancé loved my hair! I will now be visiting him at every visit!

They are OBVIOUSLY doing something right to be voted Best Salon so many times in the Hartford Advocate.
a great haircut in a lively environment. I walk out feeling like a new person!