Mixed Co Salon

When I arrived in Chicago to start my next four years of college, everything was new and exciting. The stores were larger, the restaurants were fancier and the effervescent aura of bustling Chicagoans was something I had never seen before. Coming from my small town, I was excited to experience city life but hesitant about leaving my small-town traditions behind. One such tradition was my yearly haircut at Polly’s parlor where I had been getting my hair cut since I was 5 years old.

To say that I am cautious about who cuts my hair is an understatement. The same person had cut my hair for the last 15 years of my life and was suspicious of anyone who I didn’t know styling my hair. But I was in a new city, starting my first year of college and it was time to have a new hairdresser. I went to four different salons before finding Mixed Co Salon. It’s not that the other salons before were bad nor was I upset with my hair after my appointment, but rather I was missing the same excitement of going to the hair salon, chatting with the friendly faces I had gotten to know over the years, and leaving the hair salon happier than when I arrived. I wanted to find a hair salon that made me excited to get my hair cut like Polly’s had for all those years.

The first time I came to Mixed Co. Salon, I was overwhelmed by warmth. I was greeted at the door with a smiling receptionist. Not only did my stylist Kevin know exactly what to do with my frizzy hair, I chatted with him for hours like we were old friends. For the last 3 years, Mixed Co. Salon has become an off-campus community for me and my friends. I recommend everyone I know looking for a new stylist to the salon and the last three times I have been, I’ve seen at least one of my friends from UChicago getting a haircut. Even my mom visits Kevin when she is in town. In many ways this salon has become a communal place away from my home in California and my home in Hyde Park. Between their monthly open houses and commitment to using environmentally friendly products, this salon has served a purpose to the greater surrounding public that I am forever grateful for.