Has anyone noticed that Balance has been sweeping hair out the front door onto the sidewalk?

+1 on Balance being awesome. I love Carla's cuts and color by Justin. I refuse to go to anyone anywhere else.

balance salon ( 18 erie st) is having a cutathon fundraiser on jan 31st from 12pm to 5pm. all haircuts will be $20 that day. all money to be donated to red cross. appointments recommended. any hairdressers who would like to participate in this fundraiser call balance salon. 201 369- 7000. the more hair we cut, the more money we can raise.

Balance is my favorite place for a haircut ever. Carla and company always keep it interesting and getting your haircut there in an EXPERIENCE. Enjoyable art and decor, interesting conversations, beverages, and I always love my hair cut (and I always seem to hate it when I go elsewhere).

I can see it might not be for everyone but I think this internet passive-aggressive bitterness is uncalled for.

I'm from Miami and when I'm in town on business I always make sure to stop by to see Carla and the gang. Its refreshing to be in a politically incorrect and fun environment while getting my hair done correctly by some of the most talented stylists I have met. The negative feed back is terrible and maybe you need to lighten up. Balance...don't change a thing please....Keep the high energy coming!!!

I tried going to Balance 5 times and had three different stylists. I was never happy with the results. Since they seem to get raves from some and jeers from others, I can only assume that they're good at some types of hair and hair styles and bad with others. I'm happy for people who have good experiences there, because it's a cool place. I've been much happier with Studio 17-- and it's cheaper.

Lesson #1 for shilling: if you are using the voice of a customer and are want to appear not to be directly associated with an establishment, avoid phrases like "With special rates for newbies during the week, there is no reason you shouldn't be donning your heels and skipping over there poste-haste."

If it's written like ad copy, it's probably not a customer review.

That said my partner goes to Balance and is happy with them.

Ok, so I had a hair emergency yesterday and I went to my neighborhood fave...Balance. It's a hair salon like no other you have ever known. The music is ridiculously good--where can you hear "Pass the Dutchie from the Left hand Side" and "Talk Dirty to Me" in the same haircut? Where else can you have a coffee or a Cosmo? Alicia rocked my hair OUT, people. A brilliant layered cut, and a single-process dye-job that is having people around me practically applauding for God's sake! I mean what did I look like before? With special rates for newbies during the week, there is no reason you shouldn't be donning your heels and skipping over there poste-haste. Like NOW! Thanks Balance chicks. MWAH!
xo trish

So I guess since I started this thread a while ago, I should mention how my experience was.

I ended up going to Retro at first based on a few recommendations. It may have just been the specific person who cut my hair, Paula, but it was THE WORST HAIRCUT EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. OKay, maybe not the absolute worst haircut, but a terrible experience nonetheless. This woman pulled my hair so hard I was tearing up, she didn't listen at all to how I wanted my hair cut, and when I asked her to use scissors instead of clippers she wasn't able to. I have honestly never had someone so inept cut my hair, not even at a $10 Hair Cuttery in some random mall.

Making it worse was the weird vibe in there: the owner (Mary?) and a customer were having a very loud and unsettling conversation about how we wouldn't have to have any immigrants if there weren't so many babies being aborted. Not what I want to hear when I'm getting my hair cut.

So I ended up going to Studio 17 which is awesome. Highly recommended and a good deal at $20 for a cut.

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Excellent! I saw the new shop... just a few blocks from me and very convenient.

You know... it takes a long time to grow the hairs out long and all it takes is one quick snip with the scissors to either make or break your day. I trust Paul and I'm very happy that he's staying in town. I just hope I can afford him!!

Paul is my favorite hair stylists also. He is opening up a new salon on 7th and Erie named Salon X. I saw him outside there this weekend and he said he expects to be open in about 3 weeks. We peeked inside and everything looks great. Very stylish. I cant wait for him to open.

Does anybody know where my hair stylist Paul has gone? He has left Balance and I don't know where to find him.

YES! I've been going to Carla for years...a very cool all around experience and everybody there knows what they're doing...you can't beat the charm of the place either.

Yeah, there's a lot going on @ Balance, which is a hair salon par excellance, a cool vintage clothing boutique and a kickin' performance space/art gallery. As a former JC resident, Carla & Co. make it so worthwhile--both the scene there and the cuts/color--that I come in from Brooklyn to get my hair did

Paul, the other stylist is good for men as well as women. I think he specializes in both men and long hair for women and the chicks I see getting out of his chair always look fab!

The younger crew who staff the place are great fun and have a fashion sense and style that just won't quit. Leah, the resident expert colorist, in particular has a good nose for what works for each individual.

All in all Balance is a great place to get a great haircut at a good and reasonable price...and have a glass of wine or cup of coffe in the process. Hence the name Balance.

It's both a hair salon and a vintage shop...head-to-toe style can be had here.

We put live mannequins in the window on Friday nights, so it's a bit of a party, with people getting ice cream next door from the wonderful family-owned Tocino's, and we hand out wine if we've got it, and amid all of this haircutting, haircoloring and clothes-selling still goes on.

So this hair salon is a vintage store now or is it both? I walked past it tonight and noticed racks of old clothes and people dressed up. I didn't see any chairs. I need a new stylist. Mine moved!

I love Balance! Full disclosure: I love Balance so much I recently moved my vintage clothing boutique, World of Style, in with them (btw, I don't sell "used" clothing...honestly, if you can't tell the difference between a thrift shop and a vintage boutique you'd better stick with the Mall).

But you don't have to take my word about Balance. Just have a look at the nonstop rave reviews in the Comments section for Balance in the JC List business directory...http://jclist.com/modules/xdirectory/singlelink.php?cid=22&lid=169

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No Carla is the woman that owns Balance.

Is Carla the blond Russian woman at Cintron? If so, I agree she does a good job. She has not been there the last two times I had my hair cut, but I have seen her getting off the PATH, so she is still working there.

I've had unbelievable hair cuts from Carla, most creative and fun, but also fits in just about anywhere.

I tried Balance actually on the suggestion of the jclist contingency. This was a couple of years back I guess.

I went to a guy named Frank there. He was a genius, I loved him, he made my hair look better than it had ever looked before. I went back to Frank a few times.

Frank left for a while because he was sick. Some other woman cut my hair and it was \"bleh\" at best. I don\'t mind a \"bleh\" haircut (I wear my hair pretty simple) but I\'m not going to pay that much for it. I can get a basic haircut at the mall.

Anyway, I don\'t think Frank ever came back. I\'d love to know where he ended up. But I\'d probably never pay anyone else that much for a haircut.

I wasn't thrilled with them-- I called for an appointment, they said 'Could you come now?" I walked right over, no one was there except for someone at the desk and I had to wait an hour for the stylist to come back. I was getting highlights and a cut, and while nothing was terrible, I wasn't thrilled. The highlights were much chunkier than I would have wanted, even though I begged for subtle, and the cut wasn't anything special.

The bill was out of control-- over 200. My normal salon is $90 for both. So now I drive the 45 minutes to my old salon.

Has anyone been to Balance Salon? Finally looking for a new salon to try and thought about Balance.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.