Doll Bar Inc. – Hair Extension Bar
I have read many reviews of Doll Bar Inc., a new salon dealing exclusively with hair extensions, which opened in June in Queen West. Doll Barn Inc.’s USP is professional extensions at a significantly lower cost than customers are used to paying.
As someone who absolutely adores full, beautiful, bodacious hair I am fascinated and obsessed with hair extensions. I’ve had my fair share of hair extension experiences. Some fabulous and some absolutely terrible. I was immediately drawn to the idea of an all-extension beauty bar – brilliant! I needed to visit this wonderful hair-sanctuary and find out more, immediately.
The business is the brainchild of Melissa McKenzie a hairdresser who realized that customers were starting to baulk at paying up to $1,000 for extensions but was dismayed at the quality of cheaper products often delivered at the customer’s home. Melissa recognized that costumers wanted the salon experience and realized that offering that environment along with affordable and professional-standard extensions was a sure-fire win.
Melissa explained this to me as we sat and chatted while sipping a cappuccino she made for me at the salon. She has worked as a stylist in various salons throughout the city doing everything but realized that her passion was extensions. As a child with naturally very fine hair, full-bodied hair became something of an obsession for her, and she loves the instant gratification of making a woman feel sexy and beautiful. The confidence a carefully crafted extension can bring a woman gives her much personal joy and love. Her vision is for a place women can come to and leave feeling wonderful about themselves.
My initial impression of the salon was very favorable. It is decorated in pink and white with very clean, almost austere lines. It has a very modern feel that helps reassure the customer that it is a professional business and not a discount venue. I asked Melissa about the color concept and in her view no matter what our age, all women are instinctively drawn to pink. So she felt that the pink accents and the pink logo were important to set the brand for the business. Certainly the impression it gives is one that is crisp, clean and innocent. But a lot of the thought has been given to the interior design, even down to the fresh and clean bars of soap that echo the white accents. I loved the fact that my favourite TV show – Sex and the City – was playing in the background. Who doesn’t love New York, Carrie Bradshaw and shoes??
Melissa’s aim is to provide her customers with an experience as well as a personal service and complete package. Certainly from my experience she is very skilled at making the customer feel important and cherished. You don’t feel that you are just being placed on a conveyor belt – everything feels bespoke and personal. In her own words, she wants every woman to feel like a princess the moment they walk through the door. Music to my ears! She described it as the difference between shopping at Holt Renfrew and Tiffany & Co. – even if making only a small purchase, by shopping at Tiffany she was made to feel important and that her purchase was both posh and significant. Her hope is that her customers will leave Doll Bar Inc. feeling the same way.
Providing a first class service is important to Melissa and that includes the smallest detail. For instance all purchases, no matter how small, are gift-wrapped. All women love gifts and we all understand the joy of unwrapping, even for something we have bought ourselves. Her entire staff are professionally trained stylists that are So.Cap certified.
Inevitably my chat with Melissa ended up being about my hair. We started talking about feather extensions and without being pushy, she convinced me into having some. My initial visit was to receive hair extension bangs that I could put in and take out as I wish. With the up coming fall season I found this was the perfect accessory to compliment the hats that I love to wear during the cool weather season. Melissa matched up my hair with the extensions, clipped them in, and began to customize them to my face. I looked adorable with my new bangs!
Well, let’s face it, what woman can resist getting banged after being seduced by talk of being pampered like a princess? Melissa was certainly right about the experience her salon gives; I left feeling like a millionaire, refreshed and ready to take on the world!
Make SURE to visit Melissa and her fabulous staff at Doll Bar Inc. located at 1099 Queen Street West, Toronto.
Walk-ins are most certainly ALWAYS welcome as Doll Bar Inc. is fully loaded with all of the hottest hair colours to suit your needs. However, if you want to call and make an appointment you can contact them at 416-792-4455.
http://dollbarinc.com/
www.twitter.com/dollbarinc
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- June 22, 2011
Teena in Toronto
September 11, 2011 at 9:47 PM
It opened in June? It’s in our ‘hood and we just noticed it yesterday.
NatashaJ
October 13, 2011 at 3:22 PM
It really is a woman’s ‘dollhouse’ , did you have a moment to step inside and check it out?
Bella Bellini
January 13, 2012 at 3:21 PM
I walk past doll bar inc all the time and can’t wait to get extensions there soon!
@trishca
February 23, 2012 at 5:39 PM
What a great post! I’m a huge fan of doll bar inc (@dollbarinc) and you hit on all the great aspects of their salon.
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NL
August 18, 2012 at 7:21 PM
Hello, i have to make a review because it is sites like this that lead me to go to Doll Bar, I didn’t really find bad reviews on the internet so i thought it was a safe and good quality hair.
My experience is:
I wanted longer hair for my wedding; called around and came across doll bar who said the hair used was equivalent to great length. I agree with SP, this place RUINED my hair. I booked an appointment with the owner, and she literally THINED out my hair after putting in the hair; now that i removed the hair, my hair is absolutely thin, destroyed. When i put in the hair, i noticed that mine weren’t the same as my sister, who as well came to do her hair, and when removing them, it was in fact not the same, very cheap quality. The owner poorly bonded the hair, although i took great care of my hair and brushed it everyday, my hair was all tangled, it took the hair dresser 40 minutes to just detangle the hair once the extensions were removed.
I would get extensions again but NEVER from this place.
Kat
February 8, 2013 at 10:21 PM
Had my hair done there. Horrible quality hair for those who want long lasting extensions. It tangles, the color is mis-matched and it was very upsetting. I’ve had extensions many times in the city – some bad experiences, some really good. This is yet another bad. Buyer beware!!!!
ally
March 7, 2013 at 2:35 PM
worst place ever! completly damaged my hair do your re-search find a diffrent place to go this place lacks in service and quailty ….. noone that works there is liscenced
Vanessa
May 23, 2013 at 1:56 AM
Try VIP Glam Girl! I had my hair done with them and its still amazing 5 months later! They have I’d say about 7 top hair companies they use from Virgin Russian to European mix which is what I have! Best part they come to you and do it at your home!! Can’t rave enough I’ve had extensions for 10 years this is the best quality and application I’ve ever seen!
LB
December 8, 2013 at 10:10 AM
DO NOT use this business. I had a terrible experience in the 5 months I dealt with them.
1. They were not up front at all about how much damage would be done to my own hair if I got extensions, even though I interviewed them twice before committing and asked specifically about damage. After 5 months wearing micro-link extensions, I lost about 50% of the hair that I used to have in the areas that held the extensions.
2. Customer service is ABYSMAL.
e.g. calling me only 10 minutes before appointments to ‘remind’ me. (If I’m not on my way by now, your call isn’t goint to help.)
e.g. telling me if I wanted blonde clamps for the extensions I’d have to go buy them myself (!) at another store, then giving me the wrong address for the store, then another employee tells me I don’t actually need the blonde clamps after I’ve gone on a wild goose chase to get them.
e.g. telling me I could drop in anytime to have extensions that have fallen out put back in, but when I called to tell them I was coming, saying they couldn’t fit me in (good friggin thing I called instead of taking their own advice to just come anytime!)
e.g. telling me they had a blond weft in stock that I could have but when I went in to get it, telling me it was actually on hold for another customer, and that it would be at least 4 weeks before any more blond wefts would come in, but they couldn’t be sure exactly.
3. They are bad at cutting hair. When I finally got a weft and they put it in, I was asked “do you want me to shorten that” and I said yes. They did NOT indicate that would cost me extra. She even said I should go to my own hairdresser to have it cut, which I was planning to do the next day. Since I had just paid a LOT of money for the weft, I assumed the trim was part of the fitting process and included in the price. She then spent all of 90 seconds chopping off the ends, then handed me a bill for $50! The cut was terrible: it was not even, there were longer hairs still hanging down here and there, it was a total gong show.
4. When I spoke to the owner to request a refund for the $50 for the very poor cut, she outright refused. THIS IS NOT HOW YOU MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR AN UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER.
I repeat: do NOT use this business. They are terrible and don’t deserve your money.
Trudy
December 14, 2013 at 11:01 AM
I didn’t like the service I got at Doll Bar at all–wouldn’t go again. It’s overpriced and the staff seemed inexperienced.