The checkout text I received from Madison Reed Studio City made me uncomfortable. Asking about a tip by text felt pushy and unnecessary.
Madison Reed is responsible for hiring and paying stylists, shampoo assistants, and staff fairly, so customers should not feel pressured to supplement wages. Tipping should always be optional, not awkward or expected.
I also felt uncomfortable being told to touch up my brows in the restroom because the manager gets upset. After eyebrow tinting, clients should be able to check and lightly touch up their brows at the mirror without feeling judged or uncomfortable.
Kim Mayans
May 2026
Carmen and Kamil did an amazing job!! I had such a great experience with them … thank you ladies
junkdrawercontents
May 2026
Disaster. I came in for a root touch up. Simple. Decided instead of doing it myself, I’d come in and let a professional do it as I have a number of important events this week and wanted to make sure all the greys were gone. They asked if I wanted to use the creme barrier (which I did, again because I wanted to minimize any risk of staining my skin beyond my hairline). As I sat getting my roots covered, I watched as other colorists took great care making sure to wipe off excess color from other patrons’ hairlines AS THEY WERE APPLYING. Because there are no mirrors, I could not see if my colorist was doing the same, but I was assuming she was. They seemed understaffed and my 40min wait to rinse out the dye turned into 55 minutes… which would not have been as big a deal IF THE COLOR HADN’T BEEN APPLIED all over my forehead, the sides of my face and well past where you’d have sideburns. The dye was obviously applied with no attempt at keeping it anywhere near the hairline and the added time just made the dye MORE impossible to take off. I told the person shampooing that I just wanted to make sure there was no residual dye on my face. Well from her reaction right away I pretty much knew what an absolute disaster it must be. She tried to get it out with shampoo and scrubbed to no avail. When I finally was able to really look at the damage, sitting myself in front of a mirror with a mountain of cotton pads and cleansing wipes, I knew that it would not help. I spent 20minutes trying to scrub it off as much as possible. There is dark uneven stain rimming my entire face. It’s not even. In some areas it is an inch wide in others 1/2 an inch or 1/4 of an inch. It’s all jagged and dark. I was equal parts horrified and enraged when I saw it. The assistant just kept apologizing and saying she didn’t know why they would do that. The colorist that I saw applying color very precisely came by and said they would train my colorists to do better. I asked why they hadn’t trained them PRIOR to working with clients, and they said that they had. The manager, Nick, was not in but the assistant manager, Rachel, did what little she could to appease me, apologizing (though she told me she’s seen worse, which did NOT land well with me), handing me a box of wipes to take home and suggesting I buy makeup remover and Micellar Water, saying that it might help.
So I spent the next 35min driving to CVS, getting all the above for another $35 (the CVS employee who was helping me couldn’t even believe it when she saw me) only to come home and rub at the stains on my skin until my hairline is red and hurts. Though it seems a little lighter, it’s far from gone and I’m not looking forward to having to scrub some more in the morning. NO ONE should have to go through this. It’s ridiculous.
Supposedly, Nick will call me. We’ll see if that happens, though quite frankly, I don’t know what he could say to make any of it better. I would not recommend coming here if you are a brunette and if you don’t want to look like Rudy Giuliani walking out.
UPDATE: Nick called the next day. Apologized and said he’d call back in a few days after talking to the higher ups to see what he could do to make it right. Never heard back from him again.
Lynn Hirshfield
May 2026
The very best colorists!!!
Shannon Zadoorian
May 2026
This was my first time at a Madison Reed and I left very happy. My stylist, Jennifer, was wonderful and she did a great job with my color.
Leticia Saghian
May 2026
I had an appointment at Madison Reed Color Bar for color and a blowout. ( studio city ) Unfortunately, they canceled the blowout just 15 minutes before my appointment, which was already disappointing.
I still went in for the color, but the experience did not meet expectations. My face was left stained with tint, which felt very unprofessional. I’ve colored my hair myself before and even then I’ve never had that happen.
When I got home, I had to wash my hair again because it felt irritating—only to realize they hadn’t fully rinsed out all the dye.
Overall, very disappointing, especially considering their reputation for quality service.
Carol
May 2026
Great experience- Nick (manager) was so helpful explaining show the membership works.
Anahis Sanchez
Apr 2026
First time being at this location. Jenny was great. Love the blowout.
hyunju yoo
Apr 2026
I think it really depends on who you get as your hair designer. I’m not sure if it’s because the company doesn’t pay their employees well, but most of the hair designers here seemed unhappy.
From a customer’s perspective, the prices are affordable. However, I had an uncomfortable experience today with an assistant. While she was applying the hair dye, the brush felt rough — almost like an old, worn-out cleaning brush — and it hurt my scalp.
When I mentioned that it was painful, instead of showing understanding, she responded as if I was the one being overly sensitive or unusual.
I politely asked if she could adjust the angle, but she said she had never had that issue before.
What was disappointing wasn’t just the discomfort, but the way the conversation was handled. I wasn’t trying to complain — I was trying to find a solution together — but it didn’t feel like that kind of communication was welcomed.
Maybe because this place is more affordable, there seems to be an atmosphere where customers are expected to just accept whatever is done.
In the past, at locations in Torrance and Newport Beach (OC), LA 3rd street. I met designers who were kind, skilled, and good at communicating with clients. Unfortunately, here you don’t really get to choose your designer.
If you have a higher budget, I would recommend going somewhere where you can choose a specific designer. Also, parking is only free for 90 minutes, so if you want to avoid paying, I recommend parking outside.
delia schwaigerlehner
Apr 2026
It's so fast and easy to get your roots touched up or otherwise... and the staff is very nice and attentive... The surroundings of the Studio City Color Bar are clean and bougie...
ellie M
The checkout text I received from Madison Reed Studio City made me uncomfortable. Asking about a tip by text felt pushy and unnecessary.
Madison Reed is responsible for hiring and paying stylists, shampoo assistants, and staff fairly, so customers should not feel pressured to supplement wages. Tipping should always be optional, not awkward or expected.
I also felt uncomfortable being told to touch up my brows in the restroom because the manager gets upset. After eyebrow tinting, clients should be able to check and lightly touch up their brows at the mirror without feeling judged or uncomfortable.
Kim Mayans
Carmen and Kamil did an amazing job!! I had such a great experience with them … thank you ladies
junkdrawercontents
Disaster. I came in for a root touch up. Simple. Decided instead of doing it myself, I’d come in and let a professional do it as I have a number of important events this week and wanted to make sure all the greys were gone. They asked if I wanted to use the creme barrier (which I did, again because I wanted to minimize any risk of staining my skin beyond my hairline). As I sat getting my roots covered, I watched as other colorists took great care making sure to wipe off excess color from other patrons’ hairlines AS THEY WERE APPLYING. Because there are no mirrors, I could not see if my colorist was doing the same, but I was assuming she was. They seemed understaffed and my 40min wait to rinse out the dye turned into 55 minutes… which would not have been as big a deal IF THE COLOR HADN’T BEEN APPLIED all over my forehead, the sides of my face and well past where you’d have sideburns. The dye was obviously applied with no attempt at keeping it anywhere near the hairline and the added time just made the dye MORE impossible to take off. I told the person shampooing that I just wanted to make sure there was no residual dye on my face. Well from her reaction right away I pretty much knew what an absolute disaster it must be. She tried to get it out with shampoo and scrubbed to no avail. When I finally was able to really look at the damage, sitting myself in front of a mirror with a mountain of cotton pads and cleansing wipes, I knew that it would not help. I spent 20minutes trying to scrub it off as much as possible. There is dark uneven stain rimming my entire face. It’s not even. In some areas it is an inch wide in others 1/2 an inch or 1/4 of an inch. It’s all jagged and dark. I was equal parts horrified and enraged when I saw it. The assistant just kept apologizing and saying she didn’t know why they would do that. The colorist that I saw applying color very precisely came by and said they would train my colorists to do better. I asked why they hadn’t trained them PRIOR to working with clients, and they said that they had. The manager, Nick, was not in but the assistant manager, Rachel, did what little she could to appease me, apologizing (though she told me she’s seen worse, which did NOT land well with me), handing me a box of wipes to take home and suggesting I buy makeup remover and Micellar Water, saying that it might help.
So I spent the next 35min driving to CVS, getting all the above for another $35 (the CVS employee who was helping me couldn’t even believe it when she saw me) only to come home and rub at the stains on my skin until my hairline is red and hurts. Though it seems a little lighter, it’s far from gone and I’m not looking forward to having to scrub some more in the morning. NO ONE should have to go through this. It’s ridiculous.
Supposedly, Nick will call me. We’ll see if that happens, though quite frankly, I don’t know what he could say to make any of it better. I would not recommend coming here if you are a brunette and if you don’t want to look like Rudy Giuliani walking out.
UPDATE: Nick called the next day. Apologized and said he’d call back in a few days after talking to the higher ups to see what he could do to make it right. Never heard back from him again.
Lynn Hirshfield
The very best colorists!!!
Shannon Zadoorian
This was my first time at a Madison Reed and I left very happy. My stylist, Jennifer, was wonderful and she did a great job with my color.
Leticia Saghian
I had an appointment at Madison Reed Color Bar for color and a blowout. ( studio city ) Unfortunately, they canceled the blowout just 15 minutes before my appointment, which was already disappointing.
I still went in for the color, but the experience did not meet expectations. My face was left stained with tint, which felt very unprofessional. I’ve colored my hair myself before and even then I’ve never had that happen.
When I got home, I had to wash my hair again because it felt irritating—only to realize they hadn’t fully rinsed out all the dye.
Overall, very disappointing, especially considering their reputation for quality service.
Carol
Great experience- Nick (manager) was so helpful explaining show the membership works.
Anahis Sanchez
First time being at this location. Jenny was great. Love the blowout.
hyunju yoo
I think it really depends on who you get as your hair designer.
I’m not sure if it’s because the company doesn’t pay their employees well, but most of the hair designers here seemed unhappy.
From a customer’s perspective, the prices are affordable. However, I had an uncomfortable experience today with an assistant. While she was applying the hair dye, the brush felt rough — almost like an old, worn-out cleaning brush — and it hurt my scalp.
When I mentioned that it was painful, instead of showing understanding, she responded as if I was the one being overly sensitive or unusual.
I politely asked if she could adjust the angle, but she said she had never had that issue before.
What was disappointing wasn’t just the discomfort, but the way the conversation was handled. I wasn’t trying to complain — I was trying to find a solution together — but it didn’t feel like that kind of communication was welcomed.
Maybe because this place is more affordable, there seems to be an atmosphere where customers are expected to just accept whatever is done.
In the past, at locations in Torrance and Newport Beach (OC), LA 3rd street. I met designers who were kind, skilled, and good at communicating with clients. Unfortunately, here you don’t really get to choose your designer.
If you have a higher budget, I would recommend going somewhere where you can choose a specific designer. Also, parking is only free for 90 minutes, so if you want to avoid paying, I recommend parking outside.
delia schwaigerlehner
It's so fast and easy to get your roots touched up or otherwise... and the staff is very nice and attentive... The surroundings of the Studio City Color Bar are clean and bougie...