I have trust issues when it comes to finding a brand-new hair salon. Especially because my hair is thick, frizzy and has three different curl patterns. As my tightly coiled hair requires special care, I tend to be very selective about the hair stylists that cut it.
Which is how I stumbled across Patrick Evan Salon. Voted the best hair salon in San Francisco by Allure Magazine, the owner specializes in Japanese hair straightening and thermal reconditioning. If there was ever a salon that could handle my unruly hair, it has to be this one.
Arriving a bit early on the day of my appointment, I am greeted by a front desk receptionist who treats me like an old friend. As she prepares a cup of coffee for me, we breezily carry on a conversation as if we have known each other for years. Taking a cursory look around, the building itself is incredibly chic with a combination of stark white and exposed brick walls. Overhead, canned lights crisscross with a series of industrial pipes.
After a short period of time, Patrick Evan arrives in the waiting room and together we walk up three flights of stairs to his station. In a city where space is a highly sought-after commodity, I am blown away that the salon is three full stories. Evan tells me that he has 50 employees that range from stylists, colorists, keratin specialists, extension specialists, make-up artists, manicurists and pedicurists.
His office used to be on the third floor, but it was relocated to the basement to accommodate four more hair stations. The popular salon also adjusted their hours – now open 7 days a week – to accommodate as many clients as possible.
As Evan begins the lengthy process of chemically straightening my hair, he tells me a little about his background. He became interested in thermal reconditioning in 2001 and signed up for a training course in Los Angeles. When he arrived for the seminar, the salon told him that the class has been cancelled due to lack of interest, but they allowed Evan to stay and shadow their work.
What could have been a disappointing blow turned into a huge turning point in Evan’s career. Impressed by his passion and skill, the salon asked if they could refer their Northern California clients to him – they didn’t have any stylists who could straighten hair in San Francisco. By the time Evan arrived back home, he already had 40 new Bay Area clients who wanted him to relax their hair.
After a year and a half of working in someone else’s salon, he ventured out on his own and signed a lease in the coveted Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. These days, Evan does three to six thermal reconditioning treatments per day, while his award-winning stylists are renowned for precision cuts and expert coloring.
Although Evan said that day-to-day business is more important than celebrity clients, I would be remiss not to mention some of his high-profile work: his team has worked on Michael Kors and Roxy campaigns, regularly works with Vera Wang, and has helped Anna Wintour get ready for formal events. If this place is good enough for the editor-in-chief of Vogue, it’s certainly good enough me.