Make Hair Happy

Make Hair Happy is on the fourth floor of the Monroe Center at 720 Monroe Street in Hoboken, a complex of two buildings joined by breezeways. The building door is opened by call box when locked, and the door code arrives in the booking confirmation and reminder email. Street parking is limited and restricted to residents on permit sides, so a public garage reached from Jackson Street behind the building is a practical alternative.

The studio works by appointment only, seeing one client at a time and never double-booking. Online booking typically opens two or three months ahead. Services cover cuts, blowouts, color, highlights, lowlights and consultations, with color designed to look natural, stay easy to maintain and suit each client's skin tone, eye color and lifestyle. Hair condition comes first, so dramatic changes are not made in a single visit.

New color clients book a blowout with their first color service, since color appointments do not include one. Consultations run 30 minutes, are booked by email, and cover current hair condition, product suggestions, home habits, color options and a plan for a later visit. Clients who want to refresh grown-out highlights can choose a lighter glaze-finished option, while fuller balayage or foil work adds more lightness.

The space has a waiting area with snacks and drinks, and clients may bring their own food. A vanity area offers skincare products to try, there is a desk for working on a laptop, and clients can borrow books kept in the studio. The salon describes the feel as polished but relaxed.

Clients are asked to avoid hooded sweatshirts or cowl neck sweaters unless they have a layer to keep on underneath. The studio is nut-free because the owner has a nut allergy. A referral reward gives $20 off the next visit for each new client referred who completes a first service.

The studio does not offer children's haircuts, men's cuts, barbering or clipper work, fashion colors, updos, bridal services, keratin treatments, or work on hair with extensions or clip-ins. It also does not reply to requests to apply color that clients bring from another salon.

Color is formulated as a matter of chemistry and careful listening, with a creative side, and hair integrity guides each visit.

A welcoming, home-like studio that the salon describes as polished but relaxed.