KidSnips – website

Location: 513 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook

Phone: 630-571-1500

Hours:
Monday – Friday  10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday                   9:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday                     10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Additional locations – hours vary:

• Chicago (Lincoln Park) – 1953 N. Clybourn, Unit F – 773-935-9999
• Deerfield – 655 Deerfield Road – 847-374-8000
• Wheaton – 2007 S. Naperville Road – 630-653-3300
• Arlington Heights – 218 East Rand Road – 847-797-9690
• Vernon Hills – 128 Hawthorn Center – 847-247-1110
• Wilmette – 3232 Lake Avenue – 847-853-0099
• Naperville – 2835 Showplace Drive, Suite 131 – 630-848-0008
• South Barrington – 100 West Higgins Road – 847-783-4600

Cost:
Children’s Haircuts (12 & younger) – $18-20
Simple Buzz Cut – $16-18
Teen Hair Cuts – $20-23
Men’s Hair Cuts – $20-23
Women’s Hair Cuts – $25-30

Shampoo service (with cut) – $3
Bang trim – $5
Braids – $5 & up
Detangling treatment – $15 & up

Up-do, Iron Works, Blowdry Style, Comb-out – $25 & up

*** Print out a coupon to receive $5 in toys with a $30 service or merchandise purchase.

Parking: Oakbrook Center has several lots of free parking. The closest parking lots to KidSnips are north of Nordstrom or north of Bloomingsales Home Store.

Bathrooms: There are no bathrooms in KidSnips; the nearest bathrooms in Oakbrook Center are on the lower level near Sears.

Nursing: There is no designated nursing area in KidSnips, but there is a bench near the counter.

Handicapped/stroller accessibility: KidSnips is accessible, although it can be a tight squeeze on a busy day. Oakbrook Center is accessible, but the elevators are near the center and you’ll need to go a little out of the way to take the elevator instead of the stairs.

Other amenities:

• First haircut – Free Polaroid photo and swatch of hair mounted on a First Haircut certificate
• After a haircut, children get to choose a free item from the treasure box and receive a free balloon
• Colored hair extensions are available
• KidSnips supports several charities: local elementary school PTAs, Locks of Love, CARE, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Toys for Tots
• Locks for Love Donations – Donate hair that is 10 inches or longer and your haircut and style are free
• KidSnips sells toys and novelties, mostly ranging from $1 to $15.
• Small children get to sit in a car while getting their hair cut. There are regular salon chairs for older children and adults.

Food: Oakbrook Center has a variety of restaurants and eateries, including Auntie Anne’s, California Pizza Kitchen, The Cheesecake Factory, Stir Crazy, Subway, Wildfire, and Maggiano’s Little Italy.

Special events: KidSnips has no scheduled special events, but a calendar of special events at Oakbrook Center is available on their website. The Disney Store at Oakbrook Center is having a Disney Princess & Friends Craft Event on January 14, 2012.

Activities: Children get to choose a movie or video game to enjoy during their haircut.

We paid: Approximately $25 for Dexter’s haircut and tip. We had a coupon for $3 in free toys so we chose a package of stickers and a mini picture viewer.

Our experience:

I often go to discount haircut places for Cooper (& myself), but I DREAD it and I put it off as long as I can. The kids get bored and there’s not much for them to do and just when they get really bored and antsy, it’s our turn. Then while Cooper gets a haircut I have to chase Dexter around trying to keep him out of trouble. Not fun. In the end, I wind up spending at least $15 and they try to sell me hair care products. (Really? $15 shampoo for a 4-year-old?) So far it’s been about 50/50 on the haircut – 50% of the time it’s a perfectly good cut and the other 50% of the time it’s pretty bad and I spend a month being thankful that he’s too young to be embarrassed by it. (Seriously. The stylist at KidSnips asked if I tried cutting Cooper’s hair myself. I hadn’t.)

We visited KidSnips for Dexter’s first haircut on a Saturday afternoon. We didn’t have an appointment and it was pretty busy. The cashier suggested we leave our name and return in 30 minutes and I was so happy to be able to come back than to be told we’d have to wait there. We wandered around Oakbrook Center and then only had to wait about 5-10 minutes after we returned and then Dexter got to choose a movie to watch while he got his haircut.

Dexter’s stylist led us to her station where she started his movie and sat him in a car shaped chair. Cooper got a seat too so he could see the movie.

The haircut went very well. The stylist was very patient with with us, letting us move around to get pictures from every angle and videotape every second of it. She stopped several times so we could get good shots of Dexter and even styled his hair in a faux hawk so we could take pictures (& Dexter & Cooper could laugh at it) before she finished his haircut. She was also really patient with Dexter, letting him play with a comb and letting him see the different things she used – the spray bottle, razor, hairdryer, and brush. She seemed to genuinely enjoy working with kids and she did a great job of paying attention to Cooper too so he didn’t feel excluded.

When his cut was over, we got a certificate with a Polaroid picture of his new haircut and a swatch of his baby hair (sniff, sniff!). Cooper didn’t get a haircut, but both boys got to pick a balloon, a sucker, and a small toy from the Treasure Box before we left.

We spent about an extra $10 at KidSnips than we would have going to a discount place and it was money well spent. The kids were happy, I was more relaxed, and I was very happy with the hair cut.