Quick answer
If you are looking for the best hair salons in Denver, start with your hair type and your neighborhood, not with a city-wide best list. Denver’s strongest salon scene clusters in a few walkable pockets — LoHi and the Highlands, the Golden Triangle, Cherry Creek, Uptown and LoDo — where specialists for curly and textured hair, balayage and color correction, precision cutting, extensions and classic barbering all work within a few miles of each other.
For curly and textured hair, Devana Salon in Glendale and The Station Hair Studio in the Golden Triangle are the names to shortlist first, with Let Em Have It Salon in Uptown and Rebekah Crumb in Cherry Creek as strong curl-first alternatives. For color and balayage, 303 Salon Lohi in LoHi and Deseo Salon & BlowDry in the Highlands lead the field. For an all-round cut and color in one visit, Studio: A Collective Of Stylists in the Golden Triangle is the practical pick.
Every salon in this guide is a real, currently operating Denver business, verified from public listings at the time of writing; no ratings, review counts or prices are quoted unless they could be verified, and where a price is given it is the salon’s own published starting price.
How this guide was chosen — and what it does not claim
Denver has hundreds of salons, so a useful guide has to be honest about its limits. The picks below are editorial selections based on publicly available information: each salon’s own published services, its neighborhood, and coverage in independent listings such as ThreeBestRated’s Denver salon list, which names 303 Salon Lohi,Clementines A Boutique Salon and The Glam House among the city’s top three. They are not a ranking, and they are not paid placements. Before you book anywhere, check the salon’s current booking page for hours, stylists and prices, because stylists move and menus change — and bring reference photos and an honest description of your hair’s texture, chemical history and daily styling time.
Denver’s altitude is the other honest factor in this guide. At 5,280 feet the air is thin, dry and sunny, and that changes what your hair needs. Low humidity pulls moisture out of the hair shaft, which is why curls can look drier and frizzier here than at sea level, why fine hair goes static in winter, and why color fades faster under Colorado’s intense sun. Several picks below are included specifically because their specialties — curl-first cutting, deep conditioning, lived-in color that grows out softly, keratin smoothing — hold up between appointments in real Denver conditions.
Best hair salons in Denver at a glance
| Salon | Neighborhood | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Devana Salon | Glendale | Curly-only cuts, DevaCut, Pintura highlights |
| The Station Hair Studio | Golden Triangle | Curl sessions, perms, balayage |
| Let Em Have It Salon | Uptown | Curl cuts, gender-neutral cuts, shags |
| Rebekah Crumb | Cherry Creek | DevaCut transformations |
| Rita B Salon | Denver | DevaCurl-certified curly cuts |
| 303 Salon Lohi | LoHi | Dimensional color, balayage, luxury extensions |
| Deseo Salon & BlowDry | Highlands | Balayage, corrective color, blowouts |
| BLACK MOON COLLECTIVE | Golden Triangle | Custom color and extensions |
| The Organic Salon Denver | Golden Triangle | Organic products, curl-friendly color |
| Studio: A Collective Of Stylists | Golden Triangle | Cuts, color and nails in one visit |
| Clementines A Boutique Salon | Highland | Inclusive all-round hair care |
| Matthew Morris Salon and Skincare | Baker | Cuts, color, skincare under one roof |
| Luxe Salon | LoDo | Full-service cuts and beauty services |
| Alfani’s Barbershop | East Colfax | Fades and classic barbering since 2010 |
For curly and textured hair
Devana Salon — Glendale
Devana Salon, at 4399 E Mississippi Ave in Glendale, works on naturally curly hair only — that is the whole point of the place. Its signature Deva Cut includes a haircut, shampoo, conditioning and a styling lesson, and its colorists offer Pintura and balayage highlighting designed for curls. A salon that refuses straight hair is making a real commitment: every stylist there reads curl pattern all day, every day. Appointments are required, so book ahead, and arrive with your hair worn as you normally wear it so the stylist can see your true curl pattern before cutting.
That combination matters: a salon that teaches you how your curls work is far more likely to give you a cut you can repeat at home. Ask at booking whether your appointment is a dry curly cut and whether to arrive with your hair washed and styled as usual. Our guide to 3C hair explains how curl pattern changes what a cut needs to do, and how to plop curly hair covers the drying step that makes or breaks a curly cut at home.
The Station Hair Studio — Golden Triangle
The Station Hair Studio, at 1120 Delaware St, Suite 120, in the Golden Triangle, has been a fixture of Denver’s hair community since 2012. It began as a curl-focused studio and has grown into a full-service boutique offering color, balayage, extensions, modern perms and treatments alongside its curl work. Its site lists a Curl Session cut built around your curl pattern and density, and its colorists specialize in hand-painted balayage and lived-in color. A cut done only on wet, stretched hair often ends up much shorter than expected once it dries, which is why a curl-first salon is the safer choice for tight curl patterns.
Book a consultation first if you are switching from a straightening routine to a curl-first routine, because the grow-out phase needs a plan, not just a single appointment. Dermatologists at the American Academy of Dermatology advise washing curly hair only when needed and detangling only when wet — see their 6 curly hair tips from dermatologists before your first curly-cut appointment.
Let Em Have It Salon — Uptown
Let Em Have It Salon, at 490 E 20th Ave in Uptown Denver, is a locally owned, certified B Corporation salon built around inclusive, gender-neutral styling. Its published offerings include curly cuts, shags and mullets, plus a head-spa service built around scalp massage. The small, sustainable format suits clients who want an unhurried appointment in a space that takes individuality seriously — and the gender-neutral pricing by length and technicality rather than by gender is worth knowing about if that matters to you. If your waves need definition without weight, our picks for the best curl cream for wavy hair explain which formulas suit 2A to 2C patterns.
Rebekah Crumb — Cherry Creek
Rebekah Crumb, at 328 St Paul St in Cherry Creek, is a curl specialist offering DevaCurl transformations and DevaCut appointments alongside men’s and women’s cuts. The one-stylist format is the point: one specialist’s full attention, a cut shaped on your dry curls, and styling education built into the appointment. If your curls have been flattened by years of blow-drying, ask about a curl transformation appointment and what the grow-out will look like over the first few months.
Rita B Salon — Denver
Rita B Salon is a DevaCurl-certified option worth adding to a curly-hair shortlist. Certification alone does not guarantee a great cut, but it does mean the stylist has been trained in dry curly cutting rather than adapting a wet-cut technique to curls — and in a dry city like Denver, where curls shrink and frizz as they dry, that training shows in the result.
For color, balayage and color correction
303 Salon Lohi — LoHi
303 Salon Lohi, at 3358 Mariposa St in LoHi, is the color pick that shows up first in independent Denver listings, and its menu explains why: dimensional color, balayage, lived-in blondes and luxury extensions from a boutique team led by master stylist and owner Tara Danielle Dominguez. Lived-in color is the right call in Denver’s sun, because soft, blended roots hide regrowth for weeks longer than a sharp root line, and that matters when UV is fading your color between appointments. If you want blonde that survives a Colorado summer, bring photos of grown-out color you like, not just fresh color, so the stylist can see the result you actually want to live with.
Deseo Salon & BlowDry — Highlands
Deseo Salon & BlowDry, at 3600 W 29th Ave in the Highlands, is a woman-owned luxury salon founded in 2015 by Laura Baca. Its best-known offerings are balayage, corrective color and blowouts, and it is also listed among Denver’s best hair salons for 2024. The blowout matters: it is where a color appointment becomes a finished style, and it is why the same salon’s blowout is the simplest way to check whether their color work matches their finishing skills. If your hair is damaged, say so at booking — a good colorist will build the appointment around repairing it first.
BLACK MOON COLLECTIVE — Golden Triangle
BLACK MOON COLLECTIVE, a salon suite at 1111 Broadway, Suite 309, is the pick for custom color and extensions. A salon suite format means a more focused appointment: fewer chairs, less noise and more of the stylist’s attention. If you want a bold color, a color correction or extensions that are matched to your own hair, ask to see the stylist’s own work on a similar hair type, not just a portfolio of the best cases.
The Organic Salon Denver — Golden Triangle
The Organic Salon Denver is the pick for clients who want gentler products without giving up real color results: organic products and curl-friendly color in the Golden Triangle. If your scalp is sensitive, or if you are trying to cut back on harsh chemicals while keeping your color, tell the stylist exactly what has irritated your scalp before — a good colorist will adjust the formula and the processing time rather than just swapping one product line for another.
For precision cuts and all-round styling
Studio: A Collective Of Stylists — Golden Triangle
Studio: A Collective Of Stylists, at 1135 Bannock St in the Golden Triangle, is Denver’s practical one-stop pick: hair color, haircuts and nails in one place. Its own site lists balayage, foil highlights and lived-in color, long and short haircuts, plus manicures, pedicures and Gel-X extensions — and it publishes its cut prices, with a long-length cut listed at $91 and a short cut at $66. That transparency is genuinely useful when you are comparing salons: always ask whether the quoted price includes the blow-dry, toner and treatment, because those add-ons are where salon bills quietly grow.
Clementines A Boutique Salon — Highland
Clementines A Boutique Salon, at 2009 W 33rd Ave in Highland, is an inclusive boutique salon that independent listings place among Denver’s top three. It is the neighborhood pick for clients in the Highlands who want high-quality, inclusive hair care close to home — and a salon you can reach easily on a weekday is worth more than a famous one you only visit twice a year.
Matthew Morris Salon and Skincare — Baker
Matthew Morris Salon and Skincare, at 13 S Broadway in Baker, combines hair, beauty and nail services with skincare under one roof, run by owner Matthew Morris and his team. It suits clients who want a cut, color and a facial handled by the same team in one visit — and be honest about how often you wash your hair, because vivid or high-lift color fades faster than natural shades and needs color-safe care at home.
Luxe Salon — LoDo
Luxe Salon, at 1720 Wazee St in LoDo, is a full-service salon in the heart of downtown’s warehouse district. It is the convenient pick for anyone working or living downtown who wants cuts, color and beauty services without leaving the neighborhood, and its central location makes it an easy first stop if you are new to the city and still finding your stylist.
The Glam House — Denver
The Glam House rounds out the all-round picks and also appears among Denver’s top three in independent listings. Like the other generalists in this guide, it is best used for maintenance — regular cuts, color refreshes and styling — while the specialists above earn their keep on the hard problems: curl transformations, corrections and major color changes.
For extensions and occasion styling
Extensions deserve a separate word of caution wherever you buy them. 303 Salon Lohi’s luxury extensions, Deseo’s K-tip, I-tip and flex-weft work, and BLACK MOON COLLECTIVE’s custom color and extensions are all genuine strengths — but extensions only look good when the color match, the placement and the aftercare are all right. Denver’s dry air adds one more consideration: extensions dry out faster here than at sea level, so ask what conditioning and oiling routine the salon recommends between appointments. For a wedding or a major event, book a trial run with the same stylist who will do the day-of styling, because updos and extensions behave differently under event lighting and a long day than they do in a salon chair. And if your hair is shedding, separate that problem first with our guide to the best shampoo for hair fall, because extensions cannot fix a scalp problem.
For men: fades, beard work and classic barbering
Alfani’s Barbershop — East Colfax
Alfani’s Barbershop, on East Colfax Ave, has been giving expert fades, classic cuts and hot towel shaves since 2010. If you are trying a new barber, bring a photo of your current cut at its best and say how many weeks you usually leave between cuts, because that decides how the fade should be built. A fade cut too tight at the sides grows out awkwardly within two weeks; a fade built for your real schedule stays sharp longer.
Floyd’s 99 Barbershop — Denver
Floyd’s 99 Barbershop is the chain option in this guide, with Denver locations for walk-in-friendly cuts, fades and beard trims. It suits anyone who wants a reliable, no-appointment cut at a fair price — and if you find a barber there whose work you like, book that person by name next time rather than taking whoever is free.
Denver altitude and dry air: how to make a salon visit last
Denver’s climate is the variable most out-of-town guides ignore, and it changes the advice. At a mile high, the air holds far less moisture than at sea level, and Colorado’s sun is intense — together they dry the hair shaft, lift the cuticle, and fade color faster than most newcomers expect. Winter adds the opposite problem indoors: dry heated air and static that make fine hair fly away and ends feel brittle.
Three habits help more than any single product. First, ask your stylist for a cut with internal weight removed where your hair is densest, rather than a blunt shape that traps volume. Second, choose color that grows out softly — balayage and lived-in highlights rather than harsh root lines — so sun-driven fading does not advertise a missed appointment. Third, keep your home routine simple and moisturizing: a deep conditioner used weekly and a leave-in that suits your texture matter more than a shelf of products. If you wear your hair smooth, a keratin treatment from a salon on this list will last longer than a home blow-dry — our guide to keratin treatment explains cost, how long it lasts, and the safety questions to ask first — but only if you protect it from steam, rain and workouts in the first days.
How to choose the right Denver salon for you
Start with one question: what is the single thing you most want to change? If it is your curl shape, go to a curl specialist. If it is your color, go to a colorist. If it is your fade, go to a barber. Generalist salons are excellent for maintenance, but specialists earn their keep on the hard problems. Next, match the neighborhood to your life: LoHi, the Highlands, the Golden Triangle, Cherry Creek and Uptown cluster the most specialists, but a salon you can reach easily on a weekday is worth more than a famous one you only visit twice a year. Then use the consultation — a good stylist asks about your hair history, styling time, budget and last three haircuts before picking up scissors. Finally, think about the grow-out: ask how the cut or color will look in six weeks and what it costs to maintain.
What to ask before you book
- Is this a dry curly cut, a wet cut, or a cut finished with a blow-dry — and which suits my texture?
- What is the full price, including toner, treatment and blow-dry — and what does a refresh appointment cost?
- How will this cut or color look in six weeks, and what maintenance does it need in Denver’s dry air?
- Can I see photos of your work on my hair type, not just on models?
- What should I do — and not do — in the first 48 hours after this service?
- Do you offer a free consultation, and can I meet the stylist before committing?
Frequently asked questions about the best hair salons in Denver
What is the best hair salon in Denver for curly hair?
Devana Salon in Glendale and The Station Hair Studio in the Golden Triangle are the best-known curly specialists, with Let Em Have It Salon in Uptown and Rebekah Crumb in Cherry Creek as strong alternatives. All of them cut curls dry or curl-by-curl, which is the technique that matters most for curly hair.
How much does a haircut cost in Denver?
Prices vary widely by neighborhood, stylist level and hair length. As one published example, Studio: A Collective Of Stylists lists a long-length cut at $91 and a short cut at $66. Always ask for a written quote that includes the blow-dry and any toner or treatment before you book.
Do Denver salons need a booking in advance?
Most of the specialist salons in this guide work by appointment only, and weekend slots at popular salons can book out weeks ahead. A few generalist salons and barbershops take walk-ins, but for a curly cut, color correction or blonding, book ahead and arrive with reference photos.
What should I bring to a salon consultation in Denver?
Bring photos of your hair at its best and of the result you want, be ready to describe your hair’s texture and chemical history honestly, and know how much time you actually spend styling each morning. A good stylist will ask all of this before picking up scissors.
Which Denver salon is best for balayage?
303 Salon Lohi in LoHi and Deseo Salon & BlowDry in the Highlands are strong balayage picks, and BLACK MOON COLLECTIVE in the Golden Triangle is a good choice for custom color with extensions. Ask for lived-in color that grows out softly, so you can stretch appointments to ten or twelve weeks.
Are there good hair salons in Denver for men?
Yes. Alfani’s Barbershop on East Colfax is a solid choice for fades and classic barbering, and Floyd’s 99 Barbershop is a reliable walk-in option. Bring a photo of your current cut at its best and tell the barber how many weeks you usually leave between cuts, so the fade is built for your real schedule.