Sophomore Jake Ruby says haircuts are what separate men from beasts. Yet for many IU students, looking like a beast might appear to be the only option when the comforts of home and their stylists are hundreds of miles away. While finding a decent salon in Bloomington seems difficult, some students have proved research combined with trial and error yields results.\nFor student Ozair Shariff, finding a salon was easy, but a decent stylist was not. From a friend's recommendation, he first went to a local hair salon near his dorm.\n"I wasn't very impressed with the stylist, as he was overly confident," he said. "One shouldn't be so arrogant when dealing with a new customer that may or may not ever return for another $25 cut. It turns out that he didn't do as I asked. He took too much off on top, and I didn't feel satisfied."\nSophomore Kate Leak had a similar experience. Upon showing her stylist a picture of the haircut she wanted, she was advised not to get it.\n"She said it would make me look like a boy. You don't say that to someone who knows what they want," she said.\nThe experience proved irritating enough to warrant her never going back. These salons, however, might provide students more luck.
900 Hair Design: Mezzanine level of the Indiana Memorial Union\nOpen: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.\nHaircut: $13.50 for men, $16.50 for women\nHighlights start from: $20/cap or $60/foils\nMia and Maxx Hair Studio: College Mall Suite C; 2862 E. 3rd St.\nOpen: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 12 to 6 p.m.\nHaircut: $20 for men, $28 for women\nHighlights start from: $15 for men, $65 for women
This salon is one of three in the mall. Junior Kathy McCracken, who admits to rarely going to a stylist, found herself at Mia and Maxx's, where her $30 haircut proved satisfactory. Her haircutting standards weren't far away in making this decision.\n"It matters if they did what I asked them to do, and if they're willing to fix it if they didn't," she said.
Posh Salon: 1723 W. 3rd St.\nOpen: Monday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.\nHaircut: $22 for men, $33 for women\nHighlights start from: $28 for men, $66 for women
This more expensive salon has a hair-shaping club offering buy five, get the sixth haircut free. Shariff, who doesn't see price as an issue so long as a cut is less than $25, notes that prices can be higher in Bloomington than in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. His recommendation of the Crosstown Barber Shop, where haircuts are $11, is a more affordable alternative for men.
