Whether you're considering coloring your hair a rich girl blonde (one of the biggest 2024 fall hair trends) or a deep auburn a lá Dua Lipa, you'll need a talented hair colorist to fine-tune the perfect shade and tone. Picking your inspiration picture is the easy part. But finding the best hair colorist for the job? That can be overwhelming—especially if you live in New York City.
"In New York, people are always looking to make a statement," shares hair transformation specialist Lucille Javier, who works at the genius-colorist-studded Mark Ryan Salon in Manhattan. In a way, that level of experimentation has attracted hundreds of talented individuals to the city. However, your search for the "best hair colorists in New York" might turn out to have a few too many results.
There are the star-studded stops, like Jenna Perry's salon in Soho, where Emily Ratajkowski and Kendall Jenner are regulars, or Aura Friedman's studio, which has hosted Hailey Bieber and Lady Gaga. But you'll also find beauty editors and NYC it-girl colorists who are easier to get an appointment with.
We've gathered the best of the best right here for you. Keep reading to discover the best hair colorists in New York City. Find yourself on the opposite coast? Check out our guide to the best hair colorists in Los Angeles.
Jenna Perry, Jenna Perry Hair
There is no world in which this list wouldn't include Jenna Perry. Beloved by a host of (quite famous) cool girls, including Emily Ratajkowski, Tommy Dorfman, and Bella Hadid, Perry works out of her namesake salon, Jenna Perry Hair Studio, in SoHo and the East Village. The inventor of "hot girl hair," Perry is a balayage master who can also tackle an all-over color if that's more your jam (no, I can't stop thinking about Hadid's dark gloss from December 2023). Beauty Editor Samantha Holender also swears by Perry's skills for tinted gloss in between bleaches. "Jenna can find the perfect blonde-brown shade to flatter my skin tone—my hair always looks incredibly natural after she's glazed it."
Address: 347 W Broadway, New York, NY
Color consultations available online.
Natalie Elias, Kennaland Brooklyn
With Michelle Williams and Olivia Palermo as clients, Natalie Elias can do wrong. What she excels at, however, is keeping hair healthy despite color treatment. "I trust Natalie completely, and she always keeps my hair happy and healthy," Palermo tells me. "She’ll never do something that she doesn’t think would be healthy for your hair or complementary. I generally try to do variations of my natural color, but I just went much lighter—more of a blonde hue—in August, and we did it in two stages."
Address: 13 Franklin Street, Brooklyn, NY
Book online at www.kennaland.com/bookgreenpoint
Lucille Javier, Mark Ryan Salon
"Color was always something I've innately been drawn to. Whenever I’d draw something, I'd be so excited to color in the lines," shares Javier, the go-to stylist of Marie Claire's Fashion E-Commerce editor Julia Marzovilla. Specializing in color corrections, double processes, creative color, thick, coarse hair, and free-hand painting, the artist built much of her business on transformations other colorists might peg as too difficult.
"I'd never really colored my hair before I visited her, and she made the whole process seamless," says Marzovilla. "She's also so nice and listened to all my concerns. Even when I returned to my natural color before my wedding, she helped it shine for the big day. So many of my guests were saying how good my color looks, and it's all because of her—she's the only person I would trust with my color."
Address: 135 West 20th Street, New York, NY
Book online or call 212-675-3600.
Colleen Flaherty and Madison Garrett, Spoke & Weal
Spoke & Weal salon is a beauty editor hot spot for hair color. Between the Soho and Flatiron locations, there are upwards of a dozen color specialists, but Colleen Flaherty and Madison Garrett are two of the best—especially for blondes.
"Colleen has done my hair for six years, and I'll never trust anyone else," says Beauty Director Hannah Baxter. "She always understands the assignment, sees the nuance in very minute shade differences, and her work always looks effortless—never too done."
Contributing Beauty Writer Brianna Peters frequents the same salon but has sat in Garrett's chair for the past eight years. "I swear she is my good hair day secret weapon. She does the best blonde on the planet—she paints on color with ultra-fine precision so it blends imperceptibly and looks incredibly natural with lots of dimension, brightness, and glossy shine," she shares. "Plus, she always puts the integrity and health of my hair first—something that is essential if you, like me, put your hair through regular color services, hot tools, and more."
Address: 147 Grand St. / Lafayette & Crosby, New York, NY
Lamont Gonzales, John Barrett NYC
Trained by Rita Hazan (Beyoncé's hair colorist, FYI), you can expect Gonzales to nail the rich girl blonde hair trend or add dimension to brunette hair. According to Contributing Beauty Writer Iman Balagam, he's also a wizard with redheads. "He held my hand through the hair coloring process when I initially went in for cherry hair, only to second-guess myself when I sat down," she tells me. "He ended up blending the 17 Pinterest photos I showed him into a look that not only grew out beautifully (I’m terrible at maintenance) but that I still love months later."
Address: 36 East 57th Street, MezzanineNew York, NY
Call 646-231-2000 to book.
Nina Valentine Rubel, Rob Peetoom Salon
If you find yourself in Williamsburg (or are willing to travel), Rob Peetoom should be on your bucket list. The incredibly elevated salon has a living room feel—and is one of the only destinations for Davines hair color. The outpost boasts a strong group of colorists, but, per Contributing Beauty Writer Isabella Sarlija, Nina Valentine Rubel is the best. "She can do anything from zhuzhing up your natural color to completely altering your look. She takes you out into the sunlight to assess your current undertones and explains exactly what she'll have to mix to get you to the color you want," she says. "Nina is also the gentlest soul I've ever met—I've literally shown her horizontal highlights and firetruck reds (never ended up going forth with those colors, but maybe one day...) and never felt an ounce of judgment."
Address: 101 North 10th Street, New York, NY
Call 929-343-5506 to book.
Gloria Bonilla, Sally Hershberger Salons
I miss the days when Caroline Calloway shared every aspect of her life on the internet, mostly because her style enchants me so much. Luckily, she's still down to offer some insight—if you know when to catch her. "I'm literally at Sally Hershberger right now," the Scammer writer shared when I reached out about her favorite colorist. You MUST ask for Gloria Bonilla."
And what exactly does Miss Calloway ask her stylist for? “Imagine I’m a brunette surfer. I live on the beach. I’m in the sun every day. I’m swimming. I’m in the ocean. I’m pursuing my passion for surfing. But wait, plot twist: I’m a brunette surfer in a movie. This is a MOVIE. I’m a brunette surfer in a movie. So, imagine a natural brunette living on the beach, but then add a pinch of Hollywood magic on top of that so it really pops on camera.”
Address: 25 W 26th St 2nd floor, New York, NY
Call 212-206-8700 to book.
Emaly Baum, Beauty Supply New York
Beauty Supply owner Emaly Baum can make you a blonde, but she's also great with brunettes and redheads. The mastermind behind Jennifer Lawrence's softer-than-soft light strands that we loved so much in 2023 and Scarlett Johansson's blonde from her 2020 Marie Claire cover, Baum (who often goes by Emaly B professionally) specializes in everything from dramatic transformations to subtle natural highlights—although, as you've probably guessed, her blondes are perhaps the most famous.
Address: 237 Centre St. 2nd Floor, New York, NY
Call 646-899-3650 or email info@beautysupplynewyork.com to book.
Aura Friedman, Suite Caroline Salon
Aura Friedman is famous for her color wizardry—she showed Javier how to do double processes when she worked at Sally Hershberger.—and she has quite the famous client list to show for it. Tessa Thompson, Hari Nef, and Selma Blair are a few of the names filling her books. "Aura’s approach to color is inspired by haute couture, a variety of musical genres, and influenced by her artisanal training. She strives for understated elegance, making color choices for clients not just by skin tone and eye color, but by personality and personal style," reads her official bio. "Aura achieves an authentic feel by emulating the variations in tone and highlight of nature and natural hair, even with the most dramatic colors."
Address: 65 Greene St #2F, New York, NY
Call 212-431-4400 for appointments and consultations.
Kimberly Cannon, Mark Ryan Salon
Marie Claire contributor Katherine J. Igoe first met Kimberly Cannon "approximately one million years ago" when she was first living in New York and needed an inexpensive highlight. "She and I bonded immediately, not just because she's amazing, but also because she's just an incredible person to be around. Since then, she's only gotten more amazing as a colorist. It's no wonder she's now considered one of the best in the biz," shares the writer. "She somehow has given me the softest, lightest, most dimensional blonde of my life—and it grows out amazingly. She did my wedding highlights. That's how much I love her."
Address: 135 W 20th St Suite 400, New York, NY
Elizabeth Hiserodt, Cutler Salon
A local color icon for 20-plus years, Elizabeth Hiserodt is the person "Die Hot With a Vengeance" (my most anticipated book of 2024!) author and beauty expert, Sable Yong trusts for her precious and always funky locks. The duo have collaborated on an impressive array of shades (blue!), tones (blue-gray!), and surprising platinum piece placements. "I love my colorist! She’s been coloring my hair since 2015 and always does a bang-up job, even when navigating the fraught state of my chemically traumatized hair," says the writer.
Address: 465 W Broadway, New York, NY
Call 212-308-3838 for consultations and appointments.
Michelle Hong, The Team
The former founder of Brush NYC and a senior colorist and educator at Fekkai, Michelle Hong currently owns NYC The Team hair salon. With over 20 years of industry experience, she lends her talents to various celebrities and local tastemakers (seriously, she's done chef Daniel Boulud's hair), including content creator Kelsey Barberio. "Michelle is exceptional with color. She’s the kind of stylist that can recommend a look that’s even better than what you dreamed up in your head," notes Barberio. "She just gets it!"
Address: 135 5th Ave FL 7, New York, NY
Call 929-884-5202 for consultations and appointments.
Olivia Casanova, IGK Salons
If I were to get my hair colored in the city (I've been traveling to my same, small-town Pennsylvania hair colorist for over a decade), my only stop would be to Olivia Casanova. The IGK co-founder, whose clientele includes Rita Ora, Brooks Nader, and Caroline Stansbury, is known for creating an easy grow-out, effortless dimension, and a lived-in color that could easily be mistaken for your natural hue. She works with all hair colors, specializing in long-term blondes and rich brunettes.
Address: 325 W Broadway, New York, NY
Call 646-992-1392 to book.
