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At Time Out, we’re constantly refreshing our citywide rankings—because Chicago is always evolving, and you deserve to know what’s truly the best of the best. This week, we revisited our guide to the city’s best hair salons and decided it was time for a major reshuffle.
Along with adding a few new salons that are keeping Chicago looking good, we updated the rankings to reflect recent trends—because nothing evolves quite like a good hairstyle. As a result of our latest reporting, longtime Logan Square mainstay Sparrow has claimed the number one spot as the best hair salon in Chicago.
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Stylists Suki McAdams and Bathsheba Nemerovski opened Sparrow in 2009, and over the years it’s become the it-girl salon of this artsy corner of the city. Proudly branding itself as a salon for “sensitive people,” Sparrow is a refuge for clients who want high-end artistry without the sensory overload. As a clean-air, Amazon-free space, it has quietly built a reputation as one of Chicago’s most thoughtful destinations for sustainable beauty services.
In 2024, Sparrow moved from its longtime home on Milwaukee Avenue to a larger space on a quieter stretch of Wrightwood Avenue. The extra room made it possible to expand into all-inclusive beauty offerings—massage, manual lymph drainage, brow lamination and more—turning a haircut appointment into something closer to a small act of self-preservation.
What really sets Sparrow apart, though, is its intentional approach to the client experience. The salon doesn’t use assistants, so your stylist is with you from start to finish, not darting off mid-sentence with a foiling brush. The space is fully wheelchair accessible, with chairs and treatment tables designed for size inclusivity, and clients can book silent appointments or private sessions if low stimulation is part of the appeal. Best of all (speaking as someone with asthma), every styling product used in the space is 100% synthetic-fragrance-free—a small detail that makes a surprisingly big difference when you’re breathing it in.
The next time you’re due for a haircut—whether it’s a breakup-induced transformation or simple upkeep—swing by Sparrow or explore the other essential spots on our list of Chicago’s 20 best hair salons. Not ready to switch salons? Sparrow also offers its own haircare line, s4e (“Sparrow For Everyone”), with products that are gentle on hair, skin and the planet, available in-store at Sparrow and Merz Apothecary, as well as online.