I was a frequent client at Karas, both their portland and cole harbour locations. One day I was waiting for my nail appointment at the portland street location when a loud vulgar argument broke out between two stylists while they had clients in their chairs (who seemed very uncomfortable and quiet with what was happening). I then watched as the supervisor of the salon, who I believe his name was Ed or Eddy something along those lines, yell at the receptionist over the phone until she was almost in tears. I stopped going after watching this encounter and how poorly staff treat each other and how poorly management takes out his anger on reception staff. I would go ANYWHERE ELSE for any services they provide. Poor management will be the downfall of this business read more

I just had the most disgusting experience at a spa ever. I went for a facial at the Cole Harbour Kara location and the person doing my facial was clearly sick. She was shaking, coughing, sneezing and actually threw up in the sink. I got the hell out of there as quick as I could and will never ever go back. Who makes their employees work when that sick and even worse when you are performing spa treatments on people. Came home and did what ever I could to disinfect myself and hoping I don't catch whatever they had. read more

I went to get an eyebrow tint. Wasn't told the after care procedure, went swimming and got home to realize the tint was gone. I emailed them about this to get it redone. The aesthetician said she informed me of the aftercare but she actually didn't. She didn't tell me anything even though I said it was first tint. I still don't even know what went wrong but I think it had something to do with the chlorine. I was told that because she said she let me know I would get 20% off getting it redone. Why would I want to pay for something again after I paid the first time and it lasted less than 10 hrs. That was horrible customer service!! read more

The folks at this Kara's location are great! I've only taken advantage of the hair services but there are other services available as well. As I'm a little scattered, I really appreciate that they can usually fit you in on the same day. The stylists are always very friendly and knowledgeable. I like how professional but relaxed everyone is at this location. Appointments are quick, the cuts are always great and the prices are reasonable. read more

I switched away from Kara's Urban Day Spa (Spring Garden location) when I started to notice the inconsistency of the cuts/colour that I was getting. Kara's is extremely close to both Dalhousie and St. Mary's universities so they aren't necessarily counting on repeat clientele. My last time I was at Kara's, the stylist working on me placed the foils too far away from my scalp. When I pointed this out, I was reassured that the colour would be very well blended etc. In other words: don't worry. Upon completion it looked as though my hair had already grown out for at least a month, since the colour was nowhere near the root. Kara's typically costs $120-$150 for cut and colour (for medium length hair). You can get a much more long lasting style and colour at other spas in the city. Kara's is also ALWAYS extremely busy and sort of cramped. I've always left this location, grateful to be out in the fresh air after inhaling nothing but aerosol products for 2 hours. Going to a salon should be a relaxing experience, not a harried one. For your money, there's much better spa's in Halifax. Try Life Salon or Sykea. read more

So I was recently back in at Kara's for a trim and some colour touch-up, nothing too complicated, yet some how the stylist managed to cut my layers way too short and to do a less than great job on my hair. It's now 2 weeks since I got my hair done and my blondish hair is turning an orangish colour and it's quite obvious which parts of my hair were coloured. $100 later, I'm stuck with a haircut I don't like and a colour that will need to be redone by somebody else - Needless to say, I'm quite disappointed and won't be going back anytime too soon. read more

I've been to kara's countless times. I've had foils done there by master stylist "Sherry", Lets just say i had to go back the next week to have them done again because she didn't do half of my head. Ive had a massage there by a women who coughed the whole time and sniffed. I've had a pedicure done there by a women who had better things to do. The whole pedicure lasted o'30 mins including me sitting there waiting for m nails to dry. She left me sitting there, so i had to ask another lady if i could have my flip flops so i could leave. HORRIBLE service, and i have another story, but unfortunately for you, it's way too embarrassing for me to tell!! i will never go back there as along as i live. I'm pretty sure they hire anyone whos resume says " Skills pertaining to occupation : using plastics sissors in elementary, and coloring outside the lines. read more

I went to Kara's in October for a chemical treatment to straighten my hair. The girl doing my hair left the product in 10 minutes longer than the maximum time indicated on the products bottle. Immediately following my scalp was itchy and rough feeling along the hair line. I was told this is normal. Now a few months later I noticed I have clumps of hair regrowing in. It turns out my hair was burnt off and what I was feeling was stubble. The manager Allison told me when I came in to see them about it that she isn't a hair dresser and that she would need to talk to the head stylist who was in the next day. Six days later they called me to offer a $40 treatment to help with breakage. I asked for a refund and was told too much time had passed and they they couldn't be sure it was the chemical treatment that caused this. My hair isn't falling out or breaking it came out that day. I only noticed now because it is regrowing in and I now have clumps of short hair popping out. They ruined my hair and won't do anything about it! Don't get your hair done here! read more

What a great place to spend a spa day. Mani, pedi, facial and massage. The ladies are fantastic, very friendly and yet extremely professional. Kudos to all of you. read more

I really feel like you are just paying to be in a nice looking spa. Esthetic services have always been great, but I have been twice for hair cuts and both times was serviced by inexperienced stylists who just want to experiment on you - not give you what you actually request. And I second the review about the foils being too far away from the scalp. When you leave the salon, it already looks like you have had about a month of re-growth. Why pay to have roots already? read more

I always like the atmosphere when I go to karas, it's a spa type feel but the people are also relaxed and very nice. I have had my hair coloured here over two times already and have had extensions put in here and had a mani/pedi. Great experience for all services, I had a younger hairstylist but she was super informative and turned my hair vision into something better than I could have explained. The aesthetician was also great and did an amazing job! (Cole harbour location). read more

Hair cut with Devon was a total disappointment! I showed her a picture and she still was not able to cut it correctly. The cut is so short I can't even go and get it fixed. I have to wear a hat to work for the next 4-6 weeks. It looks like someone cut my hair with a lawnmower; uneven and gouged. Will not be returning or recommending. In fact I will tell everyone I know to avoid this place! read more

The staff is completly unprofessional and the place is so dirty I could not use the bathroom. The dust and dirt is everywhere you look and you dont need to try very hard. I was there for a haircut and heard all about a stylists boyfriend who dosent work and stays home all day... While the girl on the front desk was talking about her crazy boozed up week end in Truro with another aesthetician... Then i asked who the manager was and the girl said "it's me!" I went ohhh... Very pricy for a "Day Spa" plus the advertised "waxing wednesdays" specials are a trap.. When I was there a lady came and complained about not getting her discount and the manager told her "sorry i cant help you" Needless to say I am not going back... B. K read more

I went to get my belly button pierced for the first time it got severely infected even though I took really good care of it . First off they are very under educated about piercings you should never use hoops for a belly button piercing and it was put in crooked I will never go there for piercings again read more

Walking in was like entering a cheap dirty salon.... hairdressers are not put together at all. I was under the impression this place was going to fun young and trendy... not a place were i received a bad hair cut and got to hear about some girls kid for an hour. overpriced since i could have got the same experience in a strip mall.... i will NEVER go back read more

I was just at Kara's for the last time. My hair is short so have to go every 4-5 weeks and every time I go it's a different price. It's always more then the time before, today the stylist put some shine solution in my hair so the cut/shine cost me $70.00...I will not be going back or recommending Kara's to anyone. read more

Went to get my hair done, asked for the best stylist they had. My hair looks like it was just cut all around the base with zero blending done to it. My highlights look like I walked out of the 80's, and (I measured) are exactly one inch from the root. Extremely disappointing.Not to mention, I was at the salon for 3 HOURS, the power went out so the stylist couldn't finish the blow dry portion, it wasn't until I got home that I could really see what went on. I'm literally booking with a friend's stylist to get it fixed. Kara's used to be the place you could see any stylist and not be disappointed. read more

Well, I went for hair extensions and they were awesome! and PRICEY!!! BUT AWESOME none the less. I was very happy with them but, after six months, they needed to be redone. I do not live in the city and was in town for a couple of days. I called the salon (Cole Harbour locale) and asked to speak with the stylist that had done my hair. She wasn't available. I called back and, again, I was told she wasn't available. Ok...I asked for someone else to help me. Nope. I told them that I wanted to order hair extensions (which cost $500)...the same as I had before. No help at all. I ended up not bothering to get them again. The people that I dealt with were not at all concerned with the reputation of this business or in helping a return customer. This procedure cost me almost $1000 and would have again but they lost my business through their pure laziness and unwillingness to get off their butts and look up my file. It's too bad. read more

I've never been to Kara's for any hair cuts, or spa treatments, so I can't give you any opinions on that. However, I can tell you one thing, don't go here for your piercings. I went to Kara's a few years back to get a naval piercing done, which is generally a relatively easy piercing for the person doing it to do to do. However the woman who worked here managed to mangle the simplicity of it. A naval piercing is supposed to be done with the client lying down, she did it with me sitting up, for starters. This alone isn't that big a deal. But she put the clamp on loosely, put the needle halfway through from the top and stopped with a comment of "Wow, you have a tough navel." She then removed the needle, and instead of getting a new, sterilized and sharp needle proceeded to put the same one through from the bottom, scraping the original hole on the way up. This was extremely painful, and it never healed, causing me to have to take it out after 6 months of fighting infection. My advice, if you want a piercing, go to Island Rose Ink in Sackville. The lady there redid my naval (and 13 other piercings of mine) for me and I didn't even feel it, along with it healing in a week. read more

Kara's used to be the place to go years ago but my last couple of trips have been awful Sadly my massage on the weekend was the worst I've ever experienced. I've never wanted to leave so bad half way through the treatment. 5 times I told her I have lower back pain, she kept going to that area and applying so much pressure. By the 5th time I said please that's too much, I need to be able to walk tomorrow. I honestly thought she was going to cause damage. I was there for a full body massage, she told me to leave my pants on, I thought that was weird since I want to be able to feel the massage. She said once we get to know each other better. I will never go back. Sadly as I lay on the bad face down I looked around at the cleanliness and that was lacking. I was all set to tell them when I paid but there was no communication from them except saying it as $92 how are you paying? Not how was it? Do you want to rebook? Nothing. read more