Color Correction in Highland Park, IL

Highland Park sits at the upper end of the North Shore, north of Glencoe and Winnetka, with downtown Highland Park clustered along Central Avenue and Ravinia Festival drawing through the summer. Our Highland Park clientele runs old-money established alongside a strong tech and finance segment, and a meaningful share of our color correction bookings come specifically from this zip code. The reason is almost always the same. A teenage daughter at Highland Park High or Deerfield bleached her hair in a friend's bathroom, or an adult tried to cover grey with a drugstore box and landed several shades off.

Why Highland Park residents book color correction at 3rd Coast Salon

Highland Park teens have access to disposable income and time, and they experiment. We see the results every spring before prom and every September after summer camp. The most common arrival is a level-9 patchy bleach pulled through with a box kit, often with banding at the line where the previous color stopped. The second most common is a self-applied at-home gloss that grabbed warm and turned brassy fast. Kevin built a real reputation around staging these corrections without frying the hair off the head.

The adult Highland Park correction looks different. Usually it is a client who has been getting single-process color at home or at a different salon for years, and the regrowth has built a permanent band at week six. Sometimes it is a grey-blending request that went too dark and now reads as a wig under Ravinia stage lights. Sometimes it is an at-home highlight kit applied during the pandemic that the client has been growing out and is finally ready to address. Kevin maps which sections need lift, which need deposit, and which need a tone-only correction.

The third Highland Park segment is what we call the Ravinia summer correction. Clients booked for a wedding rehearsal or a benefit at Ravinia tried a one-shot at-home tweak the week before and need it fixed in two days. We hold limited emergency slots Tuesday through Friday for these. Kevin will take photos in advance and tell you in plain language whether the correction can be done in time and what it will look like.

Our color correction process

Color correction is not one service. It is a staged plan. Kevin starts with a consultation, in person or via photo through the booking system. He breaks the hair into sections by tonal history and writes a treatment for each section. Some sections need lift with bleach plus Olaplex in the bowl. Some need a deposit-only color to even out a band. Some only need a tone shift.

Most Highland Park corrections take two visits, scheduled four to six weeks apart. A small share need three. Kevin will not pull a level 9 to a clean platinum in one day if the hair shows signs of porosity damage, and he will tell you that at the consult, not at the bowl. The first session usually addresses safety and base. The second session refines tone and adds dimension. The third, if needed, is a finish pass.

Stylist spotlight: Kevin

Kevin runs most of our complex color correction work. The reason Highland Park clients keep referring him to neighbors is that he says no when no is the right answer. If the hair is breaking under porosity testing, he will pause the lift and rebook. If the underlying tone cannot reach the photo the client brought, he will say so before starting. Highland Park parents who have paid for previous failed corrections recognize that honesty quickly.

For teen corrections specifically, Kevin will involve the teen in the planning. The parent is paying, but the teen is wearing the result. He explains the staging out loud to both, writes the maintenance plan, and sends the family home with the right at-home Milbon Repair routine.

Getting to 3rd Coast Salon from Highland Park

About forty-five minutes by car off-peak, twenty-three miles south. Most Highland Park clients take Edens Expressway south to the Kennedy and exit at Ohio Street, then north on State and east on Erie. During Ravinia season the south-to-north return trip can take longer than the drive down.

By train, Metra Union Pacific North runs from Highland Park to Ogilvie in about fifty minutes, then a ten-minute rideshare to the salon. Most Highland Park families drive because they are often coming with a teen and stacking the appointment with a stop in River North or Gold Coast after.

Who this isn't for

Color correction is not the right service if you just want a single-process touch-up on hair you have been maintaining at 3rd Coast Salon or another professional salon. Book a standard color appointment in that case. Correction is also not for clients unwilling to stage the work. If you need a level 6 to platinum in one day for a Friday event, we will tell you to wait and plan it properly.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the drive from Highland Park to 3rd Coast Salon?
About forty-five minutes off-peak. Twenty-three miles. Edens to Kennedy to Ohio Street.

How many visits does a correction take?
Most take two visits four to six weeks apart. A small share need three.

Can you fix a self-bleach gone wrong before prom or a wedding?
Sometimes. Send photos through the booking system first. Kevin will tell you in plain language whether the timeline is realistic.

Will my hair survive the correction?
Kevin runs a porosity check at the consult. If the hair is too compromised for the lift you want, he will pause and stage. Olaplex is paired with every lift service.

Do you correct color on teens?
Yes. Kevin involves the teen in the planning conversation alongside the parent and explains the staging out loud to both.

How much does color correction cost?
Pricing is consultation-based and reflects how many sessions and how much product are needed. Quoted before the first session begins.

What at-home care will I need?
Most corrections leave us with a Milbon Repair routine to use between visits. We will send you home with the right products.

Can you correct box-dye black or color remover orange?
Often yes, in stages. Black box dye is one of the longer corrections and may need three sessions. Color remover orange usually needs two.

Book Kevin at (312) 929-2627 or Book Online. See our color menu and conditioning treatments. Also serving Evanston, Wilmette, and Lincolnwood.