A Full Makeover at Santa Barbara’s Underground Hair Artists

A Facial, Haircut, and Makeup Session at Fay Doe’s Euro-Style Salon

By Jun Starkey | January 27, 2022

Underground Hair Artists was a refreshing change to the local salon experience. | Credit: Courtesy of Fay Doe

I’ve been to a few salons around town — some bad, some good, but mostly mediocre experiences. Underground Hair Artists was a refreshing change.

After years on Chapala Street before a cannabis shop took over, the salon is now tucked away in a small shopping center just off Las Positas Road, hidden behind a busy freeway entrance and some empty storefronts. With plenty of red and silver accents, and a wall adorned with icons like David Bowie and Princess Diana, the salon evokes imagery of the late ’90s European fashion scene, a nod to owner Fay Doe’s United Kingdom roots.

I showed up for a full makeover: facial, haircut, and makeup session. Each step took about an hour, and every artist took special care to listen to what I wanted.

Underground’s facial menu ranges from pore-clearing refreshers to LED light treatments. Roxanna Bina treated me to the “Bespoke European Facial,” which uses galvanic and micro-current tools that soften and balance skin texture with electric currents. The facial was divine, beginning with cleansers and exfoliants before the galvanic tool scraped all the surface oil and sebum off my pores. Moisturizers and oils were applied last, to help soothe my skin and keep it from becoming red and irritated.

For my haircut, I decided to give stylist Andrea Di Bartolomeo something more complicated than a trim, opting for a short shag haircut, which she styled to my exact taste. Doe gave me some styling products for later from her shelves, which feature Underground’s own line of products as well as popular hair care brands, including Davines and Aquage.

My day of pampering concluded with a makeup session with Arleth Sanchez. I requested nothing too heavy, and she complied, though the makeup still looked full coverage, covering imperfections with a perfectly matched foundation and topped with bronzer, blush, and a dark purple eyeshadow.

I can see why customers keep coming back for more.

2279 Las Positas Rd.; (805) 898-0222; undergroundhairartists.com

Read all of the stories in this year’s Self-Care issue here.