Best Hair Salons in Riverside, CA
Compare 64 hair salons in Riverside, California with Google ratings, services and online booking. The top-rated spot is CG Hair Design Inc. with 5.0 stars from 11 Google reviews.
Riverside has 64 salons and barbershops in our directory, and the ratings run high — the citywide average is 4.8 stars, with 88% of listings carrying a rating. Barbering is the deepest bench here, but you'll also find solid coverage for women's cuts, blowouts, braids, and color. Here's how the options break down and how to pick well.
What Riverside's salons actually offer
Men's grooming is the strongest category in Riverside. Of the 64 shops listed, 22 offer men's cuts, 22 handle fades, and 20 do beard trims — so if you're after a skin fade with a beard lineup, you have real choices in nearly every part of town.
The women's side is well covered too: 17 salons offer women's cuts, 17 handle styling, and 17 do blowouts. Textured and protective hair services are here in smaller numbers — 8 salons handle weaves, 8 do extensions, and 6 each offer braids, locs, and protective styles. Color is the thinnest category, with 5 salons apiece offering highlights, all-over color, and balayage. Fewer options doesn't mean lesser work, but it does mean booking ahead matters more for color and braiding appointments.
Booking and ratings, by the numbers
About 69% of Riverside's listed salons take online booking, which is convenient but also useful as a signal — a shop that keeps its calendar online tends to run on appointments rather than walk-in luck.
On quality, 88% of listings carry a rating and the average is 4.8 stars. When nearly everything rates that high, the star number alone won't make your decision. Pay attention to review volume — a 4.8 across several hundred reviews is a steadier signal than a 4.8 across a dozen — and read the most recent reviews, since staff and quality change over time.
How to get the most out of this directory
Start by filtering to the service you actually need rather than browsing everything — a shop that handles fades all day is a different search than one that offers balayage. From there, narrow by what matters to you: online booking if you hate phone tag, an Instagram link if you want to see recent work before committing.
For bigger-ticket services — color corrections, extensions, weaves, locs — call or message before booking and ask for a consultation. A good salon will want to see your hair, hear its history, and set expectations before you're in the chair. A shop that quotes a plan sight-unseen is a yellow flag.
Frequently asked questions
- Do salons in Riverside, CA take online booking?
- Most do — about 69% of the 64 salons listed here offer online booking. For the rest, calling is your best bet, and it's worth calling anyway for consultations on color, extensions, or protective styles.
- Which hair services are easiest to find in Riverside?
- Barbering services have the most coverage: 22 salons offer men's cuts, 22 handle fades, and 20 do beard trims. Women's cuts, styling, and blowouts are each offered at 17 salons. Braids, locs, and color services are available but at fewer shops, so book those further ahead.
- How do I choose when most salons here have similar ratings?
- Riverside's listed salons average 4.8 stars, so the rating alone rarely settles it. Compare review counts (more reviews means a more reliable average), read the newest reviews for current quality, and check a salon's Instagram where linked to see recent work on hair like yours.