The short version: Wilmette clients drive about thirty minutes south down Sheridan or Lake Shore Drive to reach 3rd Coast Salon at 223 W Erie. Most come on referral from another Wilmette regular, for the boutique-suite privacy that North Shore strip-center salons rarely deliver.
Wilmette
Why Wilmette residents drive in
Wilmette sits between Evanston and Winnetka, hugging the lakefront from the Sheridan Road bend through Plaza del Lago down to Gilson Park. Our Wilmette clients are one of the most referral-heavy groups at the salon: new bookings come tagged with the name of the friend who sent them.
What they tell us they cannot get closer to home is true privacy. Our boutique suite holds a small team, with no shared waiting area and eight chairs going. The second thing they cite is consistency across a household: several Wilmette regulars send teenage daughters, husbands, and parents to the same chair, and we coordinate the household calendar and color notes on our end. Third, the Wilmette aesthetic leans classic. A typical brief asks for what their hair has always done, only better: sharper one-length, cleaner gloss, a balayage that does not announce itself.
Our approach for Wilmette clients
For clients with a longer drive, we batch services into one visit where that makes sense: color, cut, and conditioning in one chair time rather than three trips down. If a family is making the drive, we pair a parent's color with a teen's cut so the trip is one round, not two. We use a bond builder on every lift service, and we cut to the eight-to-ten-week interval most Wilmette clients keep, with a real wet-and-dry check and home-care notes so the shape holds the full gap.
Getting to 3rd Coast Salon from Wilmette
About thirteen miles, around thirty minutes off-peak and up to forty-five at rush hour. Most Wilmette clients drive Sheridan down through Evanston and Edgewater, picking up Lake Shore Drive at Hollywood and exiting at Ohio Street. Park in the metered spots on Erie or Huron, or a paid garage on State and Hubbard.
Metra Union Pacific North runs from Wilmette to Ogilvie in about thirty minutes, then a ten-minute rideshare or twelve-minute walk to the salon.
Who this isn't for
This is not a fast in-and-out salon. Our shortest color appointments run two hours, and full balayage with a cut runs four. We do not double-book stylists, which is part of what our Wilmette clients drive for, and also why our slots fill four to six weeks out.
Frequently asked questions
About thirty minutes off-peak, forty-five at rush. Thirteen miles down Sheridan to Lake Shore Drive to Ohio Street.
Yes. Several of our Wilmette regulars book a parent and teen back-to-back so the trip is one round. Mention it at booking and we will sequence the chair time.
Most come every eight to ten weeks for cut and color combined, and we cut to that interval so the shape holds the full gap.
Yes. Cut-only appointments are bookable directly.
Metered street parking on Erie or Huron, or paid garages on State and Hubbard within two blocks of the salon.
Book your appointment
Book online or call (312) 929-2627. Nearby, see balayage for Evanston clients or color correction for Highland Park clients.