Capitol Hill's Premier Haircuts & Color

Emerson Salon is the best hair salon on Capitol Hill, Seattle. Our experienced hair stylists and colorists have been fusing the latest trends with top hair techniques for years. Whether you’re looking to transform your look in Seattle with a new haircut and color or just maintain your already hip style, we are here and ready to help.

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909 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
T: 206-323-7437
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Articles from ‘Kevin Murphy’

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Color Bug

Kevin Murphy has done it again by creating an awesome new creative hair product!!! This time he was inspired by powdered wigs of long ago and created colored shadows that act as a temporary pop of color that can wash out with shampoo.

Watch this video on how Kevin uses the Color Bugs and how to best apply on different hair color types with different product combinations. I especially love the purple on the dark hair color. I might try it myself!

For more information on the Kevin Murphy line, its ingredients and press go to Kevin Murphy’s website here or keep following our blog to learn more!

Post by D’Arcy

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Simply Chic

Looking for a simple but chic summer hairstyle? With all this warm weather, you don’t want to spend a lot of time and energy styling your hair. High buns are an effortless style you should definitely try!


This bun works with most lengths and textures. There are a few products I would recommend to help achieve this look. On damp or dry hair, use products like Kevin.Murphy Damage.Manager spray and Leave-In.Luxury to help protect your hair from the sun’s UV rays and conditions throughout the day. When you’re hair starts feeling a bit oily or you haven’t shampooed in a few days, using a dry shampoo like Kevin.Murphy Fresh.Hair is a quick way to remove that excess oil and any odor.

After applying product use any comb or a soft bristle brush to pull all of the hair back to your preferred height. Use an elastic band to create a ponytail, then twist the ponytail by holding the end and it will naturally start to wrap around the hair band. Secure the bun with bobby pins, pushing the pins in toward the base of the bun, like a pin cushion. Finish with hairspray to keep those flyaways down. Adding a colorful wrap or headband to this simple summer style will add a pop of color and have you ready for any adventure!

Post by Danielle

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

How to get True Blood’s Joe Manganiello Look

Manganiello plays the devilishly handsome werewolf in HBO’s hit show True Blood. His character, Alcide Herveaux, is a werewolf so he needs to have a style to match his wild persona. His longer hair and beard give him a great look that can cater to the rugged look he needs for the show, while giving him the ability to have cleaner looks for events.


His longer hair allows him to push his hair back for a more clean look. This is a great time to use Kevin.Murphy Night.Rider. Simply wash the hair, dry it, and comb it with your fingers. Use a small amount of Night.Rider, rubbing it in your palms and dispersing it throughout the hair and pushing it back lightly, combing it with your fingers. Try not to push it down, because we want to keep the volume.

Longer hair can be a great look, but it can need a little more attention. This is especially true if you have resistant cowlicks that need to be blown dry for you to be able to work with them. Even using a small amount of Kevin.Murphy Easy.Rider for a flexible hold, defining texture and fighting frizz, can make these kinds of looks much more manageable and attractive.

Interesting in trying out some of these products in your hair? Think this is a good look for you? Make an appointment with me at Emerson Salon today!

Post by Franz

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

Hair by Franz: Joe’s Haircut

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This Monday I cut Joe’s hair. Joe came in with a grown out haircut that he had been living with for the past three years that he was bored with. He needed something that could be styled up, out of his face and show off texture, while still being business friendly when he goes to work. We decided that we should keep most of the length up top, but trim down his sides.

When we we cutting the sides of his head, we chose to have it go shorter the higher we went, so as to avoid any “poofiness” that might occur in those areas. This also gave us the added bonus of additional support for keeping his hair up top to stay up. we also too out a lot of bulk up top that was just making it harder to style up.

When we were done, I styled his hair with Kevin.Murphy Texture.Master, a new texturizing and volumizing spray, and Gritty.Business, a gritty pliable hold paste. We blow dried the hair out of his face and to his left to get it big and poofy. then we sprayed the Texture.Master on the hair until we felt that the amount of texture we wanted was acheived. After that, we finished up with the Gritty.Business, messily working a small amount into the hair to add hold and give a bit more of a rocker look over all.

Think this look is for you? Call or book your appointment with me online today!

Post by Franz

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

New Inspirations!

We are extremely excited and inspired as stylists any time a new tool is introduced that we have never used before. Emerson Salon recently received a new concept in styling by Kevin.Murphy called the WAVE.CLIP. This well designed tool is intended to create soft, consistent,undulating waves on medium to long hair. Our receptionist, Ashley, graciously volunteered to let me play with them on her hair.

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We started with dry, stick straight hair and applied Anti.Gravity because of its style setting properties in addition to being weightless in the hair once heat activated. The product was applied to the midshaft to ends in order to maximize the style where we apply the clips (they open and close with just a click!)

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The point of the clips is two fold: 1) you use as many clips as needed to create a fluid wave from 3″ from the part line to the bottom of the section and 2) there are ventilation holes to aid in faster drying. Once all the clips were applied (see how Kevin Murphy demonstrates the WAVE.CLIP in the video below) I briefly used high heat on a low setting to activate the wave pattern in the clips.


Once the WAVE.CLIPs were quickly removed, the wave achieved was soft, shiny and great for a day at work or happy hour with friends! Just think how much time is cut out when you don’t have to curl or start from freshly washed hair. This look could be a great way to transition your hair from day into night, work into fun!

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Want to get that quick, soft wave too? Book a styling appointment at Emerson Salon and experience a style revolution!

Post by D’Arcy

Sunday, June 5th, 2011

How to Rock Out with Kevin.Murphy Gritty.Business

Want rock and roll hair without the greasy effect? Kevin.Murphy’s Gritty.Business will help you achieve dry, dirty-looking rocker hair. It’s main ingredients are Bentonite Clay, Kukui Nut Oil, and Beeswax. The clay’s properties are healing and draws out any oil that might reside on your hair or scalp. When hair is oily, it will lack volume and won’t hold well. Kukui nut oil is rejuvenating and helps Gritty.Business emulsify in your hands so you can work it through your hair easily, without leaving a greasy film on your hair or scalp! Beeswax also acts as an emulsifier and lends strength and thickness to the hair strands, acting as another volume builder to give more control and texture to your hairstyle.

Here we display two great rocker looks you can get with Gritty.Business:

  • How to style with short hair:
  • Short Messy Hair

  • How to style with longer hair:
  • johnny-depp-long-casual-hair

Post by Lancer

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Kevin.Murphy Cocktail Class

We recently had the privilege of receiving a class from Kevin.Murphy’s educator on how to use its product line in “cocktails.” This term refers to when you take one or more products and put them together on the client’s hair. Each is suited to the particular client’s hair and the desired effect.

The class was attended by some volunteer hair models who got to experience first hand the luxury of using a paraben free, sulfate free line that uses many botanicals and essential oils.

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Bronwyn had Body.Guard and Hair.Resort.Spray in her hair. The Body.Guard is a hydrating lotion with functional mica which aids to cut down on blowdry time by 70%. Hair.Resort.Spray is a lighter version of the Hair.Resort gel and is best for light, touchable wave texture. Her hair was blow dry diffused with added flat iron curls on the ends.

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Annie had Anti.Gravity and Motion.Lotion in her hair. Anti.Gravity is an oil-free volumizer that is heat-activated and creates movement, light hold, and shine. Motion.Lotion is a frizz reducer and curl enhancer. The straight blowout has hold and fullness simultaneously!

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Kate had Motion.Lotion and Body.Builder. Body.Builder, a volumizing mouse, is a newer product that has great shine and aids in volume, fullness, and hold. Her straight blowout eliminated her naturally wavy and dense hair and turned it into a sleek, modern look.

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Lee Ann had Anti.Gravity and Hair.Resort gel. Hair.Resort is the cornerstone of the line and aids to create salty beach waves and is great for those that like controlled texture in a bottle. (The best tip we received was that if we needed any product to be stronger that we could add Hair.Resort to any product for more punch.) Her hair was blown out with soft iron curls that were allowed to cool when clipped up. Lee Ann has trouble getting her finer, denser hair to hold style so this cocktail was perfect and lasted all day.

We felt inspired by the different combinations and would love to play around with which cocktail is best suited for you hair. Book a blowout today and discover what Kevin.Murphy can do for you!

Post by D’Arcy

Monday, May 30th, 2011

How To Get The Beach Look Hairstyle


Summer is coming up soon! That brings to mind sun, surf, sand, and beautiful beach waves. Kevin.Murphy makes a product that can help you look like you just got back from your day in the surf. May I present Anit.Gravity and Motion.Lotion! This look focuses on the mid-lengths of the hair to create a messy look that emphasizes soft texture.

Use this combination with Hair.Resort to add more hold to the look. Use Kevin.Murphy to get your beach look on this summer!

Post by Franz

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

The Kevin Murphy & Alterna Products I Love!

There are so many professional product lines out there and so many products within each line that it may be hard to know what to use and how to use them. I decided to pick my favorite products I use on myself and tell you how I use them!

Products to protect and hydrate your hair:


Kevin.Murphy Damage.Manager:I started using this product because of the smell! It is a great heat/environmental protector, which is something you should be using every day in order to keep your hair healthy and smelling great. I cocktail this with Leave-in.Luxury in damp hair to make my blow out last longer, and it leaves my hair looking shinny and smooth.


Kevin.Murphy Leave-in.Luxury: I started using this to keep my ends healthy as I grow it out. I always see women coming in with hair they are trying to grow out but the last 3 inches are split and dry! Mine aren’t! This is a great leave-in conditioner that will hydrate and protect your hair, leaving it soft and tangle free. If you just use a little bit in damp hair it won’t weigh your hair down. You can also put it in your hair with a little of the Alterna Texture Glaze to keep curls looking great!

Products for beach waves:


Kevin.Murphy Hair.Resort: This product can be used a few different ways. I use it in damp hair to get the beach texture look, but it works great when you put it in damp hair and blow dry it! It will give you good hold to any blow dry style and is great to hold a formal style! Like all of Kevin.Murphy products, it smells great, kind of tropical!


Alterna Texture Glaze: I use this product a few ways. Most of the time I scrunch it in my hair damp and simply let it hair dry! It works great to show texture and give a little hold. Also, it helps control the frizz you get when you let your hair air dry. You can put it dry hair simply to hold down frizz. Cocktail it with any other product when your hair is wet to give a little extra hold and definition for a blow out style.

Finishing products:


Alterna Caviar Working Hairspray: This is hands down the best hairspray I have come across in my years of hairstyling. It is light weight but still gives a good amount of hold. It doesn’t flake or make your hair crunchy. My favorite thing about it is the smell! I use it every day to hold down my fly aways and to make sure all my styles have a little more hold for our crazy weather here in Seattle!


Kevin.Murphy Easy.Rider: I don’t use this product on myself often, but I use it on many of my clients so I decided to add it to my list of favorites. This product is an anti-frizz cream. I use it to show texture in a hair style without putting in too much hold. It controls the puffy look clean hair has, but you can still put your hands through your hair still! You can also use it for longer curly hair. It keeps the curl hydrated and bouncy. I also use it to finish a curled style. I smooth it through my hair to help separate curl, making it look more relaxed and natural.


Kevin.Murphy Fresh.Hair: If I was stranded on an island and could only have one hair product I would have to pick this one! It is an aerosol dry shampoo! Spray it in at your roots to dry up excess oils. It also will take out the smell of the bar from last night! You can also spray it all over to add texture and body to your hair!

Want to try out some of these products? Head over to Emerson Salon today!

Post by Ellen

Sunday, April 24th, 2011

Kevin Murphy On Using Anti.Gravity For A Manufactured Curl