I've been coming here for over a year and I feel my experience here warrants a review. Robbie Kiwan is just such a fabulous stylist. He is intuitive and talented but best of all he really gives you the cut you're asking for. My hair is thick and coarse and difficult to work with but he somehow always works magic and does a great job. The perk of the visit is he is a truly kind and a great conversationalist. Whenever I compliment him to the rest of the staff they are never surprised. read more

I came here a few months ago for a haircut and my experience was pleasant but had a few issues that made me question coming back. My first issue was with scheduling online on how you had to pay a deposit, I paid two and only one counted while one got lost in their system, however it was resolved but was really a pain to resolve, so I took one star off. The hair cut itself was okay, I have received better other places, the girl from Switzerland that did my hair kind of butchered it and the layers were not even when I went to see the hair dresser back in Oregon who I had seen for 3 yrs before moving back to California in my latest visit. So, I took another star off making it a 3/5 stars. However, I found someone locally who is a bit farther from my house in el Cerrito, and rather make the drive to walnut creek. I had higher hopes for this place but they weren't realistic I suppose. I also find their prices to be on pricier side. Yes- I had a newer girl so it was cheaper but I don't think it was worth of what I paid. read more

Genevieve is not what she was cracked up to be. I went to her several times, explained thoroughly how not to cut my curly hair and she did exactly what I didn't want to happen. My first cut was good, I referred someone to her, (she never thanked me nor did she ever remember me when I came in 2 more times after that) and kept trying to make a solid connection. Her entitled attitude was too cold for me taste in a stylist. read more

I have dark brown hair (with some natural white highlights) and needed my hair colored. The dilemma I usually encounter is that if the stylist isn't experienced with dark hair it can turn orange, red or blonde. I went to Travis and he colored my hair a perfect shade of brown! I love it and it is perfect! I read more

Saw this salon on yelp so I had to try them out. Emily was my hair stylist and she was really cool, listened to what I wanted and I liked it. I will be returning again. read more

I have to send a huge Yelp out to Tracy at Art Beat! She's phenomenal! I'm new to the area and have trusted the same stylist for many years, so going somewhere new was a bit nerve-wracking. When I walked in the door of Art Beat, however, I knew I had arrived at the right place. I had chosen Tracy based on other reviews I read, and they were spot on. She's a great, easy going gal with huge talent in the color, cut & style department! Such a relief to find someone new who I hope will be my stylist for years to come! read more

This review is about the front desk - not the stylists or estheticians. Despite years of loyal patronage (since 2009) I feel completely disrespected and unappreciated as a client. I visit every 6 weeks and always tip well and show up on time. Today is the second time in all these years that I was held up in traffic. As a courtesy to the salon I call in to inform them that I will be late. My appointment was from 10:45 - 1:15. for a wax, cut and color. Thankfully I got there only about 5 minutes late. When I checked in there was a huge deal about how the receptionist - Marel had to check and see if my appointment would still be honored. I was only 5 minutes late - not to mention that, in the past, I've had to wait for the stylist, Hilary - for well over 20 minutes several times. These were times when I was the first appointment and Hilary comes in late -- apparently after getting coffee first. In today's economy, it is never wise to turn down clients who are punctual and reliable (always prebooked every 6 weeks no matter what) - and above all tip consistently well for over 7 years. This was only the 2nd time I've been late in all these years. No appreciation nor accommodation. Take your hard earned money elsewhere. read more

I am surprised my review ended up in the "filtered" folder. I had written how my stylist wouldn't put blond highlights in my hair although I asked for them, and afterwards had to take me outside in the sunshine to see them, (which I barely did). I went to Southern California where I told the hairstylist how the owner called me and confronted me on the phone. She couldn't believe it and put beautiful blond highlights in my hair. I'm very happy now! read more

Great customer service - from first phone call to the free tea and careful hair consultation. My hair has been growing out some really fried sections from when I used to highlight. Charlene really seemed to be listening when I told her what I was hoping for and gave me a great cut. Place is really cool too -- they host locals artist showings that are much better from average coffee shop stuff. So... I guess a great city salon experience without having to actually go to SF! read more

I received a great haircut and hi lites from the stylist Genevieve. I moved to the bay area about a year ago and had been unable to find anyone to cut my hair well. But Genevieve was great. I love my hair!! She also gives a mini head and neck massage. It was a great experience and I can't wait to go back for my next cut! read more

I received a great haircut at Artbeat by stylist Try, who is relatively new to the salon. Try gave me some good tips on handling my mane, mentioned some products without any sales pressure, which I purchased and they are awesome. I got an excellent haircut without having to call a month in advance and I look forward to going back. read more

Awesome. Super professional and unpretentious, friendly, and know how to cut curly hair. Yay!

I'm always happy with my beauty services here. But a WARNING: DON'T BOOK ONLINE! The credit card deposit you are compelled to give, is NOT refunded even if you cancel the booking way in advance!! You have to keep the charged amount for future use, whether you want to or not! I asked the front desk to address this with the owner. I wait with baited breath to hear back from the owner. read more

It had been over a year since I had my last haircut (tacky, yes, I know). The receptionist was very friendly. Kristin did my hair and I have received compliments from friends as well as complete strangers almost daily since my cut and color a few weeks ago. She was very friendly and did a great job, with little to no direction from me at all. Free bang trims are also included between cuts, that's exciting!!! I'll definitely be back! read more

Noel-My-Hair-Stylist-I-Love-Him is amazing. I went in asking for a very short cut and he gave me something chic, perfect and manageable. Now I'm going to have him color it. Whatever color hw wants. Because I trust him. read more

Tracy has been cutting and (naturally) highlighting my longish thick-but-thin and unpredictably wavy hair for about four years now. She does a really great job, and always listens to my input and general hair concerns. I'm moving out of town and don't know how I'm going to replace her! The salon is great - you can't go wrong with Aveda, and you can't go wrong with Solano. read more

Noel at Artbeat is the only stylist you will ever want to go to. I have been seeing him for years in San Francisco, so when he told me he was moving to Berkeley, I gladly followed. The new salon is so nice and open and the artwork featured is great. Not to mention it smells delicious. Noel is a great stylist and has always fulfilled my short hair needs. It is all I can do not to make an appointment and go every two weeks. That would be grand, wouldn't it? read more

I visited Artbeat in January when I had 14 inches of hair cut off to donate to Locks of Love. Melody gave me one of the best haircuts of my life!! I will definitely see her for all future haircuts! Every time I go in Melody and I talk for a few minutes about what I want, and she always understands exactly what I'm looking for - even if I'm not that clear. After seeing her I get tons of compliments about my hair. She always gives me a low maintenance cut that I love. read more

Tito rocks! He really listens and works with you to achieve whatever hairstyle you envision. I can talk to him in really abstract terms and use pop culture references to describe what I want my hair to look like, and he understands immediately and intuitively. He also gives me honest feedback on what works and what doesn't. On top of all the experience and skill, he's also fun to talk to, so our conversation is always interesting and my time in the chair just flies by. All of my hairstyling requests are always met with a smile by Tito--a creative, skilled, and easy-to-talk-to guy. read more

Tracy is a great stylist. She has excellent instincts and really takes her time to get it right. My husband has commented on my haircut several times - this is unprecedented behavior for him. I just found out, though, that Tracy left Artbeat and now works at Vine Street Salon in the Gourmet Ghetto area. I'm glad she made the move - it's not that much farther and it's a nicer, airier space (with better neighborhood food choices for a post-cut snack). read more

Tiana is fantastic. To explain briefly, I arrived for a cut, but also wishing I could sort out my color - regrowth and dry blonde hair. She extended the appointment and adapted to my budget without compromising my hair one little bit. Now my hair color is way more natural and blended without excessive use of color on top of the existing color damage, my cut is lovely. The color worked for me better than previous Aveda colors where they have been too warm. Above all she is a hoot, intuitive and present. Thanks Tiana. read more

Great haircut, nice personable stylist. Color took forever, way longer than estimated, the manager was called over to give an opinion on how to proceed with the color, she was pretty brief, almost rude, definitely unfriendly and uninterested. $250. and 3 hours for color that faded in less than a week. If you want a very nice haircut this is the place, but the color is a huge ripoff, seems harsh by the smell and looked OK for only a few days, never looked worth the $$$. read more

I got a great cut and style from Robby! He listened to what I wanted and just understood completely. Also, he was just pleasant to be around! I'll definitely come back to see him. read more

This place is great. Try Serino and the other stylists are super friendly and really make you feel at home. My partner and I made appointments at Artbeat for our wedding and we looked awesome. I was a bit scared at first because I never get my hair styled or even wear makeup, but Try really listened to what I liked and didn't like and came up with a uber-cool urban chic style that everyone loved and really suited my natural personality. We've been back once already and still love it. read more

This was my first visit to Artbeat, but after today, it will be my go-to salon. And my first review, because it was just such a wonderful experience. Just got my haircut by Lola & she is the hair god I've been searching for. I am someone who is really apprehensive when it comes to getting my haircut because I have long, thick, unruly annoying ass hair. Most people dont know how to work with it, or have the patience. Lola was warm,inviting, and cuts hair LIKE A BOSS. She listened to what I wanted and gave exactly that. I feel like the hair on my head isnt even mine because of how soft & even it is. Also, the head massage was none like I've ever gotten & ive spent a buttload of money on my hair at several salons in the bay area. Basically, Lola is amazing & for someone who is considered "new talent" she is only going to get better and better. Im just so happy I've gotten over my haircut phobia & found Lola. I literally cant wait to get another one from her! read more

I went to Artbeat Salon last weekend on a spur of the moment whim. I called on a Friday and got an appointment for Saturday with Amy W. Amy rocked! she was so amazing and nice. Walking into the salon right away and seeing how open it was, and all of the artwork on the wall, I knew that I would love it. Then when I met Amy, my love was cemented. I told her right away that I liked my hair color the way it was, but just wanted it shade darker. Amy knew exactly what I meant and gave me such an awesome color. I barley had to say anything and she totally knew what I wanted. She also gave me an amazing hand and scalp massage during my appointment. I received an all-over tint for $70, which is fairly decent for a nice salon here. I've been to three salons since moving to Berkeley, and finally feel as if I found a great stylist I can stay with. If you're looking for a great salon with a competent and friendly staff, I would definitely recommend Artbeat Salon read more

starr violet rocks. she has my loyalty 4 eva. hands down, the best esthetician i have seen.

I have been looking for a salon in the Berkeley/ Albany/ El Cerrito area, since my last salon got a little pricey. I decided to try Artbeat, based on the high ratings on Yelp . . . and I wasn't disappointed at all. Their receptionists are super friendly, even on the phone. I got a haircut from Melissa, who is a "new talent" stylist. Usually I am a little wary of new stylists, but Melissa actually gave me an amazing haircut. The Aveda neck and head massage was a little ehh, but I am not a big fan of massages, so that might be it. Like I said though, her haircut was PHENOMENAL. She put a lot of time into it, and gave me the right amount of layers and perfect sideswept bangs to make it super cute without being too choppy. I have long stick straight asian hair, and it has been a little hard for me to find someone who can cut it correctly (especially the bangs). Super super happy to have discovered this salon! read more

I went to Artbeat for the first time with a friend, in fact it was her first time as well. So basically if we went to a bad place we would at least be sharing each others misery. But fortunately we were both extremely pleased with the outcome. Sarah cut and colored my hair and Octavia was my friend's stylist. They were both extremely nice and easy to communicate with about what we wanted. They asked questions when they weren't clear and made sure that they knew what we were expecting. (I know this about both of our experiences because we ended up at neighboring chairs). The cut and color were both pretty much exactly what I wanted and I love the result. Sarah is a new stylist there but she's as good as any senior stylist I've gone to. Very meticulous. Reasonable prices and no hard sell on the products seal the deal. I'll be back. Not very soon because I'm a cheapskate but one day I will be back. (bwa ha ha). read more

After my beloved stylist of 9 years went AWOL I was in search of another salon and stylist. I chose Artbeat since it was an Aveda salon and I like their products. In total I saw Hilary twice- the first time my cut and highlights looked okay. The second time things got worse. When I asked why my hair might be dryer than it ever had been she told me that my hair must have 'changed'. I later found out it 'changed' because she used bleach on my hair although in our first meeting I had explained that for 9 years I got highlights that were not 'bleached' (I said it at least 3 times). When confronted with a 'Why did you do that" question, Hilary seems to like to use the phrase 'In my professional opinion' which, from this side of the damage she did to my hair, isn't worth the paper her license is printed on. When I called to complain and schedule a 'redo' the guy at the front desk was great. When I showed up for my appointment, Hilary was cold and unapologetic. It didn't seem to bother her that I was unhappy with her work. It really irritates me that I paid $150 to look like a kid who got into their mother's bleach bottle and the stylist doesn't even feel like she should say 'Sorry you didn't like it- how can we make it better". Suffice it to say that my money was not well spent at the salon. Also, the price they quoted me on the phone was NOT what they charged me when I went to leave. Check your receipt...or better yet...go somewhere else. read more