Irina is such a perfectionist and really takes her time with every section, but somehow the whole…read moreappointment is so calming that I feel like I'm mediating. She understands thick and fine Asian hair incredibly well and knows how to shape mine so it goes from ratty and generally unkempt to polished (and so much lighter). It can be surprisingly hard to find someone to do this kind of haircut (long fine hair) in the East Bay, but Irina really listens to the look you're going for. Her recommendations are always specific to your hair type, and I leave feeling less like I always have bedhead and more like I could be an art gallery girl in west village (iykyk).

TL;DR: This place is great! Book with Mark--he's an *artist*!…read more Longer version: My hair stylist quit the biz a few years ago to pursue a career as a therapist (so fitting, right?!) I was stoked for her! But since then, I've been adrift and searching for my hair match, trying out a new stylist for each cut. (My hair is fine but wavy with a weird cowlick, so it needs just the right layers. I had some great cuts and some so-so cuts, but never the right combo of close enough, a decent amount of availability that I'm not waiting months or driving across the bay, AND a great cut.) I tried Mark at Maru on a random rec from a friend whose daughter works at the salon--and after one cut, I feel like my search is over! The salon is very well-run and had an opening within a couple weeks. I arrived on time, was offered herbal tea, and waited under five minutes. It's in a nice spot in Berkeley with plenty of street parking with pretty cheap meters--$4. Mark asked me what I was looking for, got it right away, and was of course fun to chat with. I walked out with a cut I love for a reasonable price. I will definitely be back!

She was so nice and often asked if the length of the cut was what I wanted…read more Price is definitely better than most places and she welcomes walks in.

Excellent blow dry and color each time. Irene and staff are very helpful and talented.read more

I'd been in Berkeley for three weeks straight, about two weeks past my last haircut, and the…read moresituation was becoming untenable. I was not scheduled to return to LA for several more weeks. We were having an 87-degree day in West Berkeley, which -- for those unfamiliar -- is hot for West Berkeley, a neighborhood where the default setting is breezy and cloudy and lovely and sixty-three degrees, the kind of microclimate that lets you own one jacket and never think about it. Eighty-seven degrees in West Berkeley is an event. Eighty-seven degrees with hair that's two weeks past due is a crisis. I have Asian hair. I've written about this before. It is coarse and thick and grows outward like a porcupine asserting its personal space, and my coping mechanism in Los Angeles was to throw $85 at a hipster barbershop every three weeks to make it stop. This worked in the way that all expensive coping mechanisms work -- reliably, but at a cost that quietly compounds until one day you do the annual math and feel ill. 2026 being what it is, and a dollar these days being asked to do about a dollar forty's worth of work, I needed a new tack. I asked an AI assistant for a good cheap haircut in Berkeley and got several suggestions, which I then searched on Yelp -- yes, the very Yelp you are looking at, imagine that -- for reviews. One thing I noticed about La Petite was that people mentioned Asian women cutting hair there, and the photos confirmed it. I had a thought, the kind of thought that sounds reductive when you say it out loud but is grounded in lived experience: Asian women probably know how to deal with hair like mine. This is not a stereotype. This is pattern recognition developed over decades of watching non-Asian barbers stare at my head with the quiet bewilderment of someone asked to solve a math problem in a language they don't speak. No shade intended, just facts. So I gave La Petite a go. You watch closely when someone new is cutting your hair. You can't help it. You're tracking every snip in the mirror, reading their hands the way you'd read a stranger's driving in the first five minutes of a road trip -- are we safe here, does this person know what they're doing, should I have said something three turns ago. About halfway through, I watched her take volume out of my hair in a way that hadn't been done in years -- not just trimming the length but actually understanding the architecture of thick Asian hair, where the bulk lives, how it falls, how it will eventually grow out, where it needs to be thinned so it lies flat instead of projecting horizontally from your skull like it's staging a protest. She knew. I knew she knew. I had my new stylist. Twenty-eight dollars. Twenty-eight dollars, and I walked out with the best haircut I've had in longer than I'd like to admit. That's $57 left over from what I was paying in LA -- enough to buy groceries, or three martinis at happy hour, or a pizza at June's, or whatever you buy when you realize you've been dramatically overpaying for a basic human service because you confused a cool neighborhood and exposed brick with competence. La Petite has neither exposed brick nor a cocktail menu. What it has is someone who looked at my difficult hair and knew exactly what to do with it, which is the only thing that has ever mattered and the only thing I'm paying for from now on.

I went to get a haircut Friday afternoon for a special occasion and showed them exactly what I…read morewanted: a classic Ben Affleck Bruce Wayne-style haircut with regular-sized sideburns, just like the character. They asked me if I was graduating, and I said no, I was meeting my fiancée's mom the next day. Five minutes before the haircut was finished, the stylist took a big chunk off my right sideburn. She cut it too high, which ruined the whole haircut, especially since my face shape doesn't suit short sideburns. I told her I didn't like it. I didn't overreact or yell, I was just uncomfortable. The hairdresser said, "Too bad!" and tried to dismiss the issue. I told her again that she should have asked me about the length. She then took it personally and told her boss that I was making things up so I wouldn't pay, saying, "They do this so they don't pay." What do you mean by "they"? Not only did I feel dismissed and treated unprofessionally, but also disrespected. I was upset after the whole situation, but even then I was willing to pay and didn't want to leave without paying because I didn't want to prove her point. Plus, it's not that expensive. At the end, the stylist said she had 40 years of experience. Well, after this, it feels like you wasted 40 years and somehow skipped the basics of customer service. Not coming back, even after being offered a free haircut. I would rather pay three times what I paid today for a standard service where you're treated with basic courtesy.

When my daughter asked if she could color her hair for the first time for her 16th birthday, I knew…read morethere was only one salon I trusted, Fox & Belle. Before we booked, I reached out to Judy, and she explained all the different color options. Since my daughter had never colored her hair before, it was really helpful to understand the cost, timing, and upkeep. I wanted this to be something she wanted and chose for herself. Having Judy and Cristi incorporate her preferences and keeping her informed by sharing their expertise ensured she would get the full experience and make her feel included. She originally wanted a green ombre, but after learning it would require bleach and a lot of maintenance, she quickly changed her mind. They recommended a lower-maintenance color, but my daughter really wanted it to be a big change so we all agreed that a honey dark blonde would fulfill that and be a great introduction into the responsibility of colored hair. I had to go back home and work and left her in their care but trusted fully and from past experiences, I knew she would be taken care of. My daughter ended up seeing Cristi, and she had such a great experience. She was at the salon for about six hours, and I was worried it was going to be too long, but she had a blast. She watched shows and played games on her iPad, she was offered snacks, and even took a nap as she got her hair washed. Before she knew it, we had returned to pick her up and it was time for the big reveal. They hadn't let her see it until we arrived and she is in love with it. It turned out beautiful, and seeing how happy she was meant everything to me. When I was 16, I used box dye from the store or "Sun in" so being able to give her this experience was really special for me. It also gave me peace of mind knowing she was in such good hands and that her hair was being cared for properly, esp without me being there. Of course, Fox & Belle did an amazing job! Now my 11 year old is already asking when it's her turn. Not anytime soon but when she's ready, I know where exactly where we will be going.

I made an appointment with Cristi and am very glad I did so! She was very careful about how to go…read moreabout coloring my hair as I had already had highlights done. I really appreciated that she took the time to separate the strands of hair that were already bleached, so as to not damage them further. Overall, I am super happy with the results!

I walked in this week with very healthy hair and left with extreme heat damage, fried ends and…read morechunky uneven yellow highlights. When I stand in the sun, my hair is actually transparent. Virginia, you refunded my payment (thank you) and I wasn't sure whether to write this. I loved the haircuts I got from you before. But you cannot experiment on people's hair like this. And after this I do not think you should be coloring people's hair at all. I asked you directly before we started if you had knowledge and experience with blonde highlights and you said multiple times yes, and that you definitely could make it happen. But it turned out you had no idea how to do blonde bleach, let alone balayage. Once you rinsed out the bleach and saw how bad it looked, you didn't stop what you were doing to share what had happened. Instead of showing me the results, you applied a super-hot curling wand to give me a big hairstyle so I wouldn't notice the highlights. The wand on the new bleach left it with intense heat damage. The hair is falling out as I write this and my whole head stinks of burnt hair. This did not need to happen - you could have simply told me the truth, that you have no idea what you're doing with blonde highlights, and I would have been able to find someone who does, and my hair would still be healthy right now. Please let me be the last person this happens to.

I came to Vika Beauty Salon to get the haircut that I didn't get at the last place I went to…read more Virginia referenced my inspo pic a few times and asked questions along the way to ensure she was getting me exactly what I asked for. I have paid far more for lesser quality cuts. She is friendly, detailed, and efficient. I mentioned to her the other reviews that suggest booking far in advance but she said that it only gets busy around the holidays. I was able to get a booking within a week in mid-January. Leave a voicemail and she will get back to you in a timely manner.

Alex is a great stylist! Alex was very knowledgable and my haircut turned out beautiful! I can't…read morewait to go back for the next cut with Alex again!

This is the BEST salon I've ever been to. Nick is a miracle worker. I've never had better haircuts…read morein my entire life than the six months I lived in Berkeley. I've also never been a regular hair-cut getter, but Nick changed all of that. I got three haircuts in six months and every time it got better. He would cut my hair in such a way that it dried with perfect texture and layering, without any additional heat tools. I brought several friends to see Nick as well, and he did a fantastic job with each of their hair types and textures as well. Cannot recommend him enough!!!

If you go to edge hair salon, ask for Anna! She is the most experienced stylist and the only one…read morethere that knows how to perm coarse, short Asian hair. I've been going to Anna for almost two years now and have gone through so many different hairstyles. I feel happy and confident after each time. She is also such a joy and delight to talk with. On top of all this, the price is so affordable for the quality of haircut and experience. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Thank you Anna!

I just saw Anna for a perm (my first perm ever) and had a fantastic experience. Anna was so kind…read moreand communicated well throughout the process. The results were perfect, I will definitely be back.

Emma is incredible! She completely rescued my badly damaged hair and gave me the most amazing…read morebalayage. She listened perfectly to what I wanted and executed it flawlessly. Highly recommend her if you want a stylist who genuinely cares and has amazing skill!

I went to three other barbers before I discovered Annika, each of whom had had decades of…read moreexperience. None of them could fix what I called "the Bozo the clown effect". My hair would flare out to the sides regularly and had to be brushed down several times a day. I told Annika about this problem and she layered the hair on the sides in such a way that it now stays down perfectly essentially all the time. I can even wake up in the morning after a full night's sleep and discover that it still looks almost as good as if I had just brushed it. Annika is amazing. I would never go to anyone else now.

Ja is amazing! I went as a first time walk-in and she was able to fit me in her schedule (and I…read moreleft within a half hour). I had been looking for a spot that knows how to cut Asian hair (I have stubbornly straight, thick hair) as I was looking to get a textured mod cut, and I scored! Ja delivered what I asked for and I left feeling really satisfied with my new chop. If you're looking for a locally owned, affordable, sweet and friendly salon, Shear Perfection is it : )! Thank you, Ja!

She is an amazing hairstylist with so much experience. I walked in and almost immediately got sat…read moredown. She executed my haircut perfectly. She's a great conversationalist. Super affordable - especially if you're a student. Fun fact: she has painted all of the artwork in her studio!

Had a wonderful experience at Lhasa! I got a dry cut by Biyan(?) (did not know spelling) for $35…read more She was very careful and attentive to the details during the cut and made sure I liked the length and layering. It was a very relaxing experience and I would go again if I need a cut. Very reasonable pricing too Made an appointment online but they take walkins (there could be be a 20 min wait though). They have two chairs.

This is my go to hair spot. Love that it's minority women owned, and also that I can call any day…read moreand usually they can squeeze me in. The price is very reasonable and they do a good job. It's no thrills - so don't expect a hair wash/head massage, or a beverage while you are there.