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    The Curl Lab

    4.9 (55 reviews)
    Closed Closed

    By appointment only

    Updated 2 months ago

    Services - The Curl Lab

    Haircut

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    Recommended Reviews - The Curl Lab

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    after!
    Mary Toni C.

    tl;dr Chelsea is a miracle worker ‍ I recently started my curly hair journey after years (basically my whole life lol) of putting it off as well as learning how to properly care for my hair. However, I truly didn't see its potential until I got my deva cut with Chelsea! I thought it would be YEARSSS before my hair would be anything like the hair inspo pics I saved on Pinterest but she did it in 2hrs She is super welcoming and friendly on top of being meticulous. Her knowledge on products and application shows in the way that she explained everything to my newbie self throughout the process, haha. She also was very receptive to any questions I had. After my appointment, she also texted the products she used for my reference. Parking was relatively easy despite it being a Friday afternoon for my appointment, good amount of street parking which was mostly metered. Def recommend

    What gorgeous definition!

    One perfect haircut - so thankful! Approximate directions from me executed to precision. Water to rinse good temperature. Great vibe! With gratitude!

    Before treatment with no product
    Gabby C.

    Y'all.... Chelsea turned my hair "journey" into a hair road trip ! I thought it would take me MONTHS to achieve what she did in just an hour and a half. I've received sooo many compliments on my curls. She gave good advice for my hair and I will definitely be back! The price was definitely reasonable for the Miracle work she performed, just look at the before and after pics ! The before photo was with zero Product in my hair. I'm now recommending all my curly head friends and family to her !

    After: what a difference!
    Violeta T.

    If you have curly hair, you know how hard it is to find a good stylist. Well, your search is over, you've found her! Chelsea is a magician, she listened to what I wanted and gave me a cut that transformed my dry tired curls in a fun and fresh bob, which was exactly what I wanted. After a year and a half of trimming my own hair, it felt great to be in the competent hands of a professional who KNOWS curls! I'll definitely be back to see Chelsea!

    Before hair for reference

    Chelsea is so kind and really listens to requests. I told her that I didn't want to lose any length but needed a deep condition, more volume and shape. Chelsea knew exactly what I meant and made magic happen! My curls are so hydrated, defined and beautiful, and I love my new shape but still feel like my hair is still long! Thank you, Chelsea!! See you every 3-4 months for as long as you'll cut my hair

    Day 2 after a cut from Chelsea.
    Kristen N.

    Feeling so much appreciation after my first cut with Chelsea. Two things set her apart: 1) she listened extremely closely to what I said I wanted and did *precisely* that, 2) she has a passion for educating people on how to take care of their own curls, so you can replicate what she does for you. She explained a lot about moisturizing, showed me exactly how much product to use, even had me feel my hair when she was washing it to help me understand what I should be looking for. She also texted me the products she used on my hair. So informative! In addition, she is friendly and easygoing. THANK YOU, Chelsea!

    Layers
    Sierra B.

    I have been looking for a well trained and up to date curl stylist and I've found her. She is so nice and helpful with product advice and how to style. I wanted to maintain length as I'm trying to grow my hair out but it was falling flat. She gave me exactly what I asked for and my hair is so much curlier and happy. Thank you so much for making me happy with my hair again and dealing with my constant rambling! Will be back in three months for a freshen up. :)

    After

    Chelsea really knows how to cut curly hair. I have wavy/curly 2c, 3a, 3b curls that are very fine. I asked for more layers to create more volume and shorter layers in the front to frame my face. She listened to what I wanted and totally delivered. She was super gentle separating my curls during the dry cut and while detangling during the wash and style. She made sure my hair would look good whether I parted it in the center, the right, or the left at my request because I change up my style a lot. She encouraged me to let her know if I needed adjustments after living with the new cut and styling it myself. I really appreciate that she is so customer service oriented and really cares that her clients get what they want. Apart from her expertise with curly hair, she was also extremely patient and gentle in an unexpected circumstance. My asthma flared up from some of the chemicals in the salon and she was quick to bring water and tea and was so calm and reassuring while I did my inhaler. She let me have little breaks to catch my breath and made me feel like I was the priority. Pricing for the service is accurate and not overpriced. I will definitely be coming back to Chelsea regularly.

    Top row- before Bottom row- after  My curls looked even better the following day once my volume set in, but didn't manage to get a photo.
    M C.

    I can't express how excited I am about my curls now. Chelsea is awesome and brought my curls back to life! My hair had gotten down to hip length, and had no shape. I found Chelsea on Yelp and booked an appointment after viewing all the before and after curl transformations from various deva cuts on IG. I had no idea how much of a difference a deva cut would make to my curls. All of my life, my hair has been straightened and then trimmed- leaving the natural curly state of my hair to be a toss up. Having my hair cut in it's natural curly state allowed me to see how the curls will sit, and I got to see my hair take shape and come back to life. The products also left my hair moisturized and super light and defined. And I learned a couple of things that I can do differently in my home hair routine! I will definitely be back for another cut! If you have curly hair and haven't tried this yet, do yourself a favor and book an appt. with Chelsea.

    Cody S.

    Years on Yelp: 6, # of Reviews before Chelsea: 0 -- Wow! Chelsea is going to be my go-to for my curls moving forward. I've never had a haircut like Chelsea's... ever! Chelsea understands the complexities when dealing with curly hair, it is not simply just another haircut. Even after giving my hair a year break from straightening, my curls were non-existent and lifeless. Every time I would wash my hair, I would throw it in a bun because my curls weren't curling how they used to or my hair would dry and the curl pattern had no consistency. After almost giving up all hope and wanting to chop my hair all off to no longer deal with the knots and headache that I associated with washing my hair, Chelsea saved my hair!! Without taking much off, she not only completely reshaped my hair, but brought my curls back and made it overall more manageable. As soon as I stepped out of the salon the "I love your hair" complements started flowing. Because I hadn't received any hair compliments in a really long time, I was a bit confused/in a state of shock. If you know your curly hair needs a miracle of sorts but do not know where to go or who to trust (I UNDERSTAND), go to Chelsea!!

    Deva cut
    Marisa B.

    Thank you Chelsea! I love my hair again I was feeling like it was getting a little long and tangled. It was time for a cut. I use Deva Curl products and love them. So why not try a Deva Cut? Chelsea asked me about my hair and understood my struggles with my curls. It was an easy and relaxing appointment. And Chelsea is really sweet. Thank you also for the tea! I'll be back!

    After - much improved. Continued to look healthy and more hydrated a few solid months post cut as well.

    Great cut that brought my curls back to life. Highly recommend to get your curly hair back in shape.

    I wish I could give Chelsea 10 stars. She is so talented. She cares about the health of your hair as well as the look. She drenches your curls in hydration and is a perfectionist with the shaping of your hair. Each curl bounces and shines. Side note she is also hilarious during the service. She is moderately priced as " Curly cuts" go so I don't mind driving from Fairfield to Alameda for this cut.

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    7 years ago

    Chelsea is amazing and knows every curl pattern out there. I so excited I finally found my hairdresser. ‍

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - The Curl Lab

    Hi do you use a razor on curly hair?

    Thank you for your inquiry, I don’t use a razor or thinning shears on curly hair.

    Do you provide finger coils service? My girlfriend is looking to do that with her hair for her birthday

    Thanks for your inquiry, unfortunately I do not do finger coiling. I offer a hydrate and define which is focused on bringing the best out of you natural Curl pattern.

    View All 3 Questions

    Review Highlights - The Curl Lab

    Chelsea was wonderful, put my teen right at ease and helped figure out what kind of cut was wanted.

    Mentioned in 48 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    4.6(726 reviews)
    1.7 mi
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    This was my first time at Salon Avalon and I booked Jee for a hair cut/style. I'm 3 months…read morepostpartum and dealing with shedding. I just showed Jee a picture of the short bob I wanted. She cut off around 6-8 inches of length and did an amazing job. She gave me some tips for styling and hair/scalp health. I will keep coming back here and specifically for Jee. She's personable and easy to chat with while she does her magic. The salon is nicely arranged. The owner came by to offer coffee and tea. He also gave me a free, travel sized hair masque when I checked out. The price was very affordable, much more than I'm used to from past stylists or salons. I don't often write reviews, but I do when the service and skills are warranted. Thanks Jee and Salon Avalon! My family loves my new style, including my baby boy who keep looking at my hair lol.

    I had really long hair down to my hips, I went in for a trim and some short layers since my hair…read morewas really think, I made it clear I wanted to keep as much length as possible but just get rid of some dead ends and I wanted the bottom thinned out. I also had bangs that were slightly uneven so I asked her to fix that. The lady who cut my hair asked if I wanted I blow out, I told her no, I wanted to walk out with wet hair to see how it would dry naturally since that's what I do regularly. She was apprehensive but I was firm that drying naturally was what I wanted and that I didn't want to the appointment to take longer due to drying. She cut a good 8 inches off, the left and right sides were different lengths, the layers were super choppy, random, and uneven. The ends were not thinned out how I wanted and she didn't touch my bangs. At the end she said "I know you didn't want a blow out but I'm going to do it anyway" literally. She curled the ends and when I left I noticed the ends were uneven. I don't know if she curled them thinking I wouldn't notice but it was hard to miss. I was really sad to lose that much of my length since it took me so long to grow out and I wasn't expecting to get it cut, only a trim which by the way was $90 (partly because the cut was an hour and drying was another whole hour so I had to pay for 2 hours even though I didn't want the blow out) but I went back in because it was too bad to wear in public and this was less than a week before Christmas. I went back in, I told her my hair was really choppy, she said "well you asked for layers" I told her "but this isn't layers this is random pieces of different length, there are longer pieces on top of shorter pieces. She got really defensive and said I kept "moving my head." No I didn't and even if that had been true blaming the customer is just a really bad way to run a business when I'm just asking it to get fixed. I told her I wanted my bangs fixed as well and because they were uneven, she said "you came in like that" I told her "I know but I wanted you to fix them" during this argument the manager came in and had me sit down, he told me they could fix it and had another girl start working on my layers, he said that he would take care of the bangs. The Second Lady working on my hair in my opinion was really rude, she pointed out some grey hairs and I said "I know I have more of them in other places" she said "how old are you?" I told her 25 and she made a face that seemed extremely judgmental. I also notice while she was cutting my hair, she held the scissors and comb in the same hand and while combing my hair I saw her accidentally cut pieces an inch away from my scalp and I felt the scissors tug as I saw her wave LONG pieces of hair away multiple times. She also kept commenting on how thick and tangly my hair was which felt insulting. As I was in there the second time, TWO other customers came in separately saying they were coming back because they had issues with how their hair had been done, the manager didn't respond with "ok let's fix it" even when I noticed the customer wasn't trying to argue they were willing to pay more they just wanted more done, but the manager was very defensive about explaining "this is how it's done" blah blah blah when in my opinion it would have been better to say "what you asked for is ____ this is what we did but if you want more than that would be ____ it will cost more to get you want you want but we can definitely do that if that's what you want". By the time I was done I had been in there for over 2 hours just with the second time I went. I didn't have any layers when I left they basically just cut my length to the shortest piece the first girl left me with which made my ends sprawl out since I had really thick hair and my hair was about boob length now, my bangs had more heft but I didn't like the way they framed my face, to be honest I just wanted to get out of there, I had clearly made a huge mistake going back. When you go to a hair stylist, make sure you go to a place where you know they will LISTEN to what you want, not do some random stuff or get defensive when you asked for something different. I didn't take a picture of my hair after the second appointment, the length wasn't badly cut it just wasn't what I asked for, not thinned or layered at all, and like 13 inches shorter than what I wanted, I've had it cut since then by a hair stylist who LISTENS to what you ask for.

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    California Haircuts - You take a number

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    Very good price for the professional they have. Chaulin is the best, he's been cutting my husband…read morehear and my son very months... thanks for your services we recommend

    The barber with the big forehead who cut my hair seemed inexperienced despite his cosmetology…read morecertificate posted. I asked for a low taper with my bangs to my eyebrow and to texture and layer the top, the outcome absolutely did not fulfill my request. While he was cutting my hair, he was clumsy and fidgety with his equipment, he was uncertain with almost all of his actions as if he wasn't confident in his own job. He also kept forcing my hair into a side part when I strictly kept asking for bangs, and he would keep trimming and trimming down my hair till it was too short just for him to still not get it even. This guy wouldn't even ask question, or say anything the whole haircut, I had to correct him numerous times and he still messed up my hair. One of his colleagues came up to him after seeing how he was cutting my hair, they spoke Vietnamese so I didn't understand, but based on what my hair looked like at the time, I could assume it was about how my hair he cut was uneven and not properly faded. Furthermore, after how long, he was done with the haircut, I was of course dissatisfied. I asked for some texture on the top again because that's what I asked for because the bangs he cut weren't salvageable nor was the sides, and he looked at me clueless. The result wasn't even a low taper at that, the fade continued way higher than I asked for and the bangs were over an INCH above my eyebrow. I am extremely disappointed as I've been here a few times before but never had this bad of an experience. horrid. Only reason why I consider this place 2 stars is because of the ladies who are also barbers in the shop. They're very kind and make the whole shop feel homey and one of them saved me from the guy messing up my haircut more. Most of the previous haircuts from everyone else but this guy have been 4-5 stars, but after this event, I don't think I can say the same.

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    The Curl Lab - hair - Updated May 2026

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