I went into the Workshop with the expectation of getting my hair ends trimmed. When I walked in, I was greeted by Dick, the primary store owner who asked me to sit down in the salon chair. He did not ask what kind of style I wanted or what I'd come in for, but instead started to snip away at my hair. Next thing I know, half of my length ( of heathy hair) was gone and I kept being reassured that it would look fabulous once it was washed and styled. The problem was that moment never came. What resulted was half my hair looking like it had been artificially cut for volume, shaping my face in the " Diva Cut" style and the other half depleted of its original length. The Diva Cut and Dick did not take into account my personal preferences, curly hair type or length. The cut is made for every person who has curly hair to look the same with the justification of it being the best way to shape/treat curly hair. It will take months ( if not years) for my hair to grow back to its original length. Lastly what made this experience frustrating was the heavy price I paid ( $50) for the inability to have a say in my own haircut. Dick disguised his unwillingness to listen to my instruction with professional expertise, making me feel unheard and undermined. I paid tip out of respect for him as an individual but not for the service itself. I will not be returning here again. Ps. I look like a poodle now read more

The Workshop is a small salon in New Haven. Dickie and his assistant Nancy were friendly and I found him to have an enchanting personality. He is a certified curl consultant by Devachan in NYC and follows their way of cutting curly hair. The cut was acceptable, not amazing. But I will warn you, unless you are committed to using Devachan's line of hair products, or would like to be, I recommend you steer clear of this salon. Dickie was adamant about it being absolutely necessary to use these products and he was incredibly pushy about purchasing them. I did buy a couple and found them to be overpriced, mediocre and sort of smelled like sweet garbage. $18 for an 8 oz bottle of gel?!? Of which you have to use pretty much half the bottle in one hair styling because that is the Devachan way. They also use a ton of paper towels to scrunch the water out of your hair which isn't very environmentally friendly. read more

I've been going to Dickie since 2008 and have been receiving compliments on my hair since that time. I have moderately curly hair (it's not a tight curl, but it is more curly than "wavy") and it looks best when Dickie has cut it and styled it. This is a DevaCurl salon, which means 1) they specialize in cutting curly hair and 2) the cut is meant to work in tandem with daily styling using the DevaCurl products. This doesn't mean you have to buy every one. I personally found that the gel and conditioner are the the only products I truly *need*, and even just using the gel without the conditioner works fine in a pinch. Dickie sells all the DevaCurl products at 20% off and if you are really skeptical, he will usually offer you a money-back guarantee (at his cost). He truly does believe in his cuts and the DevaCurl products, which I suspect you won't fine at other salons where one of the stylists just has some DevaCurl training. Price for a haircut is $50. They do color as well. I only got it once and was totally satisfied, but I usually don't bother. If you want to read more about Dickie and The Workshop, I thought this article (which I read while waiting for my hair to dry at the salon) sums the experience up really well: http://yaledailynews.com/magazine/2011/12/07/curl-crazy/ read more

Lauran O I have been a customer of the Workshop (Diane) for about a year I watched you happily cut hair along side everyone in the shop but after your customer left you just tear them apart with hateful words because that's your MO and now your doing it to Dickie and DIane such a shame your using Yelp not as an honest reviewer but someone who is trying to hurt other people. Diane Soto is just such a fantastic stylist she will give you any of the latest trends in hair cut or color. I personally have dark almost black hair that is very color resistant and I come out of there with a beautiful light ashy Blonde it's amazing what she can do. I'm giving 4 stars because the actual salon could use updating but they are working on that . read more

My boyfriend had been looking for a place to get his hair cut for a few months. We tried various places in New Haven and then he found The Workshop. Everyplace prior to The Workshop cut his hair very uneven, and even thinned it out using thinning shears! Which was definitely not what he needed. Dickie was very charismatic and managed to give my boyfriend a haircut he actually likes. Dickie even offered me a free hair appointment next week, I have a feeling I will be walking out of there with Deva products but, I have curly hair and have trouble managing it so hopefully he will be able to help. Overall- very pleasant and entertaining time. read more

Diane is PHENOMENAL. I have never been happier with my hair. I would recommend Diane to anyone and EVERYONE. She makes miracles happen and I never was able to get a non brassy blonde until I met Diane. Their fb page shows all the colors and cuts she has done and they are sincerely flawless. I lost count on how many times I get complimented on my hair ever since Diane has worked her magic. And to the comment below me... I will not hesitate to give you a little background information on 'Lauren O' aka Laura. She is a miserable person who lies to make herself feel relevant. Dickie has been nothing but nice to her and gave her a second chance but unfortunately she couldn't get her life together and turned to the only thing she's good at which is sabotaging other's lives. read more

Came in for a quick cut. Dickie, the owner did it. He was REALLY inappropriate. Saying rude sexual things about women. First of all, I don't even know you. Secondly, I'm gay! He was so busy talking, he barely glanced at my hair. It definitely shows in the cut. Bad experience. read more

Omg. No. NO! Gaetano (Dickie) is the worst "hairstylist" ever. Cannot cut or blow-dry his way out of a paper bag. He also likes to spin tales about how he was a "platform artist" in the 60's. Lol. He'll claim he worked on Kate Moss, And other models. These are lies which become pretty apparent when you look at the state of his shop, and his personal "fashion" sense. He also like s to grab his crotch alot while cutting, so, look forward to THAT. read more

I would certainly agree with Bella. Steer clear. Not only is Dickie pushy about the products, he is going to cut your hair as he sees fit - regardless of how much you insist. (He also said wildly inappropriate things while I was there.) After losing that battle (of course not becoming aware of what he was actually doing until it was far too late), I walked out with a haircut I hated. A week later I went back and he tried to 'fix' it for me: FAIL. Hands down the worst haircut I have ever had. It took months to grow out to a point where I could start to get the damaged/mangled mess that was repaired. read more

BEST HAIRCUT I'VE EVER GOTTEN! Dickie and Diana were so charming and made me feel right at home (even though I have straight hair!). Dickie gave me such a unique haircut that I absolutely LOVE! read more

This salon is great. My hair has a medium curl, and when I lived in Baltimore this usually meant that the stylists would try their best to straighten it out. So it was a relief to find The Workshop! Dickie cuts hair to be worn curly, and particularly to air dry. It's wonderful! The one caveat is that he does tend to do his own thing with regard to your hair, even if your instructions are a bit different. I don't usually worry too much about this, since it always looks great (and probably better than my idea, honestly), but if you're particular about that then you might want to express your wishes pretty firmly. I don't mind his dedication to the Deva products. I've switched to them and I like them. They're not that much more expensive (in large bottles, particularly) than nice store-bought brands. As for the paper towels mentioned by Bella, they use cloth now. I live in West Hartford now, and I tried a salon in town last year so that I could "buy local." The stylist cut it in a straight style and told me that it would look fine if I let it be curly, but isn't it nicer when it's smooth? No. I went right back to The Workshop and won't be straying again. read more

FANTASTIC hair cut! I have curly hair and a great cut makes all the difference. He looks like he's haphazardly chopping your hair but he's sculpting it to perfection. I'm SO happy with my cut and I will be going back for sure. Thanks Gaetano!!! read more

I had high hopes for this place, as they're supposed to specialize in wavy and curly hair. I ended up looking like a grandma with a mullet. Worst haircut ever. It's a year later, I've only recently gotten my hair back to a style I don't totally hate, and I still cringe thinking about it. Maybe they understand other people's curly hair, but not mine. Not at all. read more

I had a very good experience getting my hair styled by Dickie. The first time I went in I was so impressed that I gave him free reign the following visit. And the result was perhaps the best haircut I've ever received. No regrets! read more

My husband and I have been going to The Workshop for about 8 years.  I have thick curly hair and my husband has straight fine hair.  Dick does an excellent job on both of us.  Since I've been going to Dick, people stop me all the time to compliment my hair style.  I also get lots of compliments on my hair color which is done by Diane.  Dick is a unique individual who loves what he does.  Diane is a class act.  This is a small, friendly salon with a loyal clientele.  I highly recommend The Workshop if you have curly hair. read more

Great cut though perhaps just a little too short (I understand the concern about Dickie being scissor happy)! However, I can still finally feel comfortable with my curls. The Deva products are a little pricy but worth it! read more

The cut was good, but the hairdresser did not follow my wishes. I went there twice, and both times I told him to cut the hair an inch, max. Guess what. He just cut it in whichever way he wanted and now I have a haircut that makes me look like a 15-yr-old, and that's not good. read more

I recently went to Dickie because I have curly hair and have been looking for someone who specializes in cutting curly hair. So I made the appointment. Walking in to the salon, I saw a dingy old couch and holes in the ceiling. I met him, he sat ne down starting talking, never explained anything about the cut. I just thought, he has a lot of experience, I should just let him do his"magic'. Boy was I wrong! He starting cutting like he was Edward Scissorhands! I was in shock. But still I though it will be ok. I went in with shoulder length curly hair and came out with a mullet. Now to fix it I had to get it cut really short. All through the cut, he was talking about how he knows famous people and has worked with models in New York. If so he would cut a style that looks hip and modern. I think he is a con man talking b.s! Pimping his deva curl stuff to all the ladies. Don't go there. I called to complain and ask for refund, because after he chopped my hair I wasn't going back there for him to aimlessly hack at my hair again, and he hung up on me. No stars read more

I was looking for a salon that specialized in curly hair, I found the workshop online. I am familiar with devacurl products. I have used these products in the past. I do love the products offered.My complaint is not with the product, but with the stylist, Dikkie. I am a licensed hairdresser for 22 years. Upon my arrival at my 1st appointment, Dickie looked at my hair and said I would make his job easy. I had a picture of the haircut I wanted him to do. He said he would not do that haircut on me. Then I mentioned the bad reviews he got on the yelp website. He said the complaints came from a disgruntled employee, he carried on for 20 minutes about this complaint that was posted and said this person was a psychopath. He then proceeded to say he was not going to cut my hair, took the cape off. I said please explain the type of haircut you would suggest? All he would say is he would make it look beautiful. I asked that he not do a mullet cut (short on the sides long in the back) He said what is a mullet cut? I wish I had ran for the door when I had the chance right then and there. He started with those scissors coming dangerously close to my eye. My hair was shampooed after this cut (cut done dry) he asked his associate to explain how to use the product correctly (imagine that) I have bee using this product for close to 7 years and I have been a hairdresser for 22 years. I was then put under the dryer, my head was on fire. Dikkie said he needed it dry to check the cut after. I sat in his chair, and almost died when I looked in the mirror. I looked like a poodle with a mullet, my shoulder length hair was an inch above my shoulder and two inches longer in the back (he claimed I looked good) This is an uneven mess some layers only two inches long. He picked up his scissors to start cutting again, I told him to put the scissors down he was done. I look like a hot mess. Some layers are so short it will be a good 6 months before I can get a corrective cut. I asked Dikkie if he thought my cut looked professional ? I have to go to work on Monday! He told me women would kill for my curls, (Maybe someone 70 who likes tight perms). In my whole career as a hairdresser, I hope I never would do this to a client (let alone another hairstylist) I am very sad. The State of Connecticut should pull this man's license! He is 75 years old and should not be allowed to do this to another client. He does one type of cookie cutter haircut and I was a victim. I tried to call the Workshop this morning to request a refund, if for nothing else a professional courtesy as I also hold a hairdressing license. He told me I was out of mind and called me crazy and told me he knew I was going to be trouble, he then hung up on me. Please take my advise and find another stylist. For nothing else by posting this comment, I hope I will spare one person from what I am going through right now. read more