Cuttin’ Up On College

Love this place! I have had my haircut everywhere and with some truly amazing stylists.
Maryanne has an edge that inspires me and motivates me to try new things with unfortunately my last hair stylist didn’t so much– hence my branching out.
She has character and flavor.
Louie just worked on both my boys’ hair as well and did a fantastic job! My eldest has lots of hair– long thick and he cut it with style and class. My younger son has light and thin, Louie cut it stylishly even though my husband and I were there arguing about the length– I wanted off, my husband wanted it long– We all walked away happy!
Go!

I loved this place because they do deliver great cuts every time, but I can’t go here anymore because it doesn’t feel worth it. I mostly have problems with Louie, the man who seems to always be working here. He’s just a jerk. He’s the kind of guy who will tell you that you have dandruff, even if it’s not that bad and you already know about it, because he doesn’t seem to care if you have a good experience.
I kept coming back to Cuttin’ Up every couple of weeks as I was growing out an undercut, and for some reason, I got Louie every single time. I don’t think he recognized me, so it didn’t seem like anything personal, but he would always act extremely superior and amused in a way that felt super shameful, like my hair was embarrassing. He was combing out my hair one time and just laughed and said «Damn. Like, damn. It’s pretty bad.»
It’s not that I need to be catered to or can’t take a joke, but I do hope to receive at least some indication of basic human respect if I am paying to have someone touch and groom my hair– it’s pretty vulnerable to let someone do that, especially as a small woman. I’m trying not to assume that he was just especially rude to me because I’m obviously gay, but I can’t say for sure. But I don’t ever want to put myself in a chair in front of this bro again.

Louie cut my one-​year-​olds hair and I could not be happier with the result! He was patient with my son while also managing to cut his hair quickly and efficiently. He still looks like a little boy but has enough style that it will grow out nicely. I highly recommend Louie and Cutting Up!

Had color and trim yesterday. MaryAnne selected perfect color all my friends and family love the new look’

I’ve been getting my hair cut here for a few months now from the barber, Louie. When I first met him my hair was about 20 inches long. He helped me bring it down to 2 inches and it looks great. He’s been willing to experiment with me so I can find what style works best. Just got another cut today and he made improvements on the already great cut he gave me last time. Louie is a cool guy. He’s hella chill, his prices are great, and the place is fun and welcoming. I recommend you visit him and the rest of the team at Cuttin’ Up on College.

I have so many things to say about this place… I have been here for several cuts over the last few years because I used to live in Rockridge and it was really convenient. I was happy every time so I kept coming back. Today was my first cut with the owner, MaryAnne. She is just AMAZING! I have never had so much fun in a salon. First off, the cut: I needed a trim badly as my three month old short pixie was looking pretty sloppy. I showed her a picture for reference, and with one glance she nailed it. I walked out of there with the exact cut I wanted, I’m soooo happy with it. Great super short length, but with the perfect choppy texture. A+. But the experience is what makes this place for me. I brought my 5 year old daughter along, and there were tons of kids books there for her to keep busy with, and she loved the hairstyle books too. MaryAnne chatted the whole time with both of us, and even offered my daughter fresh raspberries while she waited. And a lollipop, but she checked with me first to see if it was cool, which i loved. I was offered a choice of many lovely beverages, and had a nice cold beer with my haircut. YES! But the conversation was my favorite part. This lady is just a riot, I was laughing so hard, but also really wise and down to earth. I would go back for that reason alone, even of she wasn’t so damn talented. The space is super laid back and funky/​retro, I highly recommend it if you want to feel super comfortable and and have a blast while getting a great haircut. I’ll be going here for as long as i live in the area. This place is a gem! Her son, who seems really cool too, also is a barber in the same space.

I came here last minute to get my hair cut. After the cut the stylist didn’t take the time to blow dry my hair and double check the cut — which unfortunately turned out to be slightly uneven. I went to get my hair colored with my regular stylist the next week and she had to clean it up. I cut my hair so infrequently that it’s usually kind of a treat to leave having my hair look fabulous, so I’d made plans for the evening. I had to leave a salon with wet hair, which I’ve never done before, and was disappointed. For the price and the premium location on College Ave, I expected more.

I’m glad I found this place. I’ve been going to other barbers for years, never connecting with the person cutting my hair, each time returning to find someone new cutting my hair.
So, I was excited and happy when I found Louie. He takes his time cutting hair. I never feel rushed or «short changed», he wants the haircut to look good and makes sure you are satisfied with the look.
The location is great, right next to Zachary’s Pizza. After years of bouncing from Super-​Cuts to high priced salon’s, I found my barber in Louie. Give this place a try.

I have been going to this salon for a few years. My wife has been going since 2006. I’ve seen reviews where folks think $ 65 is too much to pay for a haircut. Well, go to Supercuts and have your hair cut. If you want a style, or you want to know what you’re supposed to look like then go see these stylists. Great people, full of fun and love. Not corporate. Not machines. Awesome!

Mary Ann and Zoe double teamed for an amazing color correction on my sadly misunderstood hair. I wanted to go for the now-​trendy gray color and allow for my roots to grow out naturally. It was no small feat. They worked extremely hard and they totally understood what I wanted (which had not been the case at several different salons where they accidentally dyed my hair blue). But voila! Here’s a photo to show my age-​appropriate yet super trendy gray hair. I’m forever in their debt. So many other salons simply would not do it because they did not know how. Thanks you Mary Ann and Zoe. My heroines.

It’s been a long time since I’ve gone to this place so the people in this story may or may not even be there anymore, but my husband and I were laughing about it tonight so I thought I’d add my review.
My husband and I both were getting our hair cut by Rebecca (adorable, I know), and she was amazing. But she had a baby, and we never saw her again. I started getting my hair cut regularly by Roxanne. I thought she was pretty good (but has since left, according to other reviews).
Meanwhile, my husband got his hair cut by someone (don’t remember who) and made an appointment to have it cut by her again. He went to that second appointment, and she wasn’t there, but he had received no call or attempt to reschedule from the salon. He showed up, and they acted like it wasn’t a big deal the stylist wasn’t there, and Tresca cut his hair. Then he made an appointment with Tresca to get his hair cut again. Then he shows up for that appointment, and the same thing happened. She wasn’t there, and the salon had made no attempt to contact him. Twice in a row! Again, he had to wait for someone else to cut his hair. (What’s the point of appointments?) While he is waiting, the guy who had an appointment after him showed up. He was much more vocal than my husband about being annoyed they didn’t call him so they actually cut his hair before my husband. By the time this is all over, my husband waited something like an hour and a half to get a crappy five minute haircut from Mary Ann that he was charged full price.
As we were leaving, my husband actually had a huge grin on his face. I asked why he was handling it so well, and he said, «I know we are never coming back.»

I went back to get it fixed and I had a MUCH better experience. I still think $ 65 is a little pricy, but I’m definitely happy with my style now.

I received the best haircut of my life courtesy of Mary Ann. I asked her to cut my hair in a way that would bring out the waviness of my hair. She did a perfect job and also wasn’t afraid to cut my hair shorter in places that would help achieve that goal. She was also really fun to get to know. I’ve never met a 6^th generation Oaklander before.
Lastly Mary Ann gave me great recommendations on how to style my hair (don’t brush it essentially to let the wave do its thing). My hair responded beautifully and the weeks that followed were glorious. I’ve never been so happy with my hair because Mary Ann taught me about what my hair needed to do naturally and accentuated that.
I’d recommend asking Mary Ann what she thinks would be best to bring out whatever makes your locks special — she knows her stuff. This has really taught me not to say, «cut 2 inches off» ever again. Mary Ann is a pro — let her do her thing and your hair will be happy. Hopefully you will be too :).
Going back for my second cut today!

Beth has done my hair many times before. Although, I don’t dye or highlight my hair, I love how she has this «hair love-​passion» when she cuts it.
She always uses great products to keep it healthy and recommends super cool tips to keep it that way. She’s the best!!!

Great stylist Roxanne (925) 336‑6260 was there forever… just heard she moved down the street to right angle salon on college… give her a call/​text for great service and style at her new «home». Cheers!

No one but Roxanne will ever touch my hair again. She is the best!
This place is awesome. It has a super cute vibe and there’s a disco ball! The owner was there when I went and she is hilarious! Also, no one was smoking indoors. I don’t know what those other reviews were talking about.
This place is affordable and awesome!
Thanks Roxanne! You’re wonderful!

So after several visits being specific about the exact cut I wanted, on this last visit I went in looking for a little bit of a new direction with my hairstyle. I described to Beth the general idea and the kind of look I wanted and let her interpret that and be creative. She did an outstanding job! My new cut is totally awesome and I couldn’t be happier with it!

This review is for Tresca. In the last half year I’ve tried several different salons on College Ave. including the two on College between Russell and Ashby. left fairly disappointed with both of them after having paid top dollar for pretty mediocre haircuts, and both of them resulted in hair being cut shorter than what I asked for. Why is that? So many times I’ve asked for maybe ¾″, they say, «Ok, no problem.», and then start cutting off twice that.
Anyway, maybe 4 weeks ago I had gone into another shop, didn’t like the cut, lived with it for a while, but enough was enough. I walked b today with no appt., she didn’t really have time, but she fit me in. She right away noticed the mistakes my previous visit at another shop had resulted and observed my style as being somewhat of a ‘Man Bob’ haircut, which was true, and she fixed it and even trimmed my eyebrows which were starting to resemble those of an osprey or other bird of prey.
I’ll be back, I finally found what I’m looking for in a stylist. Thanks Tresca, see you again…

I love the ladies that I’ve worked with at Cuttin’ Up on College! Beth did my hair for years, she even did my hair in pin curls for my wedding. She’s always been very professional and does great work. I love when your stylist can just sort of help you decide what the best cut for your face is. That way I don’t even have to think, and I just end up looking great!
Also, Tresca has done the hair for lots of my friends – as well as my sons hair – and done a fantastic job!

Dear Oakland,
I. Hairmergency Thursday
I am amazed that no other review has pointed out the irony in having a woman named Tresca deal with your, uh, tresses, but here’s the scoop-​a-​loop: In need of an emergency color correction at 3:45 p.m. on a Thursday, Cuttin’ Up’s digits were dialed and luckily for me, Tresca answered and, despite being last minute, was willing to fit me in and try her best to correct what was, admittedly, a hairtastrophe despite having never met me before and despite it being her birthday (a fact that was later gleaned from the parade of well wishers waving to this lady from the sidewalk). Would I, in her shoes, have agreed to provide a time-​and detail-​intensive service to someone at the last hour on my birthday? Probably, but that is why Tresca is getting this review.
II. Hair Apparent
If you have ever decided to redden your locks, you will know that red is 1) always permanent; 2) always a poor choice if you do it yourself or for near-​free; and 3) never turns out like you think it might, even though the ladies in US Weekly make it look soooo easy.
Tresca is credited with having a 6^th sense– H.S.P.- Hair Sensory Perception. She went in the back, mixed a beautiful natural covering shade, and had the genius to match my super-​white eyebrows in the same breath, making the dye job not only well executed, but also believable. This was precisely the look I needed to obtain a mere 12 hours before having a major professional opportunity that would have been cheapened by the Orphan Annie stylings of my prior hairstyle. I truly appreciated her approach, which included giving my hair the time it needed, despite «squeezing» me in. She never once mentioned that she was hurried. She is a true professional.
III. Hairmony
Last, I was able to enjoy her good tunes and good conversation in the quirky little salon, Cuttin Up, in which she works. She is a true professional.
Sincerely,
Axe