Studio K

When I lived in the area, I came to Kara at Studio K for haircuts & highlights for a couple of years. She’s amazing at what she does, very sweet, professional and kind. I was always happy with my hair cuts and highlights. A good hairstylist is hard to find, and a great one is even more rare… she’s a great one! Highly recommended!

Went here for the first time (my mom has been going for YEARS) a few months ago and i was sooooo happy with my hair! just booked my next appointment for Saturday 3÷1÷14 — i’m sure i will be just as happy :)

Not one to write reviews, I feel inspired to do so here as I believe I have stumbled upon a gem. Studio K hair salon is just that Gem. Tucked down an alley behind a dentists office is this quaint bustling salon. The energy and the talent that drives Studio K all comes Kara. Always friendly and always engaging I have left every time feeling like I just received the perfect cut. Appointments are booked online. If you plan to go, book in advance as by the looks of things it seems like the word is out that Kara is delivering a great service.

Had a fabulous haircut during my lunch hour here today! I had been to this salon to purchase my Deva Curl products for a year or so but had never gotten a cut here. Kara is fantastic. The best part about her work is that she really enjoys styling and creating personalized hair cuts for her customers, and it’s a pleasure to work with someone who truly enjoys her work. I am quite surprised that the salon ranks so low because my experience was really great. Kara is attentive, she was also very honest about my hair cut. I went in to correct a bad cut, and she told me that it’ll take two cuts for me to really love my hair. I found her honesty refreshing and so incredibly professional. I really like my hair cut. I told her that I was a little disappointed by the weight I had recently put on, and was looking for a cut that would be sliming on my face, and she totally delivered on that. I’d highly recommend Kara.

I went to Kara several months back, and have avoided thinking of the experience, as I did after the colonoscopy I had to have, but will do my best to recreate it accurately here. I went there three times. I moved to Davis temporarily to work as a home health therapist. A lovely, new friend of mine treated me to a color job there, because Kara cuts her hair. I have been getting my hair streaked with a lot of blond tones for 25 years and have been to some very talented colorists. The first time Kara colored my hair, she did a fine job. However, I felt very pressured to cave to her high-​pressure sales pitches as to which of her products I must buy because my organic ones were inferior and messing up my hair. I read the labels and saw that there were several ingredients I would never use on myself. When asked about the ingredients in her products, she was at a loss to answer.
The second coloring appointment, she colored my hair orange. Then, she decided to do it again and applied different color which also resulted in an uneven, awful orange. She set up another appointment to correct the color for two days later. She told me that I owed her $ 180 (before repairing it!).
I took time off from work in order to get my hair fixed and was very stressed. I returned at the time of my appointment she had set and she told me that she did not have an opening for me because I had called and canceled the appointment. However, she decided to make time, and colored my hair quite orange once more. She became increasingly hyper, flitting about as clients waited in the tiny space. She began insisting that either I «drink bad water» or was ingesting something («a pharmaceutical) which was causing my hair to turn orange. She became quite critical of my hair and was clearly blaming me for her incompetence. (Obviously, these «reasons» did not explain why the first color job was very well carried out). Then, she decided to bathe my scalp and hair in bleach, in order to remove absolutely ALL existing color from my hair. She left it on my head for about 45 minutes while she worked on another person. She then applied color for a third time. It also resulted in orange color. She repeatedly and emphatically proclaimed that this had never happened to her in her whole career and I was somehow to blame. She finally could not keep her people waiting any more. She dried my orange hair and announced «It is very orange». She did not repeat her demand for pay, so obviously has some healthy shame… possible diagnosis: bipolar, manic, perhaps?

Have gone a total of 4 times, will never go back. Made an appointment based on recommendation of a friend. My first experience here getting a cut and color was pretty good– results turned out nice, even though it wasn’t exactly what I asked for. Second experience also looked fairly nice (although somewhat overpriced). The past two times I experienced problems across the board– every time my appointment ran very very late because of «squeezing in» other customers or being behind schedule when I arrived. The cut was fine– but it was never quite as I asked for and definitely not worth the cost. The coloring was never done the same way, and never turned out the same shade twice. The last time I was told «there must be something weird about your hair, this has never happened before.» This was after the color was left on for 20 minutes too long and I had to keep track of timing myself. When I said my head felt strange I was told «That’s normal.»
This bothered me, since the services are touted as specializing in coloration. I decided I would not use that salon anymore. I also felt that products were pushed very hard. I was told I should buy a special shampoo because «I can tell you use harsh chemicals in your hair.» She tried to sell me a mosturizing shampoo. When I replied that I use only organic all-​natural shampoo she replied «Oh, that must be why you have so much build up.» She then tried to sell me a clarifying shampoo… both priced well above what they could be purchased for online. I felt kind of scamed, and it was awkward since I had to say no while she was still working on my hair style.
Since that time two friends have mentioned similar experiences– expensive and inconsistant pricing, being told that their hair is strange and caused problems with the color process, and having thier appointment run extremely late. With so many other options in the area I can’t imagine paying this much for a service that is far less than satisfactory.
For some reason this review was «Filtered» by Unilocal.When I looked at reviews for the business I only saw 4 and 5 star reviews. Too bad that this was taken down, as I would have appreciated having this information before I went.

I found this great hair studio through Unilocal and was so pleased by my experience with Kara. She introduced to me DevaCurl and my hair hasn’t been the same since. It is very hard to find stylists who know how to cut curly hair, in this area and in general, but I have found it (finally)! Her services are great, reasonably priced and you get one-​on-​one attention from her. I have recommended Studio K to all my friends, curly AND straight hair!

Studio K is a great little hair salon in Davis. I have referred many friends to the owner Kara over the years and they always come back with a smile on their face and great looking hair!
I will continue to wholeheartedly send people her way. Highly recommended!!!