Image 88 Full Service Salon

First took my son here for his first haircut at around age 2 ½. Jessica was so calming and entertaining, he immediately wanted another haircut just to visit with her (and in fact, because at the time we lived in that neighborhood, we’d often drop in just to visit his «friend Jessica»). Now 15 years later, and after several trips to other salons with his dad, Image 88 is still his go-​to. Finally writing this because today, following an… interesting attempt at self-​hair-​cutting at home late last night, Jessica squeezed him in this morning and we are off to a better day than anticipated. Love Jessica, her calm, her talent and her personal interest in my family’s well-​being.

Diane Slay is a cornerstone treasure of Oakland. I have long spiral curly, soak up all humidity in the air hair. She flat irons me to perfection and it will stay tame for a few days. She listens, guides and more over, my ear never feels heat.
I know her white men with straight hair after traditional man haircuts are regulars. She has an array of skill.

Jessica is always able to take me in for a haircut. I’ve been going to her for about 6 years now and have always walked out with a good haircut. She’s fast, easy to talk with and accommodating. What else do you want from a hairdresser?

This review applies to the Nail Salon portion of the business. I have gone to Linh (Lynn) for awhile now and have put up with her negative attitude because she does good work (shame on me). Last week I made an appointment for a Pedicure and wrote it down (100% sure I wrote it down correctly). Upon arriving at the salon, Linh told me I had made an appointment for the following day; I had not — I was there when I scheduled to be there. She told me that althought it was a slow day, she could not see me (yikes!). She was, as always, rude, condescending and obnoxious. When I came in she was giving another client a pedicure and wouldn’t even turn around and look at me while I was trying to talk to her. This woman was downright RUDE (as always).
I just read a review written by another young lady stating that she once walked in for service and was turned away; I am not at all surprised. What I am surprised about is that this woman retains any customers whatsoever due to her extremely nasty disposition. I will no longer pay for negative treatment when there are tons of nails salons in the immediate vicinity.

I came in yesterday after running my Saturday errands. I didn’t have an appointment to get my eyebrows waxed, but Jessica was able to accommodate me right away. The service was quick and easy, and she made an effort to talk to me while working on my eyebrows, and that made me feel welcome. I paid $ 15.
I’ll be back in a few weeks to get a haircut and (hopefully, if budget allows) get my hair re-​dyed. :) Thanks, Jessica!

Its refreshing to know that there are competent professionals who still have room in their schedules for walk in customers.
Jessica with Image 88 is just that. She is able to squeeze in a haircut (or for me a highlight) on the same day as my request – a much appreciated quality. Jessica is also a competent hairdresser, much different than you would find at any other walk-​in place. I recommend her!

I’ve been going to Jessica at Image 88 for over 10 years now. It’s a very unassuming shop — not your fancy, hoity-​toity downtown salon — at a great neighborhood location. Jessica is a gifted sylist, cutter and colorist. I get sooooo many compliments on my color, especially now that I’m rockin’ some pink-​red along with some blonde and dark brown streaks on my long hair. Jessica can take you from super conservative to super cool — she’s really versatile and KNOWS HAIR. Oh, and she’ll wax all the annoying fuzz off my face while she’s at it. Now I’m so spoiled I go to her every week for a wash and flat iron. I love her!

We think Jessica is great. She understands what a cool haircut should look like on a little kid. She cuts my 5 year old son’s hair with a ton of finesse and speed — She leaves it natural and surfer like. Perfectly cool. And she understands that a haircut needs to change as the kid changes… very important. She also cuts my hair, I might add — a buzz cut, but perfectly tapered etc, and worth the money. Also, did I mention that she is unbelievably quick? Not that this is that important in the quest for perfection, but it indicates a high level of both decisiveness and experience. You won’t be disappointed… Thanks Jessica!

I just got the best haircut ever!
Jessica the owner got me right in the chair with a very short wait 5 minute after walking in. She reassured me she was very experienced (20+yrs), that she knew how to cut my hair type (dry, coarse and curly) and understood exactly what style I wanted after I gave a short explaination.
Then she made it happen in 15mins flat with just a little fine tuning!
Never ever had a stylist get it right the very first time. I felt at ease with in the first few minutes in the chair.
I got an awesome fade with a short curly top and some free newschool styling tips that made sense to me an old guy :). My wife loves the new look.
It looked to me like the other customers were well taken care of and seemed happy as well.
I was going to try Joyce’s Salon accross the street, soley based on the Unilocal reviews but they were closed during their posted open hrs.
I am very happy with Jessica and Image88 and will be back in 5 weeks for another awesome $ 20 scissor and comb cut!

Amazing. Get my hair cut here often and Jessica pampers me =). super perfect.

review for hair cut
This place was a nice little life saver for me. I stepped into image 88 after being pissed off at Cutaway’s poor service. They really do full service. Their first floor is nails, below is massage (I think) and upstairs was for hair.
I could from the cluttered Asian style salon atmosphere and the nice hair salonist that my Asian hair would be well taken care of. She was very welcoming and sat me right down and was with me in less than ten minutes. I told her what I wanted: to donate about 10 – 12 inches of my hair and go for a pixie cut.
I’m glad I came here because she definitely knew her way, especially with short hair cuts that weren’t too old fashioned looking. She was honest in her assessment and really cut my hair to match my personality. She ended up sharing a piece of advice, just let your hair do your thing. Don’t try to tame it, you’re still young.
I went in pissed off/​curious and came out feelin fresh. I would go again if it didn’t cost so much. Minus half a star for a $ 35 cut.

I went in to get my brows done. The person I normally go to down the street wasn’t in today and I’m an immediate gratification kind of girl. They were able to see me right way, which was nice, and when I sat down in the chair (they did the waxing at a shampoo station) I said that the lines were fine and I just needed them to be cleaned up a little. I have very easy eyebrows with a natural arch. Not hard.
But now I have angry eyebrows! They don’t look natural, are too thin, and are exactly NOT what I asked for. Also, it was a really expensive brow job. Super not ok. Next time I’ll defer the immediate gratification and wait for my normal person to be in.

Jessica is amazing (exclamation point) I have been toying with the idea of cutting my hair short (well, medium really) for a couple of years and finally decided to take the plunge. She gave me an amazing cut, I love, love, LOVE it. I have seen her give a few other haircuts (to random clients and my stepmom) and she does an amazing job considering the shape of your face, ears, forehead, cheekbones, etc… and taylors the cut to your face instead of blindly copying some magazine picture. She is brilliant. BRILLIANT.

Jessica cut my hair yesterday. I just called up, she told me me to come in about 45 minutes later and I walked down to Piedmont Ave. She was totally in a rush, juggling me and another woman who was getting her hair dyed. Honestly, I think the cut took 15 minutes. And normally, that would be a negative, but it is really cute and exactly what I asked for.
If you are looking for a zen-​like spa/​salon experience, this is not the place. Like other reviewers mentioned, it isn’t very organized or neat. But if you are looking to drop in for a quick and cute cut and a stylist that listens to you… then Image 88 for you!

Note: This review is about the 45 minute foot reflexology massage.
Although I’ve walked past the signs/​images of feet advertising reflexology, because I could never find the actual place of service, I never bothered to look further! Turns out I didn’t need to look any further– the salon at the front is the one running the massage (upstairs) joint.
Went for my semi-​spontaneous massage, not knowing what to expect at all. My masseuse/​reflexologist spoke little to no English, but he was super prompt, professional, friendly, and FIRM! Everything about this massage was great– from the tea I was served to the cozy room (definitely not ‘spa’ style, more like my mom’s idea of spa with fake keroppi-​style sheets covering the reclining massage chair), which for some reason or another (the aZn-​ness of it, perhaps?!) was actually comforting for me.
The massage went on a journey that started at my scalp and traveled down to my tippy toes that were soaked in warm-​hot water. Everything about this massage was GREAT and no frills. He immediately spotted through touch my common stress areas and worked extra hard on those, and had a great pace at how he went through everything. I didn’t even realize that I fell asleep at the end!
This massage suits me better than Swedish style, where sometimes I think masseuses have been trained in a way that is very methodical and less instinctual. The pressure points pushing, along with muscle stroking was a great combo that turned me into a noodle.
Although I was by myself in the room, I don’t think it would be a big deal to have other clients in the room at the same time– and regardless of that, I’ll definitely be back. Hopefully soon.

I too had a great hair cut from Jessica and she was very friendly and really knew her stuff. I was very satisfied with my cut. But I give this place only 3 stars because it didn’t really appear clean or organized, which is what I want in a salon. The good thing is it’s really easy to get an appointment, basically whenever you want on the same day she’ll take you. And she doesn’t force you to talk b.s. while she’s cutting. I’ll be going back, but I do wish the atmosphere was nicer.

I drove by and called while parked outside. i got in immediately, I had called 4 other hair salons on piedmont ave and all were booked. Jessica did the BEST hair wash and blow out i’ve had to date! A man came in and said he wanted to book a massage? I didn’t know they did massages, she advised me they did 40 minute foot massages so i booked it right then. It was absolutely wonderful. I ended up getting a FULL body massage which had to last an hour. I was totally happy and will be coming back.

Jessica is an eyebrow genius. I know this because my voluminous brows have presented a challenge to many. I’m a woman with «too much brow not enough arch», plus my brows are totally asymmetrical and usually, one of two things happen:
1– Too little is taken off and I still have huge brows, or worse, ‘
2– Too much is taken off in the wrong places; I leave looking like someone got to me with clippers after I was the first to fall asleep a a slumber party.
Not so at Image 88.
I look GOOD! I don’t know how, but both my brows look symmetric, feminine, and sophisticated.
She takes walk-​ins which rocks because I don’t have to plan ahead and she was careful to pick/​brush off all the hair snippits off so no one could tell I just got a small pelt’s worth of hair pulled off my face.

My hair grows thick and I like to keep it short. I’m not much of a fashion nut, but I do get sensitive about my hair. I find it hard to find a barbershop that doesn’t leave me feeling like I’ve just gotten an army buzz, or a salon that doesn’t leave me feeling like I’ve gotten a bowl cut. Because I’m looking for a simple and frequent cut, I don’t want to go to an expensive salon where they *might* get my hair right.
I like my hair tapered up the back and left a little long in the front. Jessica does my hair exactly as I like it.
UPDATE: Image 88 has moved across and up the street. It’s across the street from Gaylord’s and next to the florist.

They’re going out-​of-​business and the small supply of KMS, TiGi, and Pureology are 30% off!!! But, don’t bother going there for any Pureology because… I took them all.
Bwhahahaha.