The California Cuts

Our family has been getting our haircut and styled here for over 15 years. Linda is amazing, she gets five stars all but herself. Over the years we’ve also received excellent service from Rose and Stella. The rest of the staff is nice, place is clean, and still provides the small town /​establishment feel. Definitely not a larger /​corporate establishment; we never feel like just a number. The team is always accommodating, willing to fit you in when they are booked, and willing to move a bit faster when we are in a rush. Ask for Linda.

Giving this place 5 stars because of Linda. She has been cutting my family’s hair for over 20 plus years, and we absolutely love her. She always knows exactly what do do. All the ladies there are awesome… Holly and Keiko are absolute dolls as well.

I’ve been coming here for almost a year for mani/pedi’s by Julie who is a one-​woman show in the back of the salon. The mani/​pedis are old school, clean, and low tech. The testament to how delightful and skilled Julie is the fact that she’s been at this location almost 20 years, and many of her clients are faithful returning customers, some of whom have been with Julie 10, 15, or more years. I make my appointments with Julie several weeks in advance to get the desired times and if I want her to, Julie will text me appointment reminders. Julie doesn’t up-​sell and if I don’t feel like chatting, we are comfortably quiet. If we do chat, Julie is a pleasant conversationalist with a great memory. I would like to discontinue the gel mani’s but Julie does such a nice job, I’m having trouble giving them up.
Hair: While coming to see Julie, I’ve had the opportunity to observe many haircuts and styles and I know I’ll soon be making appointments for those services for my family. Like Julie, several of the stylists have been at this location for a long time and like Julie, it’s evident they have faithful clientele. I’ve read the negative reviews here and although I don’t doubt the authors’ experiences, I haven’t seen evidence of dissatisfied customers.

First time here and my haircut was fresh 2 def! :). Keiko was my stylist and she took time and precision for me to come back on the reg.

I stopped by for a quick bang trim and Wilson cut my hair. He did a good job for a very fair price.

I’ve been coming to CC for over 15 years. I found one Stylist I really like and always use her. Linda provides me a quality cut consistent and quick. I always make appointments. Otherwise the wait may be a problem. The price is right. There’s another stylist there I like but can’t remember her name:(In summary, pick the right stylist and make appt.

Run!!! No one speaks English or understands a basic haircut. I asked for a men’s haircut and then described in detail what that meant. What I got was the «Asian special». I am so embarrassed to be seen in public looking like this. Half way through the haircut my wife started to cry because she had to look at how ridiculous I looked. I begged her to fix it and it continued to get worse. It got to a point where I just told her to stop. Then she insisted on rinsing my hair, bad idea. I ran out with my back and pants soaking wet. I went home and shaved my head because I can’t be seen in public like this.

I am only giving this place a star because you have to. TERRIBLE! This is the place where the stylists go when nobody else will hire them! Do NOT go here!!! They don’t understand English and can’t even do a basic haircut. Save yourself the $ and find somewhere else. I could have given my husband this cut and I don’t even do hair. Terrible terrible place!

I’ve come here a few times for a trim with whomever is open at the time — all with good results. My favorite is Keiko! She is friendly and happy and makes the experience enjoyable. Now I make an appointment when she is working just to get my trim from her. I’ve even sent family members and friends to her. Thank you Keiko!

BOOO. Learn to speak english in a way that I can understand you. I did not enjoy being talked at by whatever old asian woman did my hair. No idea what she was asking, and of course I didn’t end up with the hair cut I wanted. They only speak ENGRISH over there.

On Saturday morning, I got there about 15 minutes after they opened and they were already packed. I had to wait 30 minutes for the next available stylist, which turned out to be Stella.
Overall, I thought she did a good job for the price ($ 18). I do think she was a bit rushed though, because she was trying to squeeze in another walk in and be ready for an appointment.

Pretty good cuts for $ 16.

Our family has been getting our hair cut by STELLA for over 12 years. We cannot say enough good things about her and California Cuts. We’ve always been impressed with her professionalism, technique, and kindness. She has done highlights for me and cuts for all of us. STELLA offers a great service for a reasonable price. She is always busy so call ahead for an appointment. If not, she’s worth the wait!

I love this PLACE! I go see STELLA on the regular. My mom goes and gets her haircut here too and last time i came in i wanted to cut my sons hair (who is just a few weeks shy of being two) stella was busy and another gal helped me and she did AN AMAZING JOB! gave him a lollipop and he sat still and she did a great job. It was quick and came out looking great!
The only downfall of this place is the receptionist. Shes is very short and almost downright rude. As long as you ignore that this place is great!

I used to go to this place as a kid. Being in the area for the summer, I decided to go back.
Never again.
I just got the second worst haircut of my life (the worst one taking place in a foreign country and being in part the result of a language barrier).
Just watching the awkward technique with which this «stylist» used the clippers made me want to get up out of the chair and evacuate the building. Her work with the scissors wasn’t any more impressive.
Patiently, I gave here the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the end that I noticed the damage. It looks like the style I walked in with got attacked by some crazy piece white trash with a lawnmower. It’s uneven in unappealing ways and way too f-​ing short to be fixed.
This place was definitely over-​priced and under-​talented. I expect a stylist who takes pride in their work and puts effort into their technique, not somebody just half-​heartedly doing a job.
The biggest insult is that after it’s all said and done, she’s the one who gets paid and I’m the one who walks away looking like an ass.
I will never give this place my business again.

I have been a regular customer of California Cuts for over fifteen years. I have lived throughout San Diego county, and still go out of my way to visit STELLA every couple of months for a trim. She is the easily the nicest woman you will ever meet, and she and the nice ladies there will give you a great cut for a great price.

UPDATE — 3 stars: I contacted the manager of all of the California Cuts salons in San Diego. She was very apologetic and refunded my money as well as had an excellent stylist at their Carmel Valley location fix my hair. STELLA also called to apologize. I have returned one star to them and I appreciate the business ethics of The California Cuts, I see my situation as an isolated incident.
Original Review — 2 stars
I think that for regular haircuts this place might be alright, but I had an awful experience.
I went in to have my hair colored red with STELLA and I wound up with almost entirely brown hair with a hint of red and bright red only at the top. My hair look ridiculous, I tried to book an appointment to have it fixed and they were very hesitant about it. I called back another time and they finally gave me an appointment for the following week at 9am. I showed up 5 minutes to nine and the stylist was 5 minutes late and then took another woman without an appointment before me saying it would only take 10 minutes when instead it took 25.
Finally I was taken and this time I brought a picture to make sure I got what I wanted. STELLA told me I would need highlights instead of color to get what I wanted. I was not expecting to pay to have the botched dye job fixed but highlights were a bit more expensive so I asked about the price and she said she would just charge me for materials. Okay, a bottle of dye? Couldn’t be more than $ 20. I could tell STELLA wanted to finish with me quickly, she gave me the foils and asked me to fold them over plastic and hand them to her. I have never been asked to do work for my own hair in a salon before. Then I went under the dryer and had my hair washed.
I saw myself in the mirror and I knew something was wrong immediately. Blond streaks? This was not what I asked for! She promised it would look better once it dried but instead of blow drying it she put me under the dryer where only the top of my hair dried. I tried to dry the rest by piling it atop my head. When it was 75% dry I dared to take another look, my dark brown hair was covered in blond and light orange streaks. I was so upset, I just wanted to get out of there. I went to pay. $ 45?! Just for materials?! I paid and then left cried the whole way home.
Needless to say I will never be back.

I am very hesitant about getting my hair cut anywhere in general, and especially in salons where the price of the cut is less than $ 20. HOWEVER, I could not get an appointment one day and could not afford a pricey salon cut and really needed to get my hair done.
BETTY at California gave me the best cut i have had in years! She worked with my, cut my hair the way I wanted it done and made my hair look great! I was so impressed with the quality and value of this place I will definitely be coming back!

California Cuts was first recommended to me by my friend, Michelle. She and her sister had been seeing HOLLY for years. And since then, I too have been getting my cuts from Holly.
Even when I moved to Los Angeles, I’d make an appointment with Holly whenever I am visiting San Diego. She’s wonderful! Great people you can trust (especially with hair) are hard to fine. She’s honest and will tell you what looks good and what doesn’t base on the shape of your face.
She does colors too — back in the day when I used to highlight my hair. That phase is gone and done.

A year or two ago, California Cuts has updated their salon from the early 90s to a more moderate and chic look. Every stylist has their own specialty and I highly recommend every one of them. They recommend great products to protect, soften, or sculpt your hair into your signature look. California Cuts is open to men, women, and children with a very friendly customer service.
My sister and I come here to get our hair done. My sister is always looking great when she sports her blonde highlights. My hair always looks edgy. The stylists try to make everyone look different, meaning that each client won’t look like every other client they have. So if you go out, you won’t find someone with a similar look.
In addition, you can get your eyebrows threaded or waxed.
I also recommend making an appointment, especially if it on the weekend. If you do call, please let them know how long your hair is so they have enough time to work with your hair.