AXLE Hair Labor

Always wonderful service and good looking hair. I get the best hair cuts from super talented and very nice and accommodating Diana. Very modern, sharp styling. I love this place.

Okay! First off Diana does amazing hair! And really knows her stuff! I’m one of those people that ask a million questions especially when in trying something new. I did a violet to lavender ombré and omg does it look sexy! 5 stars and I’ll be back!!!

I lived as a full grown adult for a good 10 years in San Diego before I found the perfect place (a salon without a front desk). Are they still called «salons,» or do only grandmas go to salons? Anyways, I used to change salons once a year (after each annual haircut), because the girls at the front desk made me vomit in my mouth. I know they’re just doing their job, but trying to get me to spend another $ 150 on products on top of a sh*tty $ 100 haircut just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s like these girls graduate from their sororities, trade in their hot pink tube dresses for all black skinny jeans and tops, and go straight to work for hair salons. I know that’s kind of mean, and I know not all sororities exclusively produce girls at front desks, but you know what I’m talking about. I’m sorry not sorry for being kind of mean.
Getting back to why I love going to Axle. There is no front desk! When I first made an appointment with Richard, I said to my husband, I give zero f*cks about how he cuts my hair. As long as I don’t have to deal with those snooty front desk girls, I’m in. And then something magical happened. Not only was there no snootiness, but Richard was the best ever (at cutting hair, that is)! I have a wild, curly mane, and he knows how to clean it up without taking the wild out of me.
One time, I got married and made Richard do my wedding hair (he loves doing wedding hair), and I was like all, do whatever you want. And then he made my hair look glorious, like the hair of a virgin unicorn.
And then all the other times, when I give him no direction whatsoever, he works wonders with my thick, Italian locks, and never judges me when I tell him the way I wash my hair is once a week in the ocean, because that’s how mermaids take care of their hair, and it seems to be working out pretty well for them.
Richard is the real deal — an artistic hair genius. I never ever liked a haircut before I went to him, but he’s so spectacular that I’ve doubled the number of times each year I cut my hair (from 1 to 2). Plus he always tells really good stories.

Diana did a fantastic job on my color (and cut). I have seen her twice now and trust her completely. She is very prompt with responding to my calls/​messages when scheduling or have questions. I highly suggest AXLE, specifically Diana

Travis came through for me when I had a hair emergency — picture this: I have bright purple hair and my work calls me on a Saturday night and says I need to be a natural color by MONDAY. My regular stylist was of course out of town and most salons are closed Sunday through Monday, so this was most definitely a scramble. I luckily found Axle through Unilocal and Travis answered my call and took on the challenge of getting my purple/​blue/​grey tones to one shade of blonde. Two hours and lots of laughter and chatter later, Travis worked his magic and I walked out looking like the mother of dragons!

Let me first start by saying if I could give more than 5 stars I would .
Travis transformed my hair entirely! My appointment with him was wonderful. He took his time, was incredibly patient and a delight to be around.
He perfected a color correction and even installed my hair extensions.
Thank you so much Travis. I will definitely be returning to you for all of my hair needs!

Richard is awesome! He is very thorough with his clients and takes the time to personalize your hair cut. I’m definitely coming back.

Cristina is amazing!!! She gave me such a great cut, and has a personality that will keep you coming back for more. I felt great when I left, and my hair was on point. She really listens, makes you feel comfortable. You just can’t go wrong with Cristina! Amazing!!! Thank you!

Love, love, LOVE Diana.
I usually don’t know what type of hairstyle I want, so I just let her do her thing. I trust that whatever she does with my hair, cut or color, will be amazing. And it is. She has never disappointed me.
Not to mention, she’s amazing with color. She always gives me super cute hairstyles. She’s really friendly, attentive and easy to talk to. I love her!

I am very glad I found AXLE which is a high quality salon and is in my neighborhood. Diana is friendly, professional and detailed in her work. I am happy with the style and colors that she creates. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a versatile stylist.

I have been going to Cristina for over two years now. I found her shortly after I moved from Portland and was in need of a new stylist. She is magical inside and out as well as an excellent and highly skilled hairdresser. I had been dying my hair for years with black boxed dye. With her creative inspiration we decided to take me to a copper red. I couldn’t have been happier! My grandmother is a natural redhead and I definitely inherited her freckles but not her gorgeous hair color. If there was such a thing as a fairy godmother/​sister, it would be Cristina! She always makes me feel like a queen and I love the vibe of AXLE. I recommend her with flying colors!!!

Oops, it’s probably been more than a year since I last got my hair styled by Richard, but I originally found his studio on Unilocal and wanted to contribute to the deserved good reviews here! First of all it’s a tiny, cute studio right in the middle of University Heights. There is probably open parking in front, or one reserved off-​street spot right next to the door. Richard did an awesome job giving shape and style to long, curly/​wavy hair. I would definitely recommend him for your next haircut. Thanks Unilocal for helping me find out about this place!

I am in love with this place!!! I saw Cristina Baca and she was absolutely wonderful! Such and amazing and sweet girl! My visit felt like I was just hanging out with a friend and not getting 6 inches cut off which can be pretty scary haha The end result was awesome I love love love my hair! Thank you so much Cristina! :)

Got a really excellent cut from Richard a few days ago. I will definitely be coming back to this cute and secluded studio!

LOVE coming here to get my hair cut with Richard. He’s a great stylist that makes styling the hair after the cut a cinch. I’ll always tell Richard once I sit down, that I want something easy to manage in the mornings and that doesn’t take much time to style. Been going to Richard for the last 6 yrs and have never been disappointed with every cut.

This is a review for Cristina.
A few weeks ago, I went to another salon. The person who did my hair was really nice, but I was hoping for a good experience with my hair. Cristina is my usual go-​to, but I opted for a sale price at another place and it was a disaster! I wanted blue hair, it ended up green and yellow, with frizzy, thick hair in places where it stuck out on my head. Not only that, but the bleach was applied in a way that my head was scabbed over with sores.
I went to Cristina because I trust her work. In the past, she has fixed disasters like when I chopped my hair on one side of my head in my sleep, or when I colored my hair so much that my hair was limp and coarse. I know I can go to her and come out looking amazing, no matter what challenges I’ve had with my hair!
This time was no different. I spent a great afternoon being pampered. Cristina’s personality keeps you engaged and enjoying every minute. I left with a stunning ombré color, a smooth, stylish cut, and my hair feels healthy. I’ve already gotten several compliments from other stylists who have told me how hard it is to above such a great result even with Un-​dyed, regular hair, let alone green hair!
A few things I love about Cristina’s work:
She can engage in conversation even with shy or introverted customers. She is always smiling, singing, joking and happy!
Her haircuts are about the experience as much as the results. She layers, trims, and styles by hand, with precision and deft ease. She is concerned about the temperature of the water when rinsing hair, and she often delivers a scalp massage that is as good as any of my Co-​students (I am a massage therapist). She offers water, or to grab food if the appointment runs through a meal time, and she keeps some great magazines to browse through while waiting for treatments.
Best of all, she can work with a variety of styles, lengths, color and hair challenges. Her work has been noticed by people in the fashion industry, and she continues to improve constantly with classes, keeping up with the latest trends. Eventually she is going to be taking her incredible talent to New York, where she will be famous and I’ll be able to say I was a former client! Until then, she is hands-​down the best stylist in San Diego.

This review is for Cristina!
She is awesome. so amazing that I follow her to wherever she may go :)
She is very creative if you are looking for something new. she has great direction and understanding of what is trending even before it is. At the same time, she will listen to what you need and what you are comfortable with. She is super easy to talk to and extremely friendly and funny. She is flexible with her schedule if available on her end.
She is the best hair dresser that I have ever had. and I have my most favorite hair cut I have ever had because of her!

This review is for Cristina!
I went to AXLE for the first time today to get my VERY fried, bleached blond hair cut and it was the best haircut I’ve gotten in over 2 years. My mom owns 2 salons in New York, so I’m normally very particular and pretty cheap when it comes to getting my hair cut by someone else (not usually the best combo) because I’m used to professional cuts for free. I’ve tried several barber shops in San Diego (the most expensive being $ 24) and my experiences have ranged from «meh» to «good.» Since my hair was brittle and in DIRE need of a «great» cut for my upcoming vacation, I decided to finally go to a salon and fork over the dough ($ 35 — which is not THAT much, and it was so worth it).
To elaborate on my hair, I bleached it myself 2 months ago (VERY dark brown to super light bleached blond) and it definitely fried the ends pretty badly. When my hair was wet, I could barely get a comb through it, and my hair is relatively straight and was only 4 inches long in the longest spot. And this was AFTER 2 deep conditions. When it was dry, it looked frail and I had a ton of obvious split ends. I was also considering getting my roots touched up in the front because I cut my bangs shorter than the rest of my hair, causing my hair to look much browner in the front and the roots to look more prevalent. Not a good move.
As for the cut itself… after shaving the sides of my head, Cristina had me lay on a super comfortable shampooing table where she not only washed my hair, but massaged my scalp. It was nothing short of glorious. She even put something in my hair that made it feel softer and more luscious in an instant. Then she cut my hair and blended the shorter front with the longer back so well that my roots looked GREAT and super ‘90s (which is the look I was going for in the first place), so I didn’t even need the touch up. For no extra charge, she trimmed by beard too.
I can’t say enough good things about Cristina. She made great conversation, was super friendly and very professional. AXLE itself is also very intimate and uniquely decorated. They also had refreshments! Needless to say, I’ll be back!

Richard fit me in as a walk-​in despite being booked nearly solid for the day. The shop has an unique feel and he was a great conversationalist. Most importantly he gave a great haircut, took his time and have me feedback about styling it. Thanks again!

Zach was awesome! I just moved here from Seattle and have been looking for a new person to cut my hair. He was great, very professional and friendly and my hair looked awesome! Thank you!