Chokmah Inc. Hair Lab

A 5-​star review doesn’t serve proper justice for the type of service (s) you get at Chokmah Hair Lab. Judith and Gaia are a perfect Stylist and Barber team. I became a customer by recommendation, and NEVER have I been so happy with a «hair place» as I am here. Judith colors and cuts the hell out of my hair! The first stylist EVER that I completely trust to do whatever she wants. Great people, great music and atmosphere to match. High-​quality salon, higher quality people!

I started seeing Judith at Chomkah a few months back for hair cuts as well as regular blowouts and I love the service she provides and the salon. Chomkah is one of the nicest, calming experiences I have ever had in a salon, there is such a wonderful vibe in there and I am so happy everytime I am there. Judith is extremely punctual, so kind and sweet, and always gets me in and out quickly (which I love). I have very curly hair and have been getting my hair blown out for years and she blows out my hair better than anyone. I am so happy that the salon is there, I would strongly recommend it.

Judith is the best blonde in NYC. I have been a client of hers since 2001, she has an incredible eye and actually listens to what her clients want and is able to execute it. She has consistently been honest and upfront with me, when I’ve had different ideas, explaining that what I see on that person is not their real hair, or the maintenance will be more than I am interested in, or teaching me HOW to achieve the look I want on my own — after I leave the salon. At times she has even performed magic — like for my wedding, she gave me gorgeous extensions, and styled my hair into a dream come true. I’ve also worked with her on shoots, where she was able to switch looks 4 – 5 times on one girl for a fashion shoot. She is like a NINJA when it comes to hair.
At the same time, she is always down for something new and creative. She loves what she does, and hair color, cutting, styling is truly an art for her. I live on the Upper East Side, and go to her salon in Bed-​Stuy, every 6 weeks for a cut, and double process. Her salon is clean, airy, full of warm vibes and good energy. It is a great experience every time and most importantly — the service, color, cut, and style are consistently high quality.

Gia does an amazing job! Very professional, no long waits, great conversation, and I get an awesome cut! Everyone asks me where I get my haircut and I always recommend Chokmah I also did hair color with Judith and she did an amazing job as well!
The shop is cozy, clean, nicely decorated, black-​owned, and women owned. Even though I live in Harlem, I don’t mind going to Brooklyn! The quality of the services these amazing ladies provide speaks for itself.

Judith and Gaia have created a calm and welcoming energy at this salon. I enjoyed my experience from start to finish. Judith is color master and I trusted her completely with changing my curly hair from highlights to red tones. It looks great! Thank you for the color and Fab blowout Judith:))) I will be coming back!

Just left the salon & Judith was so nice and did an excellent job.
Came in with an idea of how I wanted my hair to look and she executed the look right down to the custom color I wanted which was a deep dark brown color with red undertones. And she cut it to exactly the length I wanted!
It was a very warm, comfortable, cool environment that I will definitely be coming back to. Price was on point– you have to pay well for good services, and hair is something that you cannot compromise on!
Found my go-​to hair salon!

Fanastic, wonderful women who cater to a huge range of styles and hair types. I rarely commit to a stylist but was so happy with Judith’s cut of my hair and have only gone to her since moving to Brooklyn. She and Gaia create a warm, welcoming environment and they always remember the most minute of details about you. Love it here.

GUYS. Judith is a Wonder Woman. She’s truly just an incredible person all around. She makes you feel beautiful inside and out.
Whenever I walk into Chokmah she gives me a hug and we chat for a bit. It’s a real sense of community.
And, did I mention how amazing she is? Her talent is amazing. She cuts and colors to perfection. I have never walked out of Chokmah unsatisfied.
Sure, it’s a little pricey, but this is New York. And Judith and Gaia are downright wonderful humans who just happen to double as amazing artists of hair.

Nestled in the heart of Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, Chokmah Hair Lab is perfection. Judith has amazing style and always has great ideas and suggestions as well as can carry out your vision even better than you imagined. Great vibe, always great company, and reasonably priced. I have been getting blond highlights and haircuts here for the past year and could not be happier. I have recommended Judith to all my friends and even have friends that travel as far as from Tennessee just to have her cut and color their hair. And her partner Gaia is an amazing barber who is nothing short of an artist. Not only do you get great service but you are also paying for great energy and supporting a great neighborhood business.

I never respond to other Unilocalers, but I’m really shocked by DE’s review; mostly, because my experience at Chokmah, with both stylists, Gaia (barber) and Judith (stylist), has been the complete opposite of yours. I have a standing appointment with Gaia on Sunday mornings and she is always on-​time and ready to cut my hair with skill and precision. I’m usually in the salon no more than an hour, unless I choose to stay and vibe with any one of the amazing folks waiting to to be serviced or stopping in to say hello. I mean, the reason her business is appointment only is because she is in high demand, recognizes it, and she respects your time. This is not a neighborhood barber shop that is first-​come-​first-​served. This is an upscale salon, in the heart of Bed-​Stuy, that caters to an eclectic clientele that has high expectations for both service and aesthetics.
The salon is beautiful and immaculate and all her tools are sterilized. She wouldn’t be cutting my hair if it were any other way, as I am a self-​proclaimed germaphobe. Not to offend, but if you had bumps you might want to consider your personal brush or other hair products as the culprit, because Chokmah is clean.
I can’t say enough how happy I am to have both Gaia and Judith style my hair. Their positive energy is infectious and it permeates throughout the salon.

This is the best barber shop in town. They operate by appointment only which takes the guessing out of the waiting game most shops put you through.

Judith did an awesome job cutting my hair! I chopped off about 10 inches of my blonde hair and I showed her a couple images of celebrity hair that I liked. She gave me feedback based on my hair type and then took a little bit of creative agency, giving me a bit of an A-​line. She was also super nice and sweet and pretty funny. The whole vibe of the salon was very inviting and everyone was chatting and commenting on each other’s hair. Great experience overall!

Judith and Gaia have created a hair haven on Throop Avenue, full of chill vibes and positive energy. Judith has been cutting my hair for over seven years now, since I first discovered her in my Upper East Side hood. Now, I’ll take the trip down to Bed-​Stuy just for the Chokmah experience.
As far as artistry and expertise, Judith is as good as it gets. I never have a specific cut in mind when I see her – I just let her work her magic. It’s as if she knows exactly what I want without me saying a word. I’ve never had a haircut I didn’t love or receive compliments on from friends and family.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of a cut from Judith or Gaia yet, you’re missing out!

I’m a regular here because I live upstairs but that’s not the only reason I go there. When I walk in, I tell Judith to do whatever she wants because I trust her and her sense of style. I get numerous compliments from my friends and all over the world via Instagram and the rest of social media about my hair and the coloring. That says a lot right there. I wouldn’t trust anyone else except for Judith and Gaia. I got a real cool haircut from Judith that’s easy to style and one that fits my lifestyle. I highly recommend.

I’m a hairstylist that hasn’t had a decent trim in 6 years because I can’t trust anyone (yes, even the licensed stylists I know and work with) to give me a proper shape and cut. It’s not so easy cutting your own hair, especially when it comes to the back. Scheduled an appointment with Gaia, who did an amazing job on my tresses for an extremely reasonable rate. Now I have someone I can trust and I will most definitely become a regular. You just heard it from a kinky curly natural girl who’s just growing out of her awkward fro phase.

I’ve gotten my hair cut twice here and once was great and the other was only good. That’s still batting above average! The price was reasonable and the shop is clean and stylish. Glad to have them in the ‘hood.

I wish I could brag about the great cut I received at Chokmah today but it would be a flat out lie. I’ve been growing out a pixie for a while and was starting to sport a mullet. I found a photo of what I wanted and asked if they had time for a walk-​in, I’d had enough of fighting my shapeless hair. I showed the photo twice, explained the growing pains and asked for the back to be brought up. Not a full on «Posh» bob, but some wedge with layering so it was easier to manage. The cut was done in minutes which I found to be odd, but assumed she was just fast. She asked if I wanted some body in it when she blew it out. Well heck ya! What gal doesn’t lol. She whipped out a large round brush and went to town. Upon completion, mirrors were checked and the back appeared to be the bouncy shape I wanted. The key there is «appeared». A fine art of blow drying can make any s****y cut look good. I got home a couple of hours ago after all the bounce had faded and checked the back. It was cut in a straight line… that’s it!!! No layers, no angle. A freakin’ $ 60 straight line!?! Hell I could have just had one of my drunk rommates cut that! There was no blending in with the sides, nothing. I’m leaving this scathing review after locking myself in the bathroom on a Saturday night for half an hour with 2 strategically placed mirrors so that I could layer my hair the way I paid Chokmah to do.
I know what you’re thinking… Why didn’t I just go back and ask them to correct it? Look, it was a VERY basic cut. If they couldn’t get THAT right, I sure as hell wasn’t going back to get it corrected. Lord knows how much they would have hacked off then! Oh and BTW-​why was I charged that much when the guy next to me got a full haircut with a fade for half the price??? I won’t ever be back nor will I recommend Chokmah to anyone I know.

Judith has been cutting my hair for 7 months. Best scissor cut — I have fine blonde hair that never had volume and now it does!

I desperately needed my ends trimmed, but being natural, it’s hard to find salons that don’t want to chop all your hair off or charge an arm and a leg (I have a lot of hair). I know two of my friends in the neighborhood recently big chopped at Chokmah and their hair came out looking awesome! So I figured the stylists there must know their stuff. I booked an appointment with Judith and sure enough, my trim came out looking awesome. My curls pop now and I have a great shape.
Clean atmosphere, great service, and friendly workers makes this salon a 5-​star for me!!!

I love everything about this place! I’ve waited awhile for a hair place in BedStuy that is modern and stylish, and specializes in all different kinds of hair. So when I saw that a new place was around (via instagram) I knew I had to try it.
Judith does the color and styling and Gaia is the barber. They get pretty booked up, so I had to wait til the following week when I was making my appointment. I went in for a trim and to have Judith put some balyage highlights in my hair. She was super friendly and easy to talk to, and so beautiful! I basically just showed her a photo and told her I trusted her to do whatever she thought would be best for color in my hair. And it looks soooooo good. It took a couple of hours, but I love the outcome– she is magical! She cut, colored, and styled my hair for $ 160. I loved the calm atmosphere and the relaxed pace with which everything moves in the shop. You get the sense that they love what they do, and just love to be around people– old friends and new. The space is beautiful, their music taste is excellent… I can’t say enough good things about the place or the people. I also love that I can stay in BedStuy for my hair needs now.
Highly recommended! Thank you, thank you Judith. :)