I scheduled an appointment with Rudolfo who, despite being very accommodating, made me regret coming to Point of View Salon. I have natural African-American hair and whenever I go to salons, I really try to emphasize that when I get my hair straightened — blow-dried, pressed, or any other form of heat — that I do not want to experience heat damage. Unfortunately, despite my request, Rudolfo damaged my hair entirely. I had to cut entire sections from my hair which no longer revert back to curly even after several washes and treatments. He was also very rough with my hair, and after trying nicely to ask him to be a bit more gentle, he got an attitude. From the wash(which should be totally relaxing), to the combing, blow-dry, and press I literally wanted to cry because he pulls, yanks, and throws your head and hair around. If you are not concerned about heat damage or the longevity of your natural hair — Rudolfo may be your bet because he knows how to straighten some hair as well as cut.
Rusty L.
Place rating: 5 Alameda, CA
All I can say is GAREYPORTER is a WiNNer! I’ve had the pleasure to receive excellent service & everytime I leave my styles are fabulous & current… Garey only uses the best of the best tools, products he’s well trained continues education needed too stay ahead of the curve! I would not allow anyone near a cut Garey Porter has styled. Luv ya, scissor hands ;-)
Jill V.
Place rating: 5 Oakland, CA
Time Flies! I’ve been getting my hair cut and colored by Katie at Point of View Salon since I moved to the Bay Area in 1993. My hair is straight and fine and Katie has come up with a cut that works for me and tweeks it from time to time for variety. The highlights are great and I often get compliments on the color. The salon was recently spruced up and is a peaceful, bright place to relax while getting your hair or nails done.
Vanessa G.
Place rating: 5 Livermore, CA
Ive been going to katie for 10 years. I first came to her when she fixed my hair for my 21st birthday party. Some other hairstylist ruined my blonde hair by turning it fuschia. Katie not only fixed it without damaging it, but my hair turned out beautiful. Being a picky person when it comes to beauty services, its a really comforting feeling that I can go into the salon and know I will walk out happy every time. I am constantly complimented on how beautiful and natural my highlights look. Shes done full highlights and color for me. everything is top notch. I highly recommend katie.
J. M.
Place rating: 5 Oakland, CA
I have been going to Jaeme for 10+ years and used to schedule appointments with her during the two weeks I would be in town out of the year(she is that good)! She is fabulous with multiracial hair(I am Asian and Black) and did not know what to do with it until I met Jaeme. She offers great hair tips and tricks, new hairstyle possibilities, and fits hairstyle to lifestyle(low maintenance, cute styles). She has been doing hair since she was a kid. To top it off she is a caring, interesting, artsy individual with great stories so no magazine needed during your visit.
Karen K.
Place rating: 5 Bay Area
I have been seeing Gary Porter for my hair care for some years now. I have had nothing but great hair styles one after another(I change my hair styles regularly!) Case and point, a friend of mine looking through my FB pics said I look like a different woman every time he clicked on a picture! Thats because Gary can nail any hair style to the T!(I love it!) My older daughters get their hair done by him as well, and he takes EXCELLENT care of their hair, keeping their 12 and 13 yr olds’ hair healthy and age appropriate. He offered me very helpful techniques on how to better comb and manage my 6 yr olds hair, who’s hair I still do myself. My mother, who likes to wear hair pieces, even went to him for a great layed cut(think farrah fawcet). I’ve recommended a few of my friends and their daughters to Gary and they have been nothing but happy! Absofuckinglutely check him out! ;-)
Kim J.
Place rating: 5 Hercules, CA
I can sum up the best new thing about this salon in two words — Gary Porter! Gary Porter was half of the fabulous hair duo from Nuts, Bolts and Screws Salon during the mid to late 90s! Gary is wonderful and has styled the likes of Oprah and local radio personality, Renel from Kiss FM just to name a few. After a 5 year absence from Point of View, Gary recently returned with his magic hands in tow. Not only is he a styling genius, he is all about hair care. If you want the perfect cut, color or style, look no further than Gary! You’ll want to come back and bring all your friends!
Aliya Y.
Place rating: 1 Little Rock, AR
I went here when i first moved to oakland because i always past it on my way to the freeway(it’s right of the entrance to 580W), and needed a trim and wanted to change my look. When i walked in, it was a pretty big salon, but it was completely empty(i suppose it should have been my first clue, but it was the middle of the day…). I asked if they took walk-ins and the two stylists there said yes. I can’t even remember the guy’s name who did my hair, but he had this odd elvis hair do, pointy teeth(no joke) and was gay. I tell the stylist what I want, a trim and some side swept bangs, nothing to complicated, right? wrong. I have soft curls so I know my hair requires a bit of skill but for $ 75 I was expecting he would! He cut my hair waaay too short and the bangs were too short also so they looked almost like fringe, instead of that jessica alba look I was going for. After he was done, he knew he’d screwed up big time, and was like«if you go home and think you dont like it or want it fixed, come back and I’ll do it» He was nice enough, although he had some form of verbal diarhea, and claimed to have all these clients that had been coming to him for years(ummm, yeah…). I didn’t take him up on his offer to fix my hair, for fear of leaving in an even worse state. Maybe he was just having an off day, but I won’t be coming back to find out.
Anastasia B.
Place rating: 1 San Francisco, CA
In all fairness, I admit that I’ve never actually been here to beautify any of my body parts. However, I did walk in here once just to ask how much they charge for a haircut. I knew this salon was not deserving of my business when… 1) Every stylist(all two of them at the time) had REALLY bad outdated hairstyles. 2) Neither of the stylists looked very eager or even showed the slightest bit of interest in actually cutting my hair. 3) Both stylists looked me over from head to toe, and actually gave me weird looks. 4) The one stylist was trying to pawn me off on the other stylist. 5) Another stylist(a third one who works there) has a REALLY bad grecian formula dye job(which either he does himself or someone else at the salon does). 6) ALL of their customers are between the ages of 50 – 150. WTF! I ain’t no quasimodo! I have nice, clean, lice-free hair, and I’m not too hard on the eyes if I do say so myself!