Now that Cool Tops on Rockridge has moved over the hill to Orinda, I was looking for a kid-friendly hair salon. We decided to try this spot on College a try. I was pleased with the online appointment system. I liked how the stylist asked my daughter for input on her haircut. Sure, I was nervous about my daughter getting her beautiful long hair cut into a bob but it turned out cute. There were kids' DVDs playing on the TVs at each station but my daughter had fun watching the younger kids get their haircuts. read more

These guys do a great job! My son is a very unhappy client, in that he HATES haircuts. Nonetheless he always looks dapper when his dad brings him back from a haircut here. read more

I am laughing at all the bad reviews. This place is solid! I have been here three times, Shanna gave my 6 yr old a simple trim and did a lovely job and was very kind to my girl. Miriam gave my then 5 yr old a 4" trim and finished with a sweet side swept French braid. Miriam also, just this week, gave my two yr old her first haircut, she gave me exactly what I requested (jaw skimming bob with slight A-Line) and did a beautiful and technical job while being kind and quick. The woman minding the reception was quick to bring a light up toy wand when my girl melted down for a moment. The kids can watch their favorite videos, siblings can play with toys, draw etc., the price is right and I'll certainly keep coming back. read more

See all

Love!!!! I scheduled an appointment after reading from a fellow yelper that her child with autism got their hair cut by Miriam. I called the salon to confirm she did have the patience and was told to come a little earlier to get familiar with the place. Low and behold, we had mock haircuts at home and we arrive early so my son could get a feel for the salon. Off the bat I saw toys and a video game table (Pacman I think), Mickey Mouse TVs I believe playing favorite shows and movies. Up today DVDs that you can request for your child or they can and decorations for kids. They do adult cuts too FYI!! My son's turn came and he sat in Miriam's chair, and we picked different rewards for him to work towards. I loved Miriam..she was so patient with him, cut so fast and I mean fast and worked along with my son's ABA director. She is so amazing and honestly although she only worked with him for a short amount of time I was so grateful for her. Seriously the best!!! Everyone was sweet and I don't know what's with the negative reviews but they are all awesome!!! Thank you Miriam...well be back!!! read more

See all

My four year old hates haircuts and is pretty resistant to the whole thing, but Miriam was great. She was so fast he didn't even finish his show about monster trucks he was watching. Since we made an appointment, the wait was so short, my son asked to play with the toys afterwards! I gave four stars rather than five because I think the environment could be more warm and welcoming in terms of the interactions with the kids, but what they are doing works. read more

No change to my stars, but I wanted to note that, since my last review and many of the reviews here, Snips has changed hands. Miriam is still there, and she's now joined by a new decor and a few other stylists. We've happily still had solid service and good looking haircuts. Recommended. read more

It's really hard for me to write this review and I went back and forth about whether I should post this at all. I have to say that my 3 year old daughter got a wonderful haircut from Miriam here and she did a great job on her. So props where it's due. But when it came time for my 3 year old son, I showed a picture of what I wanted and Miriam suggested a shorter cut since the one I showed her (which was of my son a few months ago) tends to grow out fast. I agreed thinking she would do a similar cut and just take it in a bit more so it grew out more slowly. Instead she chopped off most of his hair. I was super uneasy but thought she had a method to the madness. But it really did seem like she took off a LOT from the get go. By the time she finished, she had given him this truly bizarre shaggy shapeless cut that made it seem like a toddler got a hold of safety scissors and went to town. I was shocked and gutted and could barely say anything I was so horrified. His beautiful hair is butchered beyond recognition. I'm so soooo sad about this. Now normally I wouldn't have posted this review because haircuts are such subjective things and it will grow back and I know it's not the end of the world. But we have some important family events coming up in the next week or so and I'm so upset that I allowed him to get such an awful cut that will show up in photos. So based on these other reviews, it seems like a crap shoot on what you'll get here. But please don't do what I did and do a haircut before any big life events in case you get an awful cut like we did and you need time to grow it out. read more

Snips For Kids - What the heck kind of hair cut was this even *trying* to be?? It's totally shapeless and shaggy and uneven and so awful. - Hair Salons Near Me - Oakland, California

Just had a cut here by Miriam for toddler's first haircut. I am disappointed. She was not very friendly, made no suggestions when I asked her for ideas, had to ask her to straighten kid's bangs 3x. Had to ask her to fix the back too. When we left I noticed the back of her cut was totally uneven. I went back for her to fix but she was booked for rest of day. I won't be back. read more

Thank you Miriam for the excellent haircut for my 2 year old grandson. Very kid friendly salon, and easy online booking via the Snips for Kids website. read more

We had our 2nd visit today for my 20-month old - and this review is based purely on the haircut. For our first visit - I would have given 4.5 stars for an excellent experience all around and a great cut. I was looking forward to coming back. Unfortunately today - I will only say our stylist was blonde and super friendly and I really liked her - but my poor little guy's haircut left him looking like a mix between a little Adam's family member and one of the haircuts from Revenge of the Nerds. Technically it's an ok haircut, stylistically - OH NO!! Bangs are way too short cutting back far off the temples and too much taken off the back, it's really not good for his shape of head. If you go here, be sure to request Miriam because she did the first haircut and it was great. read more

We took our son here for his first hair cut just after he had turned 1. The lady totally botched his beautiful baby hair. The bangs were way too short and cut straight across his forehead. If we wanted a bowl cut, we could have done it ourselves. Just watching her work, I wondered how she had a job at a salon. He was crying a bit but not moving too much so I expected her to be able to work through that, given her employment at a children's salon, but she was flustered and rushed us through. For the terrible job, she charged us $10 instead of $20. I wish we had gone somewhere else or left his hair long. read more

Just as previous reviews have echoed, Miriam is amazing! Our 21mo son HATES having his haircut. When he started fussing and trying to get down when we put him in a chair, she immediately put on a movie and we came armed with a lollipop, and she very quickly went to work. She managed to give him a fast and fantastic haircut without using clippers - she is amazing with those scissors - and our son calmly sat there without any distress. We will most definitely be back to see Miriam! read more

Despite mixed reviews we tried Snips for my son's first haircut. We made an appointment with Tony online, and he was awesome. He was quick, patient and friendly, and my active 2 year old walked away with a great haircut that was just what I wanted. Also without me asking he took a lock of my son's hair and had the lady at the front put it in a special little 1st haircut envelope. :-) She was also very friendly. I will definitely be going back. read more

Never wrote a Yelp! review before. But I feel compelled to do so in this case because this place is absolutely horrible. If you are parents looking for a place to get your baby's first haircut, whatever you do, don't go here. Took my son in to get his first haircut. The so-called stylist who "helped" us was extremely rude to my wife and I from the very beginning. We almost left immediately because she was so short with us. Unfortunately, we made a poor choice and decided to go through with it. She wasn't gentle cutting my son's hair and made cuts like she just wanted to get us out of there as fast as possible. And the final product looks bad. I could have done a better job at home. So, we paid $22 for a bad first haircut for my son and got an attitude from a disgruntled stylist to go along with it. I'm still pissed thinking about it. To the stylist who cut my son's hair: if you don't like to cut kid's hair, then don't get a job at a hair salon for kids. If you are in a bad mood or sick that day, either don't come to work that day or learn some tools for better managing your attitude. read more

I've been taking my kids to Mariam at Snips for nearly 6 years and I'm always happy with how she does their hair. Especially when I give her direction, she always listens and does an awesome job :) read more

I read some of the disappointed reviews and I can only assume they didn't have Miram. We too had one appointment with a different lady (the one on the side by herself) and it was awful! She was rude, couldn't cut my sons hair because he was squirmy, and the result was terrible. In fact I went back 2 days later and Miram fit us in to fix the cut. Please go here and request Miram, but you'll have to book at least a week out. To the lady that was 11 minutes late for a 20 minute appointment, it is completely unreasonable for you to think they should still honor your appointment. If she would have "quickly" cut your sons hair you would have complained how it looked rushed and she probably would have still run over time thus delaying her other appointments for the rest of the day. We all have kids and their 10 minute policy on a 20 minute appointment is more than generous. read more

I have taken my child exclusively to this place to have his hair cut for four years. That being said the last two times I have had an appointment with the establishment our appointment was moved. I have little extra time outside work. I have no more patience for appointment shifts and the wasted time. If my wife hadn't needed to get the boys hair cut right away I would of cancelled. So my time is precious to me is yours? read more

Umm...unlike SOME people, my review of Snips is actually based on the quality of the haircuts, as opposed to a 20 second conversation on the phone. Snips is an excellent place to get your kid's first haircut and many more thereafter. Miriam is a total pro--she works quickly, does a great job, and is great with the kids. My son loves to come to Snips--he looks forward to the toys and videos, and the balloon he gets after he's done. read more

My son is pretty sensitive to touch and sound, so I will admit that he's not an easy kid to cut. Having said that, Samantha just doesn't seem to like kids at all. She had zero skills at building rapport or working with my son's distress. And my son's hair ended up looking awful. I asked for a one or two inch trim from his blond hair skimming his eyes in a more or less bowl cut shape. she ended up just chopping off a bunch of hair, way more from the top and now his hair is frizzy and stands straight up on top. There's no way to grow this out before holiday portraits either. Will never come back here again. read more

Second time here for both my kids, totally depends on who you get. Went well for my 18 month old, although not as great of a cut as first visit 2 months ago. But my daughters haircut and bangs were botched- way too short and uneven and she listens and sits still. Her teachers asked me if I did them myself they were so bad. Don't think I will go back here. read more

Snips For Kids - Bang trim, not impressed. - Hair Salons Near Me - Oakland, California

I agree with the review from Francis M. I called a few days ago to make an apt. To have my daughter's bangs trimmed and the man who answered the phone was VERY rude and told me that they did make appointments just for that and if I come by we could be waiting for a long time. Fair enough, but there is no way I will go there based on the extreme rudeness of the person who answered the phone. read more

This place is awful! The owner is a total jerk. He has pictures of himself all over the place and has a really arrogant attitude. We had one of the women cut my son's hair and she activated this bat on the ceiling to distract him. The owner immediate came over and turned it off as if it was annoying him. I really don't understand why people have kids cuts shops and don't even like kids. read more

Very disappointed with our experience at Snips. Our son's stylist muttered less than 10 words creating a very unwelcoming environment for our 2 year old. There was no care, no encouragement and to top it off it was a terrible haircut that we had to try to correct at home. It's really unfortunate that a neighborhood place can't create a better experience. read more

I take my 4 year old son here since he was 1 year old. My son does not like getting hair cuts! Miriam is really great. She is very quick, knows what you want & makes it easy. There is toys, a little tv playing your child's fav cartoon & lollipops:) read more

We had the worst experience here EVER! My son is now traumatized because of the service we received here. The man that cut my son's hair never introduced himself and never spoke a word to my son... like Hi, I'm so-and-so, I'm gonna cut your hair... etc. He physically restrained my sons head until his fingers turned white. The whole time, my son was bucking, screaming and freaking out. Still, the man didn't say a single word. It was eerie and strange. Had he told me or my son what he was going to do next, it wouldn't have been so frightening. He didn't tell us he was gonna pull out the clippers, and my son HATES the clippers. It was a nightmare. I will never go back and I make sure to tell all my mom friends that this is not a good place to take their small children to. read more

This place is perfect for very young kids. My daughter is 2 1/2 and got her first hair cut. Toys tv's and prompt service. The employees aren't too talkative though read more

Just took both my son and daughter to Alice and she gave them the best cuts!! She was sweet patient and did a great job!! After they both had terrible first haircuts somewhere else, I'm relieved they look so cute!! Thank you thank you! read more

My son loved it! He got to play Pac Man for the first time ever before and after his cut and watch a movie during. They have toys and an easel. He has sensory issues and hates haircuts normally, but he had zero issues at Snips. read more

Sadly, we had a similar experience as another reviewer, but it freaked my daughter out and she never even made it to the chair. The man at the front desk never sad hello to her or even made eye contact and pointed to the chair for her to get into. She was really freaked out and started crying and he just walked away... into the back room. I had no idea if he was coming back or not. He came out a few minutes later and still never said anything to her or me and we just left. It was bizarre... read more

My son has been having his hair cut by Miriam since he was less than a year old. He is 3 and a half now. He sat still for her which was a small miracle. She is always nice and gentle and does a good job. I understand what the other reviewers say regarding the owner being quiet and peculiar but I have not dealt with him beyond making an appointment. I highly recommend Miriam. read more

Our one-year old had his first haircut here, and Lee was very gentle and attentive to his needs. Recommended

One star for the toys and TV - which my 3 year old loved. Zero stars for the horrific, uneven mess of a haircut he came home with. I was shocked to learn the gal that cut his hair had 13 years experience. We would have been better off giving him a pair of scissors and telling him to cut his own hair. We're taking him to another place today to try to clean up the worst haircut I've ever seen. read more

Awful service and appointment scheduling. Wish cool tops never closed so that I had a better local kids alternative.

I recently took my 3 year old daughter to Snips for her first real haircut. She loved looking at all the things on the walls and watching cartoons while having her hair done. The stylist was very sweet, friendly, and did a great job. I agree that the owner appears to be shy and more introverted. It would have been nice to have him greet us with a bit more enthusiasm when we came in, but he was very considerate and offered a balloon and lollipop when we were leaving, which was a great touch! We will go back in the future. read more

Well, what can you say about a kids' hair salon that cancels your appointment because you're 5 minutes late? Obviously the people who work there don't have kids of their own and are mostly interested in the parents' money. Plus, they're unfriendly. read more

Easy appointment booking online. The BEST cut my 3-year old has ever had. Fast, friendly and great with kids of all ages.

CANCELED last minute with no attempt at making it up to the customer. We have a very important occasion this weekend and their inability to work around their scheduling issues was very, very disappointing. This place is terrible. AVOID at all costs. read more

Lindsay cuts my children's hair. My daughter, who is 3.5, always gets compliments on her super hip haircut (layered, long in the front, short in the back, bangs). Lindsay also gives my son (16 mo) an adorable cut, being sure to avoid the "tiny businessman" look. I couldn't be happier. (I do make an appointment every time.) read more

I took my son to get his haircut for the first time yesterday and to be honest I was expecting not so great service based on the reviews I read on Yelp. But the staff was very friendly from the owner who was there for a bit, to the front desk receptionist. We had Shanna as our hairdresser and she was friendly. My son was not very happy about getting his haircut and cried quite a bit. Everyone pitched in to try and distract him and make him happy. In the end the cut looked as good as it could for a squirmy, crying toddler! I wish they had a changing table in the bathroom though. read more

I went here for my sons haircut, and loved it! I asked Lee to leave it long, yet clean it up and to absolutley not cut his curls. He cut it perfectly. He even texurized his bangs. read more