Curl Up & Dye

I have been visiting Kathy at Curl Up and Dye since 1980-​something. She does an awesome job making me look presentable, no easy chore. For various reasons, I have cheated and gotten my hair cut at other spots over the years, and have never been as happy with the results as when Kathy cuts my hair.
I tend to let things like haircuts slide a long time. Kathy is able to do a hair cut that I am comfortable with for several months. I see Kathy about every 4 months or so. Every time I see her, I feel like we pick up the conversation where we left off. It is like getting your hair cut by a good friend.

Decided to finally get a haircut. I wanted to have it cut by someone with more than a few years’ experience in haircutting and who did not charge an arm and a half. Not wanting to drive or ride bike all over town to get there, I decided it was time to check out the shop just right up the street.
Curl Up and Dye has been in this neighborhood longer than I’ve been living in my house (15+ years). I called the shop Wednesday and learned Kathy had an appointment open at 3:30pm on Friday. I took it. The shop is small and homey feeling. Kathy greeted me as I walked in and brought me right back to her chair to have a consult about my mop of hair. Had a quick shampoo and condition and then back to the chair for the cut. She got busy cutting and chatted pleasantly with me the whole half hour I was there. Yes, it seems to me that those with many years’ experience do great work within a short period of time. I like that. I am happy with the cut. As I need to, I can return for a snip-​snip on the bangs when they start getting too long. I plan on returning for my next cut; meanwhile, I’ll monitor things to see how the cut grows out.
Update: So far in 2013, I’ve returned for two more haircuts. The cut I got in Feb. I was not so thrilled with. I went along with the suggestion to keep the general length of my hair because it was still winter (cold). After the haircut, I was snipping away at it myself almost daily for the first two months of growing out as it was sort of driving me crazy.
But just last week, I returned to Kathy. It was purely by coincidence that I saw her on the street and she had time right then and there to cut my hair. After greeting her, I asked whether she does a «dry cut» because I had read about such a thing, and had been considering the method given the wavy texture of my hair. She said she does them sometimes and would try it on me. I felt the short haircut was a success. I am very happy with it. She said I can return for some tweaking of the cut if necessary, given it’s the first dry cut I’ve received.

I first started having my hair cut here when I met Kathy at a parent gathering at our son’s school like 10 years ago now.
So, yes I know her and her family, but i know lots of people who have businesses. I patronize Kathy because she is superb at what she does and has reasonable prices.
Everything about the shop tells you the experience you will have is individualized. The shop theme is retro something and gives you a warm, pleasant feeling.
Yes, Kathy and I catch up on news when I get my hair cut, but that’s because our kids are buds and our hubs go SCUBA diving.
As another reviewer indicated you get as much or as little conversation as you desire. No matter that, the scalp massage will give you tingles and you will be anxious to come back for that too.
A little gem in St. Paul.

Best haircut of my entire life. No lie.
I hate getting my hair cut. I mean, I have no interest in talking to the person doing the cutting and I would bet five bucks that they could give a crap about me. I feel like I always need to explain that yes, my roots are showing but I really am a great person. Yes, I use whatever shampoo is on sale at Target and I know I’m a little flakey but I take great care of myself elsewhere. Oh, and I know I have a bald spot but that’s the doctor’s fault because he extracted me from between my mother’s legs with the same tool you use to flip porkchops on a grill. Whatever.
Anyway, the girl who did the cutting was pretty much my best friend by the end of the cut. I wanted to hug her and thank her for telling me about her DUI and her crazy mom and about the pot she accidentally grew in her garden one year (ok, that part I’m making up, but this is how awesome she was.) She was my best friend for those 30 minutes and I knew she felt the same way. I’m not going to mention how much I tipped her because I want you to really believe she liked me, too. When I got home I promptly took pictures of my beautiful hair and uploaded them to the internet. IT WAS THAT GOOD.
The little dog that hangs out there is just a little bonus.