How a Hair Studio Set up Shop in Eagle Rock

When Seed Young decided to open a hair salon along with his hairdresser friend of 15 years, Amber Delgado, he asked her a crucial question: Which neighborhood on the Eastside would she recommend as a location?

"Eagle Rock," replied Delgado without the slightest hesitation.

Delgado, who had been working in a hair salon in Pasadena for 13 years, chose Eagle Rock not so much because she lives in the neighborhood but because she couldn’t think of a better place for a hair salon.

And so, for the past eight months, Delgado has been walking several blocks from her Oak Tree Drive residence to Cutlab Hair Studio, the salon she opened along with Young on 2112 Colorado Blvd. While Young mostly cuts men's hair, Delgado specializes in women's hair, as does Jen Partida, another longtime friend of theirs who works at the salon along with two other hairdressers.

“This area is really nice—the community has really welcomed us,” says Young, adding: “Everyone’s friendly and it feels safe.

Cutlab is an Aveda exclusive salon, which means it uses 99-percent naturally derived products—manufactured entirely by wind power, explains Young, adding that it’s the only salon of its kind in Eagle Rock.

Young’s brother came up with the store’s catchy name—after Young rejected various suggestions by others. The discarded names included Good Head and Grateful Head, says Young, explaining there’s already a Good Head in Silver Lake and a Grateful Head in Maine. Besides, he adds, Grateful Head was “a little bit too risqué for me.”

Previously a martial arts space, the interiors of the store that houses Cutlab were all but demolished to make way for an elegant salon. From the floor to the ceiling to lighting and air-conditioning, everything in the salon is pretty much brand-new, according to Young.

Cutlab is open six days a week and is closed Sundays. First-time clients get 20 percent off.