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Monika the Barber

@monikathebarber

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💈 Licensed Barber 📍 San Diego, California
🗓 Booking: 📨DM or 📧 Email ✂️Booksy
🫶 Sensory Safe Certified
Style with Intention & Care

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Fern wanted something more masculine—but they didn't want to lose what made their hair interesting...
A dichotomy between straighter through the top, then transitioning into longer, loose natural curls in back. Instead of fighting that difference, we built the haircut around it. 🙌

1. A highly textured, voluminous fringe up top.
2. Low skin tapers through the sides.
3. A longer curly shag left flowing through the back.

Fern is a floral artist who recently moved from Orange County to San Diego. Their mom is a longtime stylist, but they came to my chair ready to try something different.
The result: an alternative haircut with structure where it needs it, movement where it wants it, and plenty of sass! 🤘

Tools used: @sharkfinshears
@wahlpro and @jataifeather razor.

Styled with: @brosh.usa texture powder and @innersensepro quiet calm curl control

#sandiegobarber #alternativehair #genderaffirminghair #curlyshag #taper taken in San Diego, California by @monikathebarber

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12 hours ago

A pixie with room to play. 😉

Zoe had followed me from a previous barbershop, and this time we took down some overgrown length while keeping enough hair to work with their thick, naturally curly texture.

The goal: a longer pixie that feels lighter, stays cooler in San Diego, and still gives them options.

The bonus came afterward: Zoe realized they could style the front into a little Betty Boop-inspired curl.😯

And yes, most of the appointment was spent talking Star Wars and Marvel. 🦸‍♀️

Cut with @sharkfinshears
Styled with @ouidad Curl cream and gel

#sandiegobarber #curlypixie #pixiecut #bettyboop #shorthairsandiego taken in San Diego, California by @monikathebarber

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2 days ago

Need a cut before Halloween?
I’ve opened up Sunday, Oct. 25 & Friday, Oct. 30 for bookings! 🧟‍♀️

#sandiegobarber #alternativehair #blackdaggerhair #halloweenhair #genderaffirming taken in Black Dagger Hair by @monikathebarber

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3 days ago

This guest came in with naturally wavy-curly hair they wanted to keep long and flowing, but there was one challenge: a short section of regrowth near the front hairline needed to blend naturally into the haircut.
Rather than cutting everything down to match it, we worked with what was already there.

We reshaped the cut, removed strategic weight and encouraged the natural curl pattern—keeping the relaxed skater feel while creating more movement and balance.

The goal wasn't to make the shorter area disappear. It was to make it belong. Look for a haircut that works with something unusual in your hair instead of fighting against.

Tools used: @jataifeather
Styled with: @innersensepro curl cream and @reuzel
Pomade

#sandiegobarber #curlyhaircut #surfercut #skatercut #razorcut taken in Black Dagger Hair by @monikathebarber

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6 days ago

Destin told me they'd spent much of the last decade toning down his look. As an artist, they were ready to experience self-expression again.

Custom asymmetrical haircut, mohawk and geometric hair design...
One side carries flow, movement and curl. The other opens into an asymmetrical mohawk with a geometric shaved design inspired by the Sri Yantra , something very important to Destin. We used changes in shading to add dimension within the pattern.

The goal was to make the different elements feel like they belonged to the same person.

Cut with @wahlpro and @sharkfinshears
Styled with @ouidad

#sandiegobarber #asymmetricalhaircut #hairdesign #mohawk #alternativehair taken in Normal Heights, San Diego by @monikathebarber

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8 days ago

Flow Meets Fade.

Isaiah wanted to keep enough length through the top for a middle part while cleaning up the sides and back without taking the fade too aggressive, yet still keeping cool on these hot days.

🥁 TaDA! A middle-part shadow fade with a smooth transition! Additional perks of this cut are movement and styling versatility.

Balance matters: short doesn't have to mean skin, and keeping length doesn't mean the haircut has to feel heavy.

Isaiah is also the owner and dog trainer behind Practical Paws, so naturally there was plenty of dog talk in the chair. Check out his offerings @practical.paws

Cut with @wahlpro Legend+ and @sharkfinshears .

#sandiegobarber
#shadowfade
#middlepart
#genderaffirminghair
#flowcut taken in Black Dagger Hair by @monikathebarber

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11 days ago

A micro #pixie for a macro heart.

Tools: @sharkfinshears @jataifeather
Styled with: @innersenseorganicbeauty curl control cream

#microbangs #pixiecut #shorthairspecialist #sandiegobarber taken in Black Dagger Hair by @monikathebarber

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15 days ago

Tyler came in wanting to go shorter for San Diego heat and long days working outdoors—but still wanted enough movement and texture to keep the haircut interesting.
With a wedding coming up, we used his inspiration as a starting point and built a short, scissor-cut mod style around his own hair: textured movement through the top, a softer fringe, and a shape that can look messy without demanding a styling routine every morning.

From Hawaii, he traded island weather for a love of snowboarding, and is now making San Diego home with his pug, Meatball.

Cut with @sharkfinshears
Finished with @brosh.usa Featherweight Pomade.

#sandiegobarber
#modhaircut
#scissorcut
#alternativehair
#modcut taken in San Diego, California by @monikathebarber

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15 days ago

hair collab with @monikathebarber 9.18.36
bleach + tone by @kimber.sd haircut by @monikathebarber taken in Black Dagger Hair by @monikathebarber

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21 days ago

Christina knew what wasn't working: too much length through the back, too much "swoop" at the front, and a haircut that needed to behave differently.

So we changed the architecture! We created a mid shadow fade with a scissor-cut top, keeping more length toward the fringe and progressively shortening toward the back. The result can be styled up for more personality—or left alone when product isn't happening that day.

With very fine, lower-density hair, the goal wasn't aggressive weight removal. It was creating enough structure and direction to make the hair look intentional without weighing it down.

Cut with @jrlusa clippers & @sharkfinshears shears.
Styled with @innersenseorganicbeauty Whipped Cream Texturizer

Recently relocated to the San Diego area, Christina was also starting a new chapter—and wanted a haircut that felt more like where they're headed. We are continuing to head in a damn good direction.

#sandiegobarber #finehaircut #shadowfade #genderaffirminghair #shorthair taken in San Diego, California by @monikathebarber

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a month ago

Anna wanted to preserve her long silver hair while giving it more movement, shape and personality.
We kept the length, added layers to create lighter movement and fun volume, then built a burst-fade on an existing undercut, for contrast and versatility.

Hair down: flowing, layered silver length.
Hair up: the fade completely changes the silhouette.

Cut with @sharkfinshears and @wahlpro
Styled with @brosh.usa Featherweight

#sandiegobarber #burstfade #undercut #layeredhair #alternativehair taken in San Diego, California by @monikathebarber

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a month ago

For this cut, we kept the fullness of Ethan's natural texture while cleaning up the details with a low skin taper at the temples and neckline, C-cups and a line-up.
The goal was to give the existing shape more structure.

A little jojoba oil helped with picking and manipulation while keeping the hair manageable throughout the cut.

Ethan then went over to @blackcat_curls for a killer color and walked out of the hair space feeling confident and damn good 😁. Ready for another schoolyear!!

Cut with @wahlpro Legends and @stylecraftpro sabers

#sandiegobarber #texturedhair #afrotaper #lowtaper #blackhair taken in San Diego, California by @monikathebarber

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2 months ago