Spex

I love Tina. I wait years and travel completely out of my way to get my curls cut by Tina. She is not only a great person, but she is just so knowledgable about curls. It will blow your mind. If you aren’t having your curls cut by Tina then you are not getting a great haircut. Period.

Scott and the entire Spex team are just perfect. Patient for 19 years and l live 600 miles away. I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else. They treat your eyes as if they would their own.

Had a nice haircut with Tracy and a wonderful styling. A go to place for curly girls…

I got my hair cut by Tina here last week and I’m so happy I found this place! I just moved here from Phoenix where I had been going to an awesome salon (Curls Gone Wild) for many years. I went here based on Unilocal reviews and reviews on
and I was not disappointed. They did a dry cut and it was great, exactly what I am used to and what I was hoping for. My hair was getting really long and weighing down all my curls so I needed to lighten up the top layers and frame my face a little better. Tina was so sweet and super knowledgeable. I enjoyed myself the whole time I was there and will be back for future cuts for as long as I live in Seattle!

I cannot say enough good things about this place or Dr. Campbell. I’ve been going to him for years and he’s just the best. The front desk is kind, attentive, and helpful. They have a great selection of designer frames — pricey but beautiful!
As far as the visit is concerned, it’s very rare to find a practitioner who truly listens to you and cares about what you have to say. And you can tell he absolutely loves his job. I walk out of there feeling amazed at the capability of the eye and all the things it reveals about your health, bc Dr. Campbell is so knowledgeable. Every time I go in, he first thanks me for allowing him to work for me, say whaaaaaa?! That’s customer service! My daughter (4yr) had her first eye exam today and he made her laugh and feel so comfortable. He’s got daughters of his own, so you can tell he likes kids. My husband and infant son were waiting downstairs, and my son was crying a lot and I apologized. Dr. Campbell said not to worry and everyone is welcome there. So yeah, you get the gist — I love this place! Not a more knowledgeable, personable, or genuine eye doctor in Seattle!

It’s Tina. She’s the woman you need to talk to about your curly hair. I get it. She’s a silver fox with stick straight hair and you’re second guessing the decision to trust your tresses to her golden shears. Don’t. I picked up on her a few years ago from a curly haired website and have never turned back. Even when I moved to Dubai FOR 6 YEARS I wouldn’t let anyone else touch these corkscrews. (I get the claim to fame as being the one that travels furthest for her cuts!) Every time I came back for a family visit it’s a trip to Tina for the trim. She dry cuts, which I love because I don’t have even curls and dry cutting ensures even fabulousness no matter the curl level, and the color I get is always on point and drives the curly effect.
Everyone always loves my hair and I owe a lot of that to Tina and her brilliance. Plus, she’s LOADS of fun to talk to and gives great hugs! :D

I have been to a few different people in seattle who were known to be curly hair experts and none of them come close to Traci. I was blown away by her knowledge, attention to detail, and talent! My curls look fabulous. She even wrote me a list of ingredients to avoid in hair products and a list of what to do to maintain my curls. She is my new go to stylist. If you are uncertain I would strongly encourage you to book an appointment with Traci. Thank you for making my curls look so freaking fabulous.

Dr. Campbell is great. I went to see him for my first eye appointment in a long time at my wife’s recommendation. He is so pleasant to talk to, I felt like I was chatting with a friend rather than being at the doctor’s office. Very knowledgeable in his field, you can tell he stays up to date with current research and literature. It’s great to see someone who really cares about what he does.
The office space is great too, I’m a sucker for neat architecture.
The staff supporting Dr. Campbell is wonderful, they had a great selection of eyeglasses. As someone who hasn’t worn glasses before, they made great recommendations and made the whole process nice and easy.
Now I can read the text on my iPhone clearly as I write this review!

Traci is awesome for curly hair girls! I have had Deva Curl stylists before in another city, and knew I needed one when I moved to Seattle. She is fantastic, shares tons of knowledge and truly helpful product recommendations. She’s also just super easy to talk to. I’m so thankful I found my Seattle stylist on the first try!

If you have curly hair, go and see Traci. I made an appointment after a botched haircut from a different stylist who claimed to have «lots of experience with curly hair.» Traci not only fixed my cut without removing any noticeable length, but she also shared a wealth of knowledge and information on how I can best care for my curls. She cuts your hair while it’s dry so she can see the curl pattern and ensure that you don’t end up with curls flipping out in all the wrong directions. It makes complete sense and yet so many stylists insist on cutting curly hair wet and sure enough, shrinkage and flippage in all the wrong places. Unfortunately I don’t live in Seattle and was just visiting. I was lucky enough to find someone who could correct a haircut-​gone-​wrong during my stay and now I don’t know how I’ll be able to go to anyone else! Trust me, if you have curly hair, a good stylist is very hard to find. I recommend Traci to any curly haired girl who is still looking.

I recently moved from a city that had no devacurl certified stylists and my poor curly hair, while I’ve done a lot of research and generally knew what I was supposed to do was cut terribly and I didn’t have the techniques quite right. Walking by on my way to the bus I happened to notice a wall of devacurl products in what looked like an optometry place. I needed some product so I picked some up and asked if they had deva stylists and to my surprise and delight they did.
Fast forward To today and I just got a wonderful cut from Tina, who helped me get rid of my triangle head and weighed down curls. I have a smile on my face and a spring in my step – and more importantly a spring in my curls. Woohoo! Thanks Tina! See you next time!

I really enjoyed my visit. Dr. Campbell was very helpful and knowledgeable. He was even able to clear up a question that I had that a previous optometrist couldn’t.
Excellent customer service and excellent experience here.

Just went for my first visit (eye appointment) today and was thrilled! Great customer service, nice modern environment, and very thorough appointment. I’m hooked!
There’s also a salon there, but I cannot attest to it as I went for an eye appointment.

I’ve been getting eye exams and glasses here for years. I recently had a pair of glasses break while still under warranty, but they were discontinued, so Spex hooked me up with a brand new pair from a different manufacturer. Not only did the new pair get updated anti-​glare coating, one of the staff even drove them over from Bellevue in a rainstorm through terrible traffic so I could get them before Christmas. Above and beyond, that.
About the hair salon, I’ve never had my hair cut there but my girlfriend has been going for over 10 years and wouldn’t go anywhere else.

I must admit I was a little skeptical of a hair salon/​optometrist office but word on the web was these ladies are the ones to go to for curly hair, so I made an appointment (very easily, I might add). I’m so glad I listened! Traci gave me my best cut in years. Probably my best cut ever, actually. I had gotten a Deva cut years earlier but wasn’t blown away. This one lived up to my expectations. She’s obviously very knowledgable and gave me some great product recommendations without trying to sell them to me. She’s a great ambassador for curly hair! If I were staying in the Seattle area permanently, I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

This review is for Dr. Campbell of SPEX.
My husband and I have been seeing Dr. Campbell for the last four years. Is he not only good looking but a very thorough optometrist. His office is modern yet quaint. He has all the latest gadgets to check out your vision. The choices of frames are incredible although very pricey. Well… you get what you pay for!
We always look forward to our appointments. The ladies at the front desk are always friendly — they even have wine for you to enjoy while you wait. What more can you ask for! Classy all the way.

Now I finally understand why people don’t trust hair stylists.
Background: I’m an african american female with curly natural hair. I’ve been growing my hair out for the past few years. I successfully managed to grow my curly hair past my shoulder (below my bra when straightened). Recently, I experienced quite a lot of heat damage, and decided that I was ready for a hair cut. No, not a trim, but an actual cut. As an avid youtuber fan, I have watched girls get beautiful Deva cuts (specialized cuts for curly hair) and thought I should try it. I walked into the salon with curls that reached past my shoulders. I write this Unilocal post with hair that barely reaches my collarbone when stretched.
The beginning: I walked into the beautiful salon and immediately felt at home. It is tres chic, and the staff is wonderful. I meet my lovely stylist for the day, Tina, and we proceeded to chat. She asked me what I have in mind, and the first thing that came out of my mouth was «I came here to cut *some* of my heat damage and to get it shaped». Tina replied «Yes, cutting all that heat damage off would be way too short and way too much too soon for you». I thought we were on the same page. Now, I should say that I had no idea that I was supposed to come in with my hair already styled curly, yet dry. There was no such information on the site and when the folks at Spex called to confirm my appointment and ask questions, nobody told me this. As an african american female with 3c/​4a hair, my curls aren’t always poppin like that. So, I came to the salon with stretched out waves. Thus, Tina had to wet the hair a little bit to actually see the curls. That is when it all started to go wrong, but I still trusted the expert and was excited to see what could happen.
The cut: After literally just wetting my hair and applying conditioner, she started snipping off the ends. After a few minutes, my hair was getting shorter and shorter, but it was still fine! It was still doable. After a few more minutes, she suggested we «take off some length» from the back. Though I was hesitant, I trusted her. After a few more minutes of snipping, my hair was getting uncomfortably short. I had to remind her that this is not what I came for. Honestly, it was a little hard to gauge the actual length of my hair at the time because my hair was WET and the curls had already began to SHRINK. There came a point when I just couldn’t take it anymore and I said «Please, stop. I can’t take this hair getting any shorter». She replied «I won’t go shorter, plus I think I got all the heat damage off». Mind you, the FIRST THING I said was that I wanted SOME of the heat damage cut. I thought we had an understanding. But, apparently not. She tried to assure me by saying «It’s summer. it’s time for something drastic». I said «No, that is not what I asked for». She said «edgy is good». I said «I am not edgy person, and not really into the edgy look, so this isn’t what I had in mind».
That was the end of it.
She spun me around and showed me the beautiful cut. It really is a beautiful cut, but not what I wanted and way too short.
The end. Let me repeat. All she did was wet (not wash) my hair and cut it. No styling. As I walked to the counter to pay, the girl at the counter, the other stylist, and the other stylist’s client gave me weird looks and kept staring at my hair. I asked myself whether it was that bad. But then told my insecurities to hush. I noticed that the other stylist was actually STYLING her clients’ hair. She was styling the curls into ringlets with Deva Cut products. In fact, that client was there before I arrived and clearly left after I left. I asked Tina whether styling was a part of the process because again, I didn’t really know that much about this whole process. She didn’t explain ANYTHING to me in the beginning. She replied «I’m giving you a discount. Most of my black clients prefer the discount over the styling. Also black hair takes forever to dry». I said «But you didn’t ask me», and she said «I figured you’d want the discount instead of the styling». I was shocked. She charged me $ 70. Now, I don’t know what the price usually is, as there was no price list around. All I know is that 30 minutes of cutting without washing and styling does NOT feel like a proper experience.
Moral of the story: 1. There wasn’t enough patient education. 2. The communication was off. 3. My hair was cut way too short. 4. Inappropriate assumptions were made, all of which could have been clarified with communication.
I read great things about Tina, and I could see why. She is lovely and warm and a great stylist. But, not only do I feel traumatized at the fact that I lost most of my hair, but I actually feel cheated.
They say «never say never», but I’m tempted to say that I would never come back to Tina ever again. And would probably never trust a hair stylist because of this.

My first pair of lenses at Spex came in all messed up. They resolved the issue and went the extra mile.
Then, after purchasing several pair of frames over many years, I gave Spex a second chance at getting lenses right and I now deeply regret that choice. This is what happened…
I recently purchased eyeglass lenses at Spex in Seattle. When making the purchase I stated I wanted «…transitions, anti-​glare and progressive; just like last time. I should be on file.» The girl behind the counter was getting frustrated with the system and it appeared she was completely unfamiliar with the billing system. She was finally able to process the transaction and asked me if I needed a receipt. I said I did and was handed an un-​itemized receipt.

About an hour later I received a call from the same saleswoman stating she had under billed me. She told me that she had put the wrong plastic lenses in the quote and it would be about another sixty dollars. I figured she was reconciling the new order against the old and noticed the discrepancy. I returned to the store and she ran my debit card again.
The lenses came back and about a week after I had them I noticed they were not transitioning in the sunlight. I called Spex and was told it would be over a hundred dollars more for transitions.
I am outraged over these simple facts:
1. Spex does not offer customers an itemized receipt so they know what they are purchasing
2. Twice Spex raised the price on the initial quote and failed to deliver the product I was promised for the quoted price
I find this type of business practice alarming and disconcerting. This type of bait-​and-​switch practice should be illegal if it’s not already.
What outraged me the most was the way the staff degraded me over the situation. I was told I wanted something for nothing and that I walked in and tossed the frames on the counter, said «I’m on file and I want what I had last time» and then walked out… This childish, snarky, schoolgirl character-​assassination was beyond pathetic. Um, you had my phone number and used it to get the first price increase. If you couldn’t find my records, as you told me today, you could have gone over the order with me over the phone or when I came in so you could run my debit card a second time! Simply pathetic. I don’t want anything for free and never asked for anything!!! It would be nice to get what I was told I was getting for the price I was quoted but I never asked for anything!!! I won’t give Spex another dime.

Ummmmmm, holy knock me out of the park with a wonderful eye exam!
I have never had such a thorough and friendly exam from anyone and I’ve been doing this for 22 years. Dr Campbell examined every aspect of my eyes with an array of «wonderful toys» to which he also explained their purpose with some sciencey terms and lingo this girl could understand.
He was funny and a straight shooter. I have great glasses that I love-​he did not try to sell me a new pair. I also had a gift certificate that I had won at an auction and I was commended for my do-​gooding rather than snuffed for my gift certificate having.
The office was located upstairs in a cozy loft that felt private but not sterile like a lot of doctors offices can be. I was warned this experience was like no other eye exam, boy the rumors were true!
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but TREAT yourself to an eye exam with Dr Campbell, you shan’t regret it!

I have finally found a new stylist after 2 years of living in Seattle. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought a straight haired white lady would be cutting my hair. Tina cut my hair exactly how I had it in my mind and I didnt even show her the pictures of what I had in mind. Very happy with my day and my new discovery. Now I just need some cute new glasses.