04/06/09

THEY ARE STUDENTS!

by CSMobileUser

I love the place. everyone Is friendly and you can tell they love what they do. its an institute. if you expect perfection then go to a salon and pay out the butt for a cut. you sign a paper sayin you know they are students. you might not think cuttin or coloring Is rocket science but i'd like to see half of you who don't like them to try cuttin hair. i'm sure you didn't understand your job position the first few days. give them a break. you writing bad reviews doesn't make it any easier on the students. people like the ones who cry over hair cuts and say don't waste time on their cuts should NOT be let out of the house.

• Pros: Example: best croissants in town
• Cons: What are the drawbacks?

07/07/08

Never had a bad experience

by jensuch

I love going to Aveda! I've been sticking with the same girl for about 8 months now, and it's been great. Yes, they move slowly. Yes, sometimes there is blaring techno music. However, the overall experience is always great, especially the scalp massage. I went for partial highlights before my wedding, and the girl who did them went very conservative because I told her I wanted them to look natural. When they came out too plain, she scheduled another appointment and redid them for free. The only thing I wouldn't recommend is the Be Curly shampoo and conditioner. Denver is too dry! This stuff doesn't work!

• Pros: Friendly staff, great value
• Cons: Slow working students

01/18/08

Pedicure disappointment

by writeon1

I went to the Aveda Institute for a quick, simple pedicure. Instead, I was stuck for 2 hours with a guy who admitted to me that he had never done a pedicure before. The whole thing was awful. It wasn't pampering. It was greasy, the area was dark so it was hard to see color, and the whole time, he spoke to a friend of his who was also performing what looked to be a great pedicure on another guest. The instructor/supervisor did come over to ask me how I felt about it but the guy was standing right there, so I didn't really feel free to say anything negative. They are all also instructed to try to sell you products you don't need, which adds another 10 minutes of haggling and hassle to the process. The pedicure itself didn't last a week. It was bubbly and chipped pretty immediately. I wouldn't go again, although I love Aveda and am flirting with the idea of trying a blowout to see if the hair people are any good!

• Pros: It's Aveda, so it smells good and I like the green philosophy. I also think it's important to give students a chance to practice on real people.
• Cons: The supervision isn't hands-on enough. And guests have to live with the mistakes!

10/09/07

What did you do to my hair?

by cgoldfish

Great pedicure. I'll give them that - totally relaxing and fun. Then the haircut. It's totally uneven. One side is much shorter than the other (how hard is it to TRIM hair?) - I said, short in the back, keep the length in the front because I'm trying to grow it out. Now? it's awful. I said I parted my hair on the side, and they're even - if you part in the middle. But the way I part my hair it's totally asymmetrical. Which is cool if you're into that sort of thing.

I've been to aveda schools before and always came out looking like a rockstar. I am stuck wearing barrettes and headbands - or I'll have to go somewhere else and have it fixed - and it'll be even shorter.

Thanks, Aveda! I say "I'm trying to grow it out!" so you mess it up so badly that it's almost unsalvageable. Maybe if you had an instructor take over after I started crying because it looked SO BAD (and I have never done anything like that before). I told them "I'm trying to grow it out " and explained in detail exactly how I wanted it. No dice. It looks bad. I look bad.

Please, don't waste your money on a haircut there - reading the reviews, I see one person had almost the same experience I did. Go to a real salon.

• Pros: great pedicure
• Cons: bad haircuts, bad stylists, instructors don't care

07/06/07

You get what you pay for...

by vatoco

I've had my hair cut and highlighted at the Aveda schools in DC and New York. Although the students work slowly, I always left with a good cut and color. The instructors, who are professional stylists, always asked me whether I liked my hair and were ready to correct any problems. I expected the same here, but there's a definite drop off in quality of work and supervision. I should have walked out when I saw women leaving the salon with choppy haircuts and frizzy blowouts (how do you get frizz in Denver?). My highlights were ok, but the color is not uniform. The haircut is a disaster, and I will be wearing my hair in a ponytail for the next month until it grows out enough to have someone else fix it. First, the woman who cut my hair couldn't even cut it straight across in the back, and the instructor had to tell her to cut lots of individual hairs she missed. Then, when I pointed out that one side was too chunky, she kept trimming my hair shorter and shorter into increasingly blocky chunks. I finally had to tell her to stop, but now I have a square chunk on one side of my face that is 2 inches shorter than the hair on the other side of my face. (By the way, this is not one of those situations where I'm overreacting -- I showed my friend this chunk and she started laughing uncontrollably) The instructor did step in at the end, but there wasn't much she could do. Finally, when the student blew out my hair, it was like she had never seen a hairdryer before. When a segment wouldn't curl right, she would sort of wind my hair around the brush -- but not turn on the hair dryer! I think the problem is that the students here do everything -- waxing, manicures, etc. -- and don't focus on hair. If you need a basic cut and really don't have much money, it might be worth it. Of course, you could, like me, end up paying to have your hair cut all over again by someone else... once it grows out!

• Pros: Full service salon, very low prices
• Cons: My college roommate cut hair better

Editorial Review by Lori Midson

by Contributor

Hair, skin and makeup services complete the spa/salon experience at this sprawling downtown facility renowned for its holistic approach.