Aveda Institute Charlotte

The students/​staff at Aveda are all super nice and sweet. They make each client feel comfortable and they do great work. I got my hair and makeup done for prom and I turned out great. The price wasn’t bad either!

I have been having a shampoo and style by two student stylists for several months. They do an excellent job. They listen carefully to what you want and style it perfectly. They are well-​trained and professional.
Barb

Well it is true — you get what you pay for. I came here last week to get some highlights. Spent two hours playing the game of let’s try to put the foil on the clients’ hair. Walked out looking no better than when I walked in. Mind you — I have golden blond hair — those highlights should have been there. So– back I went the next day — for ANOTHER– two hours. And yep — the hair is lighter. ALL OVER. No highlights. No lowlights. Just light.
So I guess it’s back to the high end folks — at least I will get what I asked for and perhaps better customer service.
You see-​the institute does a good job bringing in these students. Taking their money. Teaching them to (maybe) cut and color hair. But that’s about it. No customer service training evident. My chick had the personality of a wash rag. Half the time she sang off key, the other half she was poking me in the eye with her tools or with her hands.
It’s too bad really since I had never had such bad service there before. But the amount of time I had to spend there was not worth the price tag.
I won’t even waste time running in to get product. I can order that through the mail and they are always happy to throw in a freebie.

Great for a basic cut and trim. I usually only get an inch or two taken off of my hair with a few layers, and all of my cuts have turned out great. I think the fact that there is a trainer who is constantly reviewing the student’s work helps a ton. Also love the complimentary neck massage that they give you at the beginning of the appointment with their oils — it’s amazing! At $ 12 for a cut, shampoo, and style, it’s a steal.
My only negatives would be how slow the entire process usually takes. Two hours + for a trim and shampoo is too long. I usually booked appointments early Saturday afternoons when I first started going. I quickly learned this was a mistake as I was waiting 30+ min past my scheduled appointment time just to be seen due to over scheduling, I presume. The last time I went, I scheduled my appointment for early Saturday morning so that I could be the first customer that my stylist had for the day, and that seemed to work better. I was seen within 5 minutes of arriving and left an hr and a half later.
Overall, I think it’s a great value but I would be prepared to be there for a while with a lot of idle downtime.

I have been here 3 times, once was for a simple trim, once was to fix a botched hair cut (turned out nice) and the other was just a few days ago and the student (who is set to graduate in a week) butchered my hair. Things I heard from the supervisor who came to check her work after politely expressing I was not happy and it’s shorter than what I asked, and in fact too short to even fix. 1) «It’s not as bad as you think it is» 2) «It will grow out» and 3) «You didn’t have a lot of hair to work with». Just to clarify, I USED to have enough hair to work with, it was to my shoulders, and now one side is above my jawline and can barely tuck behind my ear and the back looks like a little boy’s bowl cut who kept holding his head sideways. Not only that, I asked for my hair to be toned to cool down the warmth (my hair was blonde) and walked out with muddy brown hair that has a greenish tint in some light. Several phone calls and emails to the school for a refund and corrective color have gone unanswered. I left crying, and I’m not a cryer. UPDATE they called and are going to correct the color and in a few months correct the cut.

Wow — it was nice to be heard by the stylist and then to see my head of thick hair streamlined into a classic but manageable style. Manageable in that the humdity won’t find me looking like Bozo the Clown. Love the Aveda products and loved my experience today.

From reading the previous reviews one thing I have to remind all the future guests off is that Aveda is a school. These are students that are learning so everyone may not have the same experience. This was my first time at Aveda and I loved it. My appt. was at 1pm and I left at 2:30pm. Pretty good timing for my thick hair. I can’t wait to go back. For the cost it’s worth it for me with a shampoo and style.

Ali was great at my haircut! She’s a master graduating in February so get her while you can. Basic pedicure was nice but for a few dollars difference, upgrade to one of the longer ones!

Front desk Hallie was great. Computers were down but she handled finding our appt so nicely. Both my mother & I came to get color and trim & my mother highlights. Kirby was great. Pleasant & friendly when we spoke about the things the school taught her like colors, cut, the hair business… And even her knowledge on nutrition and diversity in hair varieties. She was well educated and versed. My hair color feels great, my color is awesome… my trim is flawless. Plus she blow dried my hair perfectly. I wish her the best. Kirby’s definitely some1 I’ll keep in touch with by going to Modern Spa (Aveda friendly… yaaa love these products) in Huntersville by Birkdale where she plans to begin her career. Xoxoxoxo…

They did a really good job! I’ll be back in a few weeks for a touch up.

I’ve come to the Aveda school a couple times. I have long, straight hair. Nothing extreme– medium texture, no complicated layers, no overly specific requests for the stylists. Each time, unfortunately, my hair has been cut unevenly and nothing like discussed. I am confident it has been a fluke as I’ve seen outstanding work while I’m in there. My last experience seemed to be going really well. The student was friendly and detail oriented. As she had never done a cut like mine (long layers), the educator stopped by as she competed each step. The educator planned to come by to cut the layers and do some framing once the student did the preliminary work and dried my hair. After my hair was dried, a different educator came by to check everything before I left. I wasn’t shown my hair prior to being walked up to check out. As they were trying to close up for the night, I hadn’t realized I didn’t get to see my hair before leaving. Once home, I realized my hair was still damp and my layers were never trimmed. My hair looks like a choppy fluff. I am so sad not to love my cuts because the students have consistently offered friendly customer service.

I’ve never gone to a school before for a cut because I have very thick hair and have had my professional haircuts end up looking like a mushroom head. But, I just moved around the corner and thought I’d give it a shot.
Three hours later I walked out with a cut that requires me to visit another salon to get fixed tomorrow. Three people assisted my stylist during this visit and somehow I still walked out with split ends and a less than fresh looking cut.
I understand that this is a school and that it might take longer and may not come out perfect however, in three hours to not have a decent or at least acceptable cut is disheartening. I honestly hope this isn’t the case for all that visit here, but I won’t be back.

Well first off I LOVE AVEDA products. As far as the institute… Meh
I have tried this place multiple times & something always goes wrong. On this last adventure (only went out of a last min. emergency) my appointment was at 3:15. I don’t mind waiting the few min, but I didn’t get anyone until almost 4pm!!!
The positives: I have never gotten such great customer service there before. Usually the ppl at the front are meh, but that day they were yah. The girlie who cut my hair was adorable, very much had to make sure my trim was exactly what I wanted.

Got a shampoo and blow dry by Molly. Best blow dry I’ve ever had

I came in for a cut and blow dry. This was a pretty simple cut: a re-​shape with a trim.
I have been to other Aveda institutes before and been thrilled, this was my first time at the Charlotte one. My cut and blow dry took an hour and fourty five minutes… Way too long!
In addition, the cut was painful. I have never had a painful haircut before but she must have been pulling my hair taught when trimming or something because I could feel every strand being yanked. The cut itself did not look good when she was done and it took multiple other people to come and fix it.
If this were not a student (albeit one at the end of their program), I would give this zero stars. I’m disappointed as I had hoped to be a returning customer but I don’t think I can be after this.

After getting cut twice during a manicure and literally having salt rubbed – hard! – into the wounds, I ran for my life.
There were no instructors to be seen, the tools and bowls looked dirty, and the polish was so filled with hair and fuzz that the whole thing was a farce. Considering it cost within a few bucks of a real mani/​pedi, I don’t see the benefit of getting sliced and diced here by someone who may or may not care that they are hurting you.
Stick with the pros! Avoid this scary place.

Came in last Wednesday night. Made an appointment online for a hair cut and simple style, with an add-​on for the botanical conditioning treatment. My stylist was Shelby and she was very friendly, happy, and listened carefully to my input.
I asked for a very small trim and she listened; the layers are great, and my hair feels very healthy and shiny. Also, the neck and shoulder massage is so relaxing! I enjoy the value that the school allows.

Hair, Nail and Spa services performed by students at a discounted rate with superior products.
The Aveda products are some of the best — so that is the upside. If you are going to get your hair done here — take my advice.
1) Call to book your apt and ask for a MASTER student
2) Don’t get anything crazy done, stick to the basics
3) Plan to spend some time, they need to check everything with the instructor, so it slows the process down
4) Be very specific about what you want done
Manicures, pedicures, eye brow waxing and all hair services are available.

This review is only for the phone customer service when you book an appointment at 704−333−9940.
The first time I called Carol kept me on the phone for way longer than I had time, telling me she could book the appointment (facial, cut, color), but then going back and forth between master and mid-​level and this and that… I told her I needed to get off the phone for an appointment & she said do you have another minute? I said yes, but after 3 more minutes, I had no more time and only had the facial booked.
I called back the next morning and explained to Suhaly (?) that I hadn’t been able to book the color/​cut portion. She said «I’m confused» and then asked what city, got my phone number and then told me I had a facial appointment scheduled. I explained again what I was trying to do and she again told me she was confused. I told her to just cancel the facial appointment and we could start over. She said ok, it’s cancelled.
So, I say, ok… can you find time for a facial, cut & color. She’s confused again and said I just cancelled my facial appointment??? ugh, her demeanor and blah-​ness just irritated me and I said never mind… sorry to bother you and got off the phone.
It’s a shame that there are people out there who want to work and will do a great job, no matter what they are doing. Not too many of those at Aveda evidently.

Situation: sponsoring a gala and all I know how to do to my hair is blow dry it. Let’s be honest… I can barely do that.
So I thought… hey, why don’t I go to one of those blow out bars and let them handle it? Apparently everyone had the same idea that day. Made a couple phone calls and everything was booked. Then it hit me. I wonder if Aveda does blow outs? Problem solved.
Not only do they have blow outs on the menu, but they are also only $ 12. TWELVE DOLLARS!!! Compare that to the pros who charge around $ 40. I got a warm cup of tea when I arrived. My stylist massaged my head with this awesome smelling oil. Then came my favorite part: GETTING MY HAIR WASHED. When I win the lottery one day, I’m going to hire someone to wash my hair for me every day. It’s just the best feeling.
While she blow dryed and styled me, I enjoyed watching all the students in action. They have around 70 people on the floor. It’s quite an operation to watch.
I don’t think I would ever get my hair colored or cut here, but this is a steal for blow outs. I would also like to go back and get a pedicure. My girl Lemuria C. recommends getting some feet pampering done here.