Gene Juarez Advanced Training Salon

For those of us on a budget… say bye bye
After more than a decade of operation in Seattle, the Suits that bought the Gene Juarez company have taken over in a big way. The GJ training salon will be closed Feb 9^th. This is an excellent opportunity for other businesses to step in and offer *affordable* salon services. This is a niche market with plenty of ready and willing customers in Seattle.

Excellent services, latest techniques at a reduced cost over the GJ salons. You will receive a great cut and color! I’ve been going for a decade now. These folks know their business. Allow extra time as the stylists and technicians need to consult with their instructors

Rachel did my hair this morning. I just needed a trim, but have had many bad experiences at full price salons with even simple instructions.
Rachel did a fantastic job and gave me the exact cut that I asked for.
On top of it she is a very sweet girl and her personal style is amazing (I almost asked for her haircut).
I am very happy with the service I received and will return for my next trim.

If I had a choice I wouldn’t give this «school» any stars. I am writing this review as a former student of the Gene Juarez ATS student. I am only commenting on the Design section, since that is the program I encountered most. I did get dismissed from the program, but I am not writing this as revenge (looking back on it i wasn’t prepared for what the program was about and I did have some self-​reflecting to do) I’m writing this in hopes that things will change, because I know Gene Juarez is not what it used to be. Standards are sliding that I truly believe wouldn’t be happening if Gene Juarez Corporate was doing what needed to get done. I use the word school very loosely. Yes, you do learn terrific skills that I carry even to this day, but it comes at a price. The educators (it’s rumored that stylists who have problems at the actual salon get sent to work here and then only work one day a week at the salon. what stylist would switch from working full time in a salon to one day at a salon? just doesn’t make since to me since all the designer educators brag about how great they are.) totally take advantage of the students. Students go to Gene Juarez in hopes of becoming part of a team and learning from the best of the best. You go in knowing you’re going to receive harsh but constructive criticism, they’re going to guide you on your image, and obviously polish you’re skills in design (cutting hair). This is what I encountered:1. Inconsistent reviews. Up until the week I got dismissed I had less then 3 nos (these are bad). The week I got dismissed I received all nos. How did that happen in one week when I acted the exact same. That brings me to…2. «You look like a bitch when you don’t smile» This was said to me by one of my educators 2 days before I got dismissed. Not only was it unprofessional to use that language, but I’m sure there is a way to get your point across in a more constructive way. I am not one of those ditzy girls that has a big silly grin on my face every minute, but I do smile. But of course being at Gene Juarez I just nodded and said «Okay“3. Talking about the students on the floor. There is a podium in the design area where all the educators stand and talk about the students in their class. (I addressed this with one of my teachers, and she said that I was just being insecure and that when they’re talking it’s nothing but professional topics. Professional topics: «OMG I’m gonna need a drink tonight.» «Look what she’s doing does she not pay attention at all when I demo.» «She is so stupid but she has the image.» «I want Starbucks.» To sum up my experience at Gene Juarez I believe the educators didn’t like me from the moment I walked in. Towards the end they were looking for any reason to dismiss me because I refused to quit. The biggest thing that sticks out in my mind is that for the first few weeks they would say my biggest strength was my confidence, then for the last week they said I needed to chill out on my confidence because «you really shouldn’t be this confident so early in the game.» When they dismissed me they waited until the end of the day sent me into the small room and the educator who is in charge of dismissal (same one that said I look like a bitch when I’m not smiling) and the front desk manager was there. Told me I was dismissed, I was pissed and I said what I felt that I wasn’t given a fair shot since it was evident they just flat out didn’t like me. The educator proceeded to go on about how my beauty school (Gene Juarez Academy-​Northgate) didn’t recommend me for acceptance (same situation there, same type of educators same mindset «I have a job, I can do whatever I want») but they were nice and gave me a shot. Before she even said that I was already balling my eyes out, just for the simple fact I wanted this so bad and I thought i was a perfect fit since I understood their teachings and I understood my clients so well, so the fact that she just wanted to dig that knife a little deeper was devastating. So after signing the dismissal slip or whatever (still crying) she says «Now lets talk about how much money you owe us» The only money I would owe is for my kit that you receive at the beginning of school, which I paid for CASH. (Im boiling) So I said «I don’t owe you a dime I paid for my kit in cash.» She didn’t like that, she proceeded to say that it was 6 o clock and she needed to go home. (Total team player attitude of willing to stay late if clients are still in your chair) I grabbed all my stuff in my station and one of the educators who had the biggest «mean girl» attitude towards me looks and me (you could tell I had been crying) and goes «Bye, have a good night.» with the biggest smile on her face All the educators knew I was getting dismissed she did that just to be mean. Since then my friend ran into one of my educators from beauty school and she mentions how I got kicked out of ATS and they all knew I wasn’t going to make it. All and all the epidemy of professionalism.

Great first experience in the training salon. Lark gave me wonderful consultation and a great haircut. The Gene Juarez method of haircutting is precise and the students are closely watched and there is always a helping hand nearby if need be. The cost is about half of the regular salon. I would give the place another try :)

Most people would think, a school? But I’m hear to tell you, yes! First of all, the stylists at the Advanced Training salon are already licensed and they are just training to work at GJ, so you don’t need to worry. Plus, they have instructors who must approve the cut/​color/​style before anything happens.
Other than the price reduction, what I love about coming here is they really try and get it right. The stylists spend time with you drilling down specifically on the look you are going for. For me, this is essential since sometimes I’ve been known to say I like a style and then find myself at home re-​doing my whole look. Ever since I’ve been coming here, that hasn’t happened to me.
I will say you need to be prepared for a longer service time as this is a training school. Expect a haircut and style to take around 1 ½ hours. They don’t tell you that when you schedule and I think it’s important to note. Also, the décor is, well, not. I would describe it as clean and functional.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good cut that won’t break the bank!

I never pay for haircuts, so it was a big deal that I shelled out $ 32 (?).
I recently inflicted some drastic changes to my hair, so I needed some help to ease my hair’s appearance back into society. I was happy with the results, but not blown away.
Took a bit longer while the student fumbled around and then had to consult with the teacher on the floor.
If you have a clear idea of what you want then you need to be adamant and repeat your wishes. The student probably isn’t purposely not doing what you want, but is stressed and didn’t remember what you said.
Granted my hair is at a very awkward stage of growing out, but 3 weeks later and I already need another cute and style.
They don’t use the normal hair smocks here, but a jacket that does nothing to prevent cut hairs from falling into your shirt (and from there, other uncomfortable places). I wouldn’t plan on doing anything after your appointment here for a haircut because you’ll want to go home for a shower and a change of clothes.
A few weeks after this cut, I went to Raven (Capitol Hill) and got my hair restyled.

If I could give negative 5 stars I would! Unprofessional and rude. Extremely disappointed in their svs. «This is where Stars born?» Um sorry but NO! I disagree.

This place is awesome because they decided to hire Jason No!!! He is awesome! If you want to have your hair complimented everywhere you go… go see him! He rocks!!!

This is where the stars are born…

Great place to get your hair down for half the price. Students are licensed, so don’t be scared. Services usually take longer because they’re in training to be working at the actual Gene Juarez salons. Oh, there’s this handsome asian guy that works at the front desk ;]

I admit, I was a little bit scared going into getting my hair done at a «training» school. I only recently started let go and trusted a normal salon to color my hair, but I moved down here a few months ago and am not familiar enough with any salons in the area to want to pay $ 100+ for a foil when I don’t know if it’s going to suck or not. So I was drawn in by the $ 55 price tag on a partial foil here.
Be prepared for it to take a little bit longer here than it normally would. Not only are the stylists juggling 2 clients at once. which is one aspect that I didn’t like… after the foils were in my hair, the stylist hurried me back to the hair dryer and told me she’d be back in a while. then i realized it was because she had to go start on another client. after she got half way done foiling that client she would rush back and move me over to the sinks and wash my hair, put me back under the dryer, then go finish up with the client in her chair before swapping us. Another thing that I was kind of disappointed in is the fact that I decided I wanted a trim til I remembered that at GJ you are either a colorist or you cut — you don’t do both. So you have to get your hair done by 2 diff people if you want both, so I wasn’t able to get the trim done.
The stylist I had was nice and in her final month of training. Scared me at first when she was describing that she was just going to color my roots because she made it sound like literally she was only going to foil the roots and not the full strands of hair. There was a lot of pulling and tugging at my hair when she was seperating the pieces out to foil, but as far as the finished product everything turned out fine and it turned out the same as if I were to get it done for $ 90 where I used to go before I moved.
Don’t expect a pretty salon here. It is very basic, the salon chairs are extremely close to each other (and there are lot) so you will be very close to the person next to you getting their hair done which kind of sucks when they’re getting their hair blow dried and your stylist is trying to foil your hair that ends up flying everywhere. I would definately go here again, though I do see how it can be «hit or miss» like others are describing because the stylist behind mine not only dropped the diffuser off the end of the hair dryer in the middle of drying her clients hair, but then 5 minutes later tangled the hair dryer and dropped it IN the clients hair… yikes.

I had a great time here! I wanted a cut and color and, going from blonde highlights back to brunette, I had a few worries. Everyone there was so friendly and they did a great job on my hair. Can’t beat a professional haircut for $ 30!

This place is great for blowouts. The staff are incredibly nice to you. There’s water, tea and coffee, albeit in paper cups. You do have to schedule in advance, and they only schedule for two weeks at a time. When they teach the students, sometimes you can pick up tips for yourself!
I had a few cuts here, but most were little trims. I had a few end in disaster, but you get what you pay for! You can always tell them that you’re not happy with, and the master stylist will fix it. (Or at least attempt to).
Don’t be afraid, this is a great place.

The Gene Juarez Advanced Training Salon is really hit or miss. I’ve had awesome cut/​color experiences, and (more recently) I’ve had scary ones.
I have dark hair. I also have some gray hair. Enter in GJ ATS. The price for a single process color is about half what it would be at the «other» Gene Juarez locations. However, since the stylists are new-​ish (fully licensed, but still pretty much rookies) I usually wind up with dark hair color all over. Ears, neck, hairline, etc. I have come to prepare myself for it, but it still irks me that the colorists are so liberal with the dark color and I walk out needing to go home and rid my skin of dark hair dye immediately.
I also have very thick hair. I am well aware that I have a lot of hair. All I can do is tell the person making my appointment that I have very thick hair and hope they do what they need to do with that information (ie: book me more time). It doesn’t happen. I am usually rushed throughout the appointment, and forced to listen to stylists comment «wow, you’ve got a lot of hair» the entire time they’re working on me. Not fun.
Last time was a particularly unfortunate incident: the color and shampoo didn’t get fully rinsed off the back of my head. After I had been passed off to someone else to blowdry my hair (she was running late and decided to move on to her next client) he noticed that I had «a little bit of shampoo» and tried to work it out with a towel. Didn’t happen. I got home and my hair was a mess back there. Couldn’t even run a comb through it. So I had to wash my hair about an hour after getting it colored (and as anyone who colors their hair knows, washing your hair on the day you color is the kiss of death).
So, to review: Good products, probably a good place for a great blowout. Hit or miss on the styles (why does everyone want to cut off my hair? And no, please do not use the thinning shears). The place is always a zoo (people and instructors running around). Probably a good place if you have a more «straightforward» head of hair. Apparently my thick, dark hair (that needs to be touched up every 5 weeks) is not what they specialize in.
2 stars because I support helping people learn and the Kerastase products are amazing.

As a college student, I’m always looking for the best bang for my buck — and GJA is definitely a good place if you’re looking to get a minor cut or a trim. The only downside to this place is that a typical haircut would take nearly an hour. I never had my hair colored here, it’s really a coin toss as far as if it’ll turn out well. But these are GJ-​trainees, so it’s a given that they’re not gonna whisk you a new ‘do under 30 mins.
However, I’ve switched to another salon, located in the U-​district because of its location, cheaper price, and they had more professional & experienced stylists. All in all, if you’re looking for a minor trim/​cut, give GJA a try :)

I love to go to training salons because they can usually do a cut and color under $ 100. Moving to Seattle, I looked through the Unilocal reviews and decided that of the training salons that this place looked the best. I was pleasantly surprised that they have one person as the colorist and another to cut the hair.
I was going to get highlights to my red hair and a touch up of my red roots. Although I found the colorist to be really personable, they totally messed up on the roots. They dyed them a bright red while the rest of my hair is a different red with highlights. The teacher even told the colorist to tone down the root color and she tried but it didn’t work. It kinda looks crazy now that my natural hair is growing in. I have a major stripe.
The hair stylist was very nervous but he did an excellent job on my hair. I had some vague direction of ‘just clean up the layers’ and he really did a perfect even job. But (I hate that there is one) he cut himself twice with the scissors while cutting my hair. One time was bleeding pretty bad. I felt really bad for him but it was a little scary.
In the end, it was $ 150 and I spent 4 hours there. I felt like I could have gone to a ‘real’ salon and spent $ 200 and ½ the time there. I won’t be going back.

I find it difficult to find a regular stylist. I need someone who can interpret my vague instructions, redirect my more woefully chosen ideas towards something more suitable for my hair and facial features, and psychically be able to tell what exactly it is that I want without me having to tell them.
Do all the stylists at Gene Juarez Advanced Training qualify under my guidelines? Not at all. Like I said, finding a regular stylist is difficult, and someone that your best friend raves about might not work out for you at all. But the Advanced Training salon is a great place to try out different stylists for a reasonable price and with a great safety net of instructors there to help guide you and the maybe-​not-​quite-​right stylist towards the right haircut. And if it’s not quite right, well, the instructors can help fix that, too.
If you happen to find someone who gives you an «Oh my god, I’m never letting anyone else cut my hair ever again» type haircut, great! You can continue to book appointments with them until they graduate, at which point you can call up to find out which regular salon location they’ve been sent to and continue to book with them. Or worst case scenario, you can just try another stylist or colorist next time you go in — chances are it’s a different class anyway, so no hard feelings for not re-​booking.

This place rocks!
Here is the deal:
These are licensed stylist who are going back for advanced training and will eventually be working in one of the many Gene Juarez Salons. They are closely supervised by an instructor. After 5 years I have yet to be disappointed with my cut and color.
They take the time to ask you about what you want. The instructor even printed out examples of the cut I requested and participated in the cut.
Best of all is the price. I got a cut, color, and blow out for $ 60.00!

I’ve been to their downtown training salon several times for haircuts. Usually, I walk out pretty satisfied. Only once did a stylist leave strands of hair that I had to self-​snip at home (since it’s blow dried, I can never tell until the next wash).
The real reason I go to training salons is because I would like to think I get good karma from it. These stylists need real hair to practice on… and well, I have real hair that needs cutting. Besides, I don’t mind if my hair gets botched up ever so often because hopefully they learn from their mistakes. Then one day, when they become super chic stylists who charge $ 100 per cut, they will remember all the peons that helped them get there… wishful thinking, I know.
Anyways, the only reason I gave it 3 stars (not 4) is because I think $ 35 is pricey for a training salon. I recently discovered FREE haircuts at the Seven training salon downtown. I also had a hard time rating it since every time you go, you will most likely get a new stylist. But the 3 is because it’s a solid salon and a reputation for being shee shee foo foo.

This is Seattle’s best-​kept salon secret. I would trust any of the students here to cut/​color my hair as they’re already licensed professionals. And the price – $ 35 cut, $ 30 color – is a fraction of what it costs for comparable results elsewhere.
The work is inspected by instructors, so as previously stated, you do have to be okay with being «examined.» I’ve occassionally been at the salon longer than I’d like to be but am okay with it because I realize they’re learning professionals.