Aveda salons

[bimbi284]

I went to one when I lived in WI. In general, I think Aveda has a very good training program, and every Aveda stylist I've been to has been great. My regular stylist was the best colorist in town, and gave the best cuts. I still miss her haircuts, even now being in Chicago with a million talented stylists.

Overall, Aveda is a good bet as far as hair services go!

[highlarious]

I've been to both an Aveda salon, and an Aveda Academy where they train their stylists. Both experiences were excellent. It was obvious that they train their stylists well. I like Aveda products (they are all natural, they smell nice, and they work well for me), so this is one of the benefits of getting your hair done at an Aveda salon. They also do a great head and neck massage with their aromatherapy oils. This is my favorite part.

[majick143]

I agree with PP's, I've been to both an Aveda Salon and an Aveda Academy and they were great. The level of care and supervision at the Academy was very interesting to me. I watched as the instructors or whatever you would call them, visited each stylist and guide them according to what the customer asked for and the state of the hair. They took great care in the results and maintaining the condition of my hair. This was years ago but I was impressed. AND from what I understand, stylists can get their license at a beauty school but must go through the Aveda academy to work at an Aveda salon? I could be wrong there but that's the impression I got here in CO.
Every stylist is different but the odds of a positive experience are very good!

I haven't heard of the concept salons so I'm not sure about the membership stuff, sorry!

Good luck!!!

[beahbia12]

I went to an Aveda salon for 3-4 years until my stylist that I loved left and I wasn't blown away with any of the other stylists I tried. Shortly after she left I switched jobs and no longer worked in the area of the salon anymore. I also had a baby and didn't have the $150 every 6 weeks to blow on my hair anymore.

They have to do A LOT of training and keep up on the current techniques and styles which I really liked. My salon had an awesome shampoo room that was dimly lit and they gave you a scalp and neck massage and while your conditioner sat they did a hand and arm massage. It was amazing.

They also offered free coffees and teas, the teas were the Aveda brand. It was an overall great experience.

The services were a little pricey, I think 4-5 years ago I was paying $40 for a haircut and $85-$90 for highlights, in a MCOL area.

I tried it all: short hair, long hair, extensions, blonde, brunette, all over color, highlights, etc. Mine also did nails, massages and facials.

I seriously loved going there though, it was so relaxing and I always looked forward to it.

I tried and bought many of their products and honestly I didn't really love them. I did like one of the smoothing creams, but I wasn't a huge fan of the shampoos and conditioners I tried though.

I didn't have a membership, but they did have a points system where if you bought products and earned enough points you would get free and discounted items.

Anyway, overall I loved it and would try it out if I were you.

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[DaisyCakes]

I've been going to an Aveda salon for 5 years now and I absolutely love it! Aveda is based in Minneapolis, so I've also frequented the Aveda Institute. Every product and service I've tried has been fantastic! I've never been disappointed.

[spindle92]

You cannot go wrong with an Aveda Salon.
All stylists/colorists/tech's you name it, go thru a very intensive Aveda training program before they hit the floor.

[greeneggs]

Just like any salon you can sometimes get a dud stylist or your style may not be a good match for the salon's style, but overall Aveda salons are great. I worked for one for 4 years in college and my salon did an excellent job of educating the stylists, especially in color. I'm a bit out of the loop on Aveda training, but I was never too impressed with their style of cutting, but that's mostly because I have very thick and straight hair and most of their cut education that I saw was geared to working with more textured hair. I do love their color very much, and when my greys get to the point I can no longer manage them with tweezers I'll go back Aveda for my color. They have a wonderful custom color system that gives the stylist complete control.

[sarahbear]

I have an Aveda stylist and love her. She is level 3 and the only person who has ever been able to cut my hair right. My mom tried someone who ruined her hair though. She never went back, but recently I convinved her and she has found someone good there. I like their products and the atmosphere.

[greeneggs]

Sexycarrot, I didn't mean to make you nervous! It's been almost seven years since I worked for the salon, so there's a very good chance that the education has changed over that time and my salon may have chosen to offer more curly/wavy cutting classes o my perception may be skewed. I'm very particular about how my hair is cut and I need it to be thinned with texturizing shears, but after I left my Aveda salon and shopped for a new stylist I always had to argue with my stylist over how best to thin my hair. It may be an Aveda thing or just a trend in my area, but it was something I noticed. Aveda's philosophy in terms of cuts it to maximize the texture you have, so the aggressive thinning i need doesn't mesh well with that. My current stylist is not Aveda trained and cuts my hair like I want it, but she uses Wella color so when I have to start coloring again I'll need to split my time between two salons to get what I want.

ETA: Aveda salons are usually independently owned and operated, so memberships are not always part of going to one. I've never worked for or gone to a salon that does memberships so I can't really comment about that, but a quality salon should be relaxing and hard sales are the complete opposite of that.

[stever]

I'm neither stylish nor beautiful either but I luurrrrrve my Aveda salon. The products are lovely, and slightly more natural than other stuff, and my stylist is great.

[whiskeytails]

I go to an Aveda salon in a LCOL area. My cut and color (highlights and more) is $110. I love the head massage during the wash and the hand massage after. I love how my hair is colored and the cut is good enough. I have long hair, and I have yet to find someone who cuts long hair well, so I stick with my dresser because she does a great color job.

Free coffee, tea, wine and so on. Plenty of times I have left with a buzz because of so many glasses of wine. But I live in Wisconsin, and we drink.. a lot.