The experience was awful from the minute that I sat down in the chair to when I left the building. I visited the Aveda Institute yesterday (my appointment was 9am) for a color. There was a miscommunication about the type of appointment and Shelby was kind enough to clear out her morning schedule for my appointment. She started with lightening my hair-however the instructor I believe his name was Randall, insisted that she would have to take my hair to a 10 in order to get the bubble gum pink that I wanted. They went back-and-forth for a few minutes. Everything seemed very rushed and like the instructor didn’t really care about the students. He also kept telling me that the ends of my hair have been dyed. False. The last time I had my hair dyed was in 2021 and all of that color has been chopped off. Luckily, she didn’t listen to him and I’m thankful. However. Shelby is graduating next month and I don’t think she’s ready despite having completed 1200 hours. She was completely out of her element. When she took my hair blonde, it turned out pretty brassy and another student had to tell her what products to use for the shampoo/conditioner. I’m going to buy some toning shampoo/conditioner to try and fix it. She was hesitant on how to mix the colors for the Bubblegum Pink and the student next to her, Alex, went ahead and did it for her. Since she didn’t know what she was doing there’s a few spots that were missing color. She also completely forgot to color my roots! After rinsing, we both noticed the orange and she let me know that I could come back next week for a color correction (which is on Wednesday). She somewhat blow dried my hair, not fully because when I left, the back of my head wet. She didn’t even offer to show me what the back of my head looked like and I forgot to ask because I was very disappointed in the way that this turned out. I will update this review with the color correction experience, but right now I would tell everyone to stay away. Unfortunately the results were lack luster (especially for $139) and I can say that I will never be visiting the Aveda Institute again.

I waited to write this review because the stylist is a student and I do understand they’re in training. But I still can’t get my hair back to its normal texture and shine. It’s basically been messed up since it was done at Aveda. All I can say is these are the WORST “highlights” and “layers” I’ve ever gotten. I guess it should have been a red flag when the Aveda stylist was bleaching my hair and another stylist came up and told her she can’t let the bleach partially dry, because it’ll stop developing- and my stylist totally ignored her and said it was fine. Another red flag was when the stylist was drying my hair and looked at me and said “I can’t tell if your hairs wet or dry. Is it dry?”. I’m sorry, but what stylist doesn’t know if hair is dry? Then when the teacher came to check my hair, (after she was done running around burning Sage) she told the student it looked great. Luckily for upwards of $300 my regular stylist + another stylist from her salon were able to do MAJOR repairs on my hair that week. It took 2 people 5 hours to even attempt to fix her mistake. They added lowlight, highlights and shadow roots to fix what the Aveda student did. Not to mention they cut off about 5 inches to get rid of my choppy layers. First photo is the cut from Aveda. Following photos are the color from Aveda.

Yes, they did actually let me leave the salon with my hair looking like this. I understand that you get what you pay for as these are students who are learning. HOWEVER, the supervision of these students is minimal to NONE. THEN, when I called about my hair (once I REALLY noticed it once I got home) they told me that I come back that same day so that someone could fix it. HOWEVER, after traveling 30 minutes back to the salon, I was told that nothing could be done AND that there were NO future appointments available in the next few months to fix this ridiculous highlight job. So my cheap highlight / haircut turned $300+ to get it fixed by actual professionals. Never again. Pay the extra money to get someone who really knows what they are doing.

Went in for a haircut yesterday with Isabella G! I had very long hair, that was dull, dry, and dead at the ends. I wanted to cut a good amount off and add more layers. My last hair cut was done by me with craft scissors in January of 2022 so I was BEYOND due for a haircut. She gave me exactly what I had asked for and I left feeling so good, and I saw a shine return to my hair that I haven’t seen in a long time!! I will definitely be going back to see Isabella (maybe for some blonding :)) and hope to follow her into her career afterwards. A really great experience !!!<3 pics below are before and after of my hair (a couple days apart —coincidentally in the same shirt lol)

I had Mark as my stylist and he was AMAZING! Letting me know the process and every single move. His instructor was amazing as well, she let him know every detail he had to do and it was quite fascinating seeing them both interact, teach and learn. Mark you’re awesome! To be quite honest no other stylist has managed to do my hair justice in a while and give me amazing results. I’m quite impressed and grateful. Thank you guys!

Ava did an amazing job with my cut today! She was professional and efficient, with a warm and friendly demeanor that made me feel at ease. She made great suggestions, checked in with me multiple times to make sure I liked the direction the cut was going, and adjusted quickly and effectively to feedback. The cut is immaculate, the blow dry finish is smooth and shiny, and I left feeling great :)

I went for a facial yesterday with Brittany and had an amazing experience. I've had facials before but never at a school so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was very pleased with Brittany she discussed my skin and the products that would benefit the most. I left relaxed and very happy with my fresh face for the holidays.

I made a last minute appointment at Aveda tonight and I had a great time. I gave my stylist brief preferences and got exactly what I wanted. I only got a haircut, but she cut it well and layered it well too. Her instructor came and closely inspected her work. My stylist is graduating this upcoming Monday and I wish her the best! I would come back for a haircut in the future!

Ema and Ashley did such an incredible job resurrecting a perm that had been done incorrectly. Ema especially really put a lot of care and time into cutting my hair so that when Ashley diffused it it finally popped up for the first time. So grateful! Update: Nico absolutely crushed it when she did a new perm I'm so happy with this experience!

The first time I went for a haircut, the student (Macy) was fabulous. So much so that I booked another appointment at Aveda! Because the student I liked was booked out for multiple weeks, I left my student selection open. Not again! I showed my student my inspo picture and paid extra for a Blowout and Finish. She proceeded to "rough dry" my hair for so long after my perimeter cut that it was dry by the time she went to give me a blowout. She didn't ask her teacher for any checks and then the clock hit 4:30 and she hadn't even trimmed any of my layers. It seemed as though she was too scared to cut my bangs that she just assumed her instructor would do so. He was ZERO help and appeared to be in la la land through my entire visit. At the end, he asked how I liked it and I was truly very unhappy and told him I had wanted more face framing and bangs. He made a few quick cuts and told me the students were done for the day while doing so. If that's the case he should be the one to finish the haircut! I was rushed out of the salon and left very unimpressed with his professionalism.

Kelly B. fixed a previous messed up too-short haircut from another training salon (not the Aveda Institute) for me last night. She had to even out the cut while still leaving me with some style. She was pleasant, efficient and very attentive to my ultimate satisfaction. I’m only disappointed she may graduate before my next haircut is needed.

Teresa R. did an awesome job on my highlights today! She was very attentive to detail and chose a great tone for my hair. All at a great price. The only knock I have is that the service took much longer than a typical salon - but this is understood since it is a school.

My first experience at Douglas J Aveda Institute was fantastic. Online appointment booking was a breeze. I had a haircut and full highlights done by Monica. She was very personable and did an excellent job on my hair. On a whole, the students and instructors working here came across as professional and thoughtful. I will absolutely return to this Aveda salon for services in the future.

Fantastic service! Alexis did a wonderful job. Not only was he bright and bubbly, but he was patient, detail oriented, and listened to my needs. The experience with the educators was super seamless and professional. I've been there twice now and I can't imagine going anywhere else for my hair appointments. A fantastic price for excellent service.

I had such a great experience with Ashley T! I came in not really knowing what I wanted, and she did such a great job guiding me to an amazing outcome. She taught me so many tips and tricks about dealing with my difficult curly hair that I can’t wait to try out! I left feeling so happy and confident. It truly felt like I went to a high end, expensive salon. Long story short, I will definitely be returning. Thank you so much, Ashley!

I had an excellent experience at the school, I was scheduled for a color and cut. My hair was below my shoulders and I had a lot of gray that needed to be covered. The student (Tyler M.) asked a lot of questions before he began working on my hair. Tyler acted in a very professional manner and was knowledgeable, being able to answer my questions about the Aveda products he was using. The color he selected for me was perfect and Tyler ended up cutting about 6 inches off of my hair. I now have a very cute above the shoulder style. I loved the entire experience and plan to schedule another appointment with this student.

As others have said, students (for the most part) are great, but the educators need major help. It seemed that by the end of my appointment all the mistakes on my hair were due to too many hands in the pot making my highlights super inconsistent. My initial student stylist did exactly what I wanted but on the side that others were working it looked nothing like what I had asked for. Em was great. I loved her work, smooth blending, perfect placement, everything I was looking for. The other half of my head was horrible, thick ribbons of bleached hair touched my root when all I wanted was a couple highlights near the bottom and face. I also knew I wanted a couple short pieces in the front and next thing I know the tall african american supervisor just comes and gives me bangs! I was horrified when I saw the hair just drop into my lap. She did this after barely speaking to the student who was taking care of the cut portion of my service. As I'm trying to grow my hair out this was super frustrating I couldn't go further with the appointment as I was close to tears and scheduled a corrective asap. Also there was a pricing mix up. I came in for partial highlights and then they tried to charge me for a full balayage. They seem to be uber dependent on need a photo of exactly what you want. I couldn't have a conversation about what I was looking for and they would keep correcting me saying hair dresser terms that I don't know (like face framing vs curtain bangs, level 7 vs level 9) I want to repeat this would be the educators not the student. I'm never coming here again unless I have 16 photos of what exactly I want because they clearly need it. Also Bella C. needs an attitude adjustment. I've never felt so rushed before and it felt like she just wanted to get things over with and cut more than I wanted right off the bat. I just wanted to get out of the chair at that point. Corrective went good enough, thank god.

I came to The Aveda Institute for a color correction (from a different salon) and I couldn’t be more pleased with the service I received! Mark listened to my concerns with my previous color experience and did everything to correct my hair. He was thoughtful and patient with the color consultation and was sure to select the correct colors to achieve my desired result. Mark used wonderful attention to detail and made sure my color was exactly how I wanted. I was particularly impressed with the shampooing process where Mark worked hard to rinse out all of the hair dye. I appreciate so much how Mark made sure that there was not color left on my hairline and scalp. His attention to detail and his outstanding customer service are unmatched (even at any high end salon!) I also want to give an extra special thank you to the instructor Adrian (of the evening class, I hope I remember your name correctly.) Adrian made sure that all of my hair needs were met and she made me feel that my hair was in the best care possible. I truly appreciate the exceptional experience I received from the Aveda Institute of Chicago! I 100% recommend this salon!

Lauren Griffin is one of a kind! I was a model student for her and it was my first Brazilian and eyebrow wax. She checked in on me after every wax and made me so comfortable through the whole process! I felt so calm around her and felt like she valued my thoughts on every single eyebrow hair! I felt like I could ask her any question or raise any concern I had! I am so thankful that I got to experience it with her and am truly grateful! Lauren, you are an absolute beauty on the inside and out! Thank you for making me feel comfortable in my skin! I am so appreciative!!

I had a color retouch and cut with Michelle today. This is the third time I’ve had Michelle and I can’t speak highly enough of her. She’s adept at coloring. She takes her time and is super thorough when it comes to coloring. My color looks amazing, just like I was born with it! She also cuts my hair every other visit and here again she is precise and single-minded when it comes to the perfect cut. I’ve been coming to Douglas J since 2011 and Michelle is truly the best student stylist I’ve ever had! I love Douglas J and my thanks go out to Michelle! I’ll be back soon for my next regularly scheduled appointment and I’m looking forward to it! - Mary W.