Beauty

[aubnwa01]

I have a question about Aveda Salons.  I'm trying to find a new haircutter, as I haven't been pleased with the job the last one has been doing for the past year or so. 

There's an Aveda Salon fairly near to me here in Tucson & I thought I might give them a try & see if they can do a better haircutting job than the last one.  I don't color my hair anymore, so it's my natural ashy-blonde gray color. 

It has a fair bit of wave to it, since I had quite curly hair when I was younger, but it seems to have straightened out since menopause & I need to find someone who's a skilled cutter to make it look right.  That's been the problem with the previous stylist, she's not been cutting it to the natural wave in my hair & just said "Well, you can style it with product & make it do what you want".  If my hair was straight, she could cut it any old way, but with the wave that I have, it doesn't work.

I don't use a lot of product & basically want wash'n'wear hair, though I do blowdry it a bit to get the water out of it after I wash it.

Are Aveda Salons mostly about the Aveda products or do they have a hair cutting learning program for stylists as well to learn how to cut hair?  I've found over time that I've had the best luck with stylists who've been cutting hair for a long time & know how to cut hair & I've had a hard time finding an experienced haircutter around here.

When I lived in WA, years ago I used a salon for a long time that would wash my hair & then had 2 heat lamps on either side of the chair that would dry my wet hair & the stylist would cut it as it dried, so it was cut to my wave pattern.  It was an interesting concept, but a bit of a PITA, but the results were quite good. 

Just curious how Aveda operates.  TIA

[HerRoyaLioness]

I have gone to several different Aveda Salons and they are like most other salons - the stylists go to school at the minimum and can have further specialized training or experience after that.  Once they are in an Aveda salon, they usually attend special Aveda classes to learn more.

The only thing is that they use Aveda hair and makeup products exclusively and as a rule are well educated on them.  I do use some of their hair products even though I am not currently going to an Aveda Salon.

Most of them have stylists with varying lengths of experience and you usually pay more for those with advanced skills and experience.

I would go online and check it out - they will usually have the stylists listed with a bit of information on each.  As a rule they have pretty good ones, but if you call, I would let them know your specific circumstances with your type of hair so they could match you up with someone.

Good luck!

[shoekitty]

I cannot stand the smell of most aveda salons.  I feel like I am suffocating in a Ben-Gay tube.  Awful.  Aveda is almost like a cult lol.  They do have extensive training, in the "aveda way". They are probably the best trained of any school of cosmotology .the owner and founder is a fanatic, but has good business sense.  We have a salon in our town and the stylists are fabulous, but I cannot sit in the salon.  The smell bothers me that much.  My face flushes and I get headache. I hate sage and lavandar

[aubnwa01]

@HerRoyaLioness

The website of the salon lists the team of stylists, including the owner, but just has photos & their names, but isn't clickable to show more info on each stylist.  There's a list of salon services for cutting with prices & it lists levels & I assume the Level 2 Stylists have more training/experience:

Level 1: $45-$60

Level 2: $60-$85

Men's Cut: $30-$35

There's also pricing for Color, Styling, Extensions, Texture & some other stuff that I don't need.

[AngelPuppy1]

I used to go years ago, but haven't been in a long time.  They were very professional and I have to say that they probably had the best trained stylists of any where I had ever been.  The salon I went to was very upscale but there was also a much higher price to go with the service and expertise.  Back then I was not bothered by scents and had no issues with products.  Now, I would not be able to tolerate the scents and fragrances in the products that they use probably.  I will say that my hair probably looked the best it has ever looked when I went there.  I had the same sylist for quite a long time and she took so much time cutting and styling my hair and giving me advice.  I would say --- give it a try.  As I said, I haven't been to one of the Aveda salons in years so can't speak to their level of service these days.  I believe that the founder. Horst (sp?) who I had the pleasure of meeting once, died quite a few years ago, so I do not know who is running the company now.  Good luck!!!  

[ID2]

When I moved, 3 years ago, I had to find a new salon to cut/color my hair. I really hated this task since I left my girl, who was great with my hair. I was impressed that there was an Aveda salon one town over from me. I made an appt and began to see a young stylist there. Before long I found out, from her telling me, that she was fresh out of beauty school. I was one of her first clients. I was pretty uncomfortable with that knowledge. I went to her for not even a year. She clearly didn't know how to do simple things I wanted done to my hair (highlight). I now go to a gal at a Kevin Murphy salon. She's the owner, is very knowledgeable and cuts/colors my hair perfectly! 

[San Antonio Gal]

@aubnwa01- I know @SurferWife switched to an Aveda salon not too long ago and has been very pleased with her results.  She has a lot of curl in her hair and maybe she'll see this thread and chime in. 

[PINKdogWOOD]

@aubnwa01  I have Aveda salons around me too, there is a training facil that I've been to which if you go to one, they set you up with a more senior student totally under the guidance of the pros there. Whatever you want done or typically  have done ie cut, color, foils, they understand what you want and will give you a more senior student. I never worried about having a student do my hair.

Then for many years I went to a regualr Aveda salon and had a more senior pro be my 'girl'. After losing 2 of my girls and choosing to work with a much less seasoned staffer (which I had no idea she'd been there really for only a year) I decided she wasn't my go-to.

I now go to another salon that is all Aveda and was hooked up with a brand new girl who I love. She's very good and is much faster with anything we do than the other salon.

If you choose to go to an Aveda salon you do not at all need to feel obligated to buy/use their products. One item I do use at home to work into my very short hair after I towel dry prior to drying it. I do color my hair and so that the color holds for me I like to use John Freida shampoo & cond. for the more blonde highlights I get - this stuff is a bit pricey but I do like it and still much less that Aveda products.

Hopefully you'll be hooked up with someone at your salon to work with. I'd say go for it and see.

[PilatesLover]

@aubnwa01 How interesting that you posted this question because I am on the fence of leaving my current hairdresser and trying the Aveda day spa near me!

I already get the occasional facial, and monthly massages, at the Aveda salon and just love the place. Since I'm increasingly unhappy with my current hairdresser I'm going to make the switch. 

I'm hoping the Aveda coloring products will be kinder to my hair - and hoping the stylist I'm narrowing in on via the website will make me happier with my haircut.

Good luck if you try it and please post back to let us know how it went.

[lulu1]

I went to an Aveda salon for about 15 years.  My stylist was the co-owner.  She never pushed me to buy their products.  I tried their shampoo and conditioner and felt they tangled my hair.

I did LOVE their hair dye.  It had a translucent quality that made my hair appear to be highlghted.

I would still be going to the salon if my stylist had not retired.  I tried 2 other stylists with less than satisfactory results. (with the cuts)