Aveda Institute Washington DC

If I could give this salon less than 0 stars I would. Absolute worst experience of my life. Basically went in with light brown hair w/ blonde highlights and brought a picture of hair that had a light base also with highlights. Proceeded to dump bleach on my head for over an hour and had to have it toned three times and removed twice. The worst part is that the students were acting under the direction of the teachers and the teachers were the one that provided instruction on what to do as the toner formula. I have 0 faith in this facility to provide competent customer service because of the failure of the educators to provide instruction. It was laughable when they asked me if this was what I wanted my hair to look like. DO NOT go to this salon unless you want to spend upwards of $400 to correct the disaster that they will create.

Here's the deal - you get what you pay for. Both times I've gone, I was seen well after my actual appointment by about 45 minutes each time. They do not staff their floor, it seems, to accommodate the amount of clients on the books or to allow students longer in between clients. That said, the students and managers have been fairly kind and professional. I liked my cut quite well both times I went, and I have long thick hair which isn't easy. On my second appointment, the student doing my hair put WAY too much shine serum in my hair and it was a thick greasy mess. I tried telling her my hair was greasy and she just froze. When she finally managed to speak, she said she'd have to wash my hair and start over. As my haircut had already lasted about 2 hours, I declined and walked out with greasy hair. The front desk was awesome - they gave me a coupon for a free hair cut and gave me a tip - Call the actual salon and ask the front desk about "who's really good" and they'll hook you up. So it wasn't the best experience but not the worst. Bottom line, the appointment will take about 2-3 times longer than you'd expect, you may have a very weird style or greasy hair, but chances are you'll have a decent haircut at a rock bottom price for DC.

I have been coming here for 2+ years for my hair cuts, and it’s hit or miss every time. Sometimes you get to go right on time, sometimes you wait 45 minutes plus. Sometimes you get a really experienced student who does it perfectly, sometimes you get a brand new student who basically watches as the instructor cuts your hair. Whatever, I’ve always been fine with it because I figure, they are students and it is super cheap. But then I tried to get my hair dyed there. First, they called 2 hours before my appointment and said they had to cancel. I said no sweat, stuff happens and scheduled it for the same day next week. Then next week rolls around and yet again, I get a call cancelling my appointment. This time, they couldn’t reschedule me for more than 2 weeks - that’s when I got annoyed. I had the student take down my information so I could talk to a manager, but the manager never called me back. I went and got a same day appointment at a professional salon and I’m pretty sure I’m done with aveda - maybe a trim once in a while, but I’m sticking to the professional salon for the heavy lifting

I get haircuts here and have had mixed experiences. Most of the time, my appointments start 10-15 minutes late, which I understand because there are a lot of people coming to the salon. One time my appointment got canceled 5 minutes before it was supposed to start though and they were unable to reschedule me in store, I had to call. The haircuts take long but usually I'm happy with the result, it helps if you take a picture with you of what you want. Getting my highlights took 4 hours though, while my hair is only chin length. The student also spilled dye on my hair, so I had blond spots at certain places. 50% of the students I've had have been very nice and helpful, the other 50% seemed bored. I think the quality of your service really depends on who your stylist is, so ask for an upper level student!

I have been going to this Aveda Institute for over 8 years and the quality has really deteriorated in the last two years. I used to go every month for a facial and every few months for a haircut. Occasionally I would also get my nails done. However now I only go occasionally for a haircut and only because it is so cheap and I don't need anything complicated done. The spa services are the absolute worst and no longer worth the price. I can handle the less private spaces but not the fact that there is no real teacher supervision. The last few times I had to go to the bathroom after and wash out face products from my hair because the students weren't careful about not getting gobs of product in my hair. I have had students who I don't even think have had a single class on doing a facial and were too heavy handed when applying product. I love Aveda products but frankly I would rather pay double to have a real professional who has the perfect touch and won't leave product in my hair. The hair services are slightly better but the last few times they cut off way more than I asked and didn't properly shape my layers. If you have anything more complicated than a trim I suggest going elsewhere. There is no real customer service and while often times they make you wait way past your appointment time if you show up even a minute late they cancel your appointment.

I've been to the Aveda Institute in Denver and had a great experience so I had high hopes for this one. I've gone in twice and the first time I had a haircut which ended up taking more than 3 hours. It was just a haircut and simple styling...nothing else. The student was nice and really wanted to do a good job, but spent quite some time trying to figure out an uber for her friend down on the street. Also the instructor provided her with horrible advice based on a picture I brought in which ended up making my hair look like a box on my head when I walked out. The instructor didn't even come back to ensure I was happy and this was what I wanted which was what my experience was at the institute in Denver. My second appointment was for a pedicure and I ended up waiting 40 minutes before I got called up. The student was a again very nice and wanted to do a good job. The instructors seemed to care a lot more about her and my satisfaction at this appointment which was nice, but overall I'm disappointed with my experiences here and don't plan on going back.

I've gone to several Aveda locations in other cities where I have lived that have generally been great but DC drops the ball. My appointments always get cancelled or rescheduled at super weird times because a student won't be there or something or other and I'm not informed until the last minute. I know they are students but the last two times I had my hair cut they didn't seem to have a clue. Khalani cut my hair two weeks ago and was rude, too social with other students, kept walking off to do goodness knows what for what felt like forever. I was very clear that I had to be at work by 10:30 but she took her sweet time anyways and I was 45 minutes late. She did not give me the standard neck massage and washed my hair with gloves on because she couldn't be bothered to take off her rings. I had a manicure there a while before that which was a dreadful waste of time and money. The girl clearly didn't know what she was doing and was rather lazy, no hand massage, no cuticle treatment, the polish was chunky. The whole place is clearly taking on far more than it can handle. It's always cluttered and in a state of confusion with customer service not making the list of priorities. Plus they always awkwardly ask for you to tip or make a donation to the person who did your service while they're standing right next to you and it takes five minutes of insisting that you will not buy all the products they used which are insanely overpriced anyways.

I'm surprised by the negative reviews here, since that wasn't at all my experience. Cannot speak to coloring as I only got a shampoo and cut. I was an hour early for my appointment, and they still took me back right away--I barely sat down in the waiting area before my stylist was there. I received one of the best haircuts I've had in a while from Doug, supervised by his instructor also named Doug. It took an hour from start to finish and he completely relayered my hair beautifully. I think the most important thing here is communication, which some of the other reviewers perhaps did not do. I was very clear with Doug and he confirmed what I wanted several times, and we had pleasant chatter throughout the service. Maybe it's my bias as a former teacher, but these students are here to learn and I am more than happy to let them. You can't beat the value of the services. Just speak up and let your student know what you want! And don't forget to tip cash only them!!

Like other reviewers here, we agree the management and supervision here has really gone downhill. My friend and I both got haircuts here at the same time, so my review is about both of our experiences. My friend summarized our haircuts best: "It's like we went to buy apples and they gave us zucchini instead." I have medium length hair and wanted bouncy, face framing layers put in and curtain fringe. I waited about 30 minutes at reception and I think they were scrambling for someone to come and cut my hair. When I did get a student, I showed her a picture of what I was hoping for a few times. Apparently, you are supposed to get an instructor to come check up on you before they start cutting and you are supposed to sign another form the instructor gives you. I never had an instructor check with me or my student, at any point, and the only form I signed was when I checked in downstairs. My student was very careful to take off hardly any length when she trimmed my hair, which I really appreciated. However, you can't really see the layers in my hair and they aren't really bouncy or face framing - I can't even see them. My curtain bangs are not really curtain bangs but chin length pieces hanging down. I don't mind this, but it is not what I asked for. Also, when she first started cutting them she made a mistake of where to start cutting and so I have a piece nearest my face that is at *least* two inches shorter than the rest of the chin-length bang type thing she cut. For what I paid, it's fine, but I am disappointed that the style looks nothing like I asked, and there was never an instructor checking in at any point. My friend has regularly gotten haircuts here before and has generally had good experiences. Not anymore. My friend has very long thick hair and she wanted a simple trim "at most a half inch to trim the layers." Her student said "one or two inches off?" and my friend said half an inch at most. Before she even got her hair washed, the instructor came and asked the student how she planned to style my friend's hair. The student waited for a very long time and then said she didn't know, maybe a simple blow dry. My friend now has several different length layers in her hair and her hair was cut four inches shorter at least. Also, she has two wispy chunks of hair on each side at the back that are her original length, so they are just two sort of tail-looking pieces at least four inches longer than the entire rest of her hair. If that wasn't enough, the student did not completely dry my friend's hair. My friend's hair was still wet and she had to ask the student if she could use the blow dryer to keep drying it. So, my friend had to dry it herself, and it was completely unstyled by the student. WHILE my friend was drying her own hair, her student actually told her that they no longer accept credit card tips and she will have to tip her with cash. While my friend was drying her own hair. Our overall opinion is that maybe we came at a very unsupervised time. Our appointments were noon on a Monday. Neither of us plan to return. By the time I grow out my baby bang and it joins the rest of my bangs, and by the time she grows her four inches back, we will save up to go to a salon. The only good part of our experience today was the reception area - they were professional and sweet and friendly.

Went here to get a perm done on my long, virgin, straight hair. The instructor assured me that they could get the look I showed them in the photo with big beach waves. The student then took me to get my hair washed and kept breaking off pieces of my hair when it got tangled. I was also given a biloage treatment that I didn't need. I paid $135 for the entire 4 hour fiasco. They also charged $18 for a 2 inch trim. instructor doesn't really stick around which the student is doing things to your hair. She barely checked my hair at the end because they were closing up. My perm fell flat as soon as I walked out of the salon. Absolutely worst experience ever. They told me that they won't refund the service, even though I didn't receive the service I was promised.