Douglas J Aveda Institute Reviews of Certificates in Cosmetology

"Long story short, you are basically on your own after you get through your intro weeks. I’ve learned more on social media and online than I have within this school. They don’t care about your mental health nor how many clients you have in a day. The only thing they care about is the money that is rolling in not that you haven’t had a sip of water or a bathroom break all day because you’d have 6-7 clients back to back. They expect more out of you than themselves. They always are so demanding of respect when they can’t give any to us. God bless some of the teachers here they are so kind and nice but others not so much. The attendance policy, just like every other comment, is outrageous."

"Attending Douglas J Aveda Institute in East Lansing was the best choice for me. I had excellent training and was busy with back to back appointments as soon as I was on the floor. The education staff was amazing. My favorite was Jackie! I have a child with a disability. There were days I couldn't be at school due to the demands I had at home. I was blown away by the support I was given. I felt so loved! They helped me and encouraged me to stick with it! I have been behind the chair for 10 years this year! I am now sponsored by a major product line. My successes behind the chair have been many. I cannot express enough how proud I am to have attended this program."

"They dont care about students at all. If you have a doctors note without the date on it they take your hours that youre allowed to miss. This school genuinely sucks. If youre going through something, dont go here. They play favorites and blame people for things based off word of mouth. I dropped out the first time and went back hoping to finish and was reminded exactly why I dropped out the first time. Dont waste your money go to a different school. Its way too expensive & you dont even get a real education that you deserve for 30k."

"I’m currently enrolled at the Aveda Institute in Knoxville, Tennessee. Please, please, please do not go here. Do your research. They make it seem like you learn a lot when you go for your tour. The first ten weeks you only go over each technique once. The class is rushed and some of the practicals are left out and not taught. I’ve talked to students from each new class and there’s always several things we didn’t learn and the items not learned vary from class to class because the educators are very inconsistent. Once you get out of intro you’re basically worked to death. There’s been times where I’ve had two clients still in the salon I’m responsible for because the front desk booked my first client “cheryl” for highlights when really she wants highlights and a balayage which will take three more hours than what I have. Then my second client “tina” will come in and I’ll have to try and multitask both clients AND not have a lunch for that whole 8 hour day. They’ll tell you to try and take a “processing break” so you’ll have to do your best and eat something in like the 15 mins you have. This type of thing happens all the time to everyone and none of the teachers or front desk care. They will book you back to back to back and expect you to learn on your own. When you do have your one class day a week it’s a complete joke. Nothing is taught. There’s been classes who are supposed to have the full ten weeks of the unit to complete all of their projects and work but they’ll only get 7 because of the institutes awful scheduling. That’s 3 weeks of missed classes that you’re supposed to pull out your ipad and teach yourself. I would recommend going to TSB if you’re from Knoxville. They have eyelash extension classes and hair extension classes that you can be certified in before even graduating! A group of us tried to tell the director of our school in Knoxville to look into this (Kaitlin Desselle) but she does not care and has no experience in hair/skin/makeup industry so why is she running the school???? We only run through state board like 5 times during the whole 11 months. If they tell you they go in depth about what state board requires don’t listen. They don’t. And also each teacher has different rules each time you run through the test because this whole school is so INCONSISTENT! I have a friend who goes to TSB and they go over state board so much and focus on leading so much more. They don’t get worked to death either. Please don’t go to Aveda if you don’t want to have varicose veins and back problems by the age of 20. That’s all I can do to help you. I’d feel bad if I didn’t warn people."

"Over all, Douglas J was highly disappointing. I had high hopes that this program would really help educate me and prepare me for my chosen career. First off, the tuition is ridiculous. I understand that I was partly paying for the name but there is absolutely no reason it should cost $23,000. The kit that you pay thousands for is made up of cheap tools that you will have to replace immediately after graduation. Years ago, they used to provide quality tools, but they have replaced all of them with their own "douglas j tools" brand. For as much as I am investing, I would hope that they would also invest in their students they claim to care about by giving us quality tools. My first ten weeks spent in "intro" was wonderful. My educator truly went out of his way to make sure I grasped everything. But after that, you are thrown onto the floor. And at that point, you are surrounded by "educators", many in which have NO salon experience. What?! And you're teaching me how to work in a salon? Majority of the educators act like it's high school and pick favorites, who they let do anything. On top of this, they do not care for students well being. Many times I went without lunch breaks because they had to book my day with clients so they could then make more money off of me. I am highly anemic, so often times I would feel faint and light headed. But at least they were making money, right? There was not a lot of organization. I paid fees monthly to be there (over $1,000) and they would claim I was behind on payment when in fact I wasn't. It did not make me feel very secure knowing they were not keeping track of my payments, especially since they were large payments. I could go on and on, but like I said, I was very disappointed in the education I paid for."

"Extremely disappointed with my experience here..i wish i had done my homework..maybe i can save you the trouble First of all the attendance policy is unfair. If you are 1 minutes late you are actually 15 min later(they round up) Second of all there are ZERO excused absences. Doctors notes. Nothing is excused. Its 1500 program & you have 95hrs you're allowed to miss) if you go over You are discharged from the program or must take a 10day medical leave and yes it HAS to be the full 10 days) There are muptupile class action lawsuits due to angry students who had to fold towels and re-stock products..do laudrey(not part of education at all) In addition they have large class' 10-18 students and they all have to compete for help..and favoritism is a. Extremly common thing During my tour i was told id be allowed to accept tips, and would have Job placement for live..alll job placement means is giving you the names of local aveda salons they are hiring Plus going to an Aveda school means you only work with Aveda products so if you want to go to a non aveda salon you are at a disadvantage because you are uneducated on the other products of the industry..so 9 out of 10 times you have to assist in a salon before you're allowed to take your own guests. I had difficulty passing my boards and i thinks its it's because in the final stage "salon life" you have no class room days..that's when they should really be focusing the time on preparing the state board."

"For profit institute. Tuition is way too high. New instructors know less about hair than the students. The school is really just out to make as much money off of students as possible. Students do not accept tips, but have to pay to attended and clients must pay for services. They also want students to pay money for fund raising. A huge waste of money and time. Also the director likes to kick people out for voicing frustrations. He also disapproves when you point out things that are wrong. All in all a huge waste of time and money"

"My school, Douglas J Aveda Institute was a excellent fit for me. I learn better from being taught hands on, and our class size was small. The instructors were very helpful and knowledgeable, and willing to work with me one on one, if I needed the help. I would highly recommend attending this institute. After I graduated, I no difficulty finding employment!"