I've been going to avalon for years off and on. Keep in mind this is a school, students get directions from instructors. Students graduate, instructors come and go. The front desk girls has always been friendly , pleasant and helpful. On other hand the Students whisper to each other , laugh, point out a customer and laugh at the results ! Students are on phone texting constantly, (to each other ) I've went back several times for a correction (redo) and have been stared at, felt like I was being judged not only by students but by the staff. They always defend why the hair turned out yellow, or green instead of blond or brown which you asked for. Everyone knows when your having a redo. It's never their fault. When you tell the instructor and student what you want, they say they understand and know exactly what I'm saying , show them pictures of what you hope outcome will be. I pay, tip, thank them, then I go home crying because I look like a freak. The day's I went for redo, I was not theory having corrections. I won' I probably won't be going back anytime soon. Shir b read more

If you give a crap about your education then do not go here. Seriously look at other places before deciding spending $20K for a half fast education.The instructors are not intellectual and do not give a crap about explaining/helping you. The fact that they do not take care of their students that put in 20K for this education is BS. This is a bad area and a bad school to attend. There is no good reason to come or even stay at this school. As someone who has to come here 5 days a week, they need to start restocking their bathrooms, make sure all cameras are working every day so that crimes do not continue to occur in this plaza area, and quit picking favorites and only giving customers to people that are friends to the front desk ladies. This won't be last of my reviews because there is too much bad for this place to be worth your education. Trust me I haven't learned a thing since finishing "stage 1" of what they offer here! read more

Got a balayage with color done with Sheria Lerma. It was absolutely fantastic! My hair turned out amazing and loved how the colored turned out great. Sheria did such a good job and I love that she really cared for my hair and listens to your needs. Plus her head massage is the BEST! read more

Avalon Institute - balayage with purple color - Skin Care Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

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I enjoyed my service at the Avalon school or cosmetology. The highlights were the professional, beautiful and kind teacher overseeing her students who worked on me. Things I didn't enjoy: were the busy front desk, the atmosphere in the front was not so relaxing! The private rooms used for facials were lovely, clean and simple. My daughter had a negative experience with her brow waxing, so I'm not sure I recommend the waxing services. Nails were just okay. read more

Robert would bully students in class and so would Mary Ann. The only instructors who cared about the student were Chelse and Brianna. Ms Evette was a great teacher but she had such a bitchy attitude. Every instructor talked to me with such disrespect. At one point they had 35 students in one class room with a student instructor who knew shit. When I complained about this situation Robert told me off. When I went to Adam he did nothing but blame myself. Nothing at Avalon worked, our laundry machines were broken and we weren't allowed products to practice on our mannequins because it wasn't in the budget. I had such a passion for cosmetology and this school stripped it away. Not to mention, the head director Adam told me to drop out of school. He didn't care for our education, he just took our money and let these instructors get away with anything. Wouldn't recommend coming here. Not to mention when a past student wrote a review on how awful her experience was Adam the head director contacted her telling her she was a liar and such. This school is filled with immaturity and it's not worth your money. I could say so much more, but I'll just leave it at that. read more

Avalon Institute - These teachers are gross - Skin Care Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

If you need your hair done for any occasion and want to have the comfort of knowing you are in the best of hands, call and make your appointment with Jenny Brown! I called and got scheduled for the same day and I had the pleasure of having Jenny work on my hair and I don't think I have ever had someone do the type of wonders she did on my hair! I wanted to keep the length and just start the process of going lighter and I am so happy with the aftermath. Jenny perfectly placed the highlights in my hair so they looked natural and didn't look chunky what so ever!! I will definitely be going back and always requesting Jenny! read more

Avalon Institute - Call & make your appointment with Jenny Brown as soon as possible! She will do wonders to your hair! - Skin Care Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

Jessica T overheard a conversation about needing a hair cut and she knocked our "normal" cut out of the park!!! Guys hair is not hard, however you can definitely tell a difference when it's cut right!! Will be taking full advantage of her being at Avalon! Thanks Jessica read more

I am a recent graduate from Avalon school of cosmetology and would like to say most of the staff in this school are amazing. Including Becky Hastings. She actually cares about the students. Overall I have felt like the school was a bunch of bullshit. I have felt like they treat us as if all they care about is the money being made. Rather than not booking so many clients if we don't have enough people, they double or triple book us. Half the time we don't even get one break the whole day. THATS NOT OKAY!! Yeah In the real salon world that's how it is but it will be different when we can actually make money instead of making money for a company who's taking advantage of their students in this way. When I signed up for the eyelash extension course i had to pay $400 that couldn't be added onto my loans. I had to work hard to make payments to something that was supposed to certify me in 'Babe' lashes. Instead they cancelled the class a few days prior, put it back on, and then we did not even receive babe lash kits. All of our kits were different and no staff member had even heard of the brand we got. We were all supposed to at least get the babe lash glue and half of us didn't even get that. We all spoke to the administrators and nothing was done. We also have to pay for ALOT of things out of our pocket. We have to participate in multiple hair shows and are expected to purchase our own supplies. We have to buy supplies for our salon projects. As well as a lot of things for our level testing and state board. Although the recruiter who signed me up doesn't work there anymore I strongly felt like she manipulated me into doing cosmetology when I wanted to be an esthetician. That really felt like it was about the money because it was about double in tuition and when I told her the things I was interested in (makeup, skin care) she told me that we learn all of that and it's all covered under the license. We learned makeup maybe 3 DAYS out of the whole year. I did facials ONE time. I did waxing ONE DAY. So now that I'm graduated and don't want to do hair and want to do esthetician's stuff I have to go pay hundreds of dollars more for more training. Lastly the new director they hired while I was in school is not a good fit. Since Jody has been there the student meetings were a mess, events were mostly planned by other staff, and she was not understanding or kindhearted at all. She has some students she's very nice to and then some she treats like trash. Also Jody doesn't know anything about the beauty industry so it's difficult for her to understand what we and the staff go through and deal with let alone if there were to be issues with a client and we needed her. She also always threatens students to drop them before even giving them a chance to talk things out or even hear their side of the story. The night instructor George is very rude. He honestly made me feel like crap about myself multiple times with his criticism and making me feel/look dumb in front of clients. Sorry this has been such a negative review but the school needs some major changes. All of the day instructors are amazing and I thank you all. read more

Jalair did an AMAZING job on my hair. Honestly have never been so much in love with my hair. Definitely recommend!

Had a facial by Miya!! What a great experience and great price!! I would definitely fo back and have another facial and try some other services. read more

To say that my experience with this school was absolutely horrendous would be an understatement. If negative stars were an option I would be giving them, trust me. On my last day of school, we had a presentation about social media and online reviews (how rich, right?), so I guess you could say I'm putting my education to good use. First, I want to give credit where credit is due. My instructor gave me a great deal of knowledge. She shared tips and tricks that weren't even on our curriculum, and I'm sure I will benefit from that in the future. HOWEVER, the complete lack of communication between staff members at this school made me want to rip my hair out on more than one occasion. Myself and others were given false information from the very beginning by the people working in admissions. Coincidentally, none of those people work there anymore. The financial aid representative (also, no longer employed there) was always unresponsive. It was like pulling teeth to get a call back from her if you had questions regarding financial aid or payments. With the exception of one, none of the girls working the front desk know their ass from their elbow. We are supposed to get a 10% kickback on our cards whenever we or our clients purchase products. My class was the first class (maybe even the only class) to notice that this was not being handled correctly. Once it was brought to their attention, I was met with attitude and a compete lack of regard for the frustration this was causing me. The owner was more pissed off that this situation needed to be rectified and less concerned that perhaps the people he has working the front are incapable of clicking a simple button on a computer. Ultimately, I lost out on money that was rightfully mine. When trying to talk to Courtney about my hours, I was told "I'm leaving now, I can't help you", and when I came back to check with her again, she never even bothered to turn around a look at me. You could never get a clear answer out of anyone. As an evening student, there is a HUGE lack of support from the staff during evening hours. It is unfortunate that there are great instructors here who are being held back by people higher up who don't seem to know what it takes to run a successful school. Everyone has opinion. Mine is that this school is not somewhere I would encourage anyone to attend. *UPDATE* I was just informed that the state board procedures we were taught were either incorrect or have recently been changed. Once again, the lack of communication amongst staff and students is unbelievable. My state board exam is in a month and I feel like I have next to no clue what I'm supposed to do. If my instructor gave me the wrong instructions, don't you think that should be addressed??? And if the policies have changed, they should do their part to reach out to students and let them know! read more

Just pay extra for a pro to do your hair.... I was assigned Mary. She was nice and even asked me things about me, but honestly she was more worried about her dinner and eating with her friends then doing a good job on my hair. She just seemed lazy. I was very upset she was not listening to what her instructor, and instead of taking the time to do it right she basically told me bye have a nice night, my hair looked half done, was only half cut the way I wanted it to be and not to mention the whole time she had been cutting my hair it still had fucking conditioner underneath my hair near my neck. Honestly this girl wasn't being paid and you could tell she was not passionate about what she did..... Like I said just pay a pro to do it... Hopefully they won't be to lazy to rinse your whole freaking head. I get that they are students but I can't recommend this school. read more

These Ladies sure know what their doing.. Yeah they're students but you gotta start somewhere. I enjoy coming to this school because I like the idea of giving these students the experience they need to graduate and to fulfill their careers. I've been here twice and both girls I've gotten have done a phenomenal job. My hair takes a lot of patience. I get the purplish red all over and blonde in the middle and they've got it right without a problem. Oh and did I mention it's cheaper than going to a regular salon. Hello? Come bring some friends and get your hair done. You'll like what you see. BONUS - check-in offers are always nice to see and while you're sitting there getting pretty you can write a few good reviews ;) it makes time fly pretty fast! Woop read more

Got my balayage touched up last night. The end result is pretty good, a few spots came out with a harsher line than what I hoped, but overall it's good. The instructor was involved throughout the process. It was the students first time doing the technique so I could tell she was a little nervous. I will go back at some point to have it touched up again. You can't beat the price, but you have to be willing to be patient because it is a long process to begin with and the students are learning so that adds extra time. I'm excited to come back to try another service. read more

I had a wonderful experience at Avalon today. I've been to other schools before and wasnt a big fan of them until today. Breana was very pleasant and polite. She was informative with the process and I am happy with the results. She was confident and described in detail the products she was using and recommended them at the end. Breana did an excellent job and I will be coming back to see her! read more

I routinely go here for simple trims. You can't beat a shampoo, cut, and style for $10! I've even gotten a $7 coupon in the mail a few times. Super Savings!!! Keep in mind, the stylists are students, so be patient. Instructors check the students' work before and after your haircut to make sure they do their best work. I wouldn't go here for a drastic change, but it's perfect when you need to cut off some split ends. read more

**DO NOT GO HERE** This was the worst experience I have ever had. I showed the student and an instructor a picture of what I wanted (a balayage and a cut) and they said that was achievable. The student cut my hair and it was approved by an instructor. Turns out it was not even close to straight. The student was rushing so they had two students doing the balayage. After 7 hours, I looked like a blonde that had not dyed her roots in months. They just bleached it and didn't tone it long enough. This was all approved by instructors and by the end I was sitting the the chair crying. When I returned to get my money back they said there is no refunds although that was never stated. The director of education came to speak to me and was rude and condescending right off the bat. Not only did I pay $60 here for the worst cut and color of my life but I had to pay someone else to fix it. DO NOT LET THESE PEOPLE TOUCH YOUR HAIR. read more

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If you want to lighten your hair I would honestly not trust anyone even the instructors. I would go to a professional and yes I know it's going to cost more but worth it. I did a blonde retouch and the girl left the bleach on over an hour I called her and her instructor out on it. They tried saying it's fine but it wasn't. They fried the shit out in my poof virgin hair :( my hair was pretty much grown out just the tips were blonde. Im not exaggerating I'm just very disappointed. I haven't colored my hair in 8 months then I do and that's what I get for it I guess. I understand they are learning so that's why I said go see a professional to lighten hair. read more

Ms. Yvette is one of the most patient, kind, and helpful instructors. I never feel like I'm wasting her time if I need help with a cut, perm, or color. She's so thorough in her explanation, incredibly knowledgeable and will stay with me if I need some extra assistance. read more

Prices are great! Once you find a student you love like I did it's an unbeatable deal! Brianna O. is an amazing stylist, she cuts hair like a pro. read more

My mother and I have been coming here for at least 6 years the teachers are nice and the students listen to what you want. I went in for a haircut today & i had a girl named Jordan Lewis. She was very professional she seemed to be very confident in her skills i would recommend her. read more

If I could give a zero I would. Nightmare experience. I went in for a cut and balayage. Brooke, who had done my hair did a half fast job on everything. My cut was not what I wanted neither was my dye. She was unfriendly and acted is if it was a bother being there. She let the bleach sit in my hair too long, manager even said so and had to do everything possible to try to get rid of the horrid orange my hair turned! Paid over $100 for nothing that I wanted now I get to spend additional money getting my hair corrected. They didn't offer a discount or anything. Never will recommend this place. read more

For the record I give no stars for this school. First off they do not care about their students at all! The administration is VERY UNPROFESSIONAL! On my second day starting school I asked Courtney for assistance and she ignored me!!!!! Not all of the instructors are terrible either. Maryanne who is an INSTRUCTOR would bully other students including myself. She screwed up my clients hair by washing it when the proper time was not up and proceeded to blame it on me!!! They all need to replace administration. Adam is never there and was never on the floor. He is expected to be monitoring given he is the school director. But no.... He steals and lies just to get youre money!!!! Monkeys would be able to run this school better than these yahoos running it. Everyone there is very incompetent!!!!!!! Do not go here! I hope this review helps for future students wanting to go here. I was a past student so this review is VERY ACCURATE! Avalon, I'm very disappointed. What an embarrassment! read more

I just got my hair cut again by Kelsey McKee! She did such a great job and it was totally affordable! I love coming out to get my hair done

I booked a same day appointment for a haircut for someone and decided to see if they could squeeze me in as well. I wasn't expecting to be able to get worked in since they were BUSY on a Saturday. Luckily the receptionist said she would check around and get back to me. Happy to say they were able to work me in. I wasn't disappointed, I got a haircut and color and they both came out great. The color on top was a little lighter than the rest of my hair, but again it's a school you can't expect 100% perfection. The last time I got my hair dyed at a school they turned it fire engine red, and then I had to get it professionally done to get it fixed, so I was a little scared to say the least. But again, I was so happy with the service, the students, and the instructors. I will definitely come back! read more

I have gone to Karyn twice now and what an amazing stylist/colorist! The first time I went, she listened to what I wanted in terms of color and cut, and she delivered! I just went back today to have my roots done, and I am very happy. I will be going back in about 6 weeks. I highly recommend her. She is super sweet, professional, and talented! read more

My aesthetician, Jordan, was AMAZING! I had the 'deep pore cleansing facial.' It took a bit longer than facials I've had at spas, but the extra time was mainly spent on me! My skin felt so good after this treatment....so good that I'm already booked for another appointment in two weeks. The facial massage was to die for. This next time, I'm going to try the microdermabrasion. read more

DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN! Worst experience I have ever had in my life. Took my daughter to have her hair washed, deep conditioned, and blown out.. The student washed, conditioned it and got 1/2 way done blowing it, to realize she hadn't rinsed the conditioner out.. So she re-rinsed it and had to start over blowing. She had never worked on African American hair before, and was doing the best she knew how. The supervisors/teachers came over and said if your daughter is going to cry we won't do her hair. No problem, she won't cry, she's ok. Well an older blonde teacher/instructor comes over and said "NO we won't do her hair!" We had been there for 2 1/2 hours already. She asked if I had ever been there before, said she had told another white mom with a black girl that they wouldn't do her hair either because the girl was too tender headed. I had NEVER EVER been here, nor will I ever go there again! So we paid for our services & left. We did not get a "I am sorry from them or anything!" They had us leave because the teachers did not want to instruct their student on how to blow out my daughters hair! Seriously, can you believe this? The teachers not helping their students. No direction or help, just give up & get them out as fast as you can... SO - if you are thinking of being a student at this school DON"T DO IT! If you want to get your hair done, DO NOT GO HERE! Students where nice, but the teachers/ supervisors should all be fired. My daughter walked out and started bawling from embarrassment... read more

I would not recommend going to Avalon as a student or client. It is unprofessional and a waste of money. Student reasons, they care more about your money than they do your education. I've had to go on Antidepressants because, I personally, was bullied and mentally abused. Both by students and administrative directors. I put in complaints with the school multiple times, nothing happen. Client reasons, this school is very unprofessional. They will put the blame on you before the student or instructor. I've also had clients tell me they have been treated poorly by front desk and instructors. I even had a couple clients come in for the scheduled time and the front desk lets them know, once they get there....not before, that they can't get there services done today. Avalon, being so "professional" as they say they are, should have called them earlier that day or the day before. Do not go to Avalon School of Cosmetology for any reasons. read more

I get my hair done by Amanda and she is amazing! Color and cut is perfect and she is confident which is always good! :)

Had the worst experience ever! Only was in class 1 1/2 weeks. Class had 31 students in our class. Instructor had no control over the class. Nor was he ever prepared, truly a pay check employee. I went to management because I'm paying for an education. They promised they wouldn't say who it was. They did, in turn the harassment started. When he knew he shouldn't and couldn't take it out on me, he turned his teachers pets into classroom bullies, but it didn't effect just me all the other new students as well. He and his co teacher who was rarely in there, argued and disagreed over everything. Truly just a number there. I walked out spoke to an instructor and emailed financial aid. Not one person has called. I am so happy I transferred. There are better schools with more professionalism. Class is all over the place and unorganized. read more

Jenny Brown handled my haircut like a BOSS! So you get free shampooing with a haircut, and since she used to be a massage therapist it was relaxing. She clarified what I wanted and was friendly. Jenny did an awesome blowout to top it all off! I even asked for my bangs to be a little shorter and she didn't disappoint! If you need a haircut, color, or a good blowout, I strongly recommend asking for Jenny Brown read more

Would be 5 stars but after last night I think not. Got wonderful up service when I booked my appt for noon and 6pm. Booked a haircut for 730pm. Wasn't seen until after 8 because for some reason I was assigned to a stylist I've never met, that was going way beyond 730 with her last appt. I asked to reschedule and they immediately found another student to help me. Let me say, Kaitlyn did a wonderful job with the time she was given. I give her 5 stars. She even apologized for me having to wait so long when it wasn't even her fault. I desperately needed weight taken off my thick hair. She was going to use her special shears at the end of my haircut. It was about 10pm (the time they close) and receptionist came up to her while she was cutting my hair saying "hey, almost done!?". This rushed her, therefore having no time to take weight off my hair. I would've had time to take weight off my hair if they didn't just let me sit in the front for half an hour. Kaitlyn gets a 5, receptionists ZERO. Side note, Mao does an excellent job with facials. See her during day hours :) read more

It would have 5 stars but I have only been there once and felt like it took for ever for everything but it all came out good and the teachers help the students a lot and it was just a great experience and I was originally worried that it would be bad because they are students but the teachers helped a lot and I was confident that I was in good hands. read more

DON'T GO HERE!! I hate that I trusted what this school said. They lie about everything! They told us we would be microneedle certified and learn so many things that we never even talked about. They don't accurately record hours on purpose so you stay longer and they get more money. I paid so much money and they gave me materials that we never touched, made me pay for all of my state board materials and repeatedly gave students wrong information. This school will seriously set you up to fail. Out of the whole school only 2 teachers know their shit. Shanaz is terrible! She does not teach, she takes 1 hour breaks constantly and ruins your skin! She made me put on 3 layers of the Jessners peel... if that's not scary for you I don't what is. All the counselors are super condescending and extremely rude. Autumn doesn't know how to run a school and it shows. She employs people and teachers who don't care, super lazy and are extremely inconsistent with the rules and procedures. I absolutely regret going here. I graduated in November and I'm still having problems with them. They DO NOT prepare for your exams!! read more

I took my son here and while his cut and stylist was great, I was disturbed to hear how rude the instructors were. I felt like I had returned to high school and the little cliches were running the salon. The instructors were quite rude talking about different students in front of me. Maybe because my back was turned they thought I couldn't hear their rude comments. What's really bad is how they were making fun of a customers end results. It was very obvious they were putting the student down and saying how it was a good thing the client couldn't see the back of her head. I thought the instructors were there to teach and assist not be childish and make fun of the students. Whoever runs this place needs to take a long hard look and their teaching staff. I was referred to go here by a parent at my son's school but I'm not sure about returning. read more

Every time I've been here I've had great experiences. The people pamper and take care of you just as they would at an expensive salon. Absolutely love coming back here and look forward to it every time. I'd recommend this place to anyone but make sure you make an appt. w/ the right person for your needs! read more

I would give a ZERO!!!!!! I went last week had a good experience and took my boys there for simple hair cuts.... the girl cut my kids sides everything was fine and took the clippers and SHAVED the top of his head!! She said "Oh s***" I immediately jumped up and told her to stop it was way too short... it was awful. The instructor tried to blame it on my kid saying he told her to use the certain size of clippers.... HELLO he is a kid!!! I will NEVER EVER go back here or recommend this place! If you want to look like Mr. Potatoe Head go here! Awful not even an apology.... read more

I go to Avalon every 2 wks. My last visit b4 today was on Nov 4th. The month of Nov, your 2nd service is 50 percent off. On Nov 4th, I was not given the discount. I told the desk today that I thought I was overcharged. I was told Avalon would not honor this promotion because when I was there last, they did not have the promotions for Nov yet. I do not feel this was fair treatment at all. I have been a steady client for almost 2 yrs & I don't feel valued at all. The next time, I'm scheduled for 2 services is in Dec so guess what, the promotion will be over then. read more

I cannot express my gratitude towards the instructors and staff at Avalon. I graduated a couple of months ago and I can assure you, the instructors give you the tools you need to succeed. However, do not expect to come to this school and be given everything without working hard. This is not high school, this is a school where you are building your skills to become a licensed cosmetologist. That means working hard, asking questions, practice any time you can and communicating about any concerns you have with instructors right away. I was lucky enough to work with every single teacher and I cannot stress enough how much knowledge each one of them have. Briana during stage one built my skills to be able to perform at my best during the student floor. Maryann and Yvette then refined my skills as I entered the student floor, they work with you not for you and this is an industry that you have to have the drive to do your best and succeed! Robert and Dan along with Chelsie shaped and refined my skills before graduation and because of all of them I was able to perform an average of 40-45 services per month and once licensed I am able to book myself(working on my own) with at least 2 months in advanced! Avalon was the best decision I made and I will be forever grateful towards my instructors. Plus Becky and Adam were always a great support as directors! Remember beauty school is how hard you work to be the best and all the instructors made this possible!! read more