I haven't had a haircut in 8 months and really just wanted a trim - this place was $9 for a wash, trim, and blowdry. I was in an out in an hour and it was worth every penny. The staff and stylists are not the most professional - keep in mind that the stylists are young and still learning how to be stylists! Mine wasn't chatty with me but I kind of was glad because it meant she was focusing on not jacking up my head. Don't walk in here expecting Jean Madeline Aveda Institute (I've now been to both cosmetology schools for haircuts and they are not even the same beast) but do expect to walk in and get quick, cheap service. read more

Unprofessional. Both Employees and a few students... but it's cheap so I guess you get what you pay for.

On 4/21 I went in to get a basic pedicure. The girl I had was awful. She spoke so softly I could hardly hear her. She did not fill the tub with water. She did not trim my toenail with clippers. All she did was file them down a little. read more

Madison Lawrence is spectacular. She made my toes look brand new. She really is gentle and observant. Book with her for a relaxing evening!!! read more

Empire Beauty School - Cosmetology Schools Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My experience was wonderful the student and staff were very welcoming and pleasant. My stylist was Najdah and I will definitely be going back... read more

I got a weave that looks a real mess, and I don't blame the stylist I blame the teachers and not all of them. I paid 120. Dollars to the school and 25. In tips. I got to pay someone to fix my hair, because I'm going on a cruise and my hair is a mess. I have all kinds of lumps and bumps in my head. If you're gonna take these students money you should make sure that they are ready , teachers should inspect people hair and make them do it right. These teachers don't care and treat you like you like you are the problem . I was there twice and I believe they deliberately messed my hair the second time, I'm gonna pray for them. Yes the second time they messed it worse. read more

No record of appointments when come for service. Students are not prepared to service clients at opening. I asked for wash , blow dry and thermal curl...student left my hair to take phone call after 20 minutes never came back...teacher finished ..did not give service requested which was a tight curl the back of hair unfinished left me sitting ...I got up walked out...after coming for services for over 30 years will never come back or refer anyone to Empire again. read more

I believe the ladies did this on purpose to switch the appointment time schedule without ur knowing. Very rude ladies have their attitude to my friend when she had her appointment at 1:30pm but switched 5:30pm even they gave her ugly looks to her . read more

I been going to chestnut location for quite sometime now.Yesterday was the first time i was disappointed in my services. I ask for a trim deep hair condition and two dutch braids. normally it would cost $22 top for everything I get. The young lady did everything that was her paper but they forget to the deep hair condition treatment to my service.I ended up paying $10 more and it was $32 which was was haircut and updo when i only get dutch braids which is $6. read more

I have been a student here at empire for at least 4 months let me just say no experience is perfect but I can honestly say I love and appreciate everyone here! Especially Mr.Flanigan! He is so helpful and understanding with every single student and goes above and beyond to make sure everyone is taken care of! I would definitely recommend. read more

I had an appointment in the Reading location. I was met with very personable employees. My best thrill was when I met my stylist, Nikki Koniow . She is very professional asking how I wanted my hair and answered my questions. I am hoping her schedule allows for another appointment before she graduates. She went above and beyond her duties to make sure I was comfortable and happy with my cut. Nikki was courteous and enjoyable. I believe no I know it was the best shampoo and conditioning I have ever had. Thank you Nikki you earned every penny read more

I hope this gets back to Krystal.... She was so sweet and very professional. She listened to what I wanted talked to her teacher and was very attentive to what I hoped the outcome would be. She nailed it ! I got highlights and a cut.... both came out just what I wanted. I will be calling before she leaves to get another appointment with her. I hope she goes to a salon near me because I will follow her. I have paid high prices and did not get a good job like she did for me. Thank you Krystal you are going to be a fantastic hairstylist..... see you soon... Stephanie Kaufman read more

First, I understand this is a school. That being said, I just don't get it. The students are disrespectful, the instructors are never around, and when they are around, they have atttitudes. The front desk staff have attitudes and the students on the floor dont seem to care. This location is good for the very elderly and Whites, but if you're black, you can count on your hair being messed up. And don't express a concern. The students get angry because they think they know everything, and the instructor is not much better. No professionalsm. This location is all about the money because these people just dont care. read more

Wonderful staff and students. They all made feel very welcome and were careful to hear me out with what I wanted done to provide perfect service. I got a color & cut, which both turned out better than expected, and very affordable!! I got a couple inches off the length then lots of medium and long layers blending into a "v" shaped angle in back. I went from natural brown to blue black (color A2) which turned out beautifully! Since my hair is so long & thick the mentor/teacher warned me ahead of time that if my stylist needs to use more than 1 bowl of dye it's 10.00 per additional bowl. This was totally fine & understandable (it usually takes 2 box kits to dye my own hair) but most importantly I appreciated the warning up front. Overall, Empire was a super friendly, professional and caring atmosphere! Thanks, I'll be back in 6 months! read more

Empire Beauty School - Cut & color at Empire on chestnut street. Blue black color with medium & long layers throughout. :) - Cosmetology Schools Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is a revision to a previous review which wasn't so positive. I revisited the location on a spur of the moment and I'm happy to say this visit was excellent. The student who provided the services was professional and did a very good job on my hair. The instructor, Ms. Brown was excellent and provided excellent guidance to the student as needed. My thanks to everyone!!! read more

This place on 1500 Chestnut Street is so ghetto, unprofessional, lack communication skills, so sensitive and emotional, and lacks empathy. I have never received the experience I received today, in Pre-Covid. I had a negative experience with a young, white female, Janet, who got in her feeling because I was asking her questions about her qualifications. Disclaimer: I have never had a white female perform a mani-pedi, hair, and facial before. She is a student who has never interacted with me. I had informed her and she cried white tears, so my services were terminated and I was told I was being discriminatory towards her. 1) I never told her I did not want her to perform any services on me because she was white. 2) I was skeptical, because she was a student and she never worked with me before. So I wanted to build a repor with her by asking her questions about her qualifications so I can be at ease. She did not know my sensitive locations such as my feet. I did not know that they did not soak my feet first prior to them sanding the nail down. Well Janét (Becky) got in her feelings and cried to the Receptionist (Instructor), the Director and Assistant Director that I was being discriminatory towards her. How are you to know about your client unless you ask or they tell you? I get it that she has been in the school for two years. Their excuse to me is that if they did not think she was qualified, they would not have set her up with me. my question is, How many people you have said that too? So protecting their asset (their overly sensitive student), they terminated my services. Which I left peacefully. If you, the student, do not know how to communicate with your clients effectively, without getting into your emotions, then this is not the field or career for you. In this field you must have thick skin, and know how to use your words instead of running to your head to bail you. It pays to be the boss. You cannot be the boss running and telling somebody hurt your feelings. Sometimes, you have to listen and sometimes you need to have a dialog with your clients in order to have a great repor with your clients. There is no time to be messing up coins. Get it together and learn how to admit when you are wrong. read more

First time going. My hair wasn't washed properly. I think the general consensus about hair is that you scrub the scalp when you wash it, right? Nothing close to this happened. Just suds applied to my hair and a rinse. In the process of getting my hair blow dried, chemicals were sprayed directly in my eye several times. On top of it, I WAS BURNED. Who knew a simple blow dry, wash and curl would be so difficult? Don't go here. read more

I would give this place 0 stars if possible. Walked in here for the first time and never will I come again. I was waiting for my friend in the sitting area. The receptionist at the desk, started mocking Asians blatantly as I was the only Asian sitting in the waiting area. She started speaking in a "stereotyped" Asian women in a nail salon to her friend, very loudly. I looked up in disbelief as she continued speaking in her mocking tone. I can't believe Empire allows that type of racist behavior from their workers. Wanted to try their services but forget it. I rather go somewhere racist behavior isn't condoned. Empire, you need to train your workers in customer service. Right now you have the most ignorant employees. read more

I walked in having had fallen on the sidewalk and scratched up my hand. I kindly asked if I may please use the restroom to wash my hand. The female working at the front desk who I presumed was the owner looked at me and said I cannot use the washroom unless I was a paying customer. One would expect any Philadelphia resident to help when some is hurt, in my brief time, I guess this is not a place with heart :) read more

This place is HORRIBLE! I wish I read the reviews before going there. I went to get my nails done (acrylics) because they were only $15 and I thought that was a good price. Professional nail salons charge about $20 so its not really much of a steal considering at this cosmetology schools your nails will come out like crap! The student who did my nails had no instructor guiding her! They do not really have any tools to do nails and my nails looked as if I could of done them myself. My nails started falling off the next day and the polish just looked dry and rusty. Invest in the extra $5 and get your nails professionally done. read more

I usually always come here to get my hair blow dried and straighten because $10 is an amazing price. I pretty much always have a good experience and like my hair after it's done. Just be clear about what you want done and don't be afraid to lightly give suggestions (they are students after all). The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars because sometimes the wait can be a little off putting. The last time I was there I waited for almost an hour and there was no one ahead of me read more

As a customer of Center City's Empire Beauty School...you get what you pay for. Forgetting the incredibly long wait in a crowded and loud waiting room (even with an appointment,) getting my hair cut here was a horrible decision. The young woman who cut my hair was completely unprofessional and uninterested in customer care. She spoke with her coworkers the entire time, not even always watching my head as she snipped away. When I finally spoke up to get her attention, I was greeted by an overwhelming attitude. My hair was cut much shorter than I asked it to be and I asked for layers, yet my hair is all on length. I am so disappointed by the way my hair turned out, but to add the lack of professionalism or even plain manners at Empire Beauty School makes me want to tell anybody and everybody to stay far away. read more

I was assigned 2 different male students and after giving me a nice hair wash they did AWFUL jobs on the styling. The 1st time I wanted an updo with pony tail. The stylist seemed confused but pretended to know what he was doing rather than ask for help and did the style ugly and loose. The 2nd guy I got when I wanted coils. After waiting for several hours I was assigned to a student who acted as if he didn't want to be bothered at all. He started on my head with simple 2 strand twists that my 4 year old could've made and he told me I didn't have the right hair for coils (untrue my hair was natural and long enough) so he was going to give me twists. He got a phone call about another affair and stuck me under the dryer forever and a teacher later told me the guy left and she found someone to finish my ugly do. All these hours made me miss half of my company xmas party I was going to. On one experience there a sytlist braided my hair wonderfully and when the senior staff saw what a good job she did they charged me additional money that was $10 shy of Professional pricing! This price change trick happened to me twice at this Empire. Since I didn't pay upfront when first quoted a price around many witnesses and instead waited until my hair was finished later in the day to pay bill, they ran up and told me the register is about to close and they must collect money now. That is when the price went way up from the orginal and printed price from the Empire pamphlet and my receipt was changed up to add additional services like pedicure, manicure, waxing, hair when in actuality I only had hair styling. I will never use this location again but if I use another location in the future I will pay upfront just to be safe. read more

I've gone here 3 times, first visit really bad experience lol, long story short a teacher had to do my hair. Obviously she did a good job. Students are lazy yes but if your a likable person you should be fine, also throwout that you might tip lol. Cheap so did a pretty good job. id recommended it. Beware black people atmosphere so it's exciting. read more

The front desk staff at this 1522 Chestnut Street location is beyond slow. They are rude by phone and in-person. They definitely are in need of customer service training. Who ignores a customer to talk to a classmate. Just RUDE!!!! Ugh read more

I went in here b/c I wanted a cut and color and b/c I was headed to staples for something on sale,so even though staples didn't have what I wanted,these ppl did,i couldn't get color b/c of the dye test and I couldn't come back cause of my schedule that week,but the girl who worked on me was putting me asleep b/c she was so gentle,engaged me in convo,ppl at front desk were friendly and helpful,a lot of steps but they have an elevator.so in the end I got a cut,shampoo and straight ironed for 12 bucks . read more

I actually haven't been here and I am about to tell you the reason why..., I recently called the school about there service and the lady who answered had a straight up attitude. I asked her if this was the hair salon section and you she continually kept saying "Empire Beauty School" like that answered my question, so I just assumed that this was the correct line. I shrugged it off and continued with what the service included and the hours etc, the whole time she was very rude!! I don't understand of it was something I said maybe because I was asking to many questions or she was just in a bad mood. Doesn't matter because when you work somewhere where you interact with people on a daily basis you should be polite and use to people asking you questions. By the end of the conversation I was just turned off! I've heard a lot about this school and now I know why. Just some advice please get someone who is more polite and courtesy to potential clients to answer the phone. Will not be going there. read more

I got a very nice haircut for $9. The website says $5 but apparently it's more for ladies. Still a good price especially considering it came with a shampoo and blow dry. The shampoo is required so don't wash your hair before you go. The student was very nice and very close to graduating so I think I got lucky- she seemed to really know her stuff. I arrived around 11 am. There was no wait at all. They had a fire drill and we all had to leave the bldg which was weird. Fortunately my cut was already complete, just had the style and blow dry left. I would go back again. read more