I got wonderful service from the student!! Miss Shemiyah did a great job on my hair..exactly what I requested!

Queens did an amazing job. Queen is very professional, and she provided great customer service. I asked for a silk wrap, she exceeded my expectations. Shortly after my appointment a lady stopped to tell me that my hair was beautiful read more

One of the instructors or managers Miss Annette needs a attitude adjustment. It is very off putting to customers the way she acts . You don't look at customers hair in disgust and if I say I don't need anything extra that should be that . The lady that did my hair was very sweet and did a great job. That's why the 4 stars . The place can be a bit overwhelming with everyone walking around if they bothers you but other than that it's cool . read more

Do not recommend this place. I have gone to other student salons before and this has never happened. I will say you can tell the student tried, however the school should just have turned me away if they didn't have students that could do this job. For one, the student used 7 bowls of lightener. I have lightened my hair and at most have only needed 3. Second, the student kept tugging my hair. At one point, I had to tell her to stop because she kept "detangling" my hair from the roots instead of the ends first. I literally have a spot on my scalp where a piece was yanked out from how hard she was pulling. Third, after the bleaching had taken place, they let me know that they didn't have the toner I wanted so I had to walk out with orange hair. I paid $132 for a service and it wasn't even done correctly or finished. The hair is uneven. The bottom half of my hair is decent. The top half is deplorable. I will not return to this place and I highly encourage others to go elsewhere. read more

Empire Beauty School - Uneven, orange hair - Cosmetology Schools Near Me - Virginia Beach, Virginia

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my mom, daughter and myself got our hair done on Monday. the tech I had didn't even try to do anything with my hair like they did for my mom and daughter. I told my tech I didn't want my hair cut above my shoulders. she cut it up to my neck and now I can't do a dn thing with my hair and it brings back bad memories from when I was a kid. read more

This school is a disgrace. NOT enough teachers. They won't give u proper credit for your ti.e and then drop you. DONT DO IT LOOK FURTHER read more

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116 SOUTH INDEPENDENCE BLVD., VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 23462 757-355-5530 Great reception..ladies were kind professional and assisted me as a walk in. The advised me of phenomenal pricing within my budget. Waiting area clean and with books for style options. Plenty of parking with handi park upfront. Was full. But a very kind young lady that was at the desk Dsani, stated could do my hair. She was kind, asked multiple questions regarding style preferences, previous hair health and allergies. Dsani made sure that my preferences were observed. I wanted finder waves due to hair loss from health issues. She recommended options and advices of additional services like protein treatment. She was pleasant to talk to, quick, thorough and I was pleased. Very pleased. 1st time at salon in 4 plus years. Students were good with assisting each other and all were professionally dressed and manners on point. No loud music, very clean and staff and director was on floor if assistance was needed. Only con was didn't have gel needed..staff gave Dsani and option, she chose another product that worked better and hair remained flat no curls. I would definitely return. Scheduled an appointment for next week. Lots of compliments on the results and I was pleased beyond measure...highly recommend Empire Beauty School.. read more

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A great place to give an aspiring stylist a chance to practice and learn the trade. Prices are very reasonable- about $11 for shampoo cut and blow dry. Many other services are offered. Not sure I would do a color or something complex but cuts and styling or manicures are a good first time visit. Schedule appointments by phone or walk in. You don't get to pick stylist but each has an instructor to assist and check status of services. Plan to spend a lot of time here as the student need hours of client work to graduate so they often make the appointment last longer by design. They accept credit and cash- but exact change only. Don't forget to tip! They are students and don't get paid by the salon and work hard. Bring cash for tips and try to base on the cost of a regular service vs the discount price. read more

Pleasantly surprised with my experience. The service I received was excellent and everyone was friendly. I would definitely recommend to family and friends. read more

Love these schools I have found some great long term hair stylist going to them . My experience at the VB one was no different.. Student Sole did my hair and I was so impressed by how meticulous and talented she was with my hair ! She had her work cut out for her my hair was beyond bleach damaged ! She made it look so healthy and pretty ! As a whole this place seems to have very talented students and instructors! I got a cut , deep conditioning and cute style for 28 dollars you can't beat that ! I have another appt tomorrow super excited ! read more

Empire Beauty School - Cosmetology Schools Near Me - Virginia Beach, Virginia

I am a prior student while I graduated the program I wouldn't recommend this school. The program had very little one on one assistance and some of the teachers were rude (even heard one tell a student they were wasting their time) , they didn't prepare us all adequately for the state board exams and being able to get extra assistance was nearly impossible. They also didn't seem to teach us much let alone the new changes to the board exams. I've since found out other schools offer free help after graduation for exam prep work but not here. Most of your school days are also spent working independently and if you don't get enough clients to meet standard it will take you longer to finish. Not all folks here were rude and like anywhere else there were kind folks as well just do your homework and check other schools first sure wish I had. read more

I decided to try to get my hair colored at the beauty school because I figured if anything went wrong or didn't turn out well the instructors there would help make it right. I was wrong. My finished hair doesn't look very much like the picture I showed and isn't blended on the lower layers of my hair. The hair isn't the same color all around the head. The teacher didn't correct the student's application and didn't seem to check it other than asking if the student needed help. The student was very rough on my head and the environment wasn't very professional. Wouldn't recommend a color service here. read more

Really was impressed with this beauty school! I've gone to a few before (in va, wy, and il) and this was one of the most professional I've seen. I called ahead, but they let me know I could just walk in for a haircut if I wanted. So, I arrived and didn't have to wait long (about 10 minutes) for a student to come back and get me. I had Karina, and she was a really sweet girl who tried to do her best with everything. That's what I love about beauty schools, they always try to get everything perfect, even if it does take longer than at a normal salon. So, she informed me that a shampoo/conditioner was required before the cut, which I didn't realize, but was nice. And actually it took her foreverrrr to get the water to heat up, it seems like they need to get a different hot water heater. I told her the colder water was fine, that wasn't her fault, but maybe should be fixed by the school in the future. She was very helpful in giving me tips and "selling" me on my shampoo line (which I really am about to buy, it was amazing), and then started my haircut. She cut off exactly what I asked for, which was almost not enough, seeing as I (and the average person) usually ask for a little less cut off, knowing the hair stylist will be liberal and I'll leave with a super short cut. Not this time, I appreciate that. I had to leave in a hurry, so she just had time to dry my hair, but it still looked great. I needed a change, and that's what I got! No complaints here about that. I'll think about going back here for my next cut later on. Btw, it was only 9$! read more

I went to the empire beauty school to get a retwist and she only did half of my head because she said she was tired and left and I never got my hair done or a refund there customer service was horrible and the water they tried to shampoo my hair with was dirty and the gel was had stuff in it read more

I was hesitant to try this place because of the reviews, but my hair dresser was out of town and I needed an emergency do. I was greeted by two friendly faces at the front desk. I explained to them what I wanted which was just a wash and flat iron, then sat in the waiting room. I was surprised to see all of the services they offer. They offer manis, pedis, facials, braids, etc. Prices weren't too bad either. After about 30 min a student named Sherri greeted me. She was also very pleasant. She took me to her station, which is in a big open room with the rest of the students, some were doing hair and some were working on mannequin heads. I thought was kind of cool to watch people learn how to do hair. First we did a consultation, i loved the shampoo she used for my naturally dry scalp. It had my head tingling. I loved my hair when it was finished. It was so straight and silky. She got plenty of compliments from her peers as well. All in all I had a very good experience there, and will recommend them to everyone! read more

I was so blessed to give empire a shot! I waited for about 3 to 4 minutes. I was asked questions about what I wanted and made to feel comfortable. The instructor came around to ensure everything was being taken care of in the appropriate manner. I was really blessed! The hairstylist Sarah, was so talented! I have natural hair and I had not detangled my hair in weeks ( yes I was shame, but Emprire had my back)! She detangled, washed, trimmed blowdried and braided my hair. I was so impressed! She was so talented, and I was so blessed to receive her services for the price that they have listed! Truly a place that is cultivating amazing women and men to be great professionals! Really excited about all the eager faces ready to learn and help, and even more excited about the hairstylist that I experienced! I will be going back!!!!!! read more

I'm a student and I have good and bad experience but I've also learned from every situation . I wish COVID never happened but it's okay . I learned a lot though I've had several teachers 4 out of 6 really taught me some good information. I love that we're able to be professional and get our work done while having a good time. read more

I took my daughter in to get some help with her hair because clearly what I was doing wasn't working! My children are biracial, and after my experience last night I'll be bringing all 3 in to get their hair done! Ivy helped us, and she was amazing!! She took the mess I made and gave my daughter a hair cut and style she loved! The instructor was also very helpful and had excellent customer service skills. (Sorry, I didn't catch his name) It wasn't fast, but for the price you can't beat it. read more

I've been coming to Empire for a couple of years now. I always get great service. Even though these are only stylists in training, they do a fabulous job. I've recommended them to quite a few people and they love it plus the prices are extremely reasonable. read more

I have never been so disrespected in my life as I was at this place. I went to the beauty school, to the salon area to get guest services and my hair was destroyed there. I am a Veteran and deserve to be treated with respect! I allowed them to chop off over 10 inches of my hair to be donated to Locks of Love to then have a butchered hair cut and then turned away because they couldn't figure out how to color hair properly! The students are being led in the wrong direction. This place is a complete mess! read more

Horrible customer service! Worst service will never go don't do it! You call for appointment and get told they don't do appointments and then you get there and they do! Also students show up when they feel like it! read more

They should definitely get someone better to answer the phones! The website says to call and inquire about specific location's pricing...but when we called....she takes an attitude and asks were we trying to book an appointment or what...Umm, again, what is the price...Smh, let's be honest, most people using a beauty school are doing so because of the savings, so obviously I'd want to know the price. Well forget it. Plus, this place makes you drive there and do a skin test before you can actually come back in for the coloring service, assuming you want to go in there not knowing the price or additional, hidden fees. Businesses need to learn, who you have answering the phone is the first impression! Geesh read more

I was greeted by a young student who was friendly and welcoming, but this is where my pleasant experience ceased to exist. She neglected to perform all of the steps of a complete manicure and pedicure, and many of the required beauty supplies were lacking (q-tips, quality nail polish, etc.) Although the lack of supplies was certainly not her fault, she did have to ask several questions of a fellow student throughout my session, and continually made me doubt her experience and training. She informed me that she had come to the school to learn makeup, had excelled in hair, and was not "very good" at doing nails. She neglected my cuticles, the nail polish quality and choices were poor at best, and she couldn't draw a straight line on my nails for anything. I am in awe that the beauty school would assign a student to a paying customer who had little to no training or confidence in the area for which I had made an appointment. I paid 28$ for a manicure, pedicure, and eyebrow wax and regretted it instantly. In addition, my friend who accompanied myself, left with acrylic nails that were too long (she asked her stylist to trim them and the stylist would not) and HALF AN EYEBROW. Yes, as we inspected our horrible manicures and pedicures out of the dim light of the studio, my friend realized she had left and paid for what was only 3/4 of her natural eyebrow. I am highly disappointed with the beauty school as a whole, one which I had high hopes for in the beginning. An absolutely dismal experience which I would not recommend to anyone. read more

I definitely do not recommend this school for any aspiring student. My granddaughter had paid tuition (up front) to attend. She is very talented in this field-a natural. She also has some medical issues, but they were notified of this-both the actual school and the head office. We provided doctors notes and verifications whenever she had to miss for an appointment. They exaggerated her absences-I kept track of them myself-they counted snow days and weekends as absences when the students couldn't even attend. This school is very unprofessional. I went for services several times while my granddaughter was working "'on the floor" and was ignored at the front desk and also subjected to listening to the students singing along to the music as if at a karaoke party. Several times, my granddaughter had money & supplies stolen from her wallet & station, and even though I talked personally to the manager about my concerns, she did nothing-in fact, she implied that it was probably a customer that had stolen money out of her wallet. This was simply outrageous to me. In addition, the tuition included $289 a month for supplies, yet, my granddaughter was always having to purchase extra supplies that the school would not supply for the students. We had summited info to the main office & local school concerning the health problems, yet they decided to "kick her out" after 8 months of training and in the worst way possible-they asked her to pack up her stuff in the middle of the day, in front of all the students and customers. Basically, she was humiliated. This was the most unprofessional way to handle a sensitive situation such as this. We later received a letter stating how sorry they were that she had "withdrawn" from school, which was a total lie. We also know of other students that quit the school due to the way they were treated at this school-basically treated as children and disrespected as adults. We would not return to this school for any reason. Please beware. There are other good options out there, so research well. read more