Aveda Institute

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This spa and salon serves as the training ground for students enrolled in Aveda’s cosmetology and stylist programs. Clients book hair, skin-care, makeup, and waxing appointments with trainees, then receive treatments which employ Aveda products exclusively;at about a third of the cost at a comparable salon. Students start working with paying clients about halfway through their studies, and trained instructors are on hand to supervise and answer questions. The resulting experience may be even more relaxed and relaxing than one at a regular Aveda salon since students don’t have the same time-pressures here as the staff does at the for-profit counterparts. The atmosphere is all Aveda, with the company’s bath and body products displayed in the light-filled entrance. The loft-like space contains 72 cutting stations, with ten skin-treatment areas closed off from the main space and separated from each other by tall curtains. Because the school doesn’t specifically instruct in massage, the spa doesn’t include it on the menu, focusing instead on face and back skin treatments; but these services do include the signature touch-heavy techniques which may be hands-on enough for some customers. — Andrew Sessa

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