Yesterday I went to the Aveda Institute for my haircut, and I’m happy to report that I’m still in one piece. Was it a relaxing experience? No. Was it fun? Not really. Would I do it again? Yes. (Hey, it’s hard to beat a $20 haircut.)
Anyone remember that Ramona book where she and Beezus get their hair cut at a beauty school? Ramona can tell Beezus’ stylist is unsure of herself because she can hear the uncertainty in her snips. That’s kind of how I felt. My stylist, a young guy, was painstakingly slow and deliberate. It took two hours for him to clean up the layers I already had. Of course, all the students were taking their time, and I’d rather have him be slow than stab me in the neck with his scissors.
A few tips if you go to the Aveda Institute:
- Make sure you have a few hours to spare. This isn’t a place you can duck in for a quick trim over the lunch hour.
- Keep in mind they’re students. It was awkward to sit there while his instructor injected with constructive criticisms, but I had to remind myself that this was first and foremost a learning experience for him.
- It’s chaotic. There are about 30 stations in the back room, and they really pack them in. I feel bad for the students—there’s no space to spread out their tools, and they were all bumping into one another. Between the large number of hairdryers, the music, and the sound of 60 people in one space, it’s not somewhere to go if you want to feel pampered. What’s really funny is that they try to uphold that Aveda standard of relaxation. They still do the scalp massage before starting on your hair, which, let’s not kid ourselves, just isn’t very relaxing in that type of atmosphere.
- Think twice before making plans after your haircut. It was drizzling in New York yesterday, so I didn’t bother asking my stylist to straighten my hair. Big mistake. Him and his instructor had a field day making my hair as big and curly as they possibly could. It was diffused and slathered in four types of Aveda’s all-natural-eucalyptus-root-emollient-serums (or whatever they’re actually called), then finger-combed and teased. I could have stopped them, but I was curious to see how it would turn out. It looked cute for maybe an hour (long enough for an NYU student in Union Square to try picking me up with a Little Red Riding Hood line, thanks to my red coat), but then between the rain and crowded bar I went to for Cupcake Camp (more about that later), it all went to frizzy hell. I looked frightening by the time I got home.
- Be wary of having your hair dyed.I can’t vouch for the hair-dying quality at the Institute, but from the comments on my last post and comments I got on Facebook, I’m going to go ahead and say do not cut corners when getting your hair dyed. Seriously. At other places, one person had hair dye dumped on her shirt, which ruined it, and another had a sister who had to visit the burn unit after the chemicals were incorrectly mixed. That alone makes me never want to dye my hair, no matter how skilled the colorists.
Yesterday was also the free cupcake event, which was packed. I went with Mister Redhead and my friend Tammy, and we each tried a few cupcakes (including vegan and gluten-free ones!). A few pictures (excuse the quality, the lighting was weird in the bar):
Mom, look at the cupcakes near the top--they look like Hostess!
I usually schedule my haircuts around when I’ll be back in the Midwest, mainly because I’m more than a little dismayed at how much salons in NYC can charge. But I haven’t had a trim since Christmas, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be in Minnesota anytime soon, so earlier this week I made an appointment at the 
