I came in for a trim and curl and it was so nice to have someone else take care of my hair for a day! It was a bit of a wait to get shampooed as they had a lot of people getting their hair done. Since this is a hair school alot of the students are still being trained. The lady who did my hair was kind, and knowledgeable. She asked me how I wanted my curls to lay and I appreciated that. The hair school was clean and the stations were tidy. I liked that I the ladies cleaned after themselves after ever shampoo wash. I'll definitely be back. read more

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My name is Leah Dennis-Ellsworth. I live in Colerain, 15 from the neighboring Empire Beauty School. I am a senior citizen and I have frequently used the services of the school; each time I have encountered problems with such inefficiency of services, including waiting for hours following an appointment for basic services of a wash and roller set. Wasteful waiting time included student trainees waiting for floor supervisors (talking about nothing) to approve and start services. Constant poor communication and operational management decision-making, mixed messages from floor managers last-minute changes given to students after assigned services resulted in incomplete performance of services for which I still had to pay. I am a retired senior citizen and a board member of The Hamilton Board of Commissioners. With over 45 years of professional service, I have dedicated myself to uplifting, educating, and advocating for the betterment of the families and students of Hamilton County. In conclusion, having served others. I deserve to be treated with respect despite my age. Looking for a response to this complaint. Leah Dennis-Ellsworth, NASW, LSW, MPA, MAC, read more

Today, I received a touch up relaxer and silk press from a Student by the of Mysia W. At the colerain location and left very satisfied. She made sure it was to my liking and asked questions throughout the service to make sure I was pleased. read more

Sabrina Logan has colored my hair twice. I loved the color! She does a great job and she is very professional. She will go far in the beauty business. read more

Went to this location for a wash, trim and deep conditioning on my natural hair. This was a very bad decision, that after weeks I'm still paying for. First of all, something was put on my hair to lose my natural curl pattern and since I've washed it, it's places that are very straight. Which I'm no expert and new to being natural, I didn't know, I just thought maybe her flat iron were just over used. Yet, I walked out of the place with this funny smelling hair which I still have 3 weeks later even after washing it. My scalp was burning in some areas but I thought it was due to her getting too close but a few days later, my scalp itched sooo bad, it was basically raw. I've been to an Empire before but not this location and it was a good experience but I should've known something just based on the professionalism. I would NEVER recommend this place if you want to maintain healthy hair! I will NEVER go back again!! This location needs to close down!! Go to the one in Florence Ky! read more

I went here before it was Empire and always had a great experience. Figuring new ownership wasn't a huge issue, I scheduled a color appointment to take my hair from golden blonde to platinum. Big mistake. Holy hell, do I wish I had photos. It took 4 hours and the end result was horrifying - my roots were apricot and the rest was Draco Malfoy-blonde and brittle as straw. They never consulted me during the process, and I mistakenly convinced myself to trust that they knew what they were doing. I should have refused to pay for it, but I was about to cry and just wanted to get out of there. I had to pay over $150 to have the whole mess corrected at Hair Forum, who, by the way, did an incredible job. read more

DO NOT GO!!!!! They only got 1 star because I had to! Feel lucky you had that omen! I always went to the one in Florence ky for years I moved and have been going to the school in Colerain for the last year. I've had 4 colorings there, the first time I went I got blonde and red foils looked good. Second time I wanted it a little blonder and a little redder but not brassy, it was brassy but washed out fairly quick. Third time I had the red covered with 7 foils of my natural brown and 7 foils of blonde the colors were good but not tight enough to my scalp, never complained at all. Just went on Friday September 5th 2014 and wanted all over blonde highlights and to make sure my roots were covered. While there he almost put the brassy red on all of my roots but saw the color and realized it was really red and was just smart enough to ask "Miss Abbey" and she said it was the wrong color so he then throws it away and returns with another bowl of color. He did all of my roots and the perimeter of my hairline and only put blonde highlights in the back. I thought I could see, that down my part, looked as if they weren't highlighted, so I asked if he could still see a line down my part that looked like the highlights had grown out. Him and Miss Abbey assured me it looked great! He didn't even have a mirror to show me what was done in the back and couldn't borrow one either but assured me once again it looked great and said oh no you can't see any growth! So when I got home late that evening I looked at my hair under regular lighting and saw he put in the first red I used 9 months ago and not the brown I asked for and I could still see where the highlights had grown out down my part. When I undressed I realized my army green shirt had bleach about 8" down the rear neckline and was ruined. I called on Monday and was passed around from person to person and finally spoke to Katina Hayes who is a manager and was told to come back and it would be resolved because everyone else I spoke to wanted to charge me to fix what they had messed up and was sorry about my shirt but those are risks you take when going to a salon. I have never been asked to wear old clothes to get my hair done from any salon anywhere. So I go today and I was with a lovely girl who made everything right so I stopped at the front desk to make sure I didn't have to sign anything else and was told I owed $9 for a trim. After I had to buy a friends lunch and gas to take me back for a second time to fix their mistake and a ruined shirt. So I asked for Katina and I said that she told me to come back and she would take care of me and I wasn't going to pay them $9 more. So she said well we will forget about the $9 and ask you not to come back. Ask a loyal customer of their schools for the last 14 years who only complained one time about a legitimate problem, has no problem with payment and tips very well to not come back over $9? What's wrong with this picture? I will be calling their head quarters, the Better Business Bureau and every other way I can to tell people exactly how they treat customers!!!! read more

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Some of the students are really good at what they do. However, if you're looking for professionalism and a front desk staff that's honest, you won't find it here and you will find it difficult to get in for service. The staff gives so much conflicting information unless you know someone you can make sure you get an appointment, you probably shouldn't waste your time. The last few times I've called days before and the day of I've been told so many conflicting things and was not able to get my hair done. When I have been able to get in I've been skipped a few times or the student I scheduled with didn't show up. I've decided since I can do hair anyways to use that money on my own products and save the headache of dealing with such an unprofessional environment. read more

The customer service is real. Dawn & Aimee are amazing at what they do when it comes to admissions and FA funding Q&A. They help so many students overcome their obstacles. Education is the best and is backed by one of the most influential and informative cosmetology educator I have ever met, Dave. If you are ready to take that 1st step to your goals in this industry, just do yourself a solid and meet these amazing people. The school culture is built by these leaders and I love the atmosphere they have created. read more

I THOGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSE TO BE RUN LIKE A REAL WORLD SALON!!!! Made an appointment for facial (which they were running a special on) and waxing. Arrived 20 minutes before my appointment and as I was being checked in I was informed I wasn't scheduled for a wax-was told it wasn't a problem the wax would be added. Wait until 10 minutes after my appointment time to be called to the counter and told there would be an indefinite wait because a full face wax from the morning (My appointment was scheduled for AFTER lunch) was going to be done at my appointment time because "You can't make them come to school". When I explained that I wasn't able to wait or reschedule (do to an event I wanted to let my face 'settle' before pictures)the lady offered me a $5 off coupon which I pointed out would not bring the services to the price I expected to pay today she then wrote my name on a sticky note and asked me to wait a minute, walked away, then came back and asked me what time I wanted to come in tomorrow. I again explained that wouldn't work for me was given an 'oh yeah, sorry,' a shrug and have a nice day. In a real salon either the morning client would have been told to reschedule or I would have gotten a call BEFORE my appointment time to reschedule. Other than offering an appointment for next day and $5 off (which isn't even half of the special discount) I wasn't offered another appointment. read more

While trying to make an appointment the woman who answered the phone did not get anything right the first OR second time. Repeating three letters again and again? Unable to get a phone number said one number at a time? Not knowing when an appointment could be booked? How am I to trust my body to a place that cannot take a name and number? read more

Whatever you do, DO NOT make a hair appointment at this hair school because they have terrible customer service. The first time I made an appointment was because a coworker knew a student stylist that could do my natural hair. They set me up on a Thursday, only to call be back the same day a few hours before my appointment to tell me that they don't do hair on that day. They set me up the next week and it was late at night. Then, I made another appointment to get my hair done. I was running late from work. My appointment was at 6. After driving around in the parking lot for 5 mins and walking in, then having to wait on the receptionist to help me, I was told that I was too late (She told me i arrived at 6:17) and couldn't get my hair done. Apparently, they have a 15min limit and gave my appointment away to someone else who walked in the door. I came all the way from Downtown Cincy. I also live in East Walnut hills which is on the East side of Downtown. If I would have known about this "15min" limit I would've called to changed my appointment and not wasted my hard earned gas to come out to Colerain Ave. They told me either wait an hour, let someone else do my hair! or make an appointment! WTF! They're terrible and will never go there again. read more