I recently visited the Empire Beauty School in Concord, NC and was immediately impressed by the entire staff. From the front desk to the students working on the floor, the whole team is warm and personable, creating a welcoming and upbeat environment. It's clear the students are passionate about their craft; they are raring to learn and practice their skills, which really adds a buzz to the atmosphere. A huge positive is the professional organization of the floor. Every student takes pride in their workspace--everyone keeps their station neat and tidy, which speaks volumes about the training they're receiving. Transparency is also excellent: the price list for services and all available retail products are prominently displayed. While I haven't personally had a chance to get any services yet, based on the cleanliness and careful instruction I observed, I would absolutely trust them with a non-chemical procedure like a deep conditioning treatment, simple braiding services or a blowout. On the client side, my relatives recently had a pedicure here and were happy with the results. read more

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While I did indeed love my time here and I had a great experience while I was in school what I didn't know was how ill prepared it made me for work in an actual salon, nothing fancy just Great Clips but it didn't take long at all to realize that because most of the client in that school are little old ladies (nothing against little old ladies) that my only real experience was doing roller sets and silk presses. My hair cutting was awful because I had no experience in it and men's hair was a non starter because the amount of men that came into that salon at the school was almost zero. The teachers had this habit of doing it for you rather than guiding you through it so I had no experience. They were more worried about the customer than the student learning which is ok to a degree but it is supposed to be a school and the customers supposedly know this,although from my personal experience most of them forget that fact quite often. They taught me what I needed to pass my tests.... The end. I'll take whatever responsibility/accountability is on me that maybe I could have practiced more at home but if you don't know what you're doing wrong how can you fix it? I'm really not trying to discourage anyone from going here but just know what awaits you after all the tests, runway shows, rude clients, student drama, inventory, cleaning and hygiene workshops. I'm pretty sure I learned more about cleaning my station than actual hair. read more

Kaliyah did an excellent job on my hair! She was professional, friendly, and really took her time to make sure everything came out perfect. I've received so many compliments since my appointment -- everyone keeps asking who did my hair! ‍ Brenda Whittaker read more

I came here recently and was serviced my Dom. He was so cool. We chatted about how he was on his barbering journey however he was dedicated to detangling and drying all this thick hair I have. He also did a basic manicure. Thank you . It usually takes some time to get you assigned to a stylist so bring something to do. I usually bring my laptop. I wish they had a booking website though. I would probably schedule more appointments that way. read more

Cheyenne Is a pleasant professional, who places her customers' desire for style choice seriously ( taking safety into consideration). She is cheerfully, positive, & a joy to be serviced by. read more

I am extremely disappointed with the service I received at Empire Beauty School, Concord NC. I called a day prior to schedule an appointment and was informed that I needed to book at least 24 hours in advance. However, after being asked to be placed on hold for several minutes, I was advised she had an appointment available at 9:30 AM. I arrived promptly at 9:30 and waited patiently. I heard my name being spoked on, but no one instructed me to approach the front desk for check-in. As I continued to wait, multiple walk-ins who arrived after me were assisted. When I finally asked the receptionist what was going on, she confirmed that my name had been called but offered no further guidance. Even more frustrating, when she checked with the staff member who was supposed to handle my appointment, that person admitted they never gave my name to anyone because they couldn't find an appointment for me in the system--despite the fact that I was told there would be availability. This level of disorganization and lack of communication is completely unacceptable. I wasted my time due to their poor coordination, and I will think twice before returning. I expected better service and professionalism. read more

Unfortunately, the other location on Tryon was booked today, so I called this location. I was told that no appointments were available, but I can come in as a walk-in and wait. I immediately drive to this concord location and was told that there are no walk-in's today. I told the lady Ms Neal that I just called and was told to that I could come in. With no empathy, courteous or pleasant delivery she said... well we not taking any appointments today due to not enough students being here. It's not what you say but how you say it.... WASTE of my time going and sharing the nasty demeanor! Do better..... read more

Jennifer did an amazing job today! I had a spa mani pedi and a haircut. I was her first ever manicure, she was so focused and took her time. The beauty school was lacking supplies for a pedicure (no pumice stone) however Jen went and scavenged to find a scrub to make as luxurious as possible with what they did have. One of the teachers did the hair trim because of the time. Overall I was impressed with Jennifer's dedication, attention to detail, and professionalism. As a teacher myself I was a bit disheartened that the teachers were treating the students like they were still in the back learning the basics rather than respecting them as soon to be salon ready stylist. A teacher expressed frustration about her starting a hair cut later in the evening and her round brush choices were confronted in an uncomfortable manner in front of me rather than private conversations between the teacher and the student. The teachers contradicted each other one saying "take your time" and the other telling her she shouldn't start so late. The way the conversations were had with the student felt aggressive and uncomfortable rather than a method of facilitating learning. read more

Went in for a haircut to get a couple layers and ended up with something different. The reason for that is due to one of the teachers helping the students. I don't remember her name but she was very unprofessional. She was helping out the student who was cutting my hair but she didn't even ask how many inches I wanted off nor the reference photo I had, she just started snipping away before I could get a word in. She was very passive aggressive with the student, she could have been a lot more helpful instead of criticizing the student. I can't believe she use to work for an actual salon and now she's a teacher where these students have to depend on for advice and help. read more

I have experienced nothing but excellent service from my stylist Desirae. I appreciate her pleasant personality, consistent professionalism and her care and attention to detail of my hair. My overall experience at Empire Beauty School is always outstanding. A special thanks goes to Desirae. Cheryl P. read more

Dominic did awesome job doing my hair and is very professional and patient. With a very goid personality. Will re book.

Went in for a SPA mani/pedi, I had an appointment, however waited almost an hour. My student had never done either. She had a guide book to go by and still missed several key components. Then during my manicure stopped to eat lunch. I was scheduled for a spa pedicure? They sat me on a stool and put my feet in a bucket of water. I guess using exfoliation scrub meant spa. She put 5 coats of polish (including top and bottom coat) on my nails thinking it would look better, polish had scratches on it before I left. Student needed more training, as she had no idea what she was doing. Student and staff were nice, however additional training is needed and explanation of (SPA) needs to be explained to clients. GOOD LUCK. read more

I went back to Weddington Rd Empire and again they did not fail. Ms. Brianna Gause and Ms. Harris are amazing!!!! I will continue to go back. Keep up that confidence Brianna!!! read more

My biggest complaint would be how long my hair cut and manicure took. I arrived at 10 and left after 2 for a haircut, style, and manicure. I felt that was a little ridiculous, but I also understand this is a beauty school. The stylist's education comes first, and that's why I'm still giving 4 stars. I got 8" cut off, my bangs trimmed, and my hair curled. The supervisor/teacher checked in often, making sure everything was straight and to my liking. She was a little skeptical about my chosen bang length, but everyone has their own opinions on things like that. Manicure-wise, there was a special for a $5 red manicure, so I said sign me up. I wanted gel, and that wasn't a problem. The red ended up clumping weird on my nails, so the stylist nicely took it off and--with my ok--grabbed her favorite gel polish, gold sparkles. It wouldn't normally be my thing, but I ended up loving my nails. All but one stayed on for 4+ weeks. read more

Empire Beauty School - 8" cut off. You can see the ends line up well, and the stylist curled my hair after. - Cosmetology Schools Near Me - Concord, North Carolina

I have been a client since before the pandemic and have mostly enjoyed my services. My current stylist, Ariel is wonderful and will be great in a salon once she graduates. I have had several good stylist since I started going there. read more

Aarika was the student I had the pleasure of treating and styling my hair today. Ms. Phillips provided excellent assitance as her instructor as well. I honestly forgot I was at a cosmetology school. The experience was like none other. read more

This school could have so much more potential if the educators were required to do retraining and just making sure that this field of work is what they want! Now as it is a great school and you can really make the most of the things they have to offer. That is pretty difficult to do when you have educators that don't treat you fairly, don't want to work with others, feel like they're too good to educate, and when you have to constantly be at war with your educator. Ms.Cooper specifically gets many complaints on campus and off! She's rude, doesn't know how to speak to people, and overall is really full of herself. How she isn't fired yet I'm not sure but this woman makes my experience at empire concord MISERABLE. I've gotten to the point where I've just considered dropping out. Making complaints inside the campus building hasn't done anything! read more

Ms. Greir is an amazing teacher she is very hands-on and even with us being limited from Covid restrictions she gives her all too teaching and has inspired me to follow many paths and taught me many skills and need to know things and with her inspiring me she also inspired my cousin to join school because she saw all the pictures that I would take of our kinesthetic work read more

I have always had positive experiences at Empire Beauty School. Today Daysha gave me the best shampoo of my life and did a great job of making me feel at ease. I highly recommend Empire Beauty School. read more

Very unprofessional teacher such as Ms cooper my boyfriend that stays home and takes care of his newborn and does full time school at empire beauty was trying to get on zoom and learn and MS cooper kept kicking him out of his class prohibiting him from getting his hours that he needs. Would greatly recommend going to Paul Mitchell or another school Ms cooper is very unprofessional and not friendly at all . If she doesn't like you she will make it be known and kick you out of your classes and push you back from graduating. read more

I didn't know this place was near Concord Mills and found them through a simple Google search for a hair salon. I was a walk-in and they took me right back for a hair cut and pedicure. My stylist, Yashi, was really great! She took the time to find out what type of hairstyle I wanted, gave suggestions on how to make it better and was very thorough in the pedicure. Her teacher supervised and gave suggestions too and it was all around a wonderful experience! I will definitely be back! read more

The students at this location are very talented and driven! The educators go above and beyond to ensure the students not only can provide quality services but that we understand the theory and science of hair and products. Our community is a family, we students come together to assist each other with anything we need and that is rare in this industry. I'm proud to be a student at Empire Beauty School Concord and I am confident that they are equipping me with all of the knowledge and skills I need to go out into the industry and make a positive impact. read more

I attend Empire Beauty School Concord and I enjoy being there. Learing all the different techniques of hairstyling, chemical texturizing, haircutting, haircoloring,skin care, nail care, what I needed to be ready for stateboard has been great. Empire is what you make it, not what you just hear. Im a advance 2 student and love being on the floor. Come visit us at Empire Concord read more

I called in to check if they can take my princess in for haircut and they said come on in. We arrived and there was a huge waiting line. Our number was finally up and the lady took my daughter to her seat. She asked her and me what type of hair style she would like and my daughter said, she wants shoulder length hair cut. The lady started to work on her and pretty soon I noticed that she cut it too short. I didn't want my daughter to be disappointed so I didn't say anything and I wanted her to response if she liked it or not. I think the lady student figured out that she had messed it up so she called her teacher. Teacher started to work on hair style of my daughter and after little while the student came back to blow dry. The lady student took a pictures of my daughter's hair style on her smart phone without my consent. She didn't even asked my daughter if she was OK with her taking a picture. VERY UN-PROFESSIONAL. It took her an hour and half to finish a child's hair cut. Please avoid this place at all cost. read more

This place is awful! My mom came in for a cut, but because she had a child with her, they refused to do her hair. He is perfectly capable of sitting on his own and watching, he is NOT an infant, but they still refused. She drove over 40 minutes to get a haircut, they have nothing posted anywhere to let people know not to bring a child. If that is the rule, fine, but at least put up info somewhere for the public to read before driving out of heir way to be turned down. Rude. read more

I called to ask about pricing and was told that they would not discuss pricing on the phone...for a trim. That should have been my first clue to run far, far away from this place. Naively I went ahead and sat in the stylists chair. I thought that showing her a couple of pictures would help, but it didn't. The student that trimmed my hair evidently had not been taught what a graduated bob was nor how to straighten one up..and neither had the instructor that checked her work. I finally just told her that was enough, not to take any more off and I left. It was so bad that I was at another salon in less than two hours where she showed me that the student that trimmed my hair had left one side of it almost 2 inches longer than the other side. Ridiculous! I understand these are students, but they were graduating in less than 2 months so I had expected their skills to be much higher. And the instructor that signed off on the styles evidently just passes any old style through. Disappointment, waste of time! Plus, I saw a lady getting a pedicure while I was there and this "school" was using an at home foot soaker with plastic wrapped around the outside of it. No Thank you, never again. I thought some of the other beauty colleges in the area were bad, but this one took the cake. read more

i had been going here for over 2 years as a client. Keyword "had been". I understood it was a school and as my stylist would graduate I would look around for who I wanted next. Will needless to say this past Thursday, April 6th. It all changed. I had a 1pm appointment to touch up my grays and highlights. I arrived at 1:05pm. Was told my stylist would be with me shortly. As well as the person who checked me in said she/my stylist will not get a lunch today. At 1:54pm I ask the normal receptionist if I had been checked in. At which time we discovered, no. So my ticket was printed at 1:54pm. As I sat down in the chair at 2:10pm my stylist had some questions so she went to get an instructor. The instructor told me i could not get both services because it was past 2pm. Will that is not my fault I've been here since 1:05pm with an appointment. The stylist said she didn't know i was there till she received the ticket. The instructor tried to get me to just get one service, not both. I refused then ask to speak to the Executive Director, she said the students couldn't stay late and she would give a comp card. The ED had to ask the normal receptionist what the comp card was worth. She replied 10%, my normal wash and thermal is only $10. So a $1 discount. Seriously!!! The instructor tried to talk to me about receiving professional service. I looked her straight in the face and told her professional was no where around there. It saddens me for the students who have paid good money for an education. Yet the instructors are not helping them to be professional by honoring appointment times, etc. I truly believe this school needs to be investigated. I've called corporate waiting to hear back from them. Oh, forgot to mention the other part of this terrible inconvenience!! My mother is not doing well at all, so I had arranged for someone to come set with my mother. So I walk in not having my hair done, my mother was very upset and did sleep well that night. But do you think Empire Concord cares...NOT!! Sorry Empire you have gone down hill so much and are not handling truth well. read more

On May 13, 2015 a Wednesday I went to Empire to see what they were about. I wanted to be a nail tech and still do. On this day I met with Kenyatta Beam a supervisor at the Matthews location in North Carolina. She was very excited but did not see that I wanted to get a nail license only not hair. I asked her if I could do nails only and she said no that I had to do hair and nails to get a license. So I thought well why not I could get my hair and nail license as long as I get the nail part of it. I paid the $25 based on her verbal information. Once the paper work was done I left. I looked at the paper work 2 days later and noticed that they didn't teach applying acrylic, shaping, nor nail art, which was the point of coming to Empire. I called back to inquire about this and she was not available. So I made an appointment to speak with a manager on the 19th by the name of Kimberly Shepherd. I explained to Kimberly Shepherd the issue and she through her co-worker under the bus by stating she was new to the position and didn't really listen to the fact that I wanted to do nails only and that I had she enrolled me then she would have known that I only wanted to do nails. She also said that she doesn't know why on the web site Empire indicates that they have a full nail program because they don't. She said that they only show how to use a nail filer and polish on nails. She informed me that she would un-enroll me from the program. I said thanks and left. Come to find out that she didn't un-enroll until the 27th which caused me not to receive my refund. The contract said to receive a refund of the $25 you have to cancel enrollment within seven days. Empire is not open on weekends and the contract did not specify seven business days, which means if I cancelled on the 19th a Tuesday would have only been 5 business days. When I called about this she said she would take care of it to get my refund back because it was her fault that she didn't do right away. I had to keep calling her and emailing her for which she gave me the run around. Then Kimberly Shepherd and Kenyatta Beam both up and left to go to the Matthews location. It is now 3 months later and I still have not received my refund. I feel that Empire lies to people to get them to pay the fees. I feel they are a horrible organizations with no morals or care of people. I would never tell anyone to go to Empire they are full of shit... and Kimberly Shepherd fake ass should be fired. Empire is not the place to go if you just want to get a nail license only. They don't even teach using acrylic at all just polish. What the hell? read more