TLDR: zero product education during facial, tried to add on $55.00 worth of add on charges without having even mentioning adding those services on without consent.
I went into Salon Grace after making an appointment yesterday. I needed to get in quick, so i was happy to see they had plenty of openings. My experience started off ok, for the most part. I met the person who I had booked all of my services with, Aralynn. She was friendly, but was quick to explain that I would need to fill out a Covid waiver along with ALL of my personal information on their Ipad. Not a big deal- kind of weird in 2025 though. After that I was given a short tour and directed to wash my hands, ok. No big deal either. I was happy to oblige and looking forward to my services- I was planning on spending A LOT of money and they knew it.
We started off with the facial, eyebrow tint, and eyebrow wax. I explained that while I was choosing an option on the website, I didn't know what the differences were between all of the different facials. She responded with... "Oh, this one will hydrate and moisturize and help you skin look better." Ummm? Obviously...? She never elaborated beyond that...
I was expecting FAR more education on the Aveda products they were using, the benefits, etc. I have had facials from other places and all of them went over the process as they used each product and let me know what they were using. Aralynn was very quick, and seemed in a hurry to just get through it and get it over with. Meanwhile- i'm paying 150.00 for this mediocre facial- with zero idea of what is being used on my skin.
Moving on... lets talk about the hair. Oh boy... I am not complaining about the style or color AT ALL. What I am NOT happy about is that she tried to make me pay more than what the website quoted.
$395.00 was quoted on their website for ALL of the services I selected. While I was in the chair, she quoted me $455. I thought to myself- This math isn't mathing.
When I asked about it before I paid and showed her what I had ordered and made appointments for- there was no ability for her to deny the price discrepancy and she admitted to adding on a $40.00 service that I did not ask for or even ask about. She had "forgotten to tell me about it". Not only was that added without my knowledge, but I was also charged 15.00 extra for developer/product used in my hair since they needed an extra bowl of it. (Also something they had mentioned nothing about.)
Services ordered and received-
Master Moisture Facial- $150
Eyebrow tint- $20
Eyebrow wax- $20
Highlight (no root base)- $145
Cut after color $60
I have gone to Aveda salons in the past. I felt like I knew what to expect as far as quality, and this was NOT it. i've been to two others in Vancouver- but it has been several years. I would have expected a hair cut with highlight to take 5 hours at the school. But not with someone who told me they had 3.5 yrs of experience working there. (My hair needed correction after the highlights bled or something.. she didn't explain that either.) They were all ecstatic over how good it looked before admitting it needed to be toned down as well- taking ANOTHER 1.5 hrs. The whole time? I was offered 1 bottle of water. Lol. Spending over $400 bucks and the best you can do is a 1 bottle of water?
Luckily I left paying only $20.00 more than I agreed on.. Total charged $415.00 with a $70.00 tip. I consider that generous since I was lied to, but I was prepared to tip over $100. I didn't feel like arguing after being there 2.5 hrs longer than planned. I expected SO much more.
Never again. Save your money and go somewhere that isn't shady and deceitful. (It wasnt a mistake.. she knew what she did.) So disappointing. I hope this will help someone to not experience what I did. read more