Tallahassee's Aveda Institute: Head-to-Toe Makeover on a Budget

Does a $12 Haircut Look like a $12 Haircut?

Feeling and looking glamorous doesn't have to bust the bank in Florida's Capital City. Tallahassee's Aveda Institute can give you a glamorous head-to-toe makeover while on a budget. Orange billboards around Tallahassee boast Aveda haircuts for $12 and highlights beginning at $36. Feeling a little shaggy, I took my unruly mane and tired feet to the institute for some Aveda lovin' earlier this summer to see what the Aveda Institute could do for me.

The Aveda Institute isn't your average hair salon or day spa. It's a training ground for student and experienced ("Masters") hairstylists and spa therapists. The Masters students already have their cosmetology certifications and attend the Aveda Institute to learn the Aveda way, which is well respected in the cosmetology world.

Aveda Institutes are scattered throughout the country and Tallahassee was lucky to land one a few years ago. Aveda raises the bar for beauty, inspiring creativity and cutting edge style. Graduates go off to beautify the world armed with the latest trends in beauty and hair fashion.

Foot lovin'.
The first service I had at the Tallahassee Aveda Institute was the "Essential Pedicure" ($22). A young gal, a year out of high school, treated me to some much needed foot pampering. In the subdued pedicure room, I sat against a wall on a padded bench alongside other women. My feet soaked in the foot-specific whirlpool while I enjoyed the flickering candles, new age music and relaxing scent of eucalyptus.

My feet and calves were massaged and nourished with moisturizing lotions. What I love about the Aveda skin and hair product line is that they have earthy, zippy scents. They're silky, light and non-greasy. The tree hugger in me appreciates Aveda's "green ingredient policy" and eco-friendly process to creating the product line.

A nice selection of polishes was available and my young student carefully applied my color. She corrected her mistakes professionally (she only colored outside the lines twice).