Douglas J Institute — Local services in Grand Rapids

it’s very rare for me to leave a review of anything, however i felt that this was inherently necessary.

i would like to preface this with the young lady who did my hair was professional & kind through this whole experience. i wish her the best in her future endeavors & life.

i booked an appointment with the institute on Friday 10/10/25, i had a work function the next day & just need a full head dye, simple enough. my usual stylist couldn’t fit me in, so i booked this appointment last minute.

the first thing that i noticed was the institute is no longer using Aveda products, which i was wasn’t super happy about, but the products being used are still natural & high quality so i forgave it.

the next part of this was the instructor that formulated my hair color (after my consultation & go ahead) formulated the color two shades too dark, which clearly i didn’t know this as the color was going on. i was essentially dying over my balayage to match my ends to my natural grown out roots. i fortunately was able to fix this with a clarifying shampoo & malibu treatment the next day. strange that an instructor couldn’t match a level 7 neutral color, but okay.

all these things are minor inconveniences, livable, move on.

however as my hair is processing (at 8:15 PM), a student approaches her instructor (for her sake i won’t share her name, though i do have it/know it). she tells the instructor that her coworker from outside of the institute, that’s in her salon chair at that moment, is a man that she has sexual harassment claims against in her work place. she’s explaining this & saying she’s not comfortable doing his hair, that he booked the appointment to harass her because he knows she is attending school there.

the instructor, Anna who was wearing an orange cardigan, tells her she’s taking the appointment & she doesn’t care about what happens at her job outside of school. the student then clearly says, “He makes me sexually uncomfortable I am not taking the appointment.” To which Anna replies, then take off your apron & go home. Mind you I am trying to interject to say this is absurd. m Another instructor, Canyen (a male in a grey long cardigan), tells the student she shouldn’t be doing this right now. so when would he the right time to make a woman preform a service to a man who sexually harasses her? The student takes off her apron & walks off the floor.

Eventually the student returned to the floor before I left & I did make a point to check on her. However, I am mad & I am appalled by the treatment of a young woman in a predominantly female industry. i would expect that of anywhere that a salon would be where she would be offered the most protection & support.

then the icing of the sexual harassment cake is that when i asked for parking validation, after i left without causing a scene, they told me they quote, “don’t do that anymore.”

in summary: no aveda products, wrongly colored hair, sexual harassment, no parking validation.

a horrible experience. a horrible salon. a horrible way to...

My teenage son is pretty laid back about most things. His hair though… uncharacteristically specific.

Before discovering Sky W at Douglas J, my son went through hairstylists the way a medieval king went through court jesters—one wrong move, and they were banished. Too short? Off with their heads. Uneven fade? Exiled. A single stray hair out of place? Straight to the gallows (or at least, the “never again” list). It was a ruthless search for the chosen one, and many brave stylists tried—and failed—to meet his impossibly high standards.

Then came Sky. Like Arthur pulling Excalibur from the stone, she was the one. The moment she picked up the clippers, my son knew—his search was over. The precision. The artistry. The sheer understanding of his impossibly high hair expectations. It was like fate itself had led him to her chair.

Now, he refuses to go anywhere else, and honestly? I get it. When you find someone who treats your hair like the national treasure you believe it to be, you don’t let go. Sky isn’t just a stylist; she’s a hair whisperer. She approaches every cut with the precision of a NASA engineer and the patience of a monk. She understands that my son’s hair isn’t just hair—it’s his identity, his crown, his pride and joy. And somehow, every single time, she delivers perfection. He walks out of Douglas J looking like he just stepped off a high-end grooming commercial, inspecting every angle in the car mirror as if he’s been personally sculpted by the gods of haircare. Every fade is flawless, every edge-up is razor-sharp, and every strand falls exactly where it should. She’s got the patience of a saint and the skills of a veteran barber twice her age. My son walks in with expectations higher than his hair volume and walks out looking like he’s ready for a red-carpet debut.

Douglas J itself is top-tier—great vibe, talented stylists, and prices that won’t make your wallet cry. If you want a cut that’s a cut above (yeah, I went there), this is the place.

If Sky ever moves, we’re probably going to have to relocate. But until then, we’ll be back—because when it comes to haircuts, we don’t...

Douglas J is a salon studio where students are supervised by licensed cosmetologist. As a customer of attending various schools; I was impressed by Douglas J. It was a clean and professional environment. The receptionist was very welcoming and accommodating when I arrived early. My feedback on student cosmologists: I think it's very important that you remain positive through over sight and constructive criticism by the licensed cosmetologist (your teachers). They are there to make sure the chemical processes and services align with State regulations. Be mindful that they want you the student to excel. They want errors to be fixed or addressed so you don't make the same mistakes in the future. When I went there I was asked if I used a box hair color on my hair. I told the student that it was applied a few months ago. I suggested a permanent hair color because I didn't want a demi color to wash or fade out. The instructor said a permanent hair color should be fine. The student said to me, "I really don't think we should do permanent hair color. Saying that the box hair dye could react to the permanent color". The student did as she was told. Applied a permanent hair color to my hair. After 40 minutes and blow drying my hair was darker in some areas with the rest of the hair not being blended. Another instructor came by to see what happened. I also indicated to the instructor that I used a box hair dye color a few months ago. The instructor said to the student, "Oh. We probably should have stripped and toned the hair before we applied the color. Then suggested a demi color." The school offered free service for me to return to fix my hair color. Other schools would have charged for the error or corrections; however, they were very accommodating in fixing it. The full head hair color cost me $49.00 total. When other professional salons would have charged $150. I couldn't complain about the price. Overall, I had a good experience even though I had to return the next day. I would definitely go back...