Therapy Salon Aveda Concepts — Local services in Los Altos

Unfortunately, I had a less than desirable experience at Therapy Salon when I went in to have my head shaved prior to starting cancer treatment.

On the phone Sarah was kind, empathetic and offered to shave my head, style my wig, trim my wig and teach me how to tie scarves. I was very excited to go to Sarah for this big moment in my cancer journey.

On the day, it was the complete opposite. She was short with me, bordering on rude. She didn't give me a full appointment, instead, she tried to fit me into a 30-minute time slot while another client's highlights processed. This meant we barely had time to section and cut my hair to have it turned into a wig for myself, which was hugely important to me. Let alone trim nor style my wig nor teach me how to tie scarves. I don’t know how or why she cut my appointment so short, but she made me feel like I was a problem and a complete inconvenience for her. I was nearly in tears before she even stared cutting.

After she cut off all the sectioned pieces, prior to the shave she left me in the chair with crazily chopped off hair, facing the mirror while she tended her other client. It was shocking to see myself like that and be left mid process, tears streaming. We had to ask for water and tissues, as no one offered.

Then when she came back, she didn't ask what length I wanted the shave and I had to stop her as she came towards my head with too short a blade. She very sloppily shaved my head and left me with sections of long wispy hair. There was also no time for a wash, so I left the salon covered in short, spiky hairs all over my face, neck, and clothes.

At the end of the appointment Sarah’s assistant told us a wig styling appointment would take a full hour, which was even more perplexing as to how Sarah scheduled me for only 30 minutes for everything she promised to do when we were on the phone.

I've never had such a bad salon experience. It was awful. I do not recommend Sarah nor Therapy Salon for anyone, but especially not for cancer patients. I noticed Bay Area Cancer Connection has removed Therapy Salon from their list of preferred vendors. I wish I had noticed this before calling...

I've been going to Sarah at Therapy Salon for over six years now, and I cannot say enough about this gem of a salon in the Los Altos community. Not only have I never been happier with my hair, but over the years I've gotten to know Sarah on a personal level and am honored to call this deeply compassionate, kind-hearted woman a dear friend. When I first came to Sarah, my hair was in need of some TLC from years of highlights and harsh products. Thanks to Sarah and fabulous Aveda products, my hair is so healthy now that I can go 6+ months between trims. My highlights are multifaceted, natural-looking, and exactly what I ask for each appointment. Sarah is a true genius when it comes to all hair types, colors and needs, and she really listens to exactly what each customer wants. But there's even more...

Beyond her remarkable talent with hair, Sarah has put her heart and soul into Therapy Salon--a forward-thinking, environmentally-conscious small business. Therapy Salon is a zero waste salon! Sarah goes to great lengths (and often greater expense) to have everything recycled in the salon, from cut hair on the floor to aluminum foil.

Sarah's overall mission behind Therapy Salon is a positive, healthy, feel-good environment that integrates beauty and wellness from the inside out for her clients. Although Sarah is an incredibly busy stylist, business owner, wife, and mother of three daughters, much of her time, energy and resources go toward supporting children and adults in the community who are undergoing cancer treatment (this includes my own mother who underwent chemo a few years back--and it was Sarah who shaved her head, fit her for a wig, provided special gentle oils for her scalp throughout months of treatment, and has been one of my mom's closest friends and supporters ever since.) In fact, Sarah opened Therapy Salon in 2014 in memory of a dear friend she lost to cancer years ago.

Sarah is a magician with her hands, but she works from the heart. She truly knows hair AND people. Therapy Salon is an absolute gem in the community, and I'm honored to share...

I still have flashbacks and get triggered when I think about my experience with Sarah, she was very rude, condescending and does not know how to treat her employees or how to run a business. Sarah had her teenage daughters trying to train employees, who does that? If I made any 'errors' during my tenure, maybe it was because I was being trained by her teenage children and constantly being treated bad by Sarah directly since that's what she wants to mention LOL.

She used to take away my chair at the front desk so I couldn't sit down even if the salon was empty and also told me "you are lucky that I give you a break time" when it's a requirement by law to provide at least 10 minute breaks for an employee.

So many unethical tactics, she took advantage of me because I was young and and naïve at the time. I’m not tarnishing anyone’s reputation, I am sharing the experience that I encountered, which was a negative one.

There’s so much more I could share, but I'll leave this review short.

I don't recommend this business to anyone looking for employment...