Neihule Academy of Beauty — Local services in Los Angeles

Overall, I had a very productive and positive experience at the school. But let’s break it down the good, the bad, and the ugly:

The good: obviously, you have to consider the price. Anywhere that you can get a $35 full cut/style for a woman with long hair is kind of astonishing. For a beauty school, $35 is expensive, but this is the only school in the area that uses luxury products. Rather than drugstore brands, you’re getting Kevin Murphy, Oribe, Keratase, and other high-end products. Additionally, all of the instructors seem very involved, and very experienced, and the students seem to feel very empowered to ask for help if they need it. My stylist consulted with an instructor and they both took five minutes to speak with me to really make sure that I wasn’t allergic to any of the shampoo choices ( I have some allergies). I even saw one of the founders and owners of the flagship salon helping out students and working on clients there at the school! The particular student who did my hair listened exactly to what I said, and did exactly what I wanted. I got an excellent haircut that I am extremely happy with. Pics to follow.

The Bad: really, the only problems with the school are the fact that it’s a school. You should know what you’re getting into with prices that low and the fact the liability waiver is required before you receive your service. I didn’t actually have any negative issues that way, but I read some of the other reviews before going to the school, and they all seem to be “I didn’t realize I was going to a school”. The students may take extra long because they don’t know exactly what they’re doing. If you ask for something really complicated or using cutting edge techniques, they may be unfamiliar with it and do a subpar job. If you’re very vague about what you want, they don’t have the massive decades of experience to interpret vague client statements. This isn’t the place to go if you were really looking for the equivalent of that $160+ haircut that you would get it your typical LA salon. Expect student service, albeit truly excellent student service, but again, you’re going to a school.

Sidenote – the stylist who did me did not give a very good scalp massage while shampooing, but by God, did she make sure that I got the entire five minutes promised in the service description! It was super cute and adorable.

The ugly: my only real complaint, the only issue with the school outside of it, ya know, just being a school, caveat emptor, is that the entire place reeked of chemicals. They have a real ventilation issue, and by the time I left, I had a bit of a headache. That has nothing to do with my haircut. I’m extremely happy with my haircut, and I saw several other people getting mail and coloring services. They looked super great. But the odor of bleach and hair dye and nail polish remover was really really strong.

Overall, I would recommend this for any budget, conscious person in need of a haircut, or if all you need is a simple trim...

I was in school from 9/7/21-1/15/22 for nails. I just passed my boards and received my license today. Cee Cee is a very good teacher and will help ensure you pass (if you listen to her). The school is beautiful and the facilities are exactly what you need. Cee Cee is one of the most caring teachers I’ve ever worked with and pushes when you need to be pushed. We had some neat demos from former students which was really nice to see.

The students however….not so much. Some of the students were extremely disrespectful to the teachers and other classmates. I’m honestly surprised and wonder why they were allowed to continue to come to school. We also had students that were stealing materials, polishes and other peoples AirPods. My advice is that you don’t bring anything to school you don’t want stolen. It’s surprising since this school was pretty expensive ($5k+) you would think everyone would want to be here and get the most out of this education.

Since this was Covid times I don’t think we were able to get as many demos as we were hoping for which was disappointing. I also wished we had more demos with non-acrylic enhancements. I know the school is working on getting additional demos and is open to suggestions. I get the sense that they do care about our experience besides just helping us pass but also making us more marketable to future employers/ helping expand our experience.

The main reason I went to this school was for Cee Cee. I was referred by another student because of her. She is a character but knows her stuff. She made school fun and was full of practical advice.

One other piece of advice…. Check the commute at the time you will need to be in class. Coming from the Westside it took me over an hour in the car getting to school each day. If you are working and doing nights it could be a...

I was a student at Neihule and I decided to enter the nail program in the evening. While I was in school, I got hired at another job and it took me an hour to get through traffic to get to school every week day. They give you a 30 min grace period, however Unfortunately with traffic I was arriving 10-15 minutes after the grace period. I spoke to the school administrator about it and really wanted to continue the program, however they said it was the policy and preferred that I withdraw from the program than to work with my schedule. I was completing all of my work on time and scoring high on all of the testing, therefore I was disappointed that they wouldn’t work with my schedule. In the end I had to withdraw and find another school. They sent me a withdrawal invoice in which they overcharged me for the nail kit that they gave me when I entered the program. The nail kit is filled with a lot of wholesale cheap products that we can all purchase at the Dollar store. The only items that cost anything were the acrylic and gel powders. The students have to purchase their own nail drill, and nail design brushes, etc. Overall the kit was not worth $1,000. I want to end my review by saying that the instructors are amazing and this review is not directed towards them. My frustration is mostly with the school and their inconsideration for working students who are trying their best to make ends meet and go back to school at...