Cosmetology and Spa Academy — Local services in Schaumburg Township

I would have liked to give a 5 star review, but after having spent $170 in color services at the Schaumburg location, I'm struggling to see the silver lining in this experience.

Rather than allow my disappointment to dictate my words, I'll stick to the facts.

I took my teen daughter to get a balayage color treatment; the first image is what was shared with the stylist. She has black hair.

What she received was a brassy, almost orange interpretation of the photo. By this time, it was already 9:30PM and the academy was closing. Being a teen, and having to go to school with brassy/orange/red hair, my daughter was mortified. I did tell the student stylist that the color was nothing like I had imagined, based on the photo. She agreed to correct it on her next availability - 4 days later. Paid $80 for this visit.

I couldn't wait 4 days later, due to weekend social functions, etc, I asked to be squeezed in the following day to have the color toned from it's orange color. The colorist or her instructor proceeded to tell us that the lighting from our Photo Example made it difficult to tell what color tones we were trying to achieve and that the brassy color on my daughter's hair was actually a few shades lighter than black - like the photo. And that somehow that photo wasn't very helpful in conveying the look we were going for. We were never asked, during the consultation, to clarify or elaborate on the style or color - beyond providing the photo image. Paid $21 which included layering for this visit.

The corrected color toned down the brassiness and made my daughter's hair a pretty brown as shown in the photos below. HOWEVER, I couldn't allow that to detract from the fact that we didn't go there to give her pretty brown hair, went there for a balayage. It was evident in all of the photos that the bottom half of her hair was brown throughout (in images). Where a balayage is predominantly the original hair color (black) with pops of contrast.

Anyway, I called to make a third appointment because the salon/academy failed to achieve the desired look, not even close, even though the website promises to offer "The High-End Look You Want At A Good Price!" The instructor told me that they could add black streaks into my daughter's hair to help achieve the look that we had asked for. I opted to let my daughter decide - at this point she had already spent 9 hours in the chair. Long story short, rather than go through another corrective process to achieve the balayage look, we requested to color her hair back to the original black - which I was charged another $80. We basically paid $170 + tips in the course of 4 days to have the her black hair processed, then turned back to black.

I asked the instructor to justify why I had been charged to fix something that was never received/properly completed. She insisted that my daughter did in fact get what she had asked for and that she needed more layers to allow the black contrast to pop - which is impossible because two-thirds of her hair was completely bleached and her original hair color was non-existent .

This was an opportunity for the academy's students to learn how to color correct or troubleshoot... but it felt more like an opportunity to prove that I was wrong and that our visions weren't clearly articulated.

On the bright side, the stylists there are lovely people. I did purchase a microdermabrasion while I was waiting and that was terrific.

I do take responsibility for having faith in the academy and its instructors to guide the students to achieve a desired look. Valuable lesson learned. Perhaps some improvements can be made in customer satisfaction - which all your students will be faced with in the real world.

**SIDE NOTE TO THE STYLIST - please do not take this post personally. I understand and appreciate your learning process. You're great to work with and you will rock it in life.

Hmmmm...I don't think the pics are showing up...

This is one of the most disappointing experiences I have ever had. I did complete the Esthetics program through CSI in Crystal Lake. Enrolling was the ONLY thing that went smoothly. They are so unprofessional, it amazes me that they are still in business at all. During my few months with the school two (both) my "teachers" were fired. I also did not know that my first months were being taught by a student all together. My Teacher at the time was teaching some of her fellow students that took longer to graduate. I do not see how that shows professionalism and it certainly does not tell me (a student) that the school cares about the quality of my education. They will hire anyone. I've had financial issues since I started. I am a Vet and this school does not care about their Vets. They are clueless on the military side of the benefits and have gone through two or three "VA Reps" while I was a student... Both reps were worthless to me due to lack of communication on their part. One thing that really bothers me is how the school advertises and is known for is having the owners on location giving it that small local family owned business feel. The owners are not easy to get a hold of, especially when you need something. They are all about making a buck no matter what the cost to their reputation. One day I was about to perform a facial. While setting up for my client I noticed my rotary brush was broken... I asked my younger than me with no actual experience teacher, for assistance. She said it wasn't a problem that Ned the owner had just bought a bunch of individual rotary brushes... she then handed me a small box that I started opening up when I realized that the power cord for this brand new machine would not work in American outlets. I noticed this because my past deployments and having to conquer the power issue before. It became very obvious to me at that time that Ned was simply buying our equipment off of amazon in bulk at the lowest possible price... not regarding quality AT ALL. Not to mention when the orginial rotary brush broke it has crossed my mind that the machine was brand new when I first started the program and that even the old machines worked better than half the "new" machines. (Do I even have to point out that they replaced muliti-use machines with newer muliti-use machines that were "cheaper" so they didn't have to fix the old machines but then the new machines were falling apart so they started replacing the individual attachments with separate hand held machines so now they have an overflow of broken or semi broken machines. Our class room became a "graveyard" of broken machines literally taking up our classroom space for no good reason other than to be an eye sore and take up space. Teachers and students both talk poorly about each other and about clients. My mother came in for a service and while waiting in the waiting area she over heard about a teacher engaging in a "three some". How tacky is that!?! If she was any other client she would have walked out. (perhaps this is one of the reasons that teacher was fired...) Regardless, this school is terrible. They don't care enough about their students to provide a safe, sanitary, educational environment. There were plumbing issues with the toilet system the ENTIRE time I was a student. Dripping faucets, toilets that don't flush, laundry dryer that doesn't dry, clogged sinks ect... all of which get a handwritten note taped to it saying "sorry do not use". Do they not have some kind of repair guy? Can they not afford to keep their facilities up? If I'm paying 13 grand I better have a real teacher with real experience on real up to date technology and machines. Thats all I'm saying. Save your money, reputation, and your sanity......

Update 3/2025 CJ cut and styled my hair today and did an amazing job. She was super friendly and personable. CJ’s work was checked a couple times by Ms Lorena the most professional teacher on staff. The hair products they use are all top notch. Prices for services are the best and you leave satisfied until your next visit! ——————————- Update 7/2024 I came in to have partial highlights and a cut. Rylee was so enthusiastic to do my hair. She asked many questions to be sure of the color and style I wanted. She was super friendly and very passionate about her work.

My highlights were perfect color and spacing. The hair cut looked very clean along with the blowout and style. Rylee did such an excellent job, was a consummate professional and very conscientious throughout the whole experience. I felt like my hair was done by a top salon! Thank you Rylee for making me feel amazing. A shout out thanks to Michele too who helped a bit in the cutting! —————————- Update 4/2023 Always great service and teacher Ms. Lorena is always there to check the students work. Can’t go wrong especially if you need your hair fine every month. Economical! Always get good client servicing from all students. Lately my hair is being done by Omar The Artist. Very happy and I continue to come here. ————- Great place, nice staff, premium hair care products used for a phenomenal price. I've been a regular here for over 3 years. There were a few hiccups in the past with dropped appointments but the last 3 visits have been honored and prompt. I suspect it had more to do with the girl I had and not the place itself. Be prepared to spend a little more time in the chair as this is a beauty school. Beauty products are offered and sold in the front as well. They rotate the stock and have it showcased and organized nicely. They have several monthly specials to take advantage of that are listed at the front desk. You can also ask what the specials are for both men and women when you call to make your appointment. The prices are exceptional for the time and products they use on you. Management, Teachers and staff are super friendly! Only one drawback is they are only open during the week and closed on weekends. But when you are prepared for that, it's...