Aveda Institute Wants You to Be a Hair Model

Let’s get one thing clear: you’re not a guinea pig. According to Mosk Dietrich, director at Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute, public clients who offer themselves up as practice for cosmetology students are not at the whim of a total newbie. And no one walks out with a choppy mess or green hair (unless that’s what they came for; both are, in truth, quite fashionable now). Since the school launched in Capitol Hill two decades ago, it has become the best hair deal in town.

Dietrich was in the first class when Gary Manuel opened it in 2005; today he’s the director, overseeing two locations and more than 150 enrolled students. Public appointments have always been available at the school and some of the clients he served during his training still return for regular services.

Teachers wander the salon, reviewing both plans and execution, but students are mostly on their own. They’ve completed several class levels before being let loose on the salon floor, and most comb and snip with studied confidence (though things take longer than they might elsewhere). The school’s guarantee offers corrective services to any dissatisfied client, but in all my visits, I’ve only seen it requested once—and that was for a color job that turned out a bit dimmer than planned, hardly an embarrassing error to tolerate until the free follow-up.

The salon is busiest at the beginning of the week, when the rows of swivel chairs buzz with activity. Students and instructors are all clad in black, but somehow each expresses flair through the dress code. Anyone who claims Seattle doesn’t have style hasn’t seen the artfully cut Aveda T-shirts or low-slung black jeans on parade here.

With floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto Pine, Aveda’s charm comes from being so thoroughly of the neighborhood. The art of doing hair bridges the old school and the cutting edge; styles may evolve, but the practice of combing and snipping remains stubbornly manual, so it’s a space largely devoid of screens. The local vibes are why self-described “former Broadway kid” (the Seattle street, not the New York theater district) Dietrich has been on staff for 16 years—and why he thinks so many clients trek in from the suburbs.

Students also practice on each other, making them a particularly chic cohort of the population. Blue hair is having a moment, though I also see purple and leopard-print colorwork among the enrolled. Students tend to “come with one look and leave with another,” says Dietrich.

For all the youthful energy and experimental verve, the price looms large—or small, rather, with all haircuts $25. A full-head foil runs just $67. In a separate wing, aesthetician-course students do $15 lash tints and $35 facials. The eco-branded Aveda products all smell, as they have for decades, like the fragrance equivalent of an Enya album. Tips aren’t solicited and are generally scaled to the low prices, says Dietrich, but I found it a rare and welcome chance to play the part of a high roller who throws down a 100 percent gratuity.

I was drawn to Aveda for the indulgence of a cheap blowout, but the appeal has surpassed the price tag. Being a student project here feels like community engagement, not a calculated risk—a cheap little foray into a place where everyone looks interesting and is learning how to make you look interesting too.

Published in the The Innovation Issue issue of Seattle Met.