I have had my hair colored twice at an Aveda Institute and both times, my dark brown hair color looked gorgeous when I left the salon, then had completely faded by 2 weeks later, as the previous reviewer mentioned. I don't have much gray to speak of either. It is a shame because I believe the products are healthier/less toxic, but as a color it just doesn't last, and like the previous reviewer, I don't wash my hair often either (approx. 2x/week). I just recolored my hair at home using John Frieda foam-- I painted on the dark ash brown over my lighter brownish/auburn color not covering all the strands, to leave some variations in color-- and it's lasting a lot longer. In the end, the Aveda color ends up being harder on my hair, because I have to color it more often.

I've had my hair colored at Aveda a few times now, and I'm not impressed. I think my stylist probably knew what she was doing, but from what I understand the colors inevitably pull red. I wanted a nice, natural but not too warm darkish brown color. Every time I have had it colored, the dark brown faded after just a couple of weeks, and I was left with reddish medium-brown hair. And I don't even wash my hair every day. I think the whole natural/organic pitch is slightly exaggerated as well. I had better results using Naturtint at home than with the $75 Aveda salon color.
Update: I forgot to mention that, like another reviewer here, I asked to see color swatches so that I could pinpoint my color better, but instead the stylist asked me to look through a magazine and find a color that I liked ... not very scientific.

I have tried aveda hair colour in the salon twice now. The first time I had the colour done I was aiming for a natural looking blonde. I have dark blonde/light brown har naturally so had a blend of tones to achieve a natural sunkissed look.
I am not sure, but I have a feeling aveda is not the best choice for lightening dark hair. Both times now, I have left the salon surprised at how lack lustre and flat my hair's colour and quality is. reasssured that after several washes the toner will be rinsed away and the colour variation should be much more obvious, I am left having to disagree. I was encourgaed to use the aveda shampoo and conditioners so that my home care works in with the salon care, but I have been really disappointed. My hair is just not shiny and feels course to touch. Normally my naturally straight hair is soft and shiny so I am left feeling that aveda is just not for me. Maybe when putting colour in, such as browns and reds aveda would be a good choice but for lightening, it cannot compare with the result I get from Goldwell. Back to that I will go.

I just got my hair colored at the Aveda Institute in Atlanta, and my technician was absolutely amazing. I had brown hair that got horrible copper/straw highlights at the beginning of summer and then I tried to dye over it with medium ash brown dye from Loreal, which turned BLACK AS NIGHT and as faded, created a leopard melange of spots of black and straw in dark brown/medium brown hair. HORRIBLE.
He spent literally 6 hours weaving highlights in my hair, avoiding the black (he wanted to create lowlights with the black in my hair, to avoid the damage) and then colored my hair with the new aveda fall 2011 auburn/brown color. The result was chocolate brown with dark auburn/claret highlights and black brown lowlights. It is like a work of art. I cannot say enough about the color, he even mixed a different formulation to put on my roots so they would be uniform with my color treated rest of my hair. I have uniform color with to die for highlights, all for 60.00 (my hair is just below my shoulders).
Seriously, this is my first time with Aveda salon color or going to an Aveda institute, and it was BEYOND FABULOUS. A teacher was literally by his side the entire time helping him, tweaking the formula, etc. Plus, the student was so meticulous, thus why it took 6 hours. Definitely worth getting up early on a Saturday on a holiday weekend. PM me if you want the technician's name and you are in the Atlanta area, he is definitely the best!

Both my daughter and I have had mixed reviews on many different experiences for color at both Aveda School and Aveda salons here in New Mexico. I regularly go for a haircut at the Bella's Artes school and have had overall a great haircut and style for under 20$. I was going to a regular Salon and paying upwards of 60$ for a haircut. Forget it. I have lots of wavy hair so even if there are mistakes in my long layers no one would even notice. I love that they use the Aveda products and do a head massage as a part of the haircut. Overall a great value. Now then, onto the color. I went in once to the school and had a very long day in the salon where I had just a root touch up. I told the manager I did NOT want permanent hair color as I didnt like the lines of demarkation. They talked me into it against my better judgement and within a month I had grey roots. After that time I started doing my hair at home with semi permanent color with fantastic results for a mere 6$ a box with natural instincts. It took me a while to learn how to use the color and how to choose the color but unless you are going lighter or a much drastic change in haircolor there is no reason to go to a salon. My at home monthly hair coloring and every quarter hair trims at the school and my hair has never looked better. I do love the products and think they are worth the money and since I am saving money in services I can afford the products.
Now my daughter is an ashy blonde and has highlights. She had mixed experiences with Aveda colorists until this last time. She asked for a master level colorist who did a fantastic job. The reason this stylist was so sucessful is that the consultation lasted about a half an hour. She went over every single aspect of how thick the strands should be, the exact color, and how much maintence my Danielle wanted to spend on the hair especially given that she is a new MOM. I dont think that this approach has to be particular to Aveda. Whenever you are coloring or indeed doing anything to your hair, knowing EXACTLY the results you are after and having a clear communication with the stylist is essential. After that, it is truly the amount of skill and knowledge the stylist has.

I've gotten my hair colored 4 times at an Aveda salon. The first time the dye was totally out by week 2. I had to go back and they charged me again the $100 to re-do my full head. Lasted 1.5 weeks. When I called to cancel my regrowth appointment the owner insisted I come in and try again on them. The third time it lasted longer about 3.5 weeks. They assured me the regrowth touch-up would "pull though" and refresh my whole head the 4th time. Yeah, it was never the same.
The process is wonderful. The dye is non-damaging, but doesn't last and is way to expensive to have done every month. I moved on to a box dye and couldn't be happier.

I've been going to my local little Mom and daughter salon to have my hair colored with Aveda color for at least 2 years, and I cannot say enough good things about my experiences there. The ladies are very sweet and even since they redid the whole salon over, they haven't changed their prices. It is no more than any other color I've ever gotten, but it agrees with my hair (and scalp) tremendously. I love the shade we've picked for my dark brown hair; a warm brown 2 shades lighter~the only grey I ever see is the regrowth. I've gotten many samples of product (I am not that impressed with many of those, but do have a few favs), and much advice (and I ask for a lot of it) and they never have any hint of attitude, unlike the huge expensive salon at the other end of town where just the haircuts are $75 and up, and you get to pay extra for the prima donna garbage.

My experience with Aveda salons are varied. My first Aveda hair coloring experience was at an Aveda Institiute. I had an advanced student color my hair and the head colorist/stylist/ instructor also monitored the process. The result was terrific healthy dark red/auburn on my naturally black hair and the experience was great in terms of service and technique. I was also amazed at the lack of chemical smell and how gentle the color mixture was on my scalp as I am usually very agitated by home coloring kits. I remember leaving the Institute that day and receiving many compliments of how fantastic the color was.
My second Aveda experience, this time at a Concept Salon, was terrible!!! I wanted originally to book again with the institute but color appointments were backed up for a month so I settled on a neighboorhood Aveda Concept salon...BIG MISTAKE! The reception was Ice Cold and so was the "comforting tea" they gave me and to make things worse the Ice queen receptionist was my colorist too! great!
I asked to see color swatches and was told they don't have color swatches and the colorist proceeded to tell me she understood what color I wanted and mixed some concoction while asking questions to another I'm assuming "senior" stylist whether she should use " x" formula or "y" color and pretty much was on co-pilot for the whole process.
I should have left, but was so desperate for a new haircolour.
In the end after I had an abrupt rinse and blowdry, my hair pretty much remained the same black hair colour I walked in with, I even asked the lady seated next to me "does this look red/auburn to you?" She shrugged and I told her "good luck with your hair color". Worst of all after I paid and left the salon I noticed people looking at me funny, and checked my reflection in my mirror at home. That bitch Ice queen left dye on my hairline and didn't rinse it out proper. I've also noticed the condition of my hair worsened after my coloring.
Do not go to any old Aveda Salon, make sure it is an Institute!!!

It breaks my heart to hear awful stories about Aveda salons. I've been going to the same one for twelve years, and although the prices are killing me, I'm almost willing to sell my first born in order to keep them. These are the people who told me I had naturally curly hair (I had been getting perms)! Anyway, onto the color aspect. I have been getting blonde highlights on my crappy, ashy mouse-colored hair for about as long as I have been going to this salon. Each time, they have come out beautifully. However, in trying to save some money lately, I attempted to box color my hair. They were nice enough to try and help me with my box coloring, providing me tips, and only giving me marginal crap (in a good way). Well, while I didn't ruin my hair, I got tired of fighting the red that pulled so terribly with the box, and missed the lack of wow factor I got from the shine of my past highlights. So, back I went. They now have an Shades of Enlightenment Advanced Lifting color that is amazing. She put the highlights in, waited maybe 5 minutes (or less), washed them out, and BAM, beautiful sunny, shiny, beach-ready highlights.
By the way, this salon is a small huband/wife team that have been Aveda stylists for YEARS and are very diligent in the keeping of Aveda's ideals. My hair is very healthy, even after years of highlights, and when I enter the salon, I can feel my heartrate slow due to the wonderful smell. So no, you dont have to go to a large salon in a metropolitan location to get fantastic service.

Aveda color is terrible. I finally realized this after having it done numerous times and it never turned out right. I kept on thinking I wasn't making myself clear but I now think it is just that the color is terrible. I have lots of premature gray and the color just doesn't cover it at all. Or, at best, sometimes it will cover it for about 1-2 weeks and then it totally fades away. It also is very hard on your hair and makes it very dry. The color is not at all rich looking. It looked very flat. I finally switched salons to one that uses Goldwell color and it is so much better.

The colors are beautiful and rich. No one has been able to recreate the beauty of my brown ash color. However, last time the dye broke my hair off. Be careful on how your stylist applies this color. When she starts from the top, and gets to the bottom, 30 min already elapsed. Go to a professional in a big city too.

I had my hair high and low lighted earlier this year by an awesome colorist (who has since moved to Chicago to start a career there...I could've *cried*). Anyway, I found the color to be very long lasting, hardly faded and didn't damage my hair. I paid twice what I would have in a "normal" salon and I could be tempted to do it again had my colorist not moved away. Oh, and the Comforting Tea is the bomb!

Ok where to start? About two weeks ago I made an appointment at an AVEDA SALON to get my hair highlighted and cut. I thought surely with a brand name like AVEDA, they must be good!
My hair is blonde and I thought my hair was starting to get a bit on the ashy side and asked for some "simple blonde highlights that would help tone it down a little". I also emphasised "natural looking blonde". Well to my disappointment my hair was highlighted and the result was NOT what I wanted nor expected. My hair appeared even more ashy (almost platinum) with some very strange looking copper streaks through it!!! Not at all what I was after. I told the hairdresser that I wasn't happy and she got the manager to come and have a look at my hair.
The manager agreed that it wasn't quite right and yes that it was very ashy and unnatural looking. She agreed that it needed to be toned down and that "it will be sorted do not worry"!!
Well it all went very down hill from here.....
More highlights were put through my hair and a semi-permanent colour in between. I was strangely told by the hairdresser that this semi-permanent colour "wouldn't darken my hair" but "just tone it down". Well that was not the case and I was transformed from ashy blonde to brunette (and I mean brown!!!!!) in a matter of half an hour. I could see that the colour was getting dark during the time and as the hairdresser was busy on another client I mentioned to some other stylists and assistants close by that I was very worried that it was going too dark. They weren't concerned and told me "oh its a semi, it darkens, it'll be fine".
No-one during that time checked my hair to see if it was ok, not any hairdresser nor the manager. Only after my hair had been washed did the hairdresser and manager come to see my hair. I could tell by their faces that it went wrong and it was a drastic change, but they pretended to be all cherpy and friendly saying that it "was a lot better".
WRONG.
At that point I was devastated and very upset. I wish I didn't even bother going to the salon and l left my hair alone. It was horrible. Where did my natural blonde hair go? Afterwords they took me to the basin and at one point they were actually trying to strip/remove the colour back out of my hair. It made no difference whatsoever. They then decided that yes it was brown and I wanted blonde, so CAN YOU BELIEVE they put more highlights through it. YES ANOTHER FULL HEAD OF HIGHLIGHTS. And to cut a long story short the end result was ORANGE hair. And thats how I left the salon. My appointment was 9:15 in the morning and I didn't leave till 4pm in the afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even get a hair cut during this time!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aveda did not charge me for the damage and the managers response by the end of it was "I'll phone you in a few days time to see how it is.".
Both my friends and mother were mortified when they saw me!!! And to be honest im not surprised, My hair was ruined, orange and tacky.
I was so upset and couldn't bear to look myself in the mirror. I went to my local salon the next morning and got a colour correction. I had to! Even the hairdressers there were mortified, especially when I told them everything they did to my hair.
My local salon did the best they could in correcting my hair. It was 10 times better than it was but clearly not perfect as a result of the damage that AVEDA did to my hair.
From my experience at AVEDA, I found the hairdressers to be inexperienced and I will NEVER EVER go there again. They were soo "slash bash" as to look for a quick solution as to fix it and the end result was a very angry dissatisfied customer!!! Im not a hairdresser but I cant understand how they managed to get it so wrong and to damage my hair the way they did. I can only attribute that to inexperience and complete carelessness.
I have warned all my friends and family not to go there EVER.

First off: no, I don't work for Aveda! I just
I cannot possibly say enough GOOD things about getting your hair colored at the Aveda Institute. Seriously, if you are lucky enough to live near one of the Institutes, or will be visiting a city where there is one- do it! You will never go back to do-it-yourself color, and never again will you be a slave to expen$$ive salon services. I'm a redhead and most people know how difficult it is to keep a red from fading, going brassy etc...reds just don't last. I got a gloss done there and it was amazing!!
- My hair was in BETTER condition after the coloring than when I walked in the place: Shiny, Smooth, light reflection you wouldn't believe. It was softer too, and generally looked healthy.

- The price = Cheap!! At the Aveda Insitute in Las Vegas, coloring starts at just $35! (I have short hair) This is outraegously cheap compared to other salons. Even better: the staff are students, so they won't accept tips!
If you are in Vegas, its worth the trip. Insititutes are also located around the country, here's a link to the list:
http://www.avedainstitutes.com/institutes/find?program_id=0&state_id=0 continued >>

This is the worst no ammonia/no peroxide hair color experience I had. I recently had my black hair (I'm Korean) colored jet black at the Aveda Institute (in NYC, Soho location) with their no ammonia, no peroxide hair color that supposedly lasts 26 shampoos. In the past I've had similar color treatments from Goldwell (very good) and Redken (excellent, better than the Goldwell with richer color). The purpose of this type of hair color is minimal damage yet covering the greys. After this experience, my hair was dryer, damaged, less silky and worst, the greys were not colored! With the Goldwell and the Redken version of no ammonia, no peroxide, my hair was richer looking, silkier with the greys colored.

I hate what this Aveda color did to my hair. Even my beloved Kerastase products can barely save my hair. I have to look into trimming a few inches. Please do not waste your time, money or your HAIR on this color service from Aveda. I have used the Clairol Root Touch-Up kit for $6 that is far superior to this Aveda color for covering up greys with no damage. I have stick-straight, long hair (5" past shoulders) that USED to be silky BEFORE the Aveda color.

Gorgeous colour every single time. I love it! And my hair always feels so much healthier after each time.

I've been getting my hair colored at an Aveda Concept salon for years now, and would not go anywhere else. Yes, it is pricey, but trust me, it's worth it. The stylists are constantly receiving training, and they are artists--they weave in different shades so well that your hair grows out gracefully (the big difference between good color and bad color, I would say). My hair, even at its most bleached-out, has never become brittle or fragile. When I worked in retail, people would come up to me in the store and ask to look at my scalp, because they wanted to see if I dyed my hair or not! Worth the price.

I am always happy with the results of the high/low lights I receive at the Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa. The colors are vibrant and has lots of shine. I can't say whether the color lasts longer than other brands, but it definitely seems much more gentle. No strong, offensive odors from the color. For my budget, it is pretty pricey - $165 (including a cut), but the color fades gradually and I can get by without re-coloring/highlighting for about 6 months. I get great comments on my hair and have recommended Aveda coloring services to friends and colleagues. continued >>

In a fit of postpartum madness, I decided to color my own hair. Big mistake. I was left with a dry, dull, brassy mess. Hat in hand, I headed to the nearest Aveda salon, hoping they could fix the mess I made. I love Aveda products and figured their hair color might be gentler on my hair than others. I could not believe the miracle my colorist worked on my hair. I came in a brassy strawberry blonde and left with a beautiful brunette shade that really complemented my complexion. My colorist worked 3 different colors in, a medium brown, a brown with a slight reddish cast to it, and some blonde highlights. I could not believe how beautiful, shiny, and gorgeous it looked when I was done. I haven't noticed that the color has faded at all, especially not anymore so than any other color I've used. It even smelled divine. All in all, I couldn't have been more pleased.

Had my hair colored for the first time in 35 years. While I love my natural haircolor, I have a prematurely grey patch that has been becoming larger. I love the idea of Aveda products--great scent, eco-friendly packaging, natural/organic materials--but somehow they always disappoint me. I don't know why I keep trying them because in the end I find them overpriced and underperforming.
The same holds true for their salon hair coloring. The only good thing I can say about it was that the stylist was able to match my true hair color, more or less. The shine that was touted by Aveda faded by the end of the week (despite the fact that I've been using Color Conserve shampoo and conditioner), my hair is now dry and brittle (it was in excellent shape prior to the color), my scalp and faceline have broken out, and the color didn't touch the grey hair. So now I have damaged grey hair. For $100 this was definitely a terrible experience. I don't know what the options are out there for professional hair color, but if you're interested in coloring grey hair this is not a good option.