AZIZ Salon & Day Spa

Go see Jamie Schoen! She’s amazing and exceptionally great with blondes! Amazing customer service as well! Highly recommend this salon!

Jamie made me gorgeous as always. I have never trusted a stylist and colorist as much as I do Jamie. She’s a truly gifted artist, and she takes such care and passion in her work. She nailed coloring my nearly black hair, lightening it without making it brassy. No one has ever done that before. She will give you everything you want and more, helping you achieve a look you hadn’t even thought was possible. I highly recommend Jamie and the lovely staff at Naava. Not to mention the salon is stunning. Sit back and feel special and pampered in the lux downtown location. Brava to Naava!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Aziz Downtown. I was treated to both a relaxing and much needed deep tissue massage by Vanessa, she was wonderful! Next I went to Mattie for a hydrating facial, she was also incredible! I can’t say enough about both ladies. Hopefully my daughter will permanently move to Austin so I have an excuse to come back.

I recently purchased a groupon for a massage at Aziz. Vanessa was my therapist and she was amazing! The perfect blend of deep tissue work and relaxing massage. I am happy to say she will be my go-​to masseuse now!

I had a $ 100 gift certificate I needed to use up soon and decided it was time to try to fix the pretty annoying haircut someone had given me in July. I decided to also get a mani/​pedi. They scheduled all three with LaShae which was super convenient as she wasn’t rushed trying to accommodate someone else’s schedule. I was a little sad that I wasn’t offered wine as I have seen some reviews mention, but lime water was just fine. LaShae is adorable and sweet and very personable. She did the cut first. She immediately won me over when she said my hair was very healthy. It’s naturally curly, but the curls are not pretty and very confused as I have been straightening it for over 20 years. The ends were all frayed and the back was just one confusing layering job that immediately started flipping weird the minute I stepped outside. LaShae trimmed it all down and made it perfectly even into a cute bob. She took extra time to put in these pretty curls that sadly fell out into a weird flippy clump, but not her fault my hair didn’t want to keep the pretty curls. I didn’t get to see the final result until I washed and styled it with the Chi Sunday night, but the result: It. Just. Worked. No fighting weird layers or trying to figure out if the stylist cut it uneven… she cut it perfectly. Even the shorter front pieces that were all frayed are cleaned up and shaped perfectly, so they blend well into my hair. The mani/​pedi were nice and relaxing — I asked about the shellac, but $ 25 extra for each treatment seemed pretty ridiculous. She didn’t try to push any upgrades or products. I’ve been trying to find a stylist who can give me an even cut that I don’t have to spend hours trying to figure out (I’m already spending hours straitening it) and I think LaShae might just be the one! Here are the pretty curls she put in. sad they didn’t last, but they are worth sharing as she’s an expert with the curling iron!

I’m a regular Aziz-​goer. I get my hair cut, colored and styled by Jamie. She’s absolutely wonderful! She’s never pushy, I don’t feel like she’s rushing to do my hair so that she can get on to her next client (which I often feel at other salons) and she does my hair exactly how I ask — no unwanted deviations.
I’m pretty conservative when it comes to my hair cut and color. I want my hair to look polished and complement my skin-​tone and face shape (c’mon ladies, seriously, this is important!). At almost every other salon, I walk out with a blunt cut and some harsh color that doesn’t make any sense. and 90% of the time at OTHER salons, I walk out with an extra $ 100 worth of products I don’t need or use. No thanks.
Jamie, however, knows the texture of my hair, uses the appropriate products, and lets me ask her what she’s using. She never pushes unnecessary products on me, and when I’m interested in something, she makes me fully aware of the price before I even think about purchasing.
Anytime she can, she gets me samples so I’m not committing to a $ 50 bottle of something that I end up hating. She genuinely wants me walking out of the salon:
1) HAPPY
2) *if I choose to buy products* with the RIGHT products
3) NOT BROKE.
Lets be real, the experience is half the battle and finding someone you trust with your hair is the other half. Sorry if anyone that has gone here and doesn’t agree, but I get both with Jamie. She is exceptional and I have yet to had have a bad experience at Aziz.
FYI. I’ve gone to Patricia for a deep tissue massage and it’s quite possibly the closest thing to a medicinal massage I’ve been able to find in a salon/​spa EVER. I’m sorry, but if I’m going to pay for a massage, I want to walk out feeling like the massage actually helped relieve tension and knots (I’m active and athletic — as most women in Austin are — and we have knots).

Pedicure services leave much to be desired. It was not long enough for $ 65. However, my massage was fantastic. Need to try other services.

My friend and I had a pretty brutal work week and made a lunch pedicure appointment to relax. Our scheduled pedi was 4 PM, service was prompt, friendly, the pedi itself was lovely & relaxing. However, I JUST put on closed toes shoes (5 hours after pedi) and my toes are completely ruined!!! If I am dropping $ 45 for a pedicure, I expect it to last more than 5 hours. I’ll be calling Aziz in the morning. Absolutely unacceptable.

Do not get your nails done here!
I recently popped in to get a gel manicure rather than my normal salon because the location is close to work and I could go on my lunch break. Worst decision I’ve ever made.
Firstly, when I called to schedule my appointment, I called the downtown location (or at least the number listed with that location). When I showed up for my appointment, they said I was booked in at the Arboretum and that they could not accommodate me that day. The only positive that came from my experience with AZIZ is that they said I could come the next day and the manicure would be free because of the inconvenience.
The next day, all seemed to be going fine with the gel manicure until the end when she had to redo my thumb 2 times because she wasn’t keeping it under the UV long enough and she kept wiping it off. The third application was pretty ugly, but I had to get back to work so I just told her not to worry about it.
About an hour after leaving, as I sat typing at my desk, I noticed that the gel had started to bubble on ALL OF MY FINGERS. By the end of the day, they were all just peeling off the nail. So, all in all, my GEL MANICURE which is meant to last two weeks was gone in a matter of hours.
The only reason I did not go back in demanding a refund is because it was already free thanks to their mistake with my booking. I also learned that had I paid for it, it would have cost me $ 10 more than at my normal salon.
Needless to say, I won’t be returning and I’m happy to go out of my way to see my fabulous nail technician, even if she is not close to my office.

I love coming in to get my hair done there. It is truly a mini oasis!!! And the environment is very welcoming.

I had been going to the same stylist for 10 years and decided to make a change since I’d gotten a recommendation to go see Heather. I wanted to go from my same ‘ol drab red to a brighter shade of blonde and Heather made it happen! She is an excellent colorist and can straighten my naturally curly hair like no one else has ever been able to do. She is very friendly and actually listens to what you’re saying when you explain what you want your look to be. From to the girls at the front desk to the other stylists around, everyone was super friendly and professional. I’d recommend Heather to anyone looking for a new stylist.

This review is for a gel manicure and regular pedicure and a wax. I want to start off with the positives. The wax I received was excellent. I think the woman who performed it was named Rachel. She was detailed, the pain was minimal and the shaping she did was awesome.
The manicure and pedicure I had done was by Anna. Anna was incredible sweet. We had a nice conversation. She was very knowledgable about all the questions I had and she was patient with me. I asked a TON of questions. The gel manicure she gave me came out excellent. The pedicure was just ok. It did not have a massage– not sure if this is because of the one I had or not. But it wasn’t excellent. I also did not get a sand on the bottom of my feet. It just seemed very basic. And I thought it was incredibly expensive for how basic it was.
Next– When I called the girl on the phone was somewhat helpful, but not really. There are so many different services and it is really confusing about which one offers what. Had she understood what I wanted it may have been easier. HOwever when I got there the receptionist was very friendly.
I hesitated giving this place 2 stars because quite honestly, it is hideous inside. It had old walls and ceilings. All of the decorations were tacky and old. It in no way felt like an upscale spa, which is what the prices represent. Someone else mentioned this but everyone in there has to wear black. I hate that. I like to learn about the people who are working with me and therefore like to see their true colors. Felt kinda unfortunate for them.
It just didnt seem like the best place in downtown Austin on the west side. I probably won’t return unless they update it. It may sound snobby but I can’t afford spa services regularly so when i do get them I like them to be nice.
Also I thought the prices were extremely high.

For my 35^th birthday I went to Aziz. The receptionist is knowledgeable regarding their services, so you get the most out of your money.
My nails still have not flaked. The aesthetican who did my nails was so personable, likable and most importantly: Skilled. I’ve had too many manis and pedis to count, but only a handful have been done in a manner I call, «Oscar Worthy.» Same treatment as a movie star.
Finally the updo. At 35 I’ve realized one thing as far as beauty: Anyone can be a bombshell with the perfect stylist. I’m not particularly beautiful. I know some tricks to hide flaws with makeup. I know what colors compliment my skin tone. But with hair, I am hopeless. I usually go to a separate place for color and cut (see other Unilocal reviews), but I impulsively wanted an updo after an ad in a magazine caught my eye. Wow I have never looked more glamorous! Two stylists conferred about what the magazine photo left to the imagination. I wish I knew their names to thank them. A cool man with a great style himself and a pretty (and patient) woman curled, braided and styled to perfection. They accentuated the coloring and hid the bland in my highlights. Anyone could look amazing with these two stylists. Anyone. If I had the money and time, I’d look stunning everyday because of them. Thorough artists. Later I’ll post a photo of their finished product.
Finally I bought a Clarisonic Pro. The jury is out on that so far.
I strongly recommend these stylists for an important day. Everyone deserves a little pampering.
To the entire staff at Aziz (downtown), you have won a customer for life. You turned a Plain Jane into a glowing, beautiful lady on such a big day. I’ll be getting my hair styled here. My nails as well.

I go here specifically for Rachel for facials and Patricia for massages. They’re seriously awesome lifesavers. Rachel always fixes my skin up when I am having a terrible breakout and Patricia spends an exorbitant amount of time getting knots out of my back. Seriously, that girl works incredibly hard. Any time I have strayed away from these two, I have regretted it. They’re the best. I can’t speak to any of their other services, but I recommend this place because of these 2 amazing broads.
It’s not quite as posh posh as other places and it’s more of a salon feel than a spa feel but I’m ok with that.

Since moving to Austin in January, I’ve only gotten my hair done at Aziz Downtown and I could not be happier. My first visit was with Michael and he was just awesome. It’s nice to have a stylist that can offer a confident recommendation and then execute it seamlessly. Cool, fun and down to earth.
Round two, Jamie did my hair. I was going for something a little different. After finding exactly what I was looking for on Pinterest, she made it happen. Again, confidence in the direction of how she would do my hair and super laid back.
Going to the Salon should be something you look forward to and I can say that although this place is not cheap, they do great work and create a no bs, enjoyable atmosphere for all who visit.
Btw– I’m LOVING my Keratase dry shampoo. Amaze.
Thanks Michael and Jamie!

I have a long saga of unfortunate encounters with AZIZ. At first, I went to their Arboretum location to get my cut and some highlights put in (my hair has not seen color for several years, so I wanted to start slow and work my way up to a hue that would compliment me, without jumping straight into the whole coloring pond). It turned out horrendous! I ended up spending nearly $ 500 there (cut, FULL head color, and Brazilian blowout). I did not ask for the full color at any point, the hair stylist just took it upon himself to go totally wild. The color was very unflattering, and, overall, I felt like I just got an at-​home treatment bought from a generic store.
I decided to be patient and give this new look a couple days of wear to see if I might have overreacted. But, not only it did not ‘grow’ on me, it looked worse and worse with each day. So I called back to have them fix it, but with a colorist who has a great reputation. They set me up with Heather. She is one of their top colorists.
Long story short, so far, I gave Heather two tries. Both turned out OK. Nothing to rave about. Better than the Arboretum location, but I’m expecting more that just ‘OK’ from an expensive salon such as this one.
On top of everything, the facility is definitely dated and I don’t mean as in ‘it’s a historic, but well-​maintained building.’ Their equipment needs an upgrade and you can see minor unsightly but tacky painting job mishaps, putty on the tiles, etc. throughout. Needless to say, I will not be returning. I am ready to drop a serious amount of cash on my hair, but I expect adequate results. Last thing I want, is to look like I dyed my own hair at home, or like nothing much changed in my appearance at all.
…And so the quest for the perfect salon/​hair stylist/​colorist continues.

I was in town for a wedding and just happened to walk by this place so I went in for a mani pedi. I’m giving it 1 star for the following:
1: I walked in and asked for the menu so I can see the services and prices. Seemed reasonable but when I left to pay, I was charged more than what’s on the menu! Not cool. I asked and they said «oh its probably and old one you looked at». Very unprofessional.
2: The nail polish options suck. There’s 2 little racks of nail polish. Most of them were not even half full and looked like they’ve been sitting there for ages.
3: My red pedicure has dark streaks in it. Either the person didn’t shake the bottle or they mix their nail polish. I’m going to guess the 2^nd since I saw them doing something that looked like mixing nail polish colors. Gross.

I went in to treat myself for facial and I love this place. There is construction in the area and it’s a bit difficult to find. The day spa is not as luxurious as some of the others, but once you are in the treatment room, it is quiet and relaxing. The staff is super nice and accommodating. I also love the online reservation system.
When I came in, my esthetician called in sick. While waiting for another to arrive, they offered me a free wash and style. Smokey did a fantastic job. He is friendly and really seems to know what he is doing. My hair looked like TV and magazine hair.
Julie was my esthetician. Either she went above and beyond or I’ve been getting jipped. Not only was the facial great, the arm, hand, and face massage was so relaxing. She took her time and did a fantastic job. It was the BEST facial I can remember.
Be aware that this salon pushes products, something many spas do. They weren’t overly pushy, but I’m a sucker for grandiose promises of eternal youth and beauty. Of the the hundreds of dollars of products I was offered, I practiced restraint and only walked away with one product — which is still in my car three days later. — -UGGH!

I have a wild hair. Several in fact. My last few hairdressers have made note that I’ve got something kinky going on in the back. I know that and age has taught me not to try to tame my wild hair, but rather to just make it open to suggestion every now and then. It’s a compromise. That being said, a bad cut can send my wild hair into a sort of regression and the negotiations have to start all over again. sigh.
I had recently been to a beauty school and gotten a complete novice for my haircut (giggle, giggle «You’re like my second client, ever!» as I’m hearing the Psycho theme in my head). She was almost too young to not be using the rounded tip scissors. She cut my hair so bad, when I straightened it, it looked like a shag. What can I say? Everyone has to practice on someone. So I was thrilled that my thrifty self already had a Groupon to Aziz I was gonna use for a massage but instead went finally to a «professional» for my wild hair.
Smokey. Smokey, Smokey, Smokey.
How many Smokey’s have you known? I mean other than the Bear, every gray kitten you’ve ever owned, or perhaps a hobo? Well, my hairdresser was a Smokey. He kinda looks like a Smokey. Lean, a little unshaven, tattoos up his arm, but hell, he coulda been called Prunella for all I cared as long as he fixed my hair. He kinda giggled a little when I told him my hair woes and he showed me how different the length was from top to bottom, right to left. It was a mess and I appreciated his honest opinion in how to fix it. He said if he evened it all up I’d end up with a 80’s bi-​level or mullet since the top hairs were so much shorter. So he did the best he could and said it would probly take a couple of haircuts to get back on track.
I trusted Smokey on the spot. He had a genuine, open smile and was very easy to talk to. He gave me a great scalp massage during my conditioning which almost made me slide out of those silly reclining shampoo chairs. Course the complimentary wine did not help either. He knew I“d only gotten 3 hours of sleep and was going out that nite and he insisted I not nap on my new beautiful blown out hairdo, or sleep like a geisha on a block of wood :) And I didn’t. Thing is, I was able to recreate the same look on my own at home a few days later, and that to me is a sign of a good cut.
I will be back to Dr Smokey in a couple of months for more hair therapy. Maybe my wild hair will open up and work out its issues with him, you know talk through all those traumatic spiral perms I had as a teen. There’s not enough apologies in the world for what I did to my hair in junior high.

What I want to do and what I’m going to do are two very different things.
What I want to do is cry on my couch with cake batter and some Pinot and ask God «why,» possibly while watching Schindler’s List.
What I’ll do instead is warn all ye curlies who go here: don’t let them «trim» your hair. Especially not if you’re trying to grow it out and every blessed millimeter counts. Also especially if you don’t want your hair looking like a blunt blob of blob.
Groupon strikes again, except this time the purchase was intentional. I thought I’d move on from a school salon and have an official stylist at a big-​girl place. Now that I’m turning X0 and my finances are in order, I deserve a little something something.
How wrong I was. Avenue 5 writes down every aspect of your hair, including the luxuriously elongating layering technique used to make my growing-​out stages bearable. These layers (convex or concave or something) may seem off to those who are used to just giving old-​fashioned layers, but it makes a huge difference for me.
I prepped my Aziz stylist with my anxious shpeel: I’m growing it out, it’s super important, just had it trimmed 3 or 4 weeks ago. The stylist was friendly, the appointment began promptly, the place is lovely. They have a no-​fee ATM. Woah. The stylist concurred that my hair health was great and there was little damage to it.
So then whyyyyy was it trimmed so short? Maybe it just seems that way because the old layers are gone, replaced by some sci-​fi being from another butthole. I should know better than to trust that others understand what I mean, or will trim along the layers left by the previous stylist. The style I was sent out with was atrocious, and I was just anxious to leave before it got worse.
I’m sure no one can tell. I’ve given it a few days and I just know it’s wrong. But in a few weeks I’ll be eating cake batter and laughing along to some Woody Allen concoction. Or The Hangover.
Until then, I’ve got a scrunchy. Avenue 5, I am so sorry. Never again.