Cosmetology and Spa Academy Salon

I have had my hair colored at the Academy twice. I have had positive experiences both times — my first student stylist was a little bit older and was going back to school for a career change and my second student stylist was a fresh-​out-​of-​high-​school 19 year old. Both were very nice. There were a couple snafus during the process, but nothing major. It is very difficult for the students to mess anything up as the teacher consults with you & the student and checks in periodically. The only drawback is the amount of time it takes. You have to budget your day and decide if the cheap price is worth it to you. Expect about 4 hours for hair color/​highlights/​all over color, etc. I get my hair colored a few times a year and I feel the time needed is a pretty even exchange for me as I can’t justify paying $ 150+ for color at a normal salon.

So I decided to give this place a try for an updo. I figured if it was really horrible I could just take it down and do it myself. I didn’t need to at all. I have super long super fine hair and the girl who did it did an excellent job. She wasn’t afraid to ask for help in the beginning. Once she got started she rocked it. I came in about an hour and a half before they closed, and although some of the other girls were packing up to go she didn’t rush or do a half job. She was great!!!

Sooo slow. It took three hours for an eyebrow wax and manicure.
The girl who did my nails was friendly, but like the other 19 year old cosmetology students was pretty immature and distracted by everyone walking by. At one point, she decided to have a conversation with another girl about the tips she had made and the people who did not tip. I guess when you go to a school you cannot expect much professionalism.
I also found out that a cosmetologist cannot do a full eyebrow wax, only underneath. It ended up taking 3 people and over an hour for me to get a simple eyebrow wax. At $ 7, it was not cheap enough to warrant the time taken out of my day.

Best place for a hair cut or style updo on a budget. The only Vidal Sassoon school in Illinois.
CSI gave me a great updo that yielded me many compliments and they only charged $ 25! A great refuge from that last updo that cost me a whopping $ 100 at another salon. Also you can make appts. on their website — wonderful!
Update: If you want more info read: Donna R.‘s evaluation, her opinion is right on!

I had an awesome experience here. My son and I both got haircuts here on a Saturday. I made an appointment the night before so we wouldn’t have to wait. The student I had was really friendly and did a great job listening to me and the haircut was great too. For the price you can’t beat it!

I found this location based on a search of Unilocal and the positive review of the first reviewer (Donna R.). I did go as a customer and honestly did not know the Institute existed, despite working less than ½ mile from the location.
My cut was OK. I have two sisters who are stylists for a living and know that getting experience with men cuts is a challenge. That proved to be the case here as I was the first «guy cut» my stylist had ever performed. As a result, she was overly cautious — of which I am grateful — but the experience took much longer than I expected.
My cut and wash took one hour and all things considered, turned out well thanks to the teacher helping to clean up the sides. For that it cost me $ 12, which was a couple dollars more than I was quoted. No big deal.
The bottom line is that I will come back if I have some time to dedicate, since I do know these young men and women need practice to get experience and it is extremely difficult to do a catastrophic short haircut on a guy. However, if I am in the mood for a close cut I will be spending a few dollars more and going to Slim’s Barber Shop or if I need to make sure my cut is perfect for an interview, special occasion or family photos I will be going to a salon professional.

I’m writing as a customer… and not a student.
I have been going to CSI for 8 years now and could not be happier. I usually get my hair cut and eyebrows waxed there.
My haircuts have always been great – the students cannot screw up that much since they need the teachers to go over each step with you. And most of them are afraid to cut too much, so you won’t go home with a chopped mess. But be advised – most appointments will take 1 – 2 hours because they need the teachers to look over the cut three times, at the least.
I’ve gotten my hair highlighted there and permed there, both were not terrible, but I would rather dish out the dough at other places and that’s only because it won’t take 4 hours and the highlights might last a little longer. Otherwise, the two times I got highlights there turned out just fine.
And did I mention that things are insanely cheap?! Obviously that’s because they are students and they can screw up, but its soo worth it. But like I said earlier, its pretty hard for them to mess up. A haircut is $ 10, eyebrow wax $ 5, highlights $ 35 – 50, manicures $ 10, facial $ 15 – 22, etc.
And now you can make appointments with CSI, back in the day it was all walk-​ins. If you can only make it on Saturdays, make sure to call and make an appt – it gets booked that day!