Designs School of Cosmetology

This is for anyone who is looking at this school to attend. I’m warning you now to stay away. Ms. Amelia the admissions advisor will lie to you, so when you come in to talk to her just letting you know 80% of what comes out of her mouth is a lie. Jason the owner only cares about himself and money and will mess you over on hours you were there. He did it to every single student. I can honestly say the cosmetology teachers are good and are always there for the students and alot of them do great work. If you want to be a esthetician. STAY AWAY from this school. Your going to hear all about Ms. D and what a great teacher she is and how educational she is and she’s cidesco trained. She does not deserve the praise she gets. I basically taught myself the last 3 and half months of school. I also taught the rest of the students how to do micro and all electrical modalities and they taught each other how to wax and we all helped each other when it came to tests. All she did was read from the book 2 hours a day 4 days a week and then sat there the whole time. If you needed her help, she would get frustrated like we were bothering her «busy time at the desk». Or just pretend to help you while really just standing there with a blank face not even paying attention to what your doing. Whenever you asked her a question she would reply with attitude like we were challenging her education. Or give you some half ass answer that makes no sense. She only pays attention to the students who treat her like a friend and not a educator. She would see me teaching new students and not even bother to step in and take the lead. A student shouldn’t have to teach other students because you didn’t do your job. She would always say «I don’t train 8 $ a hour estheticians I train 100 $ hour estheticians» to every new student who came in. Little did they know she didn’t train at all. Ive heard her lie countless times to people coming in to check out the program, saying how much she practices state board. I went every day to school all day and I practiced state board 1 time out of 4 months. Yeah it’s a cheap school and you do get alot of client practice. But I’m warning you, be prepared to have the motivation to teach yourself. Because Ms. D is only here for a pay check.

I had cora and shes nice. Everybody there is nice and they know each other. Honestly, im scared i might not like the haircut but im wrong i love it.
I had a haircut with them, its a first time going there and you need to be open minded and be helpful with the students. Their are students and instructed by instructor, so nobody should be complaining, you went there with your own choice and love the hair and be contented whatever the result is.
Im definitely going back to have haircut and perm waves.

My daughter and I had the most wonderful experience with Janet (stylist in training) and Miss Marsha (instructor). Miss Marsha was so kind and took the time to explain the differences between the Ombré and Balayage processes to ensure she knew exactly what my daughter was expecting. She was so patient and took the time to ask what times of processes if any had already been done to my daughters hair and then instructed Janet to perform a test prior to starting to ensure the hair was strong enough to take the process. My daughter is mixed and Miss Marsha educated me on some great inexpensive product (not sold in her salon) and processes that would help the health of my daughter’s hair.
What I also appreciated was that she quoted me a price over the phone and when I got there I paid for it in advance and even included the trim of all the split ends. It was so nice to not be surprised by any additional fees. We paid $ 85 for the color process, blowdry and flatiron. Again she has mixed corse and curly hair and I know I would have paid double this price anywhere else and it probably wouldn’t have come out this nice.
The process did take over 4 hours but my daughter’s hair has never looked so healthy. She is so happy and said everyone was so nice to her there and that loves the salon.
In a nutshell I would highly recommend giving these students a try. They work hard and they have a great teacher and other supervision. I will be going here for all our family hair needs. Just go in with an open mind and patience. Come prepared with some snacks and a good book or iPad and I trust you will leave happy.
Thank you Miss Marsha and Janet for taking such good care of my daughter and making her so happy. She’s always so self conscience of her hair and I can already see how much her confidence has grown.

I brought six teen girls in for a style party and all the stylist did a great job! Thank you! The girls had fun!

The people are really nice. The teachers seem to be in hurry and one of them seems easily flustered and a bit rude. I asked for an ombré and I got one color and it just goes straight across the back of my head.

I decided to take a break from the salon I regularly go to for my hair & give the DAOC a try. I planned on getting a trim /​more layers with my long hair & balayage treatment, as it had been a good 2 years since I touched my hair with color. Ashley was my stylist making sure to map everything out accordingly prior to starting with her instructor. She was very thorough with her work, checking in with both her instructor & myself on a constant basis .
I couldn’t have been any more content with my hair cut. Ashley made sure not to cut too much off & face-​framed my layers perfectly (better than some other experienced stylists I’ve had in the past). Due to my schedule, I had to make a separate trip for my «balayage» color session .
Again Ashley mapped everything out. Due to my hair length & the amount of time to lift /​color my hair, the coloring session took ~ 5 hours (be prepared those of you with long dark hair). My hair came out lighter than anticipated & was in a rush to attend an appointment, thus not being able to tone it down .
I ended up coming back the week after for a «complimentary «toner session. Ashley toned my balayage treatment down perfect again consulting me with what I had envisioned originally for my hair color. The finished product was perfect. I couldn’t be happier with my hair color /​hair cut /​blow out .
I highly recommend Ashley & the DSOC for anyone who wants more time spent worth supervision on hair /​Nail/​skin services. It is a teaching institution (keep in mind), however, these soon to be stylists take their time & can be even better than some licensed /​practicing stylists.

Very nice people here. They do awesome job for such a moderate pricing. I have done facial and mani pedi here. I am in love with myself.

Just wanted to let everyone know what a great job Haley C. does on hair. I am very picky on who does my hair and she not only cut my long hair into a super cute style, she also dyes hair beautifully. If you don’t know who to ask for I highly recommend her.

Angie did a great job on my haircut. She asked me what I wanted and listened to me. She made sure I was satisfied with the haircut. She was patient and was very professional. I will go back to have her cut my hair. I recommend you ask for her if you want a haircut.

This place is the only place I will come from now on!
Got the most vibrant colors! Came out perfect!
In love with my hair

I got a Japanese straightening. They did an amazing job everyone was super nice! Shaday was the one assisting since I was a demo and she did a great job. They definitely put in the extra time and effort to make sure that I had the best experience. They also gave me great hair care advice to make sure I had great hair for months to come!

I transfered to this school from Paul Mitchell, it is much more intimate w the teachers and learning. I’m doing so well here. I recommend this school highly to anyone looking into attending cosmetology school.

I had highlights done by Sabina. She did an excellent job. She was very detail oriented and meticulous. I love my hair. Sabrina will be a very successful cosmetologist.

Megan did a killer job on reshaping up my hair and was extremely attentive. Ms. Marsha was awesome in coming over to check in on Megan’s work to ensure it was headed where I wanted. The team seems enthusiastic and it is definitely a cool experience. Oh, and Ms. Marsha, the song you wanted to know the name of is Latch by Disclosure :)

Got cut and color with DJ today and it looks fantastic. Beautiful job on the color. You absolutely cannot beat the price either.

Just an update… I’ve been here countless times now and even started bringing my kids in for $ 5 haircuts! Hannah was even able to fix a botched haircut that my husband had given to our son LOL! So fella’s…go see Hannah for a nice fade, she worked a miracle on my son’s head!

Five stars for Amanda! She took her time, cut my hair wonderfully, the color came out great, gave me suggestions on how to take care of it, and she ran to Taco Bell for me while my hair was in tin foil. I am extremely happy with my new hair. I highly recommend you ask for her if you want to try a funky color. Marsha the instructor was awesome and helpful too. It was a great experience and a really good price. Definitely coming back.

Nami has done my hair twice now and I’ve already booked my next appointment! She is a natural and has not only a good eye and technique, but a good ear to listen and understand her clients needs. I receive so many compliments on my hair now!
She has knowledge about products and made good recommendations for my hair.
I have also had her wax my brows and am very pleased with the shoe.
Overall, I recommend the school in general. The front desk is always helpful and the other students are friendly and approachable.
And if you’re on a budget, the prices are affordable.

I came in a little past 12:30pm on a Tuesday with no appointment and was quickly accommodated for a trim. My hair was about 2 feet (mid-​back) long and was in terrible need to get split ends removed!
I had the pleasure of having Jane cut my hair and she was wonderful! She explained that with the damage from my split ends, it’ll have to be at least 2 – 3 inches off to get it back to healthy– which was an inch more than I wanted but-​oh well, I wanted healthy hair more.
She asked me many questions and listened very well to my request. She also told me why my split ends were so bad! (a lack of protein in my diet as I’m a college kid and a vegetarian)
I have thick textured hair and didnt want layers because I intend to donate it soon, which makes a very boring haircut. But she left the bangs a ‘little’ bit longer since it wasn’t that damaged which made it a quick fashionable styling fix that still accommodated my wish.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Jane! She was very polite, knowledgable and professional. I love this haircut very much and think of it as very much salon-​quality :)

So a drive from San Jose to Pleasanton isn’t exactly far, but it isn’t close. And I don’t regret making the drive to get a shampoo and blowout as well as a facial.
I booked my facial with Chanell, who was absolutely amazing. She was polite, friendly and very professional. She went over what was going to happen, asked me to get put on a terry cloth robe and tuck myself under the covers. As soon as she started she played some natural sounds music, which helped a lot! Especially when you’re in a room with 4 other people getting facials, it allows you to box out the other sounds and people. I received a seaweed facial, and some sort of high frequency mask. It helps with hydration and reduces break outs– which I have a problem with. I couldn’t of spent 24 $ and better! It was an amazing hour long completely relaxing Saturday morning.
I decided last minute if get a blow out bc hey, if I don’t have to do my own hair, I won’t! Raven did my shampoo and blow out. She’s lovely. She’s very personable and keeps a good conversation going during the duration of your apt. She was thorough and did an amazing job.
My hair looks fantastic and my face feels so refreshed and clean.
I’m booking my next apt on Tuesday!