Douglas J Salon

These five stars are for Lindsey, who did my wedding hair design. I was very pleased with her work. She helped me discover a look that I was comfortable with and that looked beautiful and elegant on my wedding day. She was attentive to detail and made my satisfaction her top priority. Lindsey is very professional and has a kind demeanor. I highly recommend her.

I called and made an appointment saying I had brown hair and I wanted to go to blonde and that I had very thick hair. I was very upfront with what I wanted and I knew I’d be paying for the extra work it would take. The stylist had already started on my hair when she told me that I hadn’t been scheduled nearly enough time to do my hair how I wanted. The best she was going to be able to do was put highlights in my hair and even at that she wouldn’t be able to do my entire hair. She’d have to leave the underneath hair as is. It was horrible. I called another salon who was appalled by what happened and was perfectly fine with putting in the time to actually do what I wanted. They have my business for life now.

Wonderful! Got me in the same day. Austin did an amazing job of covering & blending my regrowth, which was expansive & white! Although they only color your hair for the price– cut is separate, I left feeling younger & pretty. Thank you Douglas J!

The service is great an i definitely appreciate the massage but that doesn’t make up for the subpar skills of the students. I went for a trim and have the basic long hair with some layers and my hair stylist just chopped my hair straight across and did the same with my bangs. Usually they texturize the hair so it’s blended an not choppy like I cut it myself. The instructor fixed my bangs somewhat buy needless to say I was not impressed. I will try it again and specifically ask for a senior student.

An update to reflect a knock of two stars due to a few gripes.
The stylists are on different tiers. The higher the tier, the higher the price. Since I last saw her about eight weeks ago, she moved up a tier. It would’ve been nice to get this heads up when I called to reschedule my appointment — twice. It feels like that’s just common courtesy.
On top of that, if I’m paying more for a higher level of service, my expectations are going to be higher. This means, I should not go home and notice stray hairs that were not cut. Chopping about two inches off makes this a bit obvious. I just used regular scissors to cut them. That’s probably a huge no-​no but I can’t notice it, so I don’t care.
Finally, my appointment was scheduled for 12:45. By the time 1:30 rolled around, my stylist’s next appointment was already there. Give credit to my stylist, it didn’t feel like she was rushing. But I feel like if she had more time, she probably would’ve noticed the stray hairs that weren’t cut.
Why schedule appointments so close together? It’s not exactly my fault the appointment ran over. That’s on the salon to schedule their appointments more logically.
The price level and the appointment going over isn’t even the least bit of my worries. But is it too much to ask that a $ 40 haircut is perfectly cut at the very least? I love Aveda products, which is why I go here in the first place, but now I’ll seriously consider going elsewhere.

I maybe go get a haircut once every six months. That being said, when I do waltz into a hair salon, I’m quite in need of a cut, and a good one at that. I originally had been going to the Douglas J Aveda Institute on Grand River but it’s too hit and miss when you need a good haircut. I’ve been going to Angie for 2.5 years at the eXchange and she’s phenomenal. I’ve gone from really long hair to really short a few times in the past few years and she always gives you a good cut that grows out well and fits well with your preferred level of maintenance (mine is zero). Pretty awesome.
Ask for the «new talent» rate, and it’ll cost you about $ 35−38/haircut instead of the normal Level I-​? price. Also, no tipping in any Aveda salon, which is awesome and takes the awkwardness out of everything. (Or could be that I’m awkward in general…)

I can not stop raving about Sarah at Douglas J. She did seriously the greatest full highlight I have ever had! She knows what she is doing and does it like a pro. My hair is long and thick and I normally don’t get out of salons paying less than 150 for a full highlight including tip (from MN and went to Aveda salons), I paid $ 104. The salon is an non-​tipping salon which I have never heard of, but definitely am not complaining about. I will never go see anyone else but Sarah from now on. I’ve never been so happy with my hair.

Was staying at the adjacent hotel for a wedding and my friend and I booked appointments for blowouts. Autumn was amazing at listening to direction and did a remarkable replica of a photo I showed her. Highly recommend her.
This salon operates on a very interesting business model: tipping is not allowed, so since I was so pleased with my experience, I wanted to tip the Unilocalers off.

I came here a while ago with a friend to get her hair cut, and she gave me her «give to a friend» $ 20-​off coupon. I decided to come back and bravely let someone trim my hair. I’ve been in the Lansing area for about a year now and I hadn’t been to any of the salons around here to get my hair cut. Truth be told, I’ve never been happy with a non-​Asian cutting my hair, so I was pretty apprehensive about getting it done. Actually, I’ve never really been happy with anyone other than my aunt or my stylist of 6 years from home cutting my hair… But I won’t be going to visit family until December, and I desperately needed to cut off split ends and such, so I figured I’d pay difference of $ 14 and give Douglas J a try.
I came early for my 4:30 appointment, and the receptionist (who apparently was a stylist) offered me tea or coffee. I went with the tea (which was really good) and browsed through their full wall of Aveda products while I waited for my stylist. At exactly 4:30, Autumn comes out and introduces herself as she guided me to her station, which was well-​lit, very organized, and clean. She asked me what I would like to have done, and I explained that I only wanted about an inch and a half off. I also told her about how I had permed and colored my hair in May. Based on this basic information, she pulled out products she planned to use on my hair and thoroughly explained what each of them would do. Then I had a short scalp massage before getting shampooed and conditioned. She was really gentle throughout the entire process.
As for the trim She was great about sticking to the exact length I wanted, and she really took her time to make sure I got an even trim. She finished it off by blow-​drying and styling. I was wondering if she’d just blow out my permed hair, but to my surprise she used a large round brush to bring out my curls. Overall, I walked out feeling pretty good about my experience, but the next few days would tell whether I’d go back…
I absolutely hate choppy layers, the kind where you can see where one layer ends and the other begins, and I was afraid that my hair had come out that way. The only way to tell was to blow dry it out straight and see if the layers blended or not. Moment of truth came, and I was happy to find that my layers were beautifully blended! :)
Bottom line: I’d go back :) Great experience and service — the girls are really nice! Their website gives you information on how much a service is based on the designer’s level (determined by years of experience and performance in additional classes), but a haircut (for men and women) starts at $ 34. They’re also a no-​tipping salon, which was a surprise.

I was less than pleased with my experience here. I used to go to Exchange when they had spa services and was always pleased. So I decided I’d get a color there. Firstly, I waited for over fifteen minutes before the colorist came to get me. She didn’t apologize for my wait and I found that to be rude.
When she brought me back, I said I just wanted to have my roots retouched. She informed me that blonde hair can only be bleached and not dyed. I’ve never had my hair bleached before but since I was already there, I just let her do it.
After I processed, she washed my hair. It wasn’t exactly a gentle massage, that’s for sure. She was quite rough and never asked me if the water was too warm, and at one point was almost scalding. She barely conditioned my hair, rinsed it again and back again to the chair.
Here, she roughly brushed out my long hair and then blow dried it while finger combing. I have fine hair and when whipping it all over, it gets snarly. Which of course makes her pull my hair every time she runs her fingers through it. The blowdrier was waayyy too hot. She must have used the max setting. I could smell my hair burning. When I got home, my neck was itchy and I realized she left a patch of bleach/​toner on my neck.
So unfortunately my bank account is seventy dollars less, my hair is full of split ends and damage now, but the one saving grace is that the color isn’t terrible.

Douglas J is such a great experience. They treat you like a VIP! Hand massage during treatments, scalp massage during shampoo, great advice for color and cuts, amazing tea while you are there (or coffee and water!). They know how to make people feel special!
Val is astounding for cut/​style. Sarah is superb for color. I’m a firm believer in this salon now!

I’ve been going to the Douglas J eXchange for a little over one year now. My stylist, Stevie, is phenominal!!! She listens to the issues I have with my hair and tries to help fix those problems. I love that she discusses the cut with my before washing my hair so she can determine what needs to be done based on the way my hair looks when dry. I have been happy with every single haircut I have gotten from her. I am in the process of moving to Chicago this fall and I am thinking about coming back to East Lansing just for my haircuts.

I’ve gone for a few services all are well priced but none of the actual work is great, just good if you’re with a good student.
For Nails the manicure is okay. The filing is never quite straight but the painting is usually good but doesn’t stay on well. It’s a good deal if you just want a mani for fun because you get to keep whatever brand new polish they open for you and they do all the extras like hot towel and hand massages. Just don’t go when you are in a hurry it takes FOREVER.
For eyebrow wax I’ve been there twice. The first time it was amazing they did it in the massage room so you really get to relax and they do a good job too. The second time I went they did a good job still but we were in the corner of the main room over a hair washing sink. The whole time I was worried that someone was going to run into her and she was gonna take my whole eyebrow off. Same good job but without the experience.
Once I had my hair blow out there it wasn’t bad but I would have been happier doing it myself. It just wasn’t good enough to pay for.

I got a massage by a «regular» student (they have levels) a few months back & it was OK. I personally like strong, deep massages & I this person just hadn’t gotten their technique yet.
The cost is not appropriate for the service — especially by a student. I pay the same amount for a massage at a renowned hotel spa back home. The hair services are more appropriately priced by this institution…

This place is awesome. Cheap, cheap, cheap.
Here’s a tip. You’re getting your hair done by amateurs. They have to have a professional check it out before they are done.
This teacher will sometimes ask YOU how you feel about the finished product. Whether they do or do not ask, chime in your two cents worth. if you are not satisfied. This school takes it’s work VERY VERY seriously. The teachers will sometimes do the whole damn haircut for you. Normally this would cost alot, but since you’re at the institute, cheap cheap cheap.
I always had a problem with my hair there. They just could not cut my hair the way I liked. I have very fine hair so it’s hard to get a handle on once it’s getting cut shorter. Every student wanted to always give me the textbook cut for a «gent’s cut». They just couldn’t listen to what I wanted.
It always took the instructor to do it right at the end. They will make sure you leave satisfied or you can come back and get it done right.
I’m telling you, when a student can’t perform, the instructor will take hours if need be.
There is no tipping allowed.

I get my hair coloured at Douglas J — which is now Douglas J eXe on Albert Ave. The Institute (the school) is now located on Grand River in the old Jacobson’s building.
They are really flexible with scheduling and my colourist Suzy does an awesome job on my hair. They can handle any hair texture or type (I have extremely curly afro hair) with ease. Again, it’s a bit pricey (cost me $ 130 for colour and highlights, $ 50 for colour touchup) but the service is phenomenal. You get:
— complimentary hand and arm massage while waiting
— they use Aveda products which are really good for your hair and smell great
— complimentary coffee, tea, water
— and best of all, if your colour/​cut isn’t what you asked for, they fix it, no questions asked without charge.
Getting quality service is the only reason I need to go there, but they come highly reccommended. Oh they also offer other services such as nails, makeup, waxing, and massage. One stop shopping :-)