Van Michael Salon

Bad experience with horrific results. 4 spots on my head which are now 1 inch long due to breakage. I had never been there and was told that Khaia was great with blondes. So, I wanted to get my roots done, quoted at $ 95. In the chair, I was informed the price is actually $ 185. At the end, my hair was blond with an orange hue which was not what I wanted. I had to come in for a redo. After that time, my hair was ruined. I asked for a refund, in vain. Please do not waste your money there. If you care about your hair, go elsewhere.

I love this place and always have a fun time. It is expensive but the work is quality and if you are not happy they will make it right. They are fully stocked with Aveda products which I love

Not a fan. They may have some good stylists or colorists but here’s what I got. Went in for a consultation for my thin long hair once. I told him I would like to make it look fuller and nicer with a cut. Maybe layers. Maybe extensions. Idk. He plays around with my hair for two seconds and goes «I would cut it all off and spike it. It’ll def look thicker that way.» Any good hair guy can cut and style to make thin long hair thicker without chopping it all off! Spiking it?!? Ur insane buddy. I’m a petite young woman who wants pretty hair, I’m not Guy Fieri?!
I would suggest for this place to cut loose (no pun intended) these loser stylists with no vision. It’s not helping ur brand at all. Stylists should be about creativity, vision, ideas. Not this. Needless to say, I got my cut elsewhere and it was fabulous. Hehe

Pricey but very good! It is the second time I do my highlights there and very happy with the result. And you’re suppose to get a shoulder and hand massage every time you go…

Rowan Cumberle is the best! I had a change of heart several weeks before my daughter’s wedding and decided rather than wearing my hair down I would like to wear it in an Up Do! I was referred to Rowan and booked an appointment for a trial. He was awesome and worked a miracle styling my not even shoulder length hair in a beautiful Up Do! I immediately told him I would like him to do my hair for the wedding. He checked his schedule and found he was already totally booked on the wedding day BUT he quickly agreed to come in at 8:00AM before hours to do my hair. He did an even better job this second time! I cannot even count the compliments that I received and continue to get weeks after the wedding — some from male friends of my husband who rarely notice yet comment on such things! Rowan is awesome!!!

I have never been a salon girl. With curly hair and a natural mix of blonde, never really had the need. With time comes age, and with age comes color. I decided that the first time in my life that I NEEDED color, I decided to go bold and become a red head. Anne was absolutely amazing!!! She treated me like I was family. But, aside from being nice, her work was FANTASTIC!!! After color, I have a cut with Elizabeth. I think this part scarred me more than the color as most do not cut curly hair well. 2 for 2 — Elizabeth gave me a PERFECT cut! As I said, never been a salon girl, but now you will find me at Van Michael every 8 weeks :)

Mia did a fantastic job! Not only did she make my hair look beautiful, she also gave me tips on easy styling that I can try at home. I’m very impressed. The salon is beautiful and the staff was very attentive. It was my first time at this salon and I’ll definitely be back.

I have been seeing my colorist, Lauren C, for over 5 years now and I have never had a bad experience. I get constant compliments on my hair! I will never trust anyone else with my hair!

I went in for a simple haircut and ended up with a nightmare. I asked for 1.5−2″ off… my hair was about 6″ below my shoulders so I just wanted a very necessary trim. When I told the stylist I what I wanted, she showed me how much she was going to cut off (around 1″). I told her she could do a little bit more (… do you need a ruler to see what 1.5−2″ looks like?) Next thing I know, I’m watching her blow dry my hair and see strands that are 4 – 5″ cut off. Ok, so that’s enough for me to never go back again, but it gets worse.
While she was blowdrying my hair she asked me how I normally blow-​dry/​style my hair. I told her I blow-​dry with a flat brush (almost immediately after telling her this she switched from her flat brush to a round brush even though it was practically dry) and then I use the straightener for soft curls. She stopped after blow drying my hair stick straight. I realized why when I got home… if she would have styled my hair at all it would have been even more blatantly obvious how much she messed up my cut.
So, I paid $ 60 (for what they told me was an «experienced» new talent) and had to go home, style my own hair and cry for about an hour because this will probably take 2 years to fix. I did call the store after I got home and they comp’d me the price of the hair cut which was nice… but it doesn’t even come close to make up for the damage that was done and the disrespect I was shown to mess up that bad and then not even style my hair at all.
Never. Again.

My stylist was Kelly (she’s on the New Talents side right now) and she does an amazing job. My hair is always what i want and she always takes her time to do it right, so I highly recommend her.
Speaking to the facility as a whole, it’s super clean and everyone I have interacted with has been extremely friendly. They use Aveda products on your hair, which smell amazing and always leave my hair feeling super soft with lots of volume. It is a very large facility, but once you find the stylist (s) that you like, you won’t even notice how busy it can get.

I highly recommend Jude at Van Michael Buckhead. He was able to get my old colors and toners from another Van Michael and replicate what I had perfectly. He was quick and did a wonderful job. Jude is great with blondes!

I have to say I am a bit surprised at all of the glowing reviews. Yes, it is a beautiful salon and the people are very nice and it’s run in a very high-​end way but the haircut I got was one of the worst I have ever received. I looked positively frumpy. I went in for a layered bob. I have fine hair but I have a lot of it, so it needs to be shaped. For some reason she decided to layer my hair from underneath which makes no sense except that it thins the ends which just makes it look kind of weird and thin. So despite the nice décor, expensive products and very very nice customer service I have to say this is a terrible salon because my purpose in going to salon is to walk out looking great. I did not. My hair and my looks had to recover from that cut

Unfortunately, while I received a good haircut here, they don’t seem to be very organized with scheduling. My first appointment was 20 minutes late, and my second was going to be 45, which I cancelled. Very disappointed.

I have been going to Van Michaels since the last several years and usually schedule an appointment with whoever is available in the new talent section. Never had any complaint or issue — always experienced a great hair treatment (cut or color) until this last time. I wish I could go back in time and undo scheduling an appointment with Lucy. I requested for a two inch trim and she took the liberty of taking off more than 4 inches off my hair length. I don’t know what part of layers she didn’t understand and gave me a bob cut style. Horrible horrible experience — she is all about herself — so cocky with no respect to customers’ needs/​requests. My heart is aching! :’(
One star is for Lucy and not van michael.

I came in for a hair and make up appointment. Everything started with their super talented MUA Kristina. She was so knowledgeable and actually did my make up better than my wedding day MUA! I wish I would’ve had her do my wedding make up… I showed her pictures and she did exactly what I wanted.
Murray did my shampoo/​blow out and he started off with a ridiculously relaxing neck/​shoulder massage. He gave me plenty of volume, which I always need. He is an expert on blow outs.
Rod did my updo, and whipped it up in 20 minutes. I brought pictures and he told me his recommendations based on all of them and my hair looked flawless. I’m not sure what kind of hairspray he used but my updo was a loose updo and it stayed ALL night long.
I wish this salon was in Raleigh so I could go ALL the time! My experience was absolutely amazing. No wonder this place was so busy, I’ve never seen a salon on this level.

I went to Van Michael for seven years until my stylist switched salons and I followed. It was New Year’s Eve and I was in a wedding. Everyone else was getting their hair done here but I was kind of morally opposed to letting someone else at Van Michael touch my hair. It felt like cheating and I just couldn’t do it (thank God for GlowDry!).
I did get my makeup done here though. I now understand why Kim Kardashian is obsessed with herself and is constantly taking selfies. It’s because she has a professional makeup artist on hand at all times and always looks flawless. That is exactly how I feel about Sansa and am beyond obsessed with her! Not only was she an absolute delight but she is a makeup magician and made me look the best I have ever looked in my entire life. Seriously. Not exaggerating. Everyone of us, especially the bride, looked absolutely stunning thanks for her makeup application skills.
For $ 30, I will most definitely go back to her for a makeup application for the next time I’m going to anything fancy. Hell, maybe even just on a rainy day when I feel like looking like pretty pretty princess. Sure blowouts are all the rage for a night out, but I’d pick getting my makeup done any day.
One final note: Nothing has changed in the past year and the reception area girls are just as dumb and unhelpful as they were the last time I went to Van Michael. And just like usual, I am willing to overlook that detail because this place rocks.

I had some coworkers talk me into going to Van Michael to get my hair cut after I grew it out very long for my wedding. I had decided to get it cut shoulder length so was a little worried that wherever I went would screw it up. Thankfully, I went to Bernard and he gave me probably the best haircut I’ve ever had!
The place is huge as it houses both Van Michael and their school, New Talents. You can choose to have a haircut by one of their New Talent students or a more experienced Van Michael employees. I chose Bernard, with many years of experience even though it was more expensive at $ 80. You start by going and putting on a smock and then I did a quick consultation with Bernard. I had a vague idea of what I wanted but within 5 minutes, he pin pointed exactly what I wanted and what would look good on me. He then gave me a head, neck and shoulder massage with some great smelling oil. Very relaxing. Then, time for shampoo and the cut. He was very pleasant the whole way through and was extremely quick. He explained to me why he was doing everything he did including all the product. He showed me how to blow dry my hair and easily style it.
Afterward, he gave me a «prescription card» which showed all the products he used in my hair in case I wanted to purchase them. It was definitely the best hair-​cutting experience I’ve ever had and will definitely make my next appointment with Bernard!

I know what you want to hear. That if you come here, you’re going to have a perfect experience and no one will screw up your hair. The truth is, that just like dentists, you’re going to have to do some experimenting to find a stylist that you jive with. Luckily, this location of Van Michaels has a BUNCH of colorists and stylists, which means that you can keep on the merry-​go-​round until you find someone you like.
My problem in finding a solid stylist I can stick with is my bonkers schedule. I frequently travel for business, sometimes last minute, so I can never keep an appointment. I’ve got to have the flexibility to call up a salon a few days (…okay, sometimes day-​of) before I need an appointment. Because of the huge size of this salon, it was possible. So that’s a plus here. I also like that Van Michael uses Aveda products. Finally, they follow some of the Aveda salon practices like making sure each client gets a de-​stressing ritual.
Here are the things I didn’t like. The salon is huge and bustling with people, it almost seems frantic. I prefer a calming experience rather than feeling like I’m on a New York City sidewalk in salon. The New Talents waiting area was small, so I had to stand while waiting for my appointment.
I didn’t have a great experience with my colorist or my stylist. I showed my colorist a photo of the red color I wanted (a strawberry-​blonde-​ish color) and specifically explained that my normal colorist had been leaving me with a dark, auburn-​like color and I really wanted a lighter version of red. She was super nice and pleasant, but I still ended up with the same dark brown-​ish red. Boo. So here’s my thing: if I need to do a different treatment (double process, highlights, what?) to get the results I want, I wish she would advise me on that up-​front to set the expectation that I’d been getting the exact result I didn’t want because I’m not getting the right treatment. I like my hair color, it’s just not what I requested.
As for my stylist. She was also very nice and professional, and gave me the shape I wanted. However, I specifically explained that I am growing my hair out long for my wedding in a few months and did not want any length taken off. She showed me my ends, that are clearly unhealthy, and mentions that I should take a little bit of length off. I asked her to please, only trim the ends, less than a inch or half an inch if possible. Because… I am growing my hair for my wedding. At the end of the day, I’m pretty sure about 2 – 3 inches are gone from my ends. She made a point to show me how much healthier my ends are. And frankly, this is normally how much I’d get taken off for that exact reason. But that’s not what I asked for, and I’m disappointed the stylist went against my wishes. She was also pretty pushy with products. I’m glad I’m well stocked with all the Aveda products so I could decline without guilt.
All the receptionist staff I encountered seemed a little… snooty? Or possibly bored, annoyed, or something else? I didn’t get a friendly, pleasant vibe from anyone. I also wasn’t even offered the chance to re-​book, which I thought was odd, mostly because I would have if it had been offered, but I was put-​off so I didn’t inquire.
Oh, and parking was a complete nightmare for me. The lot up top was full, so I went down into the deck, where tons of people are fighting for spots (mostly Whole Foods customers). Look for the orange cones that are blocking spots off specifically for Van Michaels salon. I thought they were for a valet so I ignored them.
I won’t be returning to this location. Instead, I’m going to go back to my regular VM salon in Midtown, which is much smaller and has a more homey vibe between all the stylists and colorists and clients that I like.

I had such a great experience here! Victoria was awesome, the girls at reception were awesome, the tea they gave me while I waited was awesome, and it looked like all of the other clients were genuinely happy when greeted by their stylist. I’ve found my Atlanta salon!
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I got a free cut by going in on Monday and being a model for the students. They’re always looking for models, so if you need a haircut but don’t have the money, call Van Michael, and they’ll hook you up. That’s kind of how I met Victoria. She reached out to me and asked if I’d be willing to be a model, and the haircut wouldn’t cost me a thing.
First of all, Victoria has such a great personality, and it was a blast to have her behind the chair. Not only is she upbeat, funny, and engaging, but she legit knows her stuff, she asked me real questions about my hair and any concerns I had, she taught me more about my hair and how to work with it, and because she was part of the study program, she asked the lead stylist when she had questions. This means #1 Victoria cares about learning and giving clients the best cut for them and #2 She has a great attitude about asking for help. She already works at Van Michael regularly, but the fact that she’s taking this study course as an opportunity to learn more speaks volumes about her as a stylist.
Thanks to Victoria, her questions to me and to the lead stylist, I walked out with one of my favorite haircuts of all time. (Of all time!) I’m honestly looking forward to when I can make an appointment with Victoria during her working hours so I can pay her for her great work.
If my experience with Victoria is any indication of the professionalism and skill of the others at Van Michael, I would recommend them with no reservations. I don’t know about the prices, but I know that these people care about making your hair work for you, making you feel great, and getting better at their craft. It was just excellent.

My two visits to Van Michael were vastly different. My first I would give 3 stars and my second 5 stars so 4 stars feels appropriate.
At the Buckhead location, there is plenty of parking in the huge Whole Foods parking lot off of Paces Ferry. After putting on a smock, all hair cuts at Van Michael start with a scalp and shoulder massage (which is great). After a quick chat with the stylist, a new talent assistant thoroughly washes your hair. The chairs you sit in when they wash your hair are similar to those at many nail places with automated massaging. It is all very relaxing.
My first visit was with someone in the «new talent» program at 6 pm on a Friday night. There was only one other client in the salon which felt a little odd, but that was probably because of the time. The new talent cuts are around $ 35 and someone in the cosmetology school cuts your hair with limited supervision. I was happy with the initial cut, but I didn’t love the way it grew out.
My second and more recent visit was at 1 pm on a Saturday with Jonathan. The space was packed and I realized how many more stations they have than I had seen on my first visit. I had a bit of a wait, but I expected that in the middle of the day on a Saturday. Jonathan was quick and clearly knew what he was doing. He showed me how he was fixing the parts of my hair cut that I didn’t like from before and how this one would be different. He also talked me through how he was drying it and gave me helpful tips about how to dry my hair at home. Besides being really friendly, I thought he did a great job. Well worth the extra dollars for a significantly better cut.