Pure Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa

I walked in on a total impulse yesterday afternoon to see if they had an opening – best impulse decision of my life. The stylist and manager both helped me figure out what I wanted, talked me into a cut that was a LOT better than my initial plan, and gave me the exact color treatment I wanted. The perfect combination of expertise and customer service. It’s definitely pricey, but you also definitely get what you pay for. I’ll be treating myself more here in the future absolutely.

Patrick did a wonderful job on my color. I’ve been to several salons since moving to DC and finally found my go to! Price is comparable to other salons in DC. A lot more convenient than going back to Chicago every 6 weeks.

My experience at Pure Aveda was nothing but positive. If you want expertise and talent, look no further. My blonde hair color and side bangs make my face glow.
Thank you Victoria!

Victoria knows how to cut curly hair and really knows how to give a good blow out. Plus she’s super fun, it’s a great experience

After almost a year of forgetting to get a haircut, I came here to get a haircut and my hair re-​colored. I didn’t get to pick my stylist when I made the appointment (but I wouldn’t have known who to pick) and got paired up with Victoria. She is AMAZING. She is pleasant, friendly, super easy to talk to, and knew exactly what to do with my hair even better than what I had pictured.
The salon is conveniently located, it’s well kept, beautiful, and the staff is very friendly. I’ve never been disappointed going to an Aveda salon and this DC location continues to keep Aveda high on my list!
It is a high end salon, so you are going to be paying more for services, but I would rather shell out more upfront than get my hair damaged somewhere and pay multiple times to get it fixed. You get what you pay for, and Pure was worth every cent!

Had a great experience here — on my first visit, I came in for color and it didn’t come out quite right, but my stylist kindly re-​toned and colored the next day and it turned out GREAT! I’ve been coloring my hair for years and this is my absolute favorite color I’ve ever had — and I am admittedly picky about my hair. The salon is beautiful and the staff is super friendly and accommodating.
What was also nice is a number of other stylists worked together to make sure it came out just right. Further, I had a very damaging (and accidental) full-​head bleaching at another salon in DC which has left my hair still in disrepair 6 months later, and one of the stylists help me figure out what would be best for my hair in terms of products, washing regimen, trims and upkeep which was super helpful!
Sure, it’s a little expensive, but the quality of the work is worth it and it is at the same price point as other comparable salons in DC.

I followed Amalia here and she never disappoints. She is the BEST hairstylist in DC. You will not be disappointed with her work. Not only she is pleasant and friendly but she also creates magic. Love her. Go see her and will not regret it.

I am very pleased with Victoria and her salon! I first went to Victoria in September 2015 to reshape and restyle my hair. I was beginning a new job and I wanted a more professional look. For most of my life, I have had long hair at one length. Victoria gave me a sophisticated, manageable style that has saved me a lot of time. Recently, I was in between haircuts and to save money, I went to a discount place for a trim. To make a long story short, I got a $ 20 cut and my hair was in bad shape. I went to Victoria and she was very accommodating (fit me in on the same day, 30 minutes later) and fixed my hair. I try to save money whenever possible but after this last experience, I will not compromise on my hair. Victoria knows hair, so please visit her salon for a great experience.

I love this salon. Friendly, not pretentious, GREAT hair cuts that everyone notices! They even offered wine they other night at an evening appointment!

I got a men’s cut here since it is convenient to my work and I generally trust Aveda. I have mixed feelings a couple days later about the service. First, they were late. While great they called me to notify me, they still were later than they said in the notice. I am pretty busy too and my clients would not appreciate this type of delay on an appointment (this is a downtown dc location, not a suburban stay-​at-​home spouse day-​spa location where the clientele likely doesn’t have anything better to do). Second, they didn’t have clippers. While this likely has no effect on the spa’s primary targets, it is nearly impossible to give a modern men’s cut without clippers and my hairline around the back and ears isn’t clean 2 days later because of it. Otherwise, the cut was great. Third, the price was pretty steep. I am ok paying that much, but I then expect a flawless haircut (i.e. the tools necessary to cut men’s hair) and respect for my schedule through honoring appointment times. So 1 star deducted for lack of clippers and ½ each for lateness (only ½ because called to notify of delay)/price. My stylists was really nice and the rest of the cut was great, so I would go back if these things were fixed.

Went to try to get a pedicure since this is located near my office. Had an appointment at 1:00 and was told that the technician was running 20 minutes behind. A bit annoying since they had my phone number and could have called but I decided to wait. 40 minutes later I was told it would be another 10 minutes. The worst customer service I have ever experienced. I left and won’t be returning.

Fantastic, painless waxing by Judy. I will follow her to any salon! The atmosphere is very relaxing and the staff are super nice. This is THE go-​to salon in DC.

If you are looking for the holy grail of a long lasting, painless, professional, relaxing, and reasonably priced wax (eyebrow shaping and bikini), look no further. Judy is magical and supernice and accommodating… so much so that I have followed her from her prior salons here. Best Waxer I have ever encountered in NYC, Miami, Los Angeles, and DC combined.

So glad an Aveda Spa is near the DC Improv and my hotel. My dawgs (feet) were BARKING! This place is the ISH! Relaxing, clean, the staff is courteous, and the Aveda tea and bagels are ALWAYS welcomed.

One of the first things I noticed was that on a Friday afternoon the salon was totally empty. I have never been the only client in a salon before, it was odd. Two men came and went while I was there. Otherwise the stylists watched videos on their iPads.
As for the service, I went for the aveda color. The stylist was just ok and the cut has not really grown out well. These two services, cut and color, cost $ 180, which I thought was expensive. In DC I am sure you can find a better salon especially at those prices.
Maybe that’s why it was empty?

It was expensive (for me at least, maybe not to others), but I got exactly what I paid for and I was treated extremely well the whole time (I am not used to being treated so nicely like that! I am so hard on myself and my appearance, and joke about my big head and super thin, flat hair, and they kept saying nice things and were so uplifting and positive.). I have paid high amounts for haircuts at fancy salons in the past, and always felt like everyone around me was snobby and that they looked down upon me, and I also left feeling disappointed, because I never really got what I asked for or even close to pictures I brought with me. So I gave up on paying so much, and just went to Great Clips, figuring I wouldn’t bother paying more for the same disappointing hair cuts all the time. Then I went to PURE salon to use my Aveda birthday certificate for an essential oil spray (Aveda is at the front of the salon), and Denise Nicholas helped me with that and told me more about the salon, and how they would make sure I got the haircut I wanted. I made an appointment for the next day and she cut my hair, and I got –EXACTLY– the haircut I have always wanted (and it matched the pictures I brought too!). My hair looks fifty times (maybe even more!) better than it did before! I will definitely be going back there again to get my hair trimmed and colored too.

Been going to Victoria for over 12 years. She is an artist. Her new salon rocks. Love the Chihuly chandelier. I would highly recommend Pure – great place for men’s cuts. My son won’t let anyone else touch his hair…

This is my second time giving this place a try. I have come here twice for the waxing services. The first time, I was going to get legs, underarm and a Brazilian. The experience was so terrible, both the esthetician and I agreed to nix the Brazilian part of the waxing. It was her first day on the job, and she kept commenting about how terrible the wax was. I was disappointed because the services are not cheap, but decided that it might be due to opening growing pains and decided to try again a few months later for just legs and underarm.
Today, I go in. The towels they have down on the spa bed have hair in them. Not mine. There is a stain on them. She covers it with paper and then proceeds to use the same wax as the last time. She explains, it’s terrible but they have to use up the stock. Next time it will be better. The half hour appointment lasted nearly an entire hour, was painful and irritating, she double dipped the whole time, and it was so bad that I told her not to do the backs of my legs. She ended up doing a little bit of them, but that’s it.
I told Aveda, who has informed me that they do not own the salon/​spas that set up shop in their stores. I guess if you want value, don’t assume that Aveda is going to protect its brand by vetting the salon they partner with.
I am sorely disappointed, have burn marks on my legs, and am truly disgusted by these increasingly terrible experiences.