Department Store Salon?

J.,
I am a liscensed cosmetologist as well as a liscensed instrucor. I work at Excel Academies of Cosmetology in Castelton. We are a beauty school and all services are performed by students. I know this seems scary but all the students have had extensive trainning before they are able to work on clients and you also have an instructor there to help and check all the work. We charge $12 for a shampoo/cut/and style. I dont know much about Penny's except that the state of IN no longer requires continuing education hours for the stylists so the benefits of going to a school are that the stylists are very up to date on new styles and products and some stylists in the salon, such as Penny's, may not be becasue they are not required to anymore. Good Luck and PM me with any questions.

Hello,
I was VERY disappointed in the quality of hair stylist at the JCPenny's salon. The girl that I had was very unprofessional and she did a horrible job on my hair. In fact the next visit that I had with a different salon asked who did my highlights because they looked so bad. The cut looked nothing like the picture I brought in. So overall I had a bad experience there.
Just like any salon I am sure they have their good stylist and bad. I unfortanly got the bad one that day. I know go to Amber at Renu. Her prices are around 85 for a cut a foil highlight. It may be higher then your looking for but she is awesome and it is cheaper then having to fix someones mistakes.
Good luck
Good luck to you

J.:

I am a licensed cosmotologist. Had this license since 1971, can own and operate or just work.
If you want a decent price, well supervised stylists, the best suggestion I can make to you is to go to one of the local styling academies in the area. They are up on the latest styles, newest products, etc.
I have worked in high end shops (these shops usually hire people with the same license the rest of us have. The only difference may be they actually pay to take their staff to the various shows, classes, etc. the lower end shops don't go to. Seminars, style shows, etc.). I was actually hired to work at Penny's, these people have the same license, the same training, and Penny's will go ahead and have in house updated classes for their staff that are mandatory in order to keep your job brought into the shop. Smart Style at WalMart is the same as JC Penny, hire the same licensed people and follow the same course procedure to update their stylists as the Penny people do.
Small local shops hire the same licensed people as the others.
My suggestion, if you are looking for quality all shops are the same as far as licensed people, the quality of product used on your hair, etc.
If you are looking for value for your money, I would not go to Great Clips where all stylists are remanded to give a cut in 10 minutes or less, their company policy and believe me they fine and fire hairdressers who won't cut that fast.
Remember to really watch the pricing in all shops. If the shampoo and style don't come with the cut and they are charging more to do those services instead of including the price may look like less but it really isn't less.
Also watch for things like the following, does the stylist clean her sissors and clippers after each cut? If not then I wouldn't want her using them on my hair. Did the stylist wash her hands between customers or use a gel on her hands? Did the stylist get a comb from a sterilized bin? Did the brush appear clean and was it from a sterilized area? If not----
Penny's can charge less because their people work on an houly wage (very low I might add although not as low as Smart Style, Fiesta, or Great Clips) because they are owned by a large corporation and do not have to pay the rent, etc., other shops pay that sit indiviually.

I live in Danville so I am not that far from you.

P. R

I don't know about the Dept Store Salons, but if you are willing to drive to Castleton, I'd highly recommend the Aveda Institute. Great experience (includes relaxation room, neck/shoulder massage, mini-facial) with great prices ($15-17 for shampoo/cut/style, don't remember prices for other services). The only thing you have to be willing to acknowledge is that a student will be working on your hair. This scared me off for a while, but really I have found that the instructors are there through the whole process and because of having essentially 2 people working on my hair, I get very good cuts. If nothing else, the relaxation room makes it more than worth it!

i see jackie at the jc penneys in metropolis, and she is very good. i have very thin and fine hair and am VERY particular about my stylist, and am very happy with jackie. she is a master stylist. the cost for a haircut is $24, but it's worth it to me to get a good haircut. hope it turns out well!

I've never been to the one in Plainfield, but my experience wiht Penney's is they are rather conservative in their hairstyling and seem to do a good job. I've usually try to find a stylist I like and request them every time after. That always helps to build your confidence.

Good luck!