The Aveda Institute Salons and Spas, schools where late-stage beauty students take on real life clients on the cheap to perfect their craft, is kind of like the Target of the beauty industry. It feels good, it looks good, and it is so easy on the wallet that you can easily get carried away. Upon entering an Aveda Institute, you will be matched with a student based on the difficultly of the task at hand. For single process color, we got a student who was just thirty hours short of the 1000+ post-course practice hours she needed before graduating. Guided by an instructor who consults each customer and student before any work is done, the students at the salon are eager, professional, and best of all, cheap and easy. Just how cheap? Our color only cost us $20, since we were armed with a friends and family discount of 50%, but on any regular day, you can get a shampoo and style for $20, deep conditioning/style for $20, a carribean thereapy treatment—complete with a flower water mist for $45, or a high-quality bikini wax for the shockingly low price of $25. All services are up to Aveda’s luxury standard. And don’t worry—the students are as diverse as the customers, and we’ve never been uncomfortable about our stylist’s ability to handle our hair texture. To locate an Aveda Institute, visit www.aveda.aveda.com/grow/inst_schools/directory.asp (photo source).