Avant Salon & Spa

An aveda concept salon in a convenient downtown location with free parking! Go see Joe Edwards for the best cut around. His hands work magic on the hair. This high-end salon comes with exceptional service, no pretense. more

I have been going to Crystal for years, not only is she extremely talented in what she does.. she has a true appreciation for her trade and makes sure you love your hair before you leave! I have gone from dark brown to almost blond and each time I love it. I can't say enough good things about her, she can make miracles happen. If you want a true professional who takes pride in their work, you NEED to see Crystal. :) Pros: Amazing job with my color and style - love her work! Cons: no cons.. love her more

I have been a client of Jessica Santillan's for a few years now. I had been seeing her since before Avant took over Breath Salon. I consider myself a client to Jessica not Avant and was totally bummed when they wouldn't tell me where she was. Front desk was very rude and they kept trying to send me to someone else ( there best stylist) Araceli. I have seen her work before and you shouldn't tell people that 's your best stylist cause definitely a down grade. Thankfully with lots of searching I have found Jessica. She has opened up her own salon called Suede. It's located downtown off 5th and San Jacinto. Her new salon is so beautiful and i love the energy it has. Lots of artwork to see and a warm friendly staff. So if Jessica Santillan was your hairstylist then go see her at Suede Salon. 411 Brazos Unit 110 call 512-322-0086 to make your appointment. Pros: Parking Cons: They don't have Jessica anymore. more

I just moved to Austin from Los Angeles. I am very impressed with the quality of stylists at this salon. My stylist was Carianne. She was very cool/trendy looking, and she knows her work. I will be back! Pros: Great stylists Cons: Busy, have to schedule a few days in advance. more

I went to this salon on a friend's recommendation. I was a little nervous to try a brand new place. Turns out I had absolutely nothing to worry about. I got my color done by Melissa, and my cut by Carianne. Fantastic work on both, I haven't been this happy with a salon in a long time. Thanks! Pros: Trendy, Upscale Cons: No free margaritas ;-) more

I just wanted to let you know the care and the expertise Allison (at the downtown location) took when I got my haircut last week. I had been growing my hair out for quite some time and wanted to donate to Locks of Love. I participated in your drive with Allison cutting off over 12'' of hair. She spent over an hour and a half making sure I got a great, cool haircut and that I was comfortable going from my long locks to something much much shorter. Thanks to Allison for a wonderful new haircut! more

I am the type of person who enjoys walking into a salon and telling any stylist the basic changes I want (i.e. short, growing it out, highlights, single color process, etc.) but after a disaster with a new stylist at a SOSO salon, I've become a little more detailed about my hair preferences. I started seeing Laura who was referred to me through a friend and I am so happy to have found a stylist that understands me again! I give her basics (short, layers, no layers) and tell her other contributing information (I often air-dry my hair and when it's short it's poufy) and she goes from there. I've avoided going for any bobs lately because my hair gets poufy but we talked it over and I ended up with one of the best haircuts ever! Even after the cut had essentially grown out, I continued to get compliments. All of the stylists I encountered at Avant were friendly and personable. The salon has the appearance of a more snooty environment, but everyone there is fun and down-to-earth (as much as stylists can be). I definitely recommend this salon....especially Laura!! Pros: Aveda, Great Staff, Austin Original Cons: the recession more

I went to this salon at the recommendations from this cite what a mistake. Ashley Hargrave highlighted my hair. I have been going to Aveda Salons for several years in Tampa, florida and I had my formula. She refused to look at it. She did my highlights and never checked my color once to see how it was processing. After rinsing my hair I was appalled.. The color was red and brassy. when I said that it had come out too red she became short and abrupt. The cut I received was just as bad by Carianne Edwards. She layered my naturally curly coarse hair after if was processed and wet. The only thing I can do now is wait for the layers to grow out and have the color corrected by a real professional. I thought I could trust an ""Aveda"" salon but now I don't think I will be going back to one. more

I've had a difficult time trying to find someone that's an amazing colorist in austin. I've visited a couple of other salons for color in austin and my hair turned out too brassy and looked horrible. I finally decided to try avant downtown. I was placed with Mandy and she definitly knows color. My hair has never looked so wonderful. I now only trust Mandy to do my color-you won't be dissapointed. I quizzed her on her training and she was trained at a very well respected school in Dallas and she's been doing color at avant for several years now. Don't go to anyone else or you risk having bad hair! Pros: It's downtown, valet parking, they use aveda products Cons: None that I could find more

I recently had my hair done at the downtown Avant Salon and I was AMAZED! The vibe in the salon made me feel very at home, every one was so friendly and fun. I had my hair colored and cut, I had been very nervous about seeing new people but I am in good hands now! Tina gave me beautiful honey highlights and Tracy gave me a really cute cut! I went at a busy time so the desk staff seemed overwhelmed but I never felt ignored. Parking was the only thing I did not enjoy. Pros: very educated staff Cons: PARKING more

The worst ever. A bunch of young (read: inexperienced), silly girls that don't take their job (and other people's hair) seriously. The dreadlocked colorist (I can't remember her name) has destroyed my hair. It went from long and healthy to much shorter (I've since had to cut tons of it off because it's so ugly) and fried. The girl who cut it giggled that she hasn't been doing this long--and it showed in her ""cut""...which looked like it had been done by a drunken man yielding a dull sword. The receptionist was rude and acted like she was royalty instead of the snotty hair salon receptionist that she is. My suggestion, if you at ALL value your hair, is that you go ANYWHERE else but this salon. What a nightmare. My poor hair :-( more

Be careful. I wrote a very bad review about Tina a few months back--I'm still crying daily at my disgusting, fried, orange hair--and it has been deleted. There were several reviews from others that were also negative and they too have been deleted. The owner/manager has obviously written to Citysearch and had the reviews deleted. I think this practice is unjust, unethical, and dishonest. It makes a mockery of the salon and of Citysearch. I stand by my review--Tina gave me a head of horrible, orange, Barbie-hair that will take another year plus to grow out. The young girl who cut my hair butchered it. GO TO RUDOLPH AND CARY AT PATH SALON. It's worth the money. I expect the ""ethical"" manager of this salon to delete this review soon. So much for using this as a forum for honest opinions of businesses. Cons: Unskilled, rude stylists and clearly an unethical owner/manager more

Most unwanted hair color disasters are due to the lack of understanding of the basic hair coloring ""laws"" of color and how they apply to hair color. Tina Spears knows that hair color is not hair paint. She has mastered the art of color preception in that color is the reflection of light off your hair and not what you see as color. She knows the levels of degree from lightness to darkness and knows the color reflected or seen by her client's eyes. This is especially important for someone like me who hates ""red"" color in my hair. My pigment naturally picks up red tones if treated incorrectly. Pros: TINA SPEARS ten thumbs up! Cons: front desk personnel more

I have been going to the downtown location of Avant for awhile now. I just recently got married and Mandy, who does my highlights, did my updo for the wedding. It could have possibly been my favorite thing about my entire ""outfit."" I absolutely LOVED it. And of course she always does a great job on my color. I would not go anywhere else, or to anyone else. more

I highly recommend this salon, and David in particular. He handles hair confidently (you can tell he knows what he's doing), he listens to your concerns and helps you figure out what you want, and then he gives you a superb haircut. Don't be off-put by his tattoos (although actually, they're pretty cool), he's a really nice guy and a gifted haircutter. more

Returning to Austin 3 years ago, I've had nothing but bad to worse hair experiences. Everyone tried make me into something I'm not: cookie cutter Austin highlighted vacant-eyed blond. When I asked for dimension in my color and cut never got it, I thought I was just not communicating well. Then I went to Avant!!! First there was a session with Emily and her color team, who perform world-class headmapping color that is vibrant and quietly quirky without being outrageous. I went from ordinary to fabulous (I am older and they truly transformed me). When I was having the color done I watched all the creative personalized color work being done on others and the precise cutting that was tailored to the hair type and look of each individual. Emily recommended David for my haircut a few weeks later. He was AMAZING! Here is man with a passion for his work and for always learning more. I've had some great cuts at some of the top salons in the world and he's right up there with the best. After listening carefully to my likes and dislikes and carefully studying my partly curly, parly straight, partly frizzy hair, David carefully explaind what he was doing and talked me through how I should style my hair to wear it either curly, wavy or straight. Exquisite cutting, result: nothing short of fabulous, edgy without being in-your-face, which I need for my professional life. My hair now looks like me and no one else. Avant's focus on continual training & superb perfomance by all their artisans shows on every person who walks out the door here. Working in a service industry, I'd suggest that If someone has had a bad experience here, they were probably trying to ""drive the car"" (and do this in other areas of their lives as well ) instead of letting the experts do their work. Great hair design, from color to cut to care, is a personalized art form if done properly. Quiet ,comfortable,without pretention, Avant is a world-class competitor, right here in Austin. We're so lucky! Pros: Fabulous Original Personalized Color & Cuts, great service from everyone Cons: parking is a bit challenging but who cares if your hair looks great! more

I have been traveling the world and have had the opportunity to go to some exceptional salons in Tokyo, London, New York, and Paris. I was a little worried about finding a hairdresser in Austin. I was excited to see that Avant was still around (it seems salons come and go), still winning awards, still hip yet not pretentious, and my stylist from 10 years ago, Daisy was still there. I went in for my visit last week and had a great experience. Daisys assistant Lacy gave me a great shampoo and massage (i love those Aveda scents), Daisy was a joy to visit not to mention a great haircut, then as I was checking out Jackie, Avants manager for as long as I can remember welcomed me back home. It left me feeling so special. Its great to be back in Austin. more

Getting a haircut at Avant Garde is a great experience. Why? Well, they have that blend of upscale professionalism mixed with a staff who seemed to actually LIKE people. It's wonderful to get a relaxing spa experience with the massage, the relaxing scents, and the beautiful interior, but having staff members who are giving fake smiles, running their practiced encouragement or questioning lines on you while their mind is somewhere else totally diminishes the experience. Julia, who was my stylist, was very genuine and when I asked for a little different shift in my cut (my first time ever having the guts to ask that of a stylist) she was incredibly accommodating and not at all upset or flustered at my request. She also recommended some amazing products that have my hair looking better than it has ever looked. My hair has always been horrible...thin shaft, not a lot of it, and frizzy on top of that. Now it looks smooth without being weighted down and even looks thicker. Pros: Highly trained stylist, Aveda products, NICE people, valet parking more

I have loved going into this salon for years! Rudy has been cutting my hair for as long as I can remember and about a year ago his now wife began to get rid of those dreadfull grays. Due to the fact that I travel I never book ahead, for I sometimes will cheat on Rudy and Carrie when on business in Canada. Well I called to make an apointment as was notified that they were no longer with the company. Then the little twitt on the phone explained to me she didn't have to tell me where they went they just left! Well anyway I was in whole foods and ran into an old friend who goes to Carrie for color and told me of there new shop on south congress! It is superb. Wine, coffee, bueaty, and Rudolph, Carrie, Gene, and a couple other favorite people from what once was a fine establishment! There salon name is Path!!! more

Avant is a great salon, with great stylists and great atmopshere....but.....my stylist (Rudolph) and colorist (Kari) just left Avant! If anyone knows if they are still working let us know!! more