Fountain of Youth Aveda Salon Spa in Pittsburgh, PA

I hate to be the person to write a negative review, but it's necessary. My boyfriend gifted me an appointment at this salon thinking it would be a high end service. Very opposite of that. We were ripped off $125 for a mediocre and lazy service. I'll just make this easy with a list of points. 1. Upon arrival, Cheri - the owner and my service provider - wasn't even in the salon. She didn't even know my appointment was at 10am, the doors were locked. 2. The salon was pretty messy, which I can overlook if the service was good. It was not. So I won't be overlooking that. 3. I received a scalp treatment, which is a pretty simple service... so for the cost Cheri was asking for you'd think she'd make sure to elevate it. She did not. She somewhat grazed my scalp in sections with a comb and then doused me with scalp solution. Which was dripping down my face at one point. Messy and sloppy work. 4. Her son who is a "junior stylist" and his friend who is "pursuing cosmetology school" were awkwardly lurking in the background of my whole appointment. They weren't rude, just awkward and took away from creating a relaxing environment. Also received a very lazy and awkward hand and arm massage from her son. He used so much lotion and barely did anything. Had to force my way through awkward conversation with this kid while he awkwardly rubbed my hand. Again, nice kid just really weird to charge so much money for some kid in a bright orange hat with a head lamp on and work clothes to kind of sort of rub your hand with 10 pounds of lotion. 5. My shampoo was done by her "junior stylist" son. It was horrible. A stylist in training who's working in a salon on real clients should be trained better. Bad technique and poor rinsing. 6. The blow dry. I requested a round brush blow out. Once via text and once in person. Cheri didn't even grab a hair clip to section my hair which is necessary for a round brush blow out. She applied the product so sloppily and rough dried my hair. At the very end for the last few seconds she kind of touched my hair with a round brush. No technique to it though or effort to make my hair look nice. Just lazy. All of this totaled up to $125. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE Dollars. I am also a licensed professional and have my own studio. I would truly pass away from embarrassment if I offered the service and level of professionalism that was offered by Cheri. I texted and informed Cheri of my disappointment after thinking about it for a day or so. During the service I of course was polite and kind and left a cash tip - since I work for tips myself i am never cheap with that - and she only offered me $25 of a refund. She of coursed used my politeness during the service as a way to get out of offering me proper reimbursement. Definitely would not recommend this place.

I wonder how one gets an appointment here. I called, but they don't seem to answer their own phone or return messages. I guess they don't want customers.

I have gotten my hair done at Aveda salons for years, all over the country. This place looks nice, but isn't reliable. Sporadic. Overpriced. My first visit, Cheri followed the recipe from my old salon. It looked gorgeous. She definitely is experienced. Then, I got a haircut on my second visit. It did not grow out well. My third visit, I came in for color retouch. I assumed she would follow the color recipe she used on my first visit, but she just winged it. It looked so bad, I had to come back in. Because the location is convenient, I tried to make another appointment, and I never heard back.

I have a gift certificate from 2011 that has no expiration date on it and states it's valid at both salon and spa locations in Mars and the location that used to be on Reynolds st. When I called to see if I can renew this certificate because it had been folded in a wallet for a while, (I wanted to give it to a friend as a gift who would have appreciated the certificate considering I wasn't going to use it, I have my own salon) the owner "Cherri" stated that it was a promotion and only would honor it at her academy of cosmetology and refused it for how it advertises on the certificate. She asked for a picture of the certificate in which I text her both sides of. Apparently this salon does promotions to gain new clientele and yet a gift certificate was purchased for face value and was denied services. In addition I was offered a service for I'm guessing students to practice on rather! And then she text this to me " Btw if I do get anyone trying to present a gift card from you I will be sure to let them know how you got it for them you must be proud of yourself"... See the picture I added... She actually stated to me to context wpxi and take it up with them because she's not doing anything to honor an already paid for certificate to her business.

I have been going to Cheri at Fountain of Youth for over a year now. Initially it was because it was close to my job but I changed job locations recently and would not think of going anywhere else for my hair. Cheri is kind, creative and accommodating! Appointments are effortless, parking is easy and free. The salon is beautiful, relaxing and smells amazing! I am pampered and feel like the Goddess that I am every time I visit. Delicious hot tea and water are offered upon arrival. Hot towels and soothing hand massages are given in between treatments. Cheri is an expert stylist. Her cuts are amazing and will last for months. I love change and trying new things and Cheri has obliged. I'm a brunette but we have tried different shades, reds which I didn't think would work but I love! And Recently, we've delved into some blonde highlights. Cheri is honest about what she thinks will work and I trust her judgement. My hair always looks amazing when I leave and then I can't wait to go back. Also, the Aveda products are wonderful and my hair is in great condition despite coloring and highlights. When I first started going to Cheri, I had recurring bald patches for several years, I think from stress but have not had one since frequenting Fountain of Youth! Another thing that really impressed me about Cheri is when she does highlights, she checks them and since my hair is long and it may take some time to paint them all, she would wash some of the first ones out before finishing my whole head so that the highlights are even... To me this is someone who is an experienced professional. Most stylists will finish all the highlights and rinse all at the same time even though half of your head had much more developing time. I would definitely recommend giving Fountain of Youth Aveda Salon a try!