Paul Mitchell The School Portsmouth in Portsmouth, NH

I have been to the Portsmouth Beauty School several times now, and I have had good and bad experiences. You have to understand that you are paying for hair, skin, and nail services performed by students that are still developing their skills and they are not professionals yet.

I go there for the $10 dollar haircuts, and they offer a shampoo before hand and blow-dry and style afterwards. I am usually satisfied with the end result and the teacher always checks the cut before I leave.

Everyone is very kind and the atmosphere is fun and young. They have a great setup and I never have to wait long for walk-ins.

I did try out a shellac manicure one time I went, and it went horribly. There was red nail polish spilling off of all of my nails and hardened under the UV light a mess... and finally I had to get up the courage to politely ask the student to take the polish off because it just wasn't working out. (Shellac doesn't come off very easily even after soaking my fingertips in acetone and my nails were completely ruined by the end of it all). My hands were very sore from the scraping and it took about 45 minutes to get all the splotchy polish off my nails and skin.

All in all, I think this a great place to get a cheap haircut and I'm sure my experience with the nails doesn't happen to everyone. Just be aware that not all of the students have the same experience and they are still learning, on different levels.

At 10 bucks a haircut and 20 bucks for a 3-week lasting gel manicure, the prices here are unbeatable. Do keep in mind, the service providers are all students; however, thus far, I have been in twice and have been pleased with the results each time.

Love all the ladies and few men learning at the Portsmouth Beauty School.  I did a walk-in for a manicure.  Cost me ten bucks and they did a much better job than I could have done myself.  Got what my apprentice called "ruby slippers" on my nails - red with a coat of red sparkles.  The top coat she used really made things shine even more.  She even gave me a recommendation for an organic salon in the area because I have paraben allergies.  When her work was looked over by an instructor I got filled in on all the specails: $2 wash and blow dry during lunch hours, $5 hair cuts on the 5th of the month, and $13 off $30 or more in services on the 13th of the month.  Since I only get a trim done when I go to the salon I think I will start seeing the students here for my cuts.  Cannot beat ten bucks for wash, trim, and a blow dry.  Since they are learning I am not worried if my hair gets more of a trim than I want - it will grow back.  Looking forward to my next experience with this enthuastic group.