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Ulupono Academy - Paul Mitchell Partner School
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- By Appointment Only:
- No
14 reviews for Ulupono Academy - Paul Mitchell Partner School
I Wanted to say that I had the Best haircut experience in my life. I got a wonderful scalp massage and a very professional cut. The Girl who cut my hair was so professional, friendly, and quite charming. I was mostly impressed on the mannerism and character that the school instills upon their students. It is not a cut and go salon/barber shop type experience, but one that is truly enjoyable. Will probably never go anywhere else to get a cut as long as I live here.
Thanks "S.V." for doing a great job on my hair.
P.S. Been using Paul Mitchell products exclusively for the past 15 yrs.
Awesome. I am a total 100% fan. I just hope I don't become an addict!
I went here with a little hesitation to get my brows waxed. I'm a decidedly unhairy person, as Kristina told me, so it was easy! I told her I just wanted a cleanup, because I've always tweezed my own brows. This was the first time I'd ever gone to pay someone to do them, and the first time I'd had anything waxed. It was awesome!
I showed up on the nose of my appointment. I waited five minutes before Kristina whisked me away to see the "cafe" part of the school, which was a glowingly bright and green mod area where I got a free sample of conditioner. Score! They took me to a private room with what looked kind of like massage beds with white sheets. I got to lie down on the bed while Kristina and Marcy, who was a newer student, took care of me. Kristina was super friendly, assured me it wouldn't hurt (and it didn't), and put all those creams and gels on me. First they "prepped/cleaned" the area, then they did the waxing thing, then they applied some cooling gel to it, then they applied some kind of moisture thingie.
I've read about other full-service salons that just sit you down, wax you, and take your money, so this really felt like quality treatment what with all the pampering things they did. Then she had me look in the mirror to make sure I liked it. I didn't know my eyebrows could look like that! No stray hairs anywhere. Perfectly shaped how I had had them, just cleaner. Very pleasing.
I might become addicted to this pampering thing. For $15 I could get some or other treatment done every week!
Oh, and the parking was 75 cents. Not bad.
All the students/stylists there have great-looking hair, too. :) I am totally coming back, and I would definitely ask for Kristina again!
I love Ulupono. You can't beat $10 cut and $30 color with awesome Paul Mitchell products. For $5 more, you can be styled by Phase 2 students who are closer to graduating. You gotta give these kids some love. They're learning to style hair, they gotta practice on someone! And seriously, people need to stop being so damn sensitive about their hair. IMO, although there is such a thing as a bad haircut, they don't exist here. The students do a thorough and good job; how YOU view YOUR haircut is completely up to you. I have never seen bad hair here. Just got an awesome cut today from Tiara. She grads this summer, so find her while you can! Today was a simple round-cut layer, but I have had them cut off a foot of hair and it still came out fabulous.
Make an appointment. Check schedule for Phase 2 students. Fun environment, very personable staff.
Oh, and don't forget to tip your stylists! They don't get paid to style hair. Be generous now. . .your cut was just $10.
I used to like the place, they were great at dying hair but hair cuts from them were always extremely, and I mean extremely shitty. Also, the receptionist is a fat bitch who is indifferent and treats costumers like shit. She is extremely rude and if I had her name (which I assure you I'll find out the next time I call) I would post it here, just so I can do the society a favor. Other than that, the staff is really nice, but u get what you paid for, a cheap hair cut= cheap ass look.
just got the worst haircut EVER !!! never again !
could have cut it myself 100 times better .thought i could give it a try since the students are suppose to be watch by their teachers, but the student only told the teacher what she was going to do , and that was it.
nobody ever came to check to see if everything was done correctly or not.
my hair is really a mess. should have know better.
Decent experience for the price. You can get either a Phase 1 or Phase 2 treatment for all of their offerings. Phase 1 stylists aren't as far along in their training as Phase 2 stylists, who are almost done. The price difference between the two phases is only $5, so I opted for 2, making my haircut $15.
My stylist took me through everything as if I were a new customer to her salon, but there was still an instructor standing by and silently overseeing the actual cutting. I'm the kind of person who doesn't really like chatting when I get my haircut, but my stylist was very personable, so there was only minimal awkwardness. My haircut was disappointing (but not oh-my-gosh-I-can't-go-out-in-public awful), so perhaps you really do get what you pay for. The cut does not look like the picture I showed the stylist, the layers are too choppy and I had to fix my bangs myself when I got home. I'll probably give them one more try.
Giving them four rather than three half. I went in for a deep conditioning (hard to ruin that!) and the salon was pretty much a mad house and very crowded. It took almost 2 hours for the conditioning and blow dry, cost me $25 (including tip), which is not bad considering other places charge a lot more.
This is a school, the stylists are students, so if you're expecting the full-salon experience, go elsewhere. But if you're willing to take some risk, have the time, and want an inexpensive treatment, Ulupono is recommended.
ATTENTION ALL BROKE-*SS GRADUATE STUDENTS!
Need a decent cut and color that doesn't scream out "I make a teaching assistant's salary, I CUT MY OWN HAIR" ? Need a manicure to cover your tore-up cuticles that you've chewed away, stressing over the dismal job market in academia and the fact that conducting a Foucauldian discourse analysis isn't a marketable skill in many industries?
Well the awesome students at Ulopono Academy will hook you up! Ten dollar hair cuts! $35 for highlights (and I have mid-length hair)! TEN DOLLAR MANICURES! All done in about 3 hours by very pleasant and hip (without hipster attitude) students. And the teacher, Mia, was also very nice and attentive to me, the customer. Why it's so cheap and perhaps daunting to many potential customers - who knows what can happen in the hands of novices with scissors? But they must be doing something right because it was packed with customers and I walked away a happy and not-so-grungy looking grad student.
i was a little skeptical going here because after all, it is still a school and you are getting your haircuts by students... but, since i am so broke having just moved to the island, i decided to give it a go.
i had tara as my stylist, she did a cut and color re-touch and she did a good job and is a total sweetheart. i was a bit disappointed at the fact that she couldn't go all the way down to the roots with the color as i will probably have to get another touch-up soon but overall pleased. thanks!
today i went to a phase 2 student (upstairs) for the first time. its about $5 more per service compared to the phase 1 students downstairs.
i wanted highlights. not too chunky but not extremely blended.
it came out great!
thank you LYN ALISA :] i think she graduates feb 2009, but she said she was planning to work at the salon there (JPS ?)... YAY!
she blow-dried my hair... turned out super sexy!
got compliments and it was the best color i've got there so far.
..maybe i should keep paying the $5 or so extra for the phase 2 students!!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/5/2009
I started coming here after my friend went to school here... SO GLAD I DID!
Decent prices, especially… Read more »
Ulupono Academy is a Paul Mitchell partner school located in Kaimuki. The school offers guest services to the public, including Scissor Work (haircut), Color Work (color, retouch, dimensional color), Style Work, Texture (perm, relaxer), Nail Work (mani, pedi), and Skin Work (facial, facial waxing, body, make-up). All services are performed by students ( "Future Professionals") under the direct supervision of an instructor ("Learning Leader"). Ulupono is a salon setting, not a ghetto classroom in an old building. The students and instructors are all very hip and trendy, wearing black attire and sporting edgy and daring hairstyles.
I called about a week prior for an appointment, no problems. They welcome walk-ins, but the place is so busy I think the wait is a while if you don't have an appointment. The receptionist suggested giving myself 1 1/2 hours for a haircut and another 2 1/2 hours for coloring. Ulupono is located on 11th Ave., you can't see the salon from the main road, park in the attendant parking lot located between 11th and 12th Avenue. Parking will cost around $3, paid through the attendant parking self-serve kiosk. Ulupono hours - M, 10:15a - 4:00p; T R F Sat, 9:15a - 4p; W, 12:45p - 4p.
The student I had was wonderful, sweet and informative. I filled out a client information sheet and we discussed the services I wanted. We went over color samples and she asked me what my goals were for my hair. After I felt comfortable that she understood what I wanted, the instructor came over and we presented our ideas to her. The instructor gave more feedback and options; several adjustments were made to the color we previously chose, the way to apply the color to achieve what I wanted, and the haircut to flatter the shape of my face. It was kinda cool having so many people talk about my hair, lol. My assigned student did everything: color, cut, shampoo and head massage. Other students volunteered at times to help with the color application and blowdry, so it went a little faster. Prior to each service being started the student checked with the instructor for approval, and after each service she crossed checked all work and gave more instruction for added improvement and precision.
I was very happy with the end results! Basically if you go in with a clear idea of what you want and can convey that clearly (either through description or a picture) you'll leave happy. The environment is definitely loud and busy with students of different levels working on clients, assigned to different stations, or practicing on mannequins. Allow yourself a lot of time - this ain't Supercuts - the students are going to take their time to do it right and they don't want to make mistakes.
I paid $10 for the haircut, $35 for color, and an additional $8 for each extra bowl of dye (I needed two extra bowls). Start time 9:15 a.m., end time 12:45 p.m. The demographic of customers varied. There was a Chinese grandma in her 70's who was there - I overheard her saying she goes every two weeks - and all the students doted over her. There was also a mom with her two teenage sons getting haircuts - they all left happy. I saw a few school aged boys (around 10 or 11) with new haircuts running around. When I left the salon the waiting area was completely packed, making me happy I scheduled myself for the first appointment of the day.
I highly recommend Ulupono if you have the time but not a lot of cash. I'm already scheduled for a retouch ($25) in six weeks, and I'm thinking about going in for a manicure next week. It was a fun experience and the value is awesome.
pros: Excelent, clean, professional, affordable.
cons: parking, time.
Mani/pedi less than 2 hours
perm- almost 4 hours.
Love, love, love Ulupono.
I met the hair dresser of my dreams here. His coloring skills were stellar. Every time I left, I felt like a Diva ready to take on and conquer the world. Sometimes, you get free arm massages from students that are undergoing punishment for showing up at school late, and the arm massages, totally free.
The haircuts are only $10, dimensional color for $35. That's just crazy. Prior to my Ulupono experience, I would go and get my hair done randomly when I felt it was beyond my control...but once I started going to Ulupono, I couldn't wait till my next appointment to see what wonderful thing they would do next. They are a full service salon, so on a whim, get your makeup done or a mani/pedi. Pamper yourself and all on the cheap!
The only reason they get 4 stars is because the hair dresser of my dreams graduated and then recently moved to the mainland. All you people in Southern California are lucky (Daven, my hair totally misses you.)
I loved getting my haircut at Ulupono. It was fun to be part of someone's learning experience. The best features would be the price: cuts are only 10 and my color was about 35. I was a little nervous at first but then realized that not that much could go wrong since someone is cutting your hair who has all the skills fresh in their mind. I had Monica and she was fabulous. I had alot of chemical/sun damage to my hair and she helped find the perfect color to use and products to repair it. Also, my boyfriend go his hair cut at the same time and it turned out amazing. No one ever listens to exactly what he wants but the girl he had was attentive. He has been getting compliments ever since. There are a lot of up and comers at this school so go check it out.
