My afternoon at Toni & Guy Hair Academy

People familiar with the little cluster of stores near 185th, in sight of Aurora and Darryl's Tavern across that river of traffic, will probably have noted that the Gold's Gym that anchored the remodeled strip closed back in May of 2010, apparently leaving behind a few unhappy customers who say they were still billed for membership as recently as December.

I live nearby, and I was looking forward to seeing what might pop up in the empty location; it seemed too cavernous for most types of retail, and much too large for a restaurant. The first new tenant, in a portion of the empty space (and I think that of a real estate office which left around the same time), was the Nursing Assistant Training Institute. While not something I'll probably ever visit, I wasn't sorry to see them in the neighborhood. You can't have too many health care professionals around, right?

Not long after, the larger gym space was occupied by the Toni and Guy Hairdressing Academy. They moved from a temporary location on 160th, where they had been parked to wait for the building. Prior to that they were the Greenwood Academy of Hair, a long-time fixture on 85th and Greenwood.

I was interested to see them show up; it seemed nice to have even more educational options in Shoreline, and so I thought I might give their hair services a try. I got a little snarkiness from friends who heard I was planning on getting my hair cut at a hair cutting school, but my hair grows fast enough, and I was just curious and crazy enough that I decided to go in for a full cut and color.

The inside of Toni and Guy is big, clean and bright, filled with dozens of little hair stations. On the walls, mounted screens show models with modern cuts and stylists working on pretty people. At one end is a long counter labeled "Color Bar" and at the other a classroom with whiteboards, but the real action is on the floor. Busy students and teachers, all wearing black, move from station to station to watch demonstrations and try out techniques on mannequin heads and on each other.

The gal at the front desk checked me in, and since I was having a "chemical service," asked me to sign a waiver which would hold the school harmless in case of "damage to my body or clothing." This made me a bit nervous, but I fully understand why the school would want to protect itself, and after all, they weren't handling nuclear by-product or anything like that, so I signed, and sat to wait for my stylist.

I didn't have to wait long; Tara, a cheery black-robed student, shook my hand and walked me back to her station. She explained how the process would work: we'd talk about the color I wanted, and she would consult with an instructor before proceeding to color and then cut my hair. After the cut, she'd have the instructor sign off on the final result.

Now, I'm one of those annoying salon-goers who never really knows what she wants. I usually just shrug, give a few vague instructions, and tell the stylist to do whatever she thinks best. I'm not the expert here, I always think. You tell me what looks good! Tara rose to the challenge, but made sure that I ok'd every decision: this color, maybe a little redder; bangs a bit thicker; just an inch or two off the back. She got the teacher's sign-off on the plan, and went to work.

Thanks, Tara!

I always find the forced conversations of the cutting chair awkward, but Tara was chatty and easy to talk to. She brought me some tea and we bonded over dog ownership, and I asked a bit about the academy. The students must complete 1600 hours of training, in either day or evening classes. It usually takes around 11 months to graduate. During that time, they spent most of their days working on customers and studying techniques, and there are classes on styling, coloring and so on. I was surprised to hear that they also learn the basics of related fields, like anatomy, chemistry, and electronics. When they work on customers, they're not paid, but they are allowed to keep tips.

I was glad to hear that, because by the time she finished with my cut, I was feeling more than happy to tip. The color was perfect (I would be glad to show my husband, who teased as I left about coming home with some weird hair color) and the cut was just what I wanted, even though I hadn't really known what I wanted. And the price...unbeatable! $13 for a cut and $45 for a color. And I felt that I got just as good a cut, and service, as I would have for two or three times the price at a salon. You know, it also just felt good to be part of someone's training. Tara will be graduating in a few more months, and isn't sure yet where she'll go from there, but she's talented and eager, and I'm sure she'll have a great career in the hair arts.

So if you've been thinking about taking what may seem like a risk, and letting a student cut your hair, just go for it. You'll get a great deal, and you'll help out someone who is just starting in their professional life.

P.S. Here's the before and after, if you're curious.