Ray Hair Arts Academy

Stumbled upon this place one day when I desperately wanted a hair cut. Came in and asked for a professional and I got Jenna. She is super nice, knowledgeable and took care of me. She didn’t rush the hair cut, and I had to wait for an extra 10 minutes when she gave pointers to her student who was giving a haircut. It is nice to see that they actually care and didn’t leave anyone behind. I would go again.

Writing from a student’s perspective. This is a school that provides a lot of practical, hands-​on practices. By the time I graduated I have at least had my hands on more than 500 heads.
Would apologize to all the people out there who have had a bad experience but also want to thank you for your time and letting us practice with your hair! It’s been an extremely valuable experience for me.

Came here to do my roots because I had a 1″ of black growth coming out of my ash blonde hair. Not a good look. I opted to do it here because of the great price. It would typically be $ 80 at my usual salon for roots but here, it is starting at $ 28+ (my total came to $ 48+$ 5 tip).
I wanted to like this place, I really did. But there were just a few things that bothered me. When I came for my appointment, I found that the instructor was getting her hair done at the time (she was dying part of her hair a tint of purple). A little odd if you ask me.
She offered me two options: to use bleach, which is more damaging, or to use just colour (hi-​lift) which will still lighten and lift my hair. She mentioned that it will be the same colour as the rest of my head, just a little darker in shade. I chose to use the dye. I like that she gave me a quick consultation beforehand. But throughout my appointment the instructor had foil in her hair, washed her hair out twice, and was styling it… weird?
There were lots of other customers who seemed fairly satisfied with their haircuts. Times may vary. One man left the salon after 25 minutes and two older women took almost 50 mins each. I was there almost 3 hours for only roots. The instructor comes by after the girls finish cutting the hair and simply finishes up. She didn’t really say what was wrong or gave them notes. At least the other customers all left satisfied.
After my roots were lightened the result was orange-​y. So she toned my hair with a toner mousse and a Joico’s violet shampoo (I have this product at home). She didn’t use any actual toner (dye). Anyway, they asked me a few times if I liked the result but I kept telling them that it was still orange. They insisted that I use my violet shampoo at home and that it will fix it. The instructor also told me they would adjust my mixture for the next time I get my roots done here.
If I’m leaving the salon with orange roots… I honestly don’t know if there will be a next time. Fix it at home? Really? I’ve soaked my hair with my violet shampoo twice and always have my violet leave-​in my hair but these products simply aren’t strong enough to change the colour that drastically. I’m going to call tomorrow and see if they will be willing to make this right. We’ll see!
Props +1 star to Nina (i think?), the student who worked on my hair. She was very careful and when she wasn’t sure about something, didn’t hesitate to ask the teacher. She deserved the tip for the time she took on working on me.

I called to make an appointment for my girlfriend and I. The lady who received the call was not very pleasant on the phone. So I went down to get a hair cut by one of the students which was very welcoming and nice. She asked what i wanted to have done and did a fairly good job. However i expected the instructor to check on the hair cut and to provide feedback. All the teacher said from a distance was that it looked good. My hair is ok but there are still some uneven spots and stray hairs that were sticking out. I went home and trimmed it myself. My girlfriend wanted a small trim but had a tough time communicating to the student what she wanted. The teacher did not come by at all to check on her hair or to ask how it was going. She was busy helping another client.
The thing that stood out when a lady came in to see if there was an opening and the all the teacher said «Nope!» and continued on working on her client.
Overall i found the students to be lovely but the teacher was miserable.
If you are more carefree about your hair then this place isn’t bad.
It was $ 8 for a my buzz cut but $ 14 to take an inch off my girlfriends hair.

When i came in, i was told that i have to bleach my hair first before i can make it violet. Told me that it might not last too long. I got a student. The student wasn’t too sure of herself usually needed the educator to help out but they always speak Vietnamese to each other. When the educator was busy cutting other customer hair. I had to bleach my hair twice because the colour didn’t come out as i wanted even the second time wasn’t there. This is what you get for choosing a student. My hair was more on the brownish violet side but more brownish. Now my hair is more brown now. Oh well i guess next time i will choose somewhere else. The student tried her best but she needs more training but the owner really didn’t help out at all. As an owner should be helping not always letting the educator to teach if the educator is busy. The owner should promptly let the student know the next step

I’ve been a regular at Ray’s Beauty’s School for the past two years, having about 15 haircuts a year. Also keep in mind with this review is that i’m a guy, and that i’ve only done haircuts. No colouring or washes or whatever other hair terminology that you do to womens hair.
First and foremost, this is a teaching school so the premise is that students learn by actually getting experience cutting people’s hair. Them being students, you will get a range of skill levels working at your head. If they’ve only been training there a week then expect them to be nervous, cautious, and generally slow. If they’ve been there several months, you can tell they’ve got a lot more game. There are options to get your hair done by a teacher, but since its more pricey, most of the time I get a student haircut at $ 8 (DEAL DEAL DEAL).
To reiterate, It is slow, but the students are learning, trying to do their best and trying different techniques. I would typically budget anywhere from 30 — 60 mins for a haircut from a student. If you get a teacher it will be very quick.
Good news is that regardless of how your student haircut turns out, a Teacher/​Expert will always review your hair, explain to the student the deficiencies and areas of improvement, and then help fix your cut.
Again, at $ 8, this is simply an awesome deal and I wouldn’t expect the world. However i’d say 50% of the time I get a really awesome haircut. 30% of the time i’m satisfied, and 20% of the time I feel very indiferent about it. I’ve never had a haircut that was so bad that i was upset. This for me is very good odds, and better odds than going to a random barber in Vancouver.

An accredited institute with 10 yrs experience in hairdressing training.
Professional cuts: $ 21 + tax
My 1^st cut here was fantastic!
I had the blonde instructor: 1^st hairdresser to not be intimidated by my thick, long hair!
The request: a super short ‘do — I gave her free rein.
The result: an asymmetrical number that complemented my face & harnessed the weird way my hair flips into sthng stylish! Precisely placed layers thinned without adding bulk, volume-​wise (ppl w/​coarse hair, y’all know what I mean!).
Student cuts: $ 15 + tax I believe?
Be forewarned: free your sched. you’ll be sitting in that chair awhile!
The student was understandably skittish. But her fear of chopping off too much = my hair was infinitely more layered but not shortened.
The fact they’re a training school shows through in their technique and thoroughness. I’ve only done walk-​in appts, but I’d recommend sticking to an instructor once you find one you like. Students are worth a try if you have the time & are not picky about your trim/​cut!