Mak Aveda Concept Salon

Maks uses Aveda natural hair and body products which I love. The owner Mak is down to earth and between clients she’s working on her paintings. She’s the only one here so you have to make an advance appt. Braddock metro is 1 block away and Del Ray is within walking distance. Quiet and peaceful for hanging out while you wait.

When I inquired about a color patch test, the owner/​stylist seemed confused. She also was confused about the different classifications of curly hair. However, the receptionist was friendly, engaging and appeared to understand the concept of curly hair classifications. My natural curly hair journey will continue for a knowledgable stylist.

I really enjoyed the experience. Mak, the owner, cut my hair. She did a wonderful job. The receptionist was friendly and helpful as well. It’s pricey, at $ 75 for a cut, but if you want to patronize a black-​owned business and get a great cut, you should go here!

I have been going to Mak’s for about a year now and while I have experienced some of the reception issues (unanswered phones), I have had a great experience. I highly recommend Stephanie for all your hair needs! I came in with difficult hair (my curls are unraveling into some curl/​wave hybrid) plus its very fine AND I wanted to grow it out. She gave me a fab «growing out» cut with strategic layers for curly or straight styles. Bangs are always perfection and free trims in between. She understood my vision for final hairstyle and always takes the best care.
It seems whatever customer service issues Mak’s had has been resolved. Decent pricing for the area $ 70 for my medium length cut. Stephanie is worth every penny and more!

Mak’s Place is great! My stylist, Jeam, is amazing! Every couple months I make an appointment for a cut and color. Jeam never disappoints with either. I have fairly long hair (mid back), and I am extremely picky about what is done to it. She has always nailed the color, and unlike some stylists of the past, never gets scissor-​happy. I always feel like a million bucks when leaving here. What more could a girl ask for?

I love Mak’s Place. I’ve had my hair cut there by Sonia and Mak, and had wonderful cuts and colors.
Now, I have had a few problems with an unanswered line when I’ve tried to make appointments, but the reception desk problem that is referenced seems to have improved. For me, it has been difficult to get in some times.
But, when I am there, the experience and cuts are great. I’ve given limited guidelines, but they always have produced cuts that match the demands of my busy life.
The place is also near Mak’s wonderful locally sourced café, Grassroots Station, which also features African dishes from her native country. Delicious beet salad for dinner.
I’d highly recommend Mak’s place.

For the price, I thought I should have gotten a better cut. The highlights that Ashley gave me turned out very nice, but the cut was totally lopsided. When I asked her to fix it, she said it was supposed to be that way. Um… no.

What a warm, friendly, embracing environment, you can trust your hair to Sonia, based on my experience. She did a partial highlight and a clean-​up cut (just what I needed). Mak’s Place is not just a hair salon, it is also an art gallery. The aromas that waft around are pure heavenly nourishment, too. I love the smell of Aveda! The price is what you’d expect of an Aveda salon, it’s a special treat for me.

Went here this weekend for an updo with a girlfriend. We had two back-​to-​back appointments and were running a bit late. Upon walking in my first thought was «THIS is Aveda salon?!?». Aveda salons are usually tranquil and spa-​like and generally in nice locations that justify the price tag. Anyway, I told the receptionist (more on her in a bit) who I was and apologized for being 10 mins late. It turned out not to matter because our stylist was with another client until almost 40 mins after our appointment! She just did an «okay» job on both of us and we both ended up fixing our hair at home.
The receptionist was bizarre. I was asking questions about the hair and makeup products (since I had so much time to kill) and her responses were either blank stares and «I don’t know», preposterous responses (she tried to tell me that Aveda doesn’t make a compact for their pressed powder and I should just leave it in the plastic wrapping between uses), or «I could ask my manager»…uh YEAH, why don’t you do that???
Also on another note, it seems the owner & manager are Ethiopian girls, both with super-​curly ethnic hairstyles, a far cry from my fine, mostly-​straight brown hair. I noticed all the other clients when we were there were either men or women with similar hair. For an updo it didn’t really matter but I would be wary of getting a cut or color there.
All in all not an «Aveda-​like» experience and I’d recommend going elsewhere.

I went because it’s a great location, I’m still looking for an Aveda salon that I like in the area, and I had a Groupon. The great part is that I got a great haircut and color. The salon is really cute. But like others have said, the downside to Mak’s is the receptionist, who makes me never want to go again. She put me on hold forever, hung up, and then when I finally got her on the phone, she messed up my appointment date/​time 4 – 5 times. I have not been back since, as both times I called to make another appointment, she hung up on me.

My experience was terrible. It started off with a rude receptionist who asked three times if I was a Groupon customer. You have to love the screening process. Then after I arrived, two employees (including the receptionist) argued for 15 mins over how to properly charge someone using a Groupon (not me fortunately). How relaxing. My stylist (cannot remember her name) was not advised when I arrived so she was standing around doing nothing for 10 minutes while I waited. She finally asked the receptionist if her appt had arrived. I had to sit and watch traffic the entire time she cut my hair. The stylist was nice enough although the hair cut was nothing spectacular. In fact, I could have gotten the same at Hair Cuttery. I will not be going back. There is really no reason for you to go either unless you like being treated poorly and receiving a subpar hairdo.

Mak is the priest of Braddock Road. She not only cuts hair beautifully, but she is a calming presence, massaging weary scalps and soothing the soul with her own original paintings on the walls. Love her.

I decided to give Mak’s a try more out of convenience than anything else, as I live close by. When I called to scheduled an appointment for highlights and color, I spoke with the Aveda rep who was there that day answering the phone. She raved about how good Mak was, so I was feeling good about my prospects.
When it came time for my appointment, they called me less than 24 hrs before to ask if they could bump me up an hour earlier, I said fine, thinking it may give more time to get the style I want right. I arrived a few minutes late and still waited for about 30 minutes for Mak to finally get me in the chair. When she asked what we were doing and I said cut and highlights she looked surprised and then left me and went over to the reception desk to check… and then proceeded to question me about what I made the appointment for.
I instantly had a bad feeling that this was going to be a rushed job… and unfortunately it ended up that way. My highlights turned out OK, but I left the salon with one side of my head over an inch longer than the other as Mak rushed me out of the chair because she had another client waiting! Not to mention, I specifically discussed my fine hair texture and how I usually get a lot of layers in the back and angled longer in the front. I contemplated not even going back to have her fix it, but after spending over $ 200, I figured it was the least they could do. Another stylist fixed it up who couldn’t believe how Mak could have overlooked something so obvious!
I ended up with probably one of the worst hair cuts of my life, just a straight cut all the way around, (that ended up a lot shorter than I wanted due to the fix), which I could have gotten at Hair Cuttery for a lot cheaper. I would definitely not recommend to anyone:(

I’ve been going to Ronnie at Maks for nearly 5 years and can’t imagine going anywhere else. She is a genius with the scissors and I get compliments all the time on my hair. The entire staff is so friendly and I love the peaceful atmosphere and relaxing waiting area. I’ve never experienced surly staff or confusion about my appointment time. The only reason I don’t give Maks 5 stars is that Ronnie’s schedule (she has a young daughter so weekends and evenings are rare) isn’t ideal for my schedule but finding the time to visit for an expert cut and color is totally worth it.

Wouldn’t go there again if you paid me cash money and had a gun to my head, not because of the service, but because of the below issue. I had a haircut and color and makeup consultation last summer at Mak’s — the service was fine but markedly overpriced. I joined their mailing list.
Yesterday I received a 10% email for my birthday (in March — mine is in the Fall) that included all of the email addresses in the «To» field rather than BCCd. Here’s the email I wrote:
Hi there — my birthday isn’t until XXX, and this email included the emails of all of your customers who presumably have birthdays this month, which is a serious violation of privacy — especially because some of them are government email addresses. Please remove me from your mailing list, this type of error in judgment is frightening to a consumer.

I’ve been to Mak’s ever since I moved to Alexandria about 3 years ago. During that time, I’ve seen all of my stylists move on to other area salons. The turnover seems higher than I’m used to, but it’s become increasingly clear why — the owner, Mak, is downright mean. Every single time I’ve been around her, she’s had a scowl on her face and/​or said something rude. Her customer service is horrible, and it seems to trickle down to the other stylists and the receptionist. Always, but especially in this economy, clients should be treated with much more respect than Mak gives them. ALL of my stylists were fantastic and nice, but they have moved on… and I will, too. There are too many good salons in Alexandria; don’t waste your money at this one.

Mak’s Place is my new happy place. I got an appointment with Mak, the owner, for my first hair cut here. She took the time to ask me what I wanted, went over my color choices, and proceeded to cut my hair the way I asked. i sent an email with pictures of my hair the way I wanted it prior to my visit, and this helped. I cant speak for the other hairstylists there, but Mak is the best and for as long as I live here this is where I’m going.
I also bought one of her paintings that hung on the wall of the lounge.

Mak’s Place is a cute Aveda boutique salon tucked in the most unexpected location near the Braddock metro. The antique nightstands, eclectic furnishings, delicious hot tea, and silk chair pads lend a relaxing, vaguely exotic mood to the salon, while the recessed lighting and cute stylists keep it trendy.
Ronni is a styling and coloring goddess who has layered my light curls beautifully, restored my hair’s natural color and texture, and fashioned beautiful bobs for my friends. She also gives an incredible scalp and shoulder massage that will you have melting into the leather chair. She really interacts with her clients, and will have you feeling gorgeous when you walk out.
The only issue I have with Mak’s concerns the front desk. Though I am always greeted politely when I enter the salon (I’ve even been invited to sit in the lounge area with a cup of tea when I’m only stopping in for styling products), the person responsible for scheduling appointments over the phone is always irritable and difficult to understand. Is there an evil spirit lording over the appointment book? If so, it needs to be exorcised!

My wife went there for the first time yesterday. She asked Mara, the stylist, for a blunt cut. Mara did not want to give her a blunt cut and started doing all sorts of other stuff. She said «Well why don’t you want layers?» My wife responded that that wasn’t what she wanted.
Mara then preceded to cut her hair. Afterwards she insisted on «styling like her runway clients, «twisting at the end. When my wife asked why she was doing it, Mara said, «It’ll look like you have layers,» again missing the point that my wife stated she did not want layers.
Unfortunately with all the product Mara put in my wife’s hair – which she didn’t ask for – my wife wasn’t able to tell the final result until the next morning when she washed it and blew dry it this morning – the ends were crooked and jagged.
She called back and asked to speak with a manager. The person on the other end barely paid attention to my wife on the phone call and, we later found out, wasn’t a manager at all. We’re still waiting for resolution.
Please don’t consider me less masculine for reviewing a salon.

It was a bit of a fluke how I ended up here… If I take the metro into town, I’ll usually go and park on the street by Braddock Rd. One afternoon when I was headed home as I got off the metro, I REALLY had to pee. The salon was open, and graciously allowed me to use the facilities. While I was there I had a brief chat with the receptionist and she recommended that I come see Ronnie for a haircut.
There is an AWESOME salon in Raleigh (my home town) that I’ve been to a few times before moving up here. I knew I was going to have to find a local hair haven, but so far it’s been lots of trial and error. Heavy on the error. So after that chance encounter, I figured, what the hey — let’s give Mac a try.
It came time for a haircut, and I called and made an appointment with Ronnie. The salon has been around for over 3 years, and Ronnie has been there for most of that time. The salon is not huge or tremendously swanky, but they offer a large selection of Aveda products. My appointment was at 1, I was there on time and had to wait for a little bit while she finished up with a previous client. I waited in their cozy lounge area and caught up on my Elle reading, and was offered a selection of beverages.
When she brought me to the chair we went over what I wanted. This is a bit of a challenge since sometimes the best I can come up with is «um, it needs to be better, a little different.» After a thorough shampooing, Ronnie sat me down and went to work. The results are great. I will definitely be back. Ronnie LISTENED and did a great job.