Douglas J Aveda Institute

Aveda Corporation is a company headquartered in Blaine, Minnesota, that manufactures skin care, cosmetics, perfume and hair care products, and trains students in cosmetology, and esthiology at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis, New York City, Washington, DC, and many other cities.

The company was founded by Horst Rechelbacher in 1978. Today it is part of Estée Lauder Companies Inc., based in New York. Rechelbacher sold Aveda to Estee Lauder in 1997 for $300 million, although Aveda continues to be run as a separate entity. Aveda still formulates its own products; Estee Lauder funds them.

Aveda was one of the first beauty companies to endorse a set of environmental principles designed to encourage greater environmental responsibility in business known as The Ceres Principles.

Salon/Spa Partnerships

There are four levels of ownership when it comes to running an Aveda-based business. There is the Experience Center, which is product-only and does not include salon or spa services, commonly found in malls or in large cities. The second is an Aveda Family salon/spa which uses aveda products along with other brands. The third is a Concept Salon/Spa, which uses and sells Aveda exclusively in their services. The fourth and highest level is a Lifestyle business, which carries and uses Aveda products exclusively. Although service obviously varies between individual shops, Aveda generally applies strict rules to the businesses carrying its products, from quality of service to appearance. These regulations make it possible for Aveda to keep track of product movement and popularity in certain regions.

Aveda Education

Courses with names such as "Men's Start to Finish" and "Pure Form" are a few classes that employees of Aveda Salons/Spas can opt to take. These courses are generally offered in salons; meaning, an educator will come to a specific salon/spa and stylists and therapists from other shops will attend these sessions for a fee. Most shops offer an allowance for their employees, since some classes can be over $300.00.

Aveda Corporation is a company headquartered in Blaine, Minnesota, that manufactures skin care, cosmetics, perfume and hair care products, and trains students in cosmetology, and esthiology at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis, New York City, Washington, DC, and many other cities.