Training Tomorrow’s Stylists: A Look Inside Aveda’s Arts and Sciences Institute in NYC

(SOHO, NY) — Are you looking to get your hair done? Or maybe you are looking to learn more about both cosmetology and esthiology? The Aveda Arts and Sciences Institute in Soho, New York, might just be the place for you.

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The school, which also functions as a professional salon, has 18 schools overseen by Traci Sakosits, the Vice President of Education and Creative Direction.  She joined Aveda in 2022 at a time when texture education was becoming a heated topic among the Aveda Art leadership board. For the past three years, she has been responsible for training both educators and students.

“I’m in charge of ensuring that education is consistent, ensuring that it speaks to the world around us and what’s happening now and eventually leads the way for hairdressing education,” Sakosits said. 

The program involves two phases: teaching students in a classroom setting for 20 weeks, followed by a clinic on mannequins in the salon space, where students can invite family and friends, and eventually clients. 

 Tatum Neill, Aveda’s artistic director of social media and an Aveda Arts alumnus since 2006, loves doing hair. 

“It’s so fun to do hair,” Neil said. “Just seeing how I could get so creative with cutting, especially textured hair, is amazing to me.”

Aveda started as a distributor, selling shampoo to salons. The well-known Australian hairdresser, Horst Rechelbacher, founded the company in 1978. The following year, he partnered with Edwin Neill (Tatum’s father), who loved the company’s mission to make plant-based products. In the 1990s, Aveda expanded into operating its salons.

 The first Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute popped up in Minneapolis, and now the institute operates not only in New York but also in other major cities including Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta.