ARROJO Academy - New York, New York

M. Elalouani

Had an incredible cut and blowout done by Fatima. Fair warning - make sure you don’t have anything to do for like the next 4 hours but haircut was incredible and Fatima was so lovely. Would def recommend this place to friends- especially those with curly hair like me

Amani Grant

How do you give a place 0 stars !! I can finally leave my review of this ridiculous organization after months of me and my classmates fighting for our rights. I would seriously consider other options before coming here. I enrolled into the esthetician program in January and literally not even a full week and a half later me and my entire class within the esthetician program withdrew and LEFT may I add in we were specifically Class E14 for those wondering. We were all told different stories and guaranteed different things (big red flag) upon touring and enrolling all to find out that certain things like makeup and false eyelashes were not taught. Very misleading when you tell all your future students that these are things they are getting taught and paying out of pocket for. One of my classmates was very purposely and intentionally misgendered which is honestly just very ridiculous disrespectful and not professional. One staff member even called the entire class broke because we had an issue with not knowing of extra expenses we would have to pay that are typically paid for when enrolled in other esthetics schools.. Such a nasty attitude she had and even her colleagues said the same about her. Now moving on we found the facility to be extremely unhygienic. The classroom was lacking in plumbing, so students had to manually empty out dirty sink water into the same laundry room where we were meant to disinfect sheets and towels, the equipment was broken, resulting in injury to a student. We did make an attempt to resolve our concerns internally with the school administration, but the administration was resistant, and as a result, we withdrew from the program as the quality of education and safety concerns did not justify attending the Academy. Staff separated different classes in order to keep the previous class from informing the newer class about the condition of the school. We were also spoken to in a rude and condescending manner. Forgot to mention a couple of previous students who were close to graduating from there ended up withdrawing to because they all agreed how terrible this facility was and I think that speaks volumes. My esthetician teacher (such a lovely woman and KNOWS her stuff) was treated POORLY and talked down upon you know it’s bad when you have to witness your teacher cry because of being targeted over things that is not in her hands or her responsibility. Very sad.. very unprofessional such a waste of money. Such a waste of even the consideration. 0/10. Very much dislike that our picture is still on your instagram as if we all would like to continue to represent that school. I’ll attach photos that we took to support our concerns when this all happened. Do better for your students their future careers count on it

Jason

My review is specifically for the Esthetics program from August 14th, 2023 through December 19th, 2023.

As always, I encourage everyone reading this to do your own research when finding out what school is best for you. Some people loved their time here and it’s important to take their criticism into account along with bad reviews as well, but it’s always best to find things out for yourself. My time here was chaotic to say the least. It was filled with a lot of petty drama and was very unorganized. There was miscommunication between ALL of the staff and the two instructors teaching us had their own drama which lead for one instructor to leave before the program was over and the other has just recently left as well. The rules would constantly change depending on who was working that day or more importantly, what kind of mood they were in. It was very unprofessional and every day you never knew what you were walking into.

With all of that aside, you will have to put in the work to get out of there. Don’t let any one in that building discourage you from achieving whatever goal it is. Esthetics, Cosmetology, or barbering, be patient and always show up.

The reason why I am giving this school 2 stars and not 1 is because I’ve learned so much how NOT to be in a professional setting. There are “leaders” there who do not lead by example or have any integrity in my opinion. I’ve learned to not let anyone get in my way for what I’ve worked hard for. I graduated with both highest GPA, highest attendance and am the first in my class to receive my Esthetics license. If you are someone who needs reassurance or validation during a program, this may not be the school for you but it does prepare you for the toughness of what it’s really like out there with bitter, catty and selfish people in the business. However, now that time has passed and both instructors no longer work there, maybe it is a different place? I really hope that is the case but only you can decide that. Also, please do full research and ask as many questions as possible as I was told during my tour of the school that I would learn lashes and other skills that this school does NOT teach or at least at the time was not teaching. Take your time and don’t rush into this. 10K or more depending on the program is not a small amount of money to just rush into. Sometimes, bad examples are the ones you learn from the most.

I would like to acknowledge :

Aileen, for keeping track of hours and constantly having a lot on her plate but somehow managing everything with all the students.

Joey, for also having so much on his plate but somehow trying to balance between the esthetics and cosmo students all while pursuing his passion and being in nursing school. There’s no way that’s easy.

Grace, for the shaves, her kindness and her humor.

Shar, for listening to not just my complaints but the complaints of the other students in the class. It was not an easy 4 months at all for all of us.

Kerri, for taking over our class even though you’re in the field of cosmetology towards the end of our program.

Chantal Theresa

I’ve been going here for years just for minor things such as toning and occasional partial highlights. My last visit was super disappointing as I asked for a trim to remove split ends, my hair was completely thinned out leaving me with super thin hair. I normally have long and thick hair but now it’s thinned out and I do not like the way I look anymore. I’ve been putting in extensions to make up for my lost hair. Be careful going here, some students are really inexperienced or just go scissor crazy. Rip full head of hair I had….

janine hornsby

Still so upset after my recent visit here. First I had gone to a new talent graduate in the proper hair salon but she didn’t lift my hair that much so I booked onto the cosmetology school. The first student actually did a great job but then the director overrode her choice of toner and my hair turned pink! They told me to go back in and then I got the worst student ever.. was very rough (burned me several times with both the water and hair dryer) and spoke negatively about the initial instructor ( Joey, really threw him under the bus, very unprofessional ) and said it was his fault my hair was screwed up. She promised me she would get me to a silvery platinum and was highly confident in herself.. well she turned my hair yellow and saturated it SO.much that I now have a demarcation line again. All I wanted was the pink tone out ( when she saw how upset i was she did say “ well at least it’s not pink” and at the same time told her friend working next to her how stressed she was… as her friend mentioned a couple of times that she was looking stressed (knew then something was wrong) They then said I could go back in that afternoon BUT then I received a phone call saying that they didn’t really know what to do and that I would probably be unhappy.. and I agreed. She then told me that they don’t use “ good” bleach there and don’t have anything strong.. so WHY give me false expectations when she knew they couldn’t deliver? They have ruined my hair and I’m back to square one growing it out. I’ve been many times in the past and have always recommended them, the students have always been courteous and professional, instructors normally great..( Sam was also terrible) but the service I received a few weeks ago left me in tears and I’m still at a loss what to do with my color. Pink to yellow in a week

Greg Weglarski

I just finished my second month at Arrojo Cosmetology School Full Time program and I am definitely satisfied with my choice and would recommend this school. I love the layout of this school and how when new classes come in we share rooms with them sometimes, and can learn the same information again as we are learning our curriculum. The staff are great, everyone is different and has their own unique perspectives. The staff come from great varied backgrounds and are a really good resource. They are professional, and can tell care about the education of each student. You receive back based on how much you put in and show up to your education.

I also feel like they are preparing me for state board very well. If you put in the work to study then you will see the results. Their curriculum seems to be layout very well as I hear they have the highest passing % for state board.

Mr. Arrojo is a legend in the hairstyling industry and all professional and high end salon's in NYC know of this school. They have a bulletin board that is always updated with salons looking for stylists/assistants. The tuition is a worthy investment!

Erin Brokate

I normally don’t publish reviews but I had to have two appointments at a dif salon to fix the disaster from this salon student. They did offer to fix it and were apologetic but I didn’t trust them to fix. Also there was little to no supervision. I would really appreciate a refund but they refused me which is so dissapointing.

Melina Bernardi

Best experience ever! Super friendly and welcoming space. Wonderful cut and color at an unbeatable price. Definitely recommend!