BG
Site Experience FeedbackJan 13, 2026
I called Aveda's 800 number a little over a year ago and spoke to an Aveda product professional who was very helpful and spent quite a bit of time with me to discuss various products in the Aveda product line, and gave me some specific product recommendations. This time when I called up the Aveda 800 telephone number in January 2026 I did speak to an individual and asked them some rather detailed questions about which Aveda products would be best for my hair. The person was very polite but said that I needed to communicate with an Aveda product specialist (or beauty consultant, I am not sure what the particular title was), as she did not have detailed knowledge of the products and could not make recommendations. Anyway she told me that the only way that I could obtain more detailed product information was through the chat feature and she told me how to go to the chat feature on the Aveda web site. She also told me that these product specialists were AI (artificial Intelligence) and I could not communicate directly with a real person. My initial reaction to this was rather negative as my questions were rather detailed about the use of specific Aveda products for my rather thin, weak, oily hair. However I did use the chat feature and it worked surprisingly well! One of my questions was that after I shampoo and condition my hair with the Invati shampoo and conditioner products for light hair, I have been using the Invati Ulta Advanced Fortifying leave-in treatment and then the Ultra advanced thickening foam. (These products were recommended to me when I called up the Aveda 800 number over a year ago and spoke to a product specilaist.) Then I blow dry and style and use Aveda Air Control hair spray light hold. So my question was that I noticed on the Aveda web site that there is a Phomollist styling foam product that I thought might be a better option for me than the Aveda fortifying leave -in treatment and the Invati Advanced thickening foam. The AI system took a few minutes to get back to me and then texted back and said that it would take a few more minutes (which was fine to get the correct response). I then got a another text stating that it would take a few more minutes to answer my question. I finally got a very detailed response stating that the Phomollist styling foam product was an older product and did not provide high heat protection (from blow drying) like the Invati Advanced Thickening Foam provides, which is a newer more advanced product.. So it recommended that I keep using the Invati products that I have been using and not switch over to the Phomollist product. My sense is that the AI system consulted with a real person which is why it texted me twice that I would have to wait for a response. This was fine for me and I did not mind waiting to get the correct advice. I then texted back and asked if the Invati Ultra Advanced Thickening Foam was designed for styling as it did not have the word styling in its title as the Phomollist Styling Foam product does. I was then told by text that it is designed for styling. My 2 takeaways from this experience are that, 1. The AI system works well and I believe that there is human intervention if need be and 2. The Invati Ultra Advanced Thickening Foam product should be called Invati Ultra Advanced Thickening Styling Foam. The word styling really helps to show what it is used for. I really like the Aveda products and have used them now for over 8 years when I went to an Aveda salon in Tampa, Florida. ( I live in the Chicago area and was just visiting Tampa). At the salon the majority of customers were woman but there were male customers as well. I was surprised that on the web site there are only pictures of women as I believe that some of Aveda's target market are men as some men purchase these products, but there are no gender mentions on the web site or even pictures. Just a comment from a professional marketing consultant.