Students at the Aveda Institute in Winter Park do everything from basic haircuts to highlights and perms all under the supervision of their instructors.

SEE SLIDESHOW: Aveda Institute

Director Paulo Figueiredo says you can get a haircut and a full head of highlights there for a lot less.

"In a salon, you could easily charge somebody 200, 250 dollars," said Figueiredo. "You can have that done here for about 60 to 80 dollars."

And he says their students are taught to focus on customer service.

"So when you come in for a haircut, the least amount of time that they're going to spend with you and your haircut is going to be an hour," said Figueiredo.

A basic haircut at the institute costs $12 and comes with an extra service designed to relax you like a shoulder or hand massage.

During a tour of the institute on Wednesday, nearly every work station was full.

Che Macy says she prefers to the institute to the pricey salon she used to go to.

"I was paying about 150 dollars a month just to have it re-touched," said the recent college graduate. "I'm here now getting it re-colored darker and getting a full cut and it should probably cost me around 60 dollars."

Jennifer Vidal came in Wednesday to get virgin hair cut and colored and said she was a little nervous about handing this job over to a student at first.

"But I found her to be very wonderful," said Vidal. "She's great. They came over with the swatches. They did everything. Her teacher came over and perfected the craft a little bit and discussed what they were going to do, and I'm very excited."

Debbie Schwab is a repeat customer and says the service is just as good as you'd get in a full-price salon.

"Probably better because they want to get it right," said Schwab. "The students just seem to be very attentive and care that you're happy with what they're doing. I've went to the beauty shop before, paid for a style and been completely unhappy with it and so I've been happy every time I've been here."

The Aveda Institute also offers facials and other skin treatments for a lot less. I tried their $40 essential nature facial to see what it would be like.

The hour-long treatment began with a foot wash and included a brief massage. I was asked to lie down and cover up with blankets during the procedure. Soft music was playing, and the lights were dimmed. The student performing the service allowed me to choose between three different scents for the aromatherapy that's part of the facial. I chose vanilla, the lightest of the three selections.

Then I was asked if I had any concerns about my skin. An instructor talked to me in the middle of the treatment and also at the end. I felt very relaxed the whole time. My only quibble with her work was that she didn't remove all of the product at the end. There was still a little bit of cream or mask around my hairline, nose and mouth, but I used a napkin to wipe that away and was overall very pleased with the experience.