The Institute of Beauty and Wellness

The Institute of Beauty and Wellness is a private, for-profit beauty and wellness school at 327 E. Saint Paul Avenue in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. Susan Haise founded the school in 1994 as The Skin Institute and Day Spa and later grew it into the Institute of Beauty and Wellness; in 2015 it acquired sister campus Aveda Institute Madison, and it operates within a network of Aveda-affiliated campuses in Madison and Chicago. Students train with Aveda curricula under experienced Aveda professional instructors, and the campus includes a student salon and spa setting offering hair, skin, nail, and body services to the public. Milwaukee programs include a 1,600-clock-hour cosmetology program (above Wisconsin's 1,550-hour licensing minimum) offered in five-day and three-day full-time formats, a 600-hour esthiology program with day and evening schedules, a 750-hour massage therapy program, plus manicuring, Ayurveda esthetics, and instructor training. The school is accredited by the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences (NACCAS) and participates in federal Title IV financial aid. Federal data for fall 2024 show 186 students and a 9-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, with a 90 percent graduation rate for the 2021-22 entering cohort. For its 2022 cosmetology graduates, the school reported a 95.71 percent licensure exam pass rate and an 88.06 percent job placement rate under NACCAS methodology.