Although invisible, salon culture is that tangible energy that binds and propels a team, attracts clients and forges a brand. A strong culture is hard to define and even more difficult to build, but when a salon, spa or school masters this task, they are unstoppable.

BRIO SALONSPA
Lethbridge Alberta Canada
briosalon.ca
Wayne and Heather Tytula
SQUARE FEET: 3,600     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 37
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $52
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
NAIL CARE: Akzentz  
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce  
ASSOCIATION: ISPA  
“We gave each team member the authority and skills to ‘call out’ behavior that does not align with the Brio culture and encouraged the senior team to always have the back of anyone who calls out culture violations. As we all know, we are only as good as what we tolerate.”

JOLI SALON AND SPA
Lexington, KY
jolidayspa.com
Jessica Justice
SQUARE FEET: 2,300     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Constant Contact, ZeeZor
ASSOCIATION: PBA  
“For the past several years, every decision in our salon has been based on how it will influence our culture. From how we initiate new hires to how we celebrate retirement, there is not a single decision made without taking into consideration how the outcome will affect the overall spirit of our business.”

LA LUMA SALON & ACADEMY
Guelph, ON
lalumasalon.com
Andrew McAleese
SQUARE FEET: 1,300     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 10
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $23
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Eufora  
COLOR: Eufora  
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest 
ASSOCIATION: Ontario Association of Career Colleges
“One example of how we push the cultural aspect is that Christy and I intentionally take vacation at the same time each year. We found that collaboration and resilience burned bright in each of our team members to keep the salon running as normal.”

MAUDE
Herndon, VA
maudehair.com
Vanessa Rose, Celeste Williams, Catina Jay
SQUARE FEET: 2,000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 26
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $81
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: R+Co, 
Kevin Murphy, Argan Oil
COLOR: Redken 
TECH SUPPORT: STX, SnapSnip  
“Recently, a theater company reached out because their wig designer bailed the week before the opening of The Beehive. Our team jumped right in, challenged by 26 synthetic wigs that needed to be coiffed into beehive hairdos. We realized that continuing to push ourselves artistically is fun when we do it together.”

N STYLE SALON
Saugus, CA
nstylesalon
Clay and Tiffany Friedman
SQUARE FEET: 2,000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 16
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kenra, L’Oréal Professionnel, Ergo
COLOR: L’Oréal Professionnel
TECH SUPPORT: STX, Heartland Analytics
ASSOCIATIONS: ICA, PBA  
“Our stylist retention rate is very high because we are so selective—we haven’t lost a stylist in six years. It is important that we only has the very best talent working at the salon and we also hire from within. We like to train, educate and promote stylist assistants who have been with us from the beginning.”

QUATTRA VIA
Carlsbad, CA
quattravia.com
Brittany Hall
SQUARE FEET: 3,700  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 18
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $72
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda 
COLOR: Aveda 
SKIN CARE: Aveda, PCA 
TECH SUPPORT: Salon Biz, Demandforce, Review Boost 
ASSOCIATION: Green Circle
“We often host team huddles, organizing topics by the Live, Rejoice, Play, Create, Challenge, and Bask in Your Element maxim. We ask team members to share a story about rejoicing in their day as an activity. We also encourage them to play with new products and challenge themselves to learn new techniques.”

SALON DULAY AVEDA
Windermere, FL
salondulay.com
Laura Dulay
SQUARE FEET: 2,500  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 45
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $65
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda, Brazilian Blowout 
COLOR: Aveda  
SKIN CARE: Aveda   
TECH SUPPORT: Meevo 2, Emma  
“I brought over ideas from my time working at The Ritz-Carlton. Reciting the hotel’s mission and values is something we did at the start of each meeting, and their service values influenced several of our core values. I also read a book about hotel a couple years after we opened, which changed the way I hire, coach, train, and engage with my team.”

SALON LAFAYE
Canton, GA
salonlafaye.com
Rhonda Brown
SQUARE FEET: 2,000  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 6
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
TECH SUPPORT: Meevo 2, Emma  
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, Green Circle 
“I started reading books on how different people feel loved (The Language of Love) so I could see from someone else’s point of view. I asked all my staff to read it to identify with their ‘language.’  I could better see what makes them feel appreciated knowing what ‘love language’ they were.”

SALON SOCA
Chicago, IL
salonsoca.com
Brigette F. Sobus
SQUARE FEET: 1,500  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $70
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Eufora, Olaplex
COLOR: Eufora, Goldwell 
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce  
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, Green Circle
“I walked my team through an exercise that had them choose our new values. I had them generate all the behaviors and actions they would take on to become ‘guardians of the culture.’  During the meeting, I put up a cartoon about ‘no peeing in the pool.’ I asked them how they will hold each other accountable to ‘no peeing in the pool.’”

STUDIO 700
Corona, CA
Studio700corona.com
Tamra Segert
SQUARE FEET: 1,800  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Eufora  
COLOR: Eufora 
SKIN CARE: Dermalogica 
TECH SUPPORT: Insight, Constant Contact  
ASSOCIATION: PBA  
“You must constantly work at honing your culture, living your culture, and safeguarding your culture. Being in business is hard and there are decisions to be made, team to be hired, and people to be ‘released back into the wild.’ Sometimes these decisions and choices involve staff, sometimes a client.”

Additional Honorees:
Elements of Style Salon and Day Spa, Eldersburg and Frederick, MD
Fourteenjay, New York, NY
Gervais Salon & Day Spa, Eugene, CO
J. Nicolle Salon & Spa, New Albany, IN
Josephine’s Day Spa & Salon, Houston, TX
Lavish Color Salon, Cleveland, OH
Nuovo Salon Group, Sarasota, FL
Nurtur Salon + Spa, Columbus, OH
Solaris Aveda, Evansville, IN
Tangerine Salon and Spa, Murfreesboro, TN
Van Michael Salon, Sandy Springs, GA