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When Louise Myslak purchased suite 47 of Pensacola’s Cordova Square in 2003, the subdivision was known for its commercial use — mainly for office space. By all accounts, a hair salon wasn’t a business you’d typically see occupying the buildings at 4400 Bayou Blvd. in Pensacola.
But it wasn’t until recently when Myslak asked herself, "Why not?"
“It wasn’t very active,” Myslak said. “I wanted to re-ignite the building. And by talking to my previous stylist, I realized there was a need for additional space, and I wanted to do something much more creative with it.”
After six months of renovations, and bringing salon manager Maxine Lyvers into the fold, Myslak is now ready to host an official grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting for Growology The Salon on Feb. 10.
“So far, it’s going great,” Lyvers said. “The location where we’re at, to me, is pretty amazing. Bringing a salon of this caliber to the area is great, and I love older buildings, and it’s also bringing Cordova Square back and alive again. I always thought the buildings were neat, and a lot of people, when they come back here, they’re like, ‘This is neat, the architecture is neat, how they’re all different.' It’s also been great transforming the building into something else, and turning it into a salon.”
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Growology The Salon, is described by Myslak as a beauty hub that offers hair styling, teeth whitening, fat reduction, facials, massage and eyelashes.
“We are on an endcap, on a major corner here, and I started calling it the beauty hub. In this particular building, there’s six private rooms upstairs above the salon that is quiet, calm and soothing,” Lyvers said. “We already had a massage therapist and an esthetician, and I thought, why not turn it all into a one stop shop for wellness and beauty?”
“The concept grew,” Myslak said. “We started just with hair. And then we realized with so many people, their time is so valuable, that when they do get out to do things for themselves, it would be nice for them to be able to do multiple things in one location. So when a client walks in, they can have a number of things done while they’re here with us.”
Myslak also recognizes the educational component Growology can provide within the local cosmetology scene.
“We realized that there were young people coming out of cosmetology school, and Maxine is just wonderful," Myslak said. "She wants to teach everyone, and so we’re taking a few young people — estheticians and hair dressers — and we’re going to be mentoring them.”
Lyvers adds that it’s the hands-on experience that transcends textbook learning.
“A lot of times, you learn what you need to learn to take a test,” Lyvers said. “You’re not confident, and nobody’s hair is textbook anymore. So I wanted to create a safe place where they can come in, and ask questions, get that confidence, and not get discouraged early on.”
Additional plans in the near future, according to Lyvers, won’t be limited to mentorships. Hosting local classes, collaborating with fashion show and having philanthropic events such as “cut-a-thons” to raise money for community organizations will also be on the agenda.
“We want to make our impact on the community,” Myslak said. “We certainly want the salon to be successful, but we want to expand beyond and find ways to help our community.”
Growology The Salon is open seven days a week, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday and Thursday, and from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Friday. For more information, call 850-468-4888, book online at vagaro.com/growologythesalon or visit facebook.com/growologysalon.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Growology The Salon, Pensacola's newest 'beauty hub,' opening in February
