Fresh Salon + Spa opens in Snohomish with a variety of services from massages to hair styling

Published 10:24 am Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Fresh Salon + Spa in Snohomish is no ordinary salon.

At least, it’s not like a typical salon you might find in Snohomish County.

Its mixture of services, hip furnishings, and twenty-something owner make it more like a place one would find among the trendy shops and restaurants in Fremont or Ballard.

Owner Kelsie Wens had a vision and brought it to life in little more than six months.

She researched, asked a lot of questions and did her own market analysis. This culminated in putting together a solid business plan that got her the loan she needed to open her salon and spa.

On opening day — Nov. 14 — the salon was packed with friends, family and previous customers.

“We were overwhelmingly busy. It was like a party,” Wens said.

The opening was not without its hurdles.

“The permit process was a giant pain,” she said. And finding the drains for the shampoo bowls was a little like digging for oil. They eventually ended up going through the building in the back. “It all worked out,” she added.

As Wens talked about her business, she was quick to say that it’s not just hers. All of the service professionals who work at the salon and spa essentially run their own enterprise and pay her for “booth space.”

Cosmetologists, massage practitioners, aroma therapists and estheticians provide a wide selection of integrated hair and body services to customers.

Wens did not have to recruit these professionals. Word-of-mouth about the Fresh Salon spread fast. Many of the 10 people who work there have worked together before or are friends of friends.

“Our salon is really unique because each service provider has their own business,” she said.

Nevertheless, all of those who are part of Fresh say it’s a team environment and they share the same attitude when it comes to taking care of their customers.

Wendy Wolthausen, who is a licensed massage practitioner in the spa, sums up her thoughts about customer service with a favorite quote: “Don’t promise more than you can deliver, but deliver more than you can promise.”

Leah Reindl, who has been a hair stylist for 16 years, said, “I like to take care of people and have them feel like a million dollars when they leave.”

Kelli Triggs, another licensed massage practitioner for the spa says massage therapy is a great stress reliever. “I’m very compassionate and listen to what people need,” she said.

They all feel strongly about the connection between looking well and feeling well, which is central to Wens’ business philosophy. “I feel that the way you look, is the way you feel,” she said.

Wens, who is also a hair stylist, wants her customers to leave refreshed, feeling beautiful on the outside and rejuvenated on the inside.

The full service salon and spa offers hair, skin and body services such as custom haircuts and hair color, facials, aromatherapy, and massages. It also carries products for the skin and hair.

The salon also features a cosmetic line — Afterglow Cosmetics — that is cruelty free and has pure ingredients, providing full coverage, fun colors, and a wide variety of products.

“We wanted something fresh to introduce to our customers suitable for everyday wear, and still able to glam up for weddings and events. After researching Afterglow Cosmetics, I knew it was a perfect fit for our salon and spa,” Wens said.

Fresh Salon is the first luxury salon and spa in the Snohomish area to carry that line of beauty products.

The organic products are hypo-allergenic and non-comedogenic. As an early signer for The Breast Cancer Fund’s ‘Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’, Afterglow Cosmetics’ are always paraben free, phthalate free, bismuth oxychloride free, nano free, perfume free, mercury free, gluten free, soy free and talc free. Everything is manufactured in the USA.

Wens said she has more plans for her salon, including some structural changes and hiring more staff. She hopes to display local art on her walls and to offer packages for bridal parties that include treatments, up-dos, and cosmetics.

As Wens reflects on what it took for her to open her business, she’s modest about her accomplishments and credits much of it to her dad’s help, Rocky Wens, who is a small business owner, as well, and the SCBJ’s 2003 Business Executive of the Year.

“I feel like anyone can do it, if they follow directions,” she said. Maybe it’s genetic, she added, smiling.

Fresh Salon + Spa is located at 1202 First Street in Snohomish. For more information go online to www.freshss.com.