written by Krys Midgett photos by Randi Radcliff
“Would you be shocked if I changed into something more comfortable?” said by Jean Harlow in Hell’s Angels (1930). The original blonde bombshell inspired many people in her 26 years in this world.
Harlow Salon in Nashville is one such place that celebrates in that era. Walk into Harlow Salon and anyone can see that it is not just another salon. The theme of the salon is classic Hollywood. There are old black and white movies playing on the screen. The walls are decorated with black and white photos and the color theme throughout the salon is black, white and red.
Shana Singleton Dyer and Eva Clarke opened Harlow in January of 2007. Clarke has over 17 years of experience and Dyer has been licensed for 14 years but recalls loving the profession her entire life. As a small child, she even used Kool-Aid to dye her Barbie’s hair. Dyer and Clarke had worked together for almost ten years at a high end salon and day spa. The establishment had 90 stations. As fate would have it, Dyer and Clarke were next to each other, talked daily and became best friends.
“Any time anything would happen, we were like, "that's not going to happen at our salon." So something would happen, good or bad, and we'd put it in this notebook. We had this notebook of things to do or not do for our clients. Silly stuff like "there will be a table next to the dryer chair for my clients to put their sodas on." Little stuff like that. But to me, it's the little things that are so important. So we have tables next to our dryer chairs,” says Dyer. “We are the least expensive high-end salon within a five mile radius. We like to pamper our clients. We serve wine, mimosas, sodas, champagne, cappuccino, hot tea, green tea, whatever our clients want, we have.”
The salon is certainly not lacking in experience, either. The most seasoned stylist is Chris. He has 25 years experience. According to Dyer, the stylists are very laid back and the atmosphere is comfortable. The music playing in the background can be anyone from Frank Sinatra to Evanesence. The goal of the salon is for the guests to feel comfortable, relaxed and pampered.
“We love old movies. Old black and white, you know, the era was so amazing. The women going to work, wearing fishnet stockings, and taking over the world and becoming empowered, the men going off to war. So of course, Jean Harlow is one of our favorite actresses. She was the original blonde bombshell. A lot of people think it was Marilyn Monroe or Jane Mansfield, but it was really Jean Harlow. So we were like "Harlow, what a great name for a salon". We thought how cool would that be? All black, white and red and old black and white pictures hanging up. Play black and white movies and just be sexy,” says Dyer on their theme.
The restrooms are a must visit while at Harlow. “The women's restroom wall says "Harlow Is..." and it says classy, beautiful, sexy, all these words that make you feel good about yourself. On the back of the door there's a quote that says, "The more I like myself, the less I want to be someone else." So when they walk out the door they read that and they're like, "you know what? I freakin' rock!" describes Dyer. The men's bathroom door is decorated with signatures. Men are given a sharpie to sign the door. Celebs who have signed the door include Phil Vassar, Darryl Worley, Rodney Atkins, Joe Wiese and Bryan White to name a few.
Changes are on the way for Harlow. Being that many of Harlow’s clients are in the music business, they want to use the small stage in the salon and let clients come and play for tips and to get exposure. Stylists have their own client lists but some of the better known clients include the drummer from Rascal Flatts, Diana Degarmo, Teresa Farris, Waylon Jennings’ daughter, Taylor Swift's backup singers and several others.
They have added three new product lines to their inventory. They have added SFactor by TIGI, a high-end line for color-treated hair; the Rockaholic line by TIGI, which is the rocker version and includes punked out pastes and gels; J Life which is a line from the UK. It is made from sea moss so it all smells like the ocean, salty and clean. They are now offering three new lines for different hair types.
Dyer is also big on helping with charities. She has organized several charity concerts for different causes and gets the community, her clients and her stylists involved. \
“Our first benefit was for my friend Stacy's mom who has breast cancer, and I was like "What can we do?" So we decided to raise some money and help her out. We ended up raising like almost $3k and I was like wow! We put it together in a month. We did it at the Tin Roof and we called it the Pink Power Party. Stacy was actually able to use some of the money to fly to Nebraska and give it to her mom in person. We had two benefits in one week at Limelight for a friend whose husband was murdered. We did a singles auction and John Rich walked in the door, jumped up there and donated 1000 dollars. It was awesome,” says Dyer, excited about the benefits.
Harlow Salon is a unique salon and worth a second glance. Walk in and see for yourself. “Every single day when I walk into the salon, it just makes me want to giggle. It's like, we own this! Look what we did,” beams Dyer. “Eva says, if you can find a passion and do something that you love, you will never work again another day in your life. It's like playing dress up all day long.”
