The Loft Hair Salon & Beauty bar grand reopening in Abbotsford

You can sense the peace and tranquility even before you get in the door. Located at the foot of a small hill on an Abbotsford side road, The Loft Hair Salon & Beauty Bar has just reopened its doors after relocating to a place with more floor space.

They’ve pampered the Abby community for 14 years now and, although still considered boutique, needed more square footage to continue to do so.

“We have a greater vision for the future and we just outgrew our other space,” said owner Kelly Sansalone. “We wanted to make [this place] a destination, similar to Fort Langley where people want to spend an entire day there.”

The move was also motivated by a desire to host more community events and grow into an academic space for beauticians.

Dressed in red brick and with a sidewalk sign kicked out front, it was almost surprising to not see cruiser bikes with baskets parked outside their doors as well. Indoors, petite pseudo-chandeliers decorate the ceiling and floral patterned seating invite clients to not only sit but “ooh” and “aww” at the adorable decor.

Crates double as coffee tables and each mirror is bordered with its own Victorian-esque frame. There’s no synthetic ocean sounds in the background or cheesy “wind blowing through leaves” soundtrack—there’s an open concept layout with quiet music and quieter conversation accompanied by the smell of freshly brewed tea leaves.

This boutique spa is everything you’d expect from something labelled boutique: a little old mixed in with the new, a little miniature but exceptionally personal.

Although small, The Loft’s menu has increased with their recent upgrade in building size. They offer everything that caters from hair follicle to toe and (almost) all things in between: hair cuts and styles, laser hair removal, manicures, pedicures, makeup, facials, and skin rejuvenation. And they offer these services with dainty, personal touches dotted throughout the lobby and small rooms.

They have the most fabulous pedicure chair that looks akin to a throne of towels and pillows. They also use a traditional brass bowl for their pedicures to ensure cleanliness of their services. No jets, yes, but it adds a handful in terms of taste, classiness, and to that whole ‘royalty’ theme going.

Organic chocolates are placed charmingly on the face of each pillow and sit as a reminder that you don’t receive a manufactured, generic experience that everyone else who walks through the doors will also receive. You get a personalized, handcrafted experience that boutique businesses like The Loft can knit together much more naturally than bigger, busier beauty bars.

Not every spa can create unity between their love for saving your face (or nails) and also saving the earth.

The Loft is a certified Green Circle salon and is award winning for their environmental efforts and consciousness. In 2013 (and nominated also this year), they won an environmental leadership award for retail for their limited garbage, their 98 per cent recycling rate, and their compost programs.

The studio also carefully selects and exclusively uses products that are eco-friendly and environmentally smart, such as Eminence and vegan nail care line SpaRitual. These companies offer nasty-chemical-free products (that are two weeks fresh when the The Loft receives them) and also have started programs for reforestation and corporate responsibility.

The Loft is also a platform for small business eco-consciousness, with their latest project being revamping the community garden and working towards using rain water in their hair studio.

“We’re all about making our footprint smaller for the future generations,” owner Sansalone says. “You can’t change things unless you get involved.” Relocation has not only helped The Loft better pamper the community but also better serve the community.

The Loft Hair Salon & Beauty Bar

Address: 2547 Montvue Avenue, Abbotsford

Hours: 
Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Website: www.theloftabbotsford.com

 

Written by Lindsay Dykman. Follow Lindsay on Twitter: @smavvylinds