(Gazette Photo by Rebeca Oliveira) Christina Durant has her hair blow-dried at We Are Hair’s newly-decorated premises.
Six months after opening its doors at Soleil Salon, We Are Hair is settling into its space with bold paint colors and regular patronage.
The walls have been painted and festooned with hair-related movie posters—titles such as “The Beautician and the Beast,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “Tangled” are on display.
“Clients have asked for We Are Hair mix CDs” and gotten them, said owner Richard Repetta. They might cover anything from blues-y Adele to rock ’n’ roll pioneer Wanda Jackson.
Repetta told the Gazette this is just part of the convivial atmosphere in the back room of Soleil, where We Are Hair makes its home.
“We have the advantage of privacy,” he said. “Clients don’t feel like they’re in a fishbowl.”
And clients have the convenience of access to Soleil’s services without leaving, he added.
A 30-year hair-styling veteran, Repetta said his biggest success has been “the loyalty of our previous clients.”
“It’s really what gave [We Are Hair] the foundation to be able to succeed as it has,” Repetta said.
Repetta previously worked at South Street mainstay Fresh Hair before starting his own salon.
“Sometimes, a push out of the nest makes you realize you can fly on your own,” he said.
And, he said, his excellent location doesn’t hurt.
“We’ve had the good fortune to be in the middle of town,” which allows the We Are Hair team to serve the “mixed clientele of professionals and artists that live in JP,” Repetta said.
“With the four of us [stylists] with clients, there is often an 8-way conversation happening in the salon,” Repetta said. “Everybody’s interacting.”