Get to Know Scisters Salon & Apothecary

Easton Bajsec and Melissa Parker welcome Beauty Launchpad to Scisters Salon & Apothecary in La Mesa, CA.

The Backstory 

Oh, our best friend love story? We met 16 years ago, while working at a previous salon. One day at lunch, Easton shared that she was wanting to take business classes online. I (Melissa) had just signed up for night classes at the community college with my sister and invited her to join us. In our entrepreneurship class, we were assigned a project to create a business plan. Since we both had dreams to open salons one day, we decided to team up on the project. We didn’t just do this assignment for a grade, though. We put in so much time creating our dream business, eventually discovering our vision was aligned. When we had almost finished, we looked at each other wondering, 'why don't we actually do this?'

The Look 

Our salon feels inviting, cozy, with a touch of Victorian apothecary. 

Signature Services and Products "Our salon feels inviting, cozy, with a touch of Victorian apothecary."Courtesy of Scisters Salon & Apothecary

Our offerings include blonding, color, cuts, treatments, sugaring (hair removal) and reiki (energy healing). Our focus is to be inclusive and able to accommodate any head of hair that comes in.

It was pretty easy to find a zero-waste product company or a toxin-free company, but we had difficulty finding a zero-waste, toxin-free company that would also curate professional beauty results Can I say that the testing process was rough? We learned then that we really wanted the transition to sustainable beauty to be an easy one, which is why we decided to launch Element Refillable Beauty, our in-house brand. Element was designed to empower folks to see their inherent natural beauty.

Social Butterfly 

We mostly focus on IG @scisters. The content includes our work, zero-waste and toxin-free offerings in the apothecary and in-salon practices on how we have eliminated 99% of our waste. 

What's Next 

Our goal for this year is to work on making Element a wholesale option for other stylists and salons to retail in their spaces.

+Details 

Owners: Easton Bajsec and Melissa Parker

Est.: October of 2010

Salon Location: La Mesa, CA

Staff Members: 6 

Chairs: 6 

Up Close With the Salon Owners 

What was your first job in the industry? Easton Bajsec and Melissa Parker welcome Beauty Launchpad to Scisters Salon & Apothecary in La Mesa, CA.Courtesy of Scisters Salon & Apothecary

We both started as assistants in the industry.

What inspires you?

We are most inspired when we are learning and growing together.

What was the most challenging thing that happened while opening your salon?

Our biggest challenge was that we opened during the Great Recession with only a $5000 loan. To open our doors, we called in every favor and utilized Easton’s magical art of stretching a dollar.

What piece of advice would you give to a new salon owner?

Take business classes at your local community college. Oftentimes you can qualify to take them for free and they will give you a real foundation when it comes to business law, how to write a business plan, marketing and accounting.

What makes your salon unique and stand out?

In business school, a lot of our professors stressed the importance of differentiation. We had a hard time figuring that out for a long time, until we transitioned to become a Zero Waste Salon.

What takeaway do you hope clients have after a visit at your salon?

I hope clients feel like we cared for and connected with them during their visit. Also, taking pride in coming to a salon that is trying hard to disrupt the beauty industry, the third largest producer of landfill waste in the United States.

Becoming a Zero-Waste Salon 

What motivated you to make your salon a zero-waste salon? "I hope clients feel like we cared for and connected with them during their visit. Also, taking pride in coming to a salon that is trying hard to disrupt the beauty industry, the third largest producer of landfill waste in the United States."Courtesy of Scisters Salon & Apothecary

In the first few years of business, we chose to partner with a major professional hair care company. The partnership was great for our business and as far as those companies go, we felt as though they did a lot of good in the world.

We progressed as individuals though, becoming increasingly concerned about industry’s impact on the environment. Over time I felt like a hypocrite pushing plastic bottles of shampoo to our guests. I knew there were some zero waste refill stores around the world, but I wondered if there was another salon that I could use as a model. I couldn’t find one. In business school, we learned a lot about differentiation. This was our moment. We had the opportunity to do something that nobody before us had done and hopefully pave the way for other beauty professionals.

What was the process like for becoming a zero-waste salon?

It was pretty swift honestly. Once we make a decision to improve something we are ready for it to happen now. The thing that took some time for us to learn is that zero waste, toxin-free hair care should not sacrifice your beauty, nor your results behind the chair.

In the beginning of our personal zero waste journey, we were experimenting with all sorts of homemade concoctions, from make-up and hair care to deodorant to home care. Being so committed to the movement that we were sacrificing the quality of a product and ultimately how beautiful we felt. As stylists ourselves, we know how we want a product to perform and sustainability doesn’t have to mean sacrifice.

What advice would you give to other salon owners who want to make their salon a zero-waste salon?

Take the journey one step at a time. Choose to nix one single use or plastic option from your life at a time. Once you get that down, try eliminating something else. We didn’t become this advanced in our eco consciousness or clean beauty overnight. It takes time to adjust to a new way of life. The most positive thing to note is that once something becomes a habit and part of your lifestyle, it becomes normal to you and is no longer difficult. We started with the things that would make the biggest difference quickest. Even today, we analyze our business to see where we can improve. Additionally, get comfortable with changing systems and routines, which can be a bit uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s exciting to try new things and sometimes it feels like it just messes up the flow. But if you consider it just tweaking your routines, it becomes the new flow.

What are ways that you recommend that stylists can be more eco-friendly as we approach Earth Month?

The simplest step is proper recycling. Know the guidelines for your area and utilize it to minimize landfill waste. Green Circle and terracycle are great options for the beauty waste that can’t be recycled.

Of course, as a salon we have a governing body that requires us to purchase certain things. This means that we do have to buy things that are single use, such as gloves. They collect our aluminum color tubes, color waste, gloves, even hair clippings and find new uses for them. In order to give a good idea of how much waste we reduce, Green Circle expects a salon to have to ship them a box once a month. Scisters manages to send in only two boxes of waste a year. Lastly, our zero waste salon guide, available on our website, has all of the tips and tricks we use to eliminate 99% of our waste.

What are some of your favorite eco-friendly products that you would recommend to other stylists?

The industry has grown in sustainable products which we love to see, but when we started they didn’t exist. Because of that we haven’t tried too many things out there but we are fans of Cult & King, Dip Already, O & M, & Elate. I would love to see professional color lines transition more where they can away from plastic. We would also love a growth in plastic free professional tools, and reusable gloves permitted by the State.