Best Tressed

Remember Victor Kiam, who liked his Remington razor so much he bought the company? Well, Carla Richenberg, a customer at Gregory Michaels Salon, liked her salon so much that when it was in financial trouble in 2007, she bought the shop. Three years later, that same shop, located on Longest Avenue, is one of the top 100 salons in the nation, according to ELLE magazine.

 

“I was just a client there and had the opportunity to invest in it,” she says. Even though the eponymous hairstylists have moved on, Richenberg felt good enough about the shop’s reputation for artistry that she decided to take it on. 

 

To maintain this reputation, Richenberg ensures that what Gregory Michaels does, it does very well. “Our stylists vary in age and experience ... so anything you want they can do,” she says. “We’re exclusively hair (no manicures, no massages, no waxing) but we do hair very well: extensions with the best hair you can get; keratin protein smoothing treatments.” On the shop’s website, gregorymichaelssalon.com, each of the six stylists has a webpage outlining his or her specialty. “We can do any type of hair, whether you’re Caucasian, African American, young, old – we do it all.”

 

As for the ELLE recognition – the only such salon in the state of Kentucky so honored – Richenberg isn’t sure how that came about. “It’s a mystery,” she says. “It’s a chic little place. It’s not one of your big chain salons.”

 

But has the Great Recession impacted the bottom line? Richenberg says no. “My stylists are not down at all. People are scrimping on their products, use less, and they stretch out their visits a week or two longer, stretch out their color. But we haven’t lost our clients because of the economy.”

 

With the exception of 15 years, the mother of four and new grandmother has always lived in the area, and currently resides off Lexington Road in Cherokee Gardens. When she was away those 15 years, she says, “The hardest part was leaving my stylist and finding another one.” Now, with the salon truly hers, she doesn’t ever have to worry about doing that again. 

 

Gregory Michaels Salon is located at 2015 Longest Avenue in the Highlands. Appointments are available by calling (502) 459-9434. The salon is open until 8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and until 5 p.m., Saturday.