We miss you a great deal and I have been working hard to ensure a safe and relaxing experience upon your return for you and for our great staff. We are ready and we know that you are too! We want to thank you for your patience and loyalty and, to those of you that could not wait, we’ll fix it! We all know that COVID -19 is rapidly changing and so are the rules. Here is what we will be doing to ensure your safety and the safety of our staff: I am updated the procedures of our operation which include: Highest standards of sanitation for every surface area, especially before a service, entrance door, Waiting Area, reception, debit machine, bathroom and all shelves. Disinfecting all tolls and linens after every use and at the start of every day trough out the day. Masks and face shield will be provided and other personal protective equipment for all employees and guests. Hand sanitizing will be at every station and through out the salon for your safety. Social distancing for employees and guests Minimizing physical touch-points. All guests will be asked to consider their wellness upon booking an appointment and before a service is provided. We are looking forward to welcome you back to Eliegante Hair Design Elie Assaf
We miss you a great deal and I have been working hard to ensure a safe and relaxing experience upon your return for you and for our great staff. We are ready and we know that you are too! We want to thank you for your patience and loyalty and, to those of you that could not wait, we’ll fix it! We all know that COVID -19 is rapidly changing and so are the rules. Here is what we will be doing to ensure your safety and the safety of our staff: I am updated the procedures of our operation which include: Highest standards of sanitation for every surface area, especially before a service, entrance door, Waiting Area, reception, debit machine, bathroom and all shelves. Disinfecting all tolls and linens after every use and at the start of every day trough out the day. Masks and face shield will be provided and other personal protective equipment for all employees and guests. Hand sanitizing will be at every station and through out the salon for your safety. Social distancing for employees and guests Minimizing physical touch-points. All guests will be asked to consider their wellness upon booking an appointment and before a service is provided. We are looking forward to welcome you back to Eliegante Hair Design
Elie Assaf
At Eliegante Hair Design , we want to be your day maker. If you don’t already believe that each day is a special gift, we hope that when you visit our salon you’ll sense a boost that lifts your spirits as you look great and feel refreshed. What each person has in them is contagious, so we all need something to make our day special so we can keep sharing good and positive things with others. Do you know someone who is like this? They are like a treasure to be around.
At Eliegante, we want to be your day maker. If you don’t already believe that each day is a special gift, we hope that when you visit our salon you’ll sense a boost that lifts your spirits as you look great and feel refreshed. What each person has in them is contagious, so we all need something to make our day special so we can keep sharing good and positive things with others. Do you know someone who is like this? They are like a treasure to be around.
And, sadly, I had to say goodbye to one such person this month.
A while back I told the story of how I travelled to Lebanon and stayed with a gorgeous family at their gorgeous villa. They had even let their son’s hair grow so I could be the one to give him his first cut! That family is the Dawaf family, and my friend’s name is Marcelino. Marcelino and his wonderful family welcomed us, as they always have, with joy and tremendous hospitality. I’m sure that, with his struggles with cancer, he didn’t always felt that joy inside.
But he knew how to make a day special.
Whenever we were together, my day got brighter. He lived life with faith and a joie de vivre that’s hard to come by. That stuff inside him was contagious, and I only hope I can honour what his life has meant to me by keeping good stuff inside me too and letting it be contagious in our salon. Our staff here at Eliegante is committed to making your experience positive and rejuvenating.
In large and small ways, Marcelino was a day maker for me. I hope that we can be a day maker for you. Because while each day IS special, I think it touches our soul
when someone MAKES it special.
At our salon we often have brave guests who want to really change up their look and style. I’m talking about those big changes, the “oh wow” transformations that we like to see on makeover TV shows. We love to help our clients make this leap to something new.
It’s not always like that though. In fact, most of the time the changes we make are subtle. You might get a highlight, or leave your bangs a little longer or your fade a little higher. And sometimes, people get the same cut and style month after month. But even then, your hair is changing all the time. It changes colour, it gets dry, and yes, it eventually goes grey or goes away!
This month more than most I think about change, not only for our customers but also for our community. I’m proud to say that, like many others, Eliegante Salon actively promotes positive change in the lives of others in lots of ways -big or small. Last weekend I rode my bike in Hamilton’s Annual Road2Hope Marathon, which has an incredible 24 charity partners. The weather was a little chilly but what an amazing event to be a part of. Later this month we’re taking part in McMaster University’s Shave for a Cure fundraiser, supporting cancer research. Last year we were part of helping the Smiling over Sickness team raise over $7,000 for Camp Trillium!
And of course, this is all taking place in the month of Movember.
Everyone who is a part of these kinds of causes is pushing for positive change. And just like a haircut, those changes can be little things or big things. Or sometimes it seems like we aren’t doing anything different. But even when we look back on times of simple consistency we won’t fail to see something new about our journey or ourselves.
We all love seeing big change, the kind these organizations are working towards. But let’s also celebrate each positive step, no matter what size it is.
Because every step, just like every person, matters.
Do you know the story of John Paul DeJoria, the co-founder of Paul Mitchell?
He started out at the bottom. Early in his life his parents divorced, he was doing poorly in school and he joined a street gang. A teacher even told him “you’ll never succeed at anything in life”.
In 1980, he was living out of a car when he and hairstylist Paul Mitchell got together and, with a $700 loan, they started the John Paul Mitchell Systems line of hair care products.
Today, his net worth is around 3 billion dollars.
How did he do it? Well, according to this recent article in Forbes magazine, “He works hard and gives back as much, if not more than he takes in. With each undertaking, he thinks not only of how much money can be made, but how he can help people, animals and the environment. Each business decision is always in line with a philanthropic decision.”
He did it because he’s very good at giving and thinking about others. In another article for Business Insider, John Paul said this:
“If I had to pick one moment that truly felt amazing, it was when I helped Mobile Loaves & Fishes build gardens and homes for those in need of shelter and food…I helped give someone a place to live, a garden to work at, and another chance at life. To this day, that’s where I feel most fulfilled in life. It’s having the ability and resources to provide more resources to those in need.”
I love great hair. A thousand times yes, we are all about great hair and esthetics at our salon. But as I’ve always said, beauty goes much deeper than what’s on the outside. Actually, the beauty inside is what counts most.
John Paul DeJoria gets this too, which is another reason why we love their company and products. From the quality of their products, to their treatment of animals or their care for the environment, they show how caring for others is not just good business. It’s the best business.
That’s why at Eliegante we’re so pleased to be a Paul Mitchell Focus + salon.
I had a guest come into the salon a few weeks ago. She needed a hair product that could hold her style through all the wind and heat of the summer. We’ve had a few good days, right? I said to her, “I can give you something that you can wear to the beach. In fact, go swimming, and your hair will still come out looking great.” She looked skeptical, but she took it.
She came back later amazed. It worked! Great hair, even at the beach! The product I gave her was a texturing cream, from the Paul Mitchell Neon line called Sugar Twist. We love this stuff, along with all Paul Mitchell hair care products. As a certified Focus+ salon, we have the products you need and the ongoing training to help you stay looking your best. The Neon line is fun and flexible, and is infused with natural sugar to add some healthy sweetness to your hair.
But this isn’t all Neon is about.
Paul Mitchell Neon promotes kindness and well being among teens with their ongoing anti-bullying campaign, which provides tools and support to help fight bullying. You can find out more about it by visiting their website or checking out social media at #StickItToBullying.
September is coming and soon it’ll be back to school for many teens (I have 3 daughters, I know!) and I’m proud to partner with a company that helps make schools safer and more positive. Looking your best is great, but feeling you best is greater. That’s why at Eliegante we proudly carry Paul Mitchell products and support their Bully Free Zone campaign.
image credit: YouTube
What a big birthday we have around the corner! We are so blessed to call Canada home and I’m thankful to live in a country that people around the world look to for peace, freedom and opportunity. I came to Canada from Lebanon so many years ago now and got my own opportunity to start a business doing what I love. That opportunity has been a reality for over 17 years now.
I got a glimpse into my past just a few weeks ago. When I first started out cutting hair, I worked for a chain salon in West Hamilton. I didn’t know any English! I remember one of my first customers, a lady who has sadly passed on, was trying to tell me what she wanted. I had no idea! She said, “Elie, don’t you speak English?” I threw up my hands. No, not a word! When I came home, my wife gave me the suggestion of using numbers (like the settings on clippers) as a way to get by until my English got better. It worked, but it still took a while before I could communicate well with customers. Now I speak four languages— go figure!
A few weeks ago, a Ministry inspector came into our salon. I looked up from my chair and I recognized her immediately: it was the manager from that old salon. She hadn’t changed a bit. But I had a little fun with her because she didn’t remember me.
So I said hello, calling her by name. She was startled and gave me a puzzled look. “Umm, have we met before?” she asked. I then described her old position in that salon we worked in together all those years ago. Now she was really curious! She said, “How do you know all this about me”? I said, “See if you remember me now” and I told her my name. Her eyes got wide and she gasped. “No! The Lebanese guy!” We both laughed. Yes, it was me the Lebanese guy who couldn’t speak any English with his customers! So was so pleased to see that Eliegante Hair Design and Spa was going strong and that my English has gotten much better since then!
So when we celebrate on July 1, it will remind me again of where I came from, because we’ve all come from somewhere, we’ve all got a story. So does our great country. Happy Canada 150!
