Hair Salons in Parsippany

At the precocious age of 22, entrepreneur Linda Cesario started her own salon—but a fire soon destroyed it, and Cesario was forced to go to work for other salon owners. With time, Cesario gathered the courage to strike out on her own again, and she named her new salon Lighten Up as a nod to her career philosophy of always striving to lift her clients' spirits. Now at Lighten Up, Cesario is again her own boss, which means she has to email herself when she wants to play hooky and then confront herself when she does. She draws on more than 38 years of industry experience as she helms the salon’s dedicated stylists, who tame tresses with INOA hair color and products from Redken and Paul Mitchell. The salon also coddles appendages with manicures and pedicures, waxes away fuzz, and massages sore muscles.

A cascade of natural light filters through expansive windows, illuminating colorful bottles of Bumble and bumble and Kérastase products. Not far away, salon clients gaze into futuristic mirrors as their stylists work to create custom haircuts, imbue subtle and bold hair colors, or apply celebrity-quality makeup for nighttime events and attempts to track wild herds of paparazzi. Despite their haute services, the staffers of Salon M pride themselves on the relaxed and family-friendly atmosphere they create within the immaculate white space. To help make their services especially accessible, stylists educate their clients on at-home styling after they finalize each new cut.

Salon Eco Chic uses only certified organic haircare products that are plant-based and free of ammonia, sulfates, and chemicals. Armed with these eco-friendly tools, stylists perform precision cuts for men and women, nourishing hot-oil treatments, balayage hair painting, and color treatments via Organic Coloring Systems. In addition, they also offer Keragreen keratin treatments, which are designed to straighten and smooth rebellious strands that tangle up into painful knots and what some might consider obscene shadow puppets.

Clad in a black shirt and necktie, master stylist Joseph Nasser works with a studious look on his face that resembles that of a master chess player who is thinking five moves ahead. His shirt stands out against the whitewashed background of his Upper West Side hair palace, Blondi's Hair Salon. A Lebanon native, Joseph rose to styling distinction in New York by working as a John Sahag sculptor cutter. Now, as owner of his own salon, the grandmaster colorist surrounds himself with a skilled team of imaginative stylists, all armed to the bangs with an array of upscale Aveda products that stare out from sleek, backlit shelves.

Both ends of the beauty spectrum merge inside Casa De Odessa Salon & Boutique, where salon treatments and women's fashions join forces to foster new looks. Stylists and technicians team up to trim and sculpt trendy hairdos, groom and polish finger- and toenails, and wax away body hair before it can petition for status as a wildlife refuge. Once clients have retooled their images, they can plop down and treat their muscles and spirits to a soothing massage, emerging with looser limbs and ready to be re-anchored by a shoppable selection of apparel and accessories.

Full-service hair salon, fashion photography studio, educational center—Flourish proudly wears each of these designations. The chic studio is home to Rodnei Ferby, a L'Oréal Professionnel master session artist, who leads stylists as they administer meticulous cuts, styles, and colors. The detail-oriented team works with clients to develop a long-term maintenance plan for their hair's look and health, as well as a contingency plan in case hairstyles are lost or stolen. The stylists also lead makeup classes and lend their fashion expertise to aspiring models, some of whom they photograph in the salon’s onsite photography studio.