They’re always trying to emulate that.” She says that girls’ trends don’t change as much, and length is always “in.” Whatever the current style, Plasencia holds her team up to a high standard and the hiring process is thorough: “Someone who has a lot of experience, but not with children, it’s like having no experience at all.” Plasencia is passionate about her kids. “You are part of their lives because wherever they are, whatever they do, they are wearing your haircut!”
KID NICHE If you want a salon that puts the full focus on your little one, check out Just 4 Kids Salon & Birthday Party Boutique in the Monroe Center. They have race car chairs for kids and free parking for parents. Owner Gina Leal developed her business plan when she visited a similar salon with her goddaughter in her hometown of Toronto. “I couldn’t get over how happy my goddaughter and all her friends were,” she says. “I said to
myself, ‘It would bring me so much joy if I could make children smile like this every day.’” Years later she was working as a massage therapist at a spa in the Monroe Center. She noticed many kid-oriented businesses opening. Then a loft became available next to My Gym. “I thought to myself, ‘This is the place, and now is the time!’ and we made it happen from there,” says Leal, who opened the business in 2013 with her boyfriend Stephen Haines. Just 4 Kids is a popular birthday party venue. It offers spa days, tea parties, and more.
Olga Iscoa weilds the scissors. “It’s sort of like chasing a moving target,” she says.
36 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2016