BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A hair salon in Brooklyn wants to make customers feel like they're the only person in the room.
Vanity Hair Studio NYC in Bed-Stuy offers private styling to patrons where washing, cutting and drying are all done in individual booths.
Owner Natasha Watterson says it’s the only beauty parlor in the area with such a concept.
“In other salons, it’s like you’re being rushed down an assembly line,” she said. “It’s like being naked. It’s too open, everyone sees everything.”
The boutique holds two styling rooms and a barber room, each just big enough for two people. Separate shampoo and drying areas round out the hallway in the 500-square-foot space. Each room is enclosed to allow confidentiality for the client.
Watterson opened the business at 325 Nostrand Ave. in 2012 after a career in social services and experience working in local salons.
“I identified Bed-Stuy because there was this big boom, and even though the area was becoming gentrified, most of the businesses were still owned by black women,” she said.
“There were thousands of salons in Brooklyn, but the element that was missing was privacy.”
Vanity caters to women who may have religious observances or hair conditions they’d prefer to keep under wraps.
Through her work in cosmetology, Watterson said she identified particular conditions that women were dealing with, such as traction alopecia, scarring and psoriasis.
“They are able to come here and not feel embarrassed about asking questions or worry about other people seeing their hair or scalp,” she said.
The private beauty experience is meant to make customers feel at home and many take that to heart. In one instance, Watterson said, one of her clients took off their shoes and stretched into a yoga position during the session.
“Once you go through this experience, it’s hard for you to back to a traditional salon,” Watterson said.
