Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday, 2 April 2016 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The dream began with Nishantha. As a teenager, he would cut and style his brother Susantha’s hair and also be the chosen hair stylist for all their friends. But this didn’t work out very well for Nishantha, who found himself cutting everyone’s hair for free while having to pay for his own haircuts at a salon.
To level the playing field, he asked Susantha to start cutting hair as well and from there on it was a learning curve that has resulted in much success for the duo today.
“I would cut everyone’s hair but I was paying to get my own hair cut, so I told my brother to start cutting my hair. That’s how it started. We didn’t plan for this to be our career path but after school we realised it was ideal since we were good at it and had received a great response over the years of experimenting,” recalled Nishantha.
With the blessings and unstinting support of their parents, the duo embarked on their journey, setting out to work at salons and learn on the job while also following the courses they felt were necessary in order to excel.
Having worked at salons both here and overseas for over a decade and gained plenty of experience, they then opened their first salon, named Salon No. 1, four years ago in Kiribathgoda, on Makola Road. Two weeks ago they opened the second branch of Salon No. 1 at Dalugama, Kandy Road, near the Kelaniya Tyre Corporation.
“We started Salon No. 1 together. It’s been four years since we opened it and the response has been beyond our expectations. I didn’t expect to expand so fast and open this second branch so soon. The feedback from our clients has been excellent,” asserted Nishantha.
Speaking to the Weekend FT at the new branch, Nishantha and Susantha are all smiles, proud of what their hard work has resulted in and happy to have expanded with a new branch and steadily grown their clientele.
Their success is no surprise given the commitment to service, attention to detail and reasonable rates, which ensure that clients leave their salons satisfied.
Salon No. 1 only uses high quality branded products – including L’oreal, Wella and Keune – and is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily expect on Poya Days. For appointments, call 0771899090 (Nishantha) or 0711899090 (Susantha).