- August 26, 2021
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TAUNTON — Amy Chaves opened her first hair salon, Key to Beauty, this month, after over 20 years as a hair stylist.
Though she’s enjoyed her time at Trend Setters Hair Salon on Washington Street in Taunton for the past 17 years, she’s striking out on her own with a location on Tremont Street near Trucchi’s, which opened on April 15.
Chaves, 43, was born and raised in Taunton, and attended beauty school right after high school.
“I’ve always loved doing hair,” she said. “When I was younger, my aunt worked at a salon. I used to sleep over at her house on Friday nights and help her out on Saturday.”
Chaves started at a salon in Raynham, working there for a few years before moving to Trend Setters, which is run by one of her best friends from middle school.
“I love my job. I love making people feel good,” she said. “It’s just one of those things — they can come in just having had a death in the family, divorce, and you just make them feel like a million bucks just by making their hair look really good. So it’s a good feeling on both ends.”
Chaves said she’s had some clients for over 20 years, creating long-lasting friendships.
“Some of them are almost like family,” she said. “So it’s just a fun job where most of the time I don’t really feel like I’m working, which is awesome.”
Chaves said she never planned on opening her own salon, feeling content to rent a space at Trend Setters. But last May, she found out the owner of Top Priority Hair Salon on Tremont Street was closing shop due to the pandemic.
After checking with her friends and family about whether or not they thought opening a new business was a good idea, Chaves said she took the opportunity to have her own place, and signed the lease in July.
“Even at 43, the first people I called were my parents to ask them what they thought. So between family and some close friends, they kind of helped push the idea forward and supported me 100%, so that was huge,” she said.
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Since July, Chaves has been renovating the space, getting all new hair stations and equipment, repainting the walls, getting new flooring and knocking down walls to expand some rooms.
Chaves said the space now looks completely different, rocking a “shabby chic” style. She said a lot of the furniture is repainted vintage items she found online.
“A lot of people said it just fits me to a tee, like my personality, my style, which is cool,” she said.
Chaves is opening with another stylist in the shop named Jillian Faria, who is a former client of hers. Eventually, she will be looking for a third stylist.
Chaves is also in the process of renovating the upstairs of the salon, and will soon offer eyelash services. She’s looking for an aesthetician to offer other services as well.
As for the name of the salon, Chaves said it’s a play on her name, which is Portuguese, but translates to the word “keys” in English. She said she also loves vintage skeleton keys, so she incorporated them into the logo for the salon as well.
Chaves said she is super excited to be open, and wants customers to know that she will always work with them and make sure Key to Beauty is a comfortable, welcoming space.
“I’m so happy,” she said. “It was a long journey. I’m just so happy to finally be in here.”