Salt & Barber provides premium services

Salt & Barber Salon and Luxury Treatments is located at the Home of the Beautiful Land Building along Beach Road next to RNV Construction in Garapan. (Mark Rabago)

Upping the game when it comes to the hair and beauty industry in the CNMI, Salt & Barber which opened in December and located along Beach Road in Garapan is set to provide the community services that entails extra care on haircuts and modern styling for both men and women.

Owned and managed by the husband-and-wife team of Jamika and Joe Taijeron, Salt & Barber also goes the extra mile to provide services whether you would like to get hair treatment (there are several options to choose from) and color, get nails done, and book for a relaxing massage to improve physical health.

“We named the salon Salt & Barber because we wanted a little catchy and different name. Salt is an acronym for ‘Salon and Luxury Treatment’ because we didn’t want the service to be just hair… we want to have more treatments that people can get to get extra pampered and extra special,” Jamika said.

Salt & Barber owners Joe and Jamika Taijeron. (Contributed Photo)

“This is our first business venture together and something that we have been planning to do for the past two years. We knew we wanted to open a salon that gives us a nice environment, a comfortable vibe… We opened for family and friends in mid-November when we had our first stylist, Curt Ellis, arrive from Mississippi and get acclimated to the local style and the way things are expected in our salon. When our second stylist, Rebecca Tiamanglo from Guam, arrived in mid-December that was when we opened to the public,” Jamika added.

When you enter the salon, you will be welcomed by a clean, spacious, and comfortable atmosphere that will make you say “This is legit.” On the left is the stylist’s row where clients get their hair done. On the left is a corner for nail pampering and at the end of the salon are two rooms reserved for massage treatments where couple’s massages are accomodated.

Salt & Barber in-house stylists Rebecca Tiamanglo from Guam and Curt Ellis from Mississippi. (Contributed Photo)

“Jamika and I travel a lot and one of the things that we love to do is get ourselves pampered—get our hair and nails done or massages. Our salon was inspired by the different places we have been to… We renovated a few times, there was a lot of trial and error, and we like what we have achieved so far,” said Joe

“We knew that we wanted to do business together. We have four kids that we also wanted also give them some inspiration so they can also think about something for their future. It is hard being husband and wife in any business … but why a salon? It is because we really enjoy the services and thought why not bring something that we love to Saipan and let the rest community enjoy it too,” Joe added.

While most businesses are established for profit, the Taijerons are using Salt & Barber as a medium to discover local talents. “There’s a lot of local talent, the young generation out there that we need to tap and nurture. We wanted to give them a place where they can learn and train because Saipan doesn’t have a college or educational institution that teach beauty and that’s why not a lot of residents here consider that not as a career option,” Jamika said.

“We look for people who have passion for hair and beauty. The two stylists we have, Curt and Rebecca, are not only here to offer their services but also to train those people that we selected and interested in this industry. We hired them for their work and ethics and currently, we already started training some people and produce services. We have a total of six people in the team—two hairstylists, three massage therapists, and two trainees that are all from here… we believe in local talents in order to be sustainable,” Jamika added.

Get the hairstyle and color you need at Salt & Barber. (Contributed Photo)

If it’s your first time to walk in to Salt & Barber, expect them listen to your needs and not push what they think looks good on you. “That’s why and how people trust us it is because we listen and then we work on it. Our stylists are not only trained to do the work but they hear the clients out and delivers as much a possible… We also give advice… [We] have a lot of high-end products made in the USA that are not cheap but only because we are trying to provide the best products that people can afford that is perfect for maintenance so when they walk out they can take the right shampoo,” Joe said.

“We are still adding services to our menu almost every week…Future plans include offering private parties for special occasions like weddings, private parties, etc.… We want to give our clients the best environment and be known for doing a great job always,” Joe added.

Salt & Barber is located in the corner of Beach Road and Angaha Street in Garapan. It is open from Monday to Sunday, 11am-8pm, and accepts reservations before or after opening. For more information, call (670) SALT (7258) or look them up on Facebook: Salt&Barber and Instagram: saltandbarber.spn.