Meet Eleni Tziouvaras of E Salon in Goleta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleni Tziouvaras.

Eleni, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Born in Greece and first-generation. I started doing hair as far as I can remember by cutting off every doll head to the point where my mom so said, “No more dolls for you”. So, when I reached my teenage years I started styling and doing makeup on my friends. By high school I was also doing art which granted me a scholarship in New York for my artwork. My parents didn’t allow it, so then I decided to go to Greece ‘my homeland’ for a year to discover the rest of the world and my roots.  I really got into the hairstyling there and using different products.

I couldn’t escape from doing hair or the arts, so I came back to the states entered beauty school, graduated early and got another scholarship to go to Vidal Sassoon, my dream come true! I then went into fast gear working full time at night waitressing and then working during the day doing hair until I could build my clientele which took me a while. I was trained by top stylists from Europe and just fell in love with their techniques and really got into color which was my next best thing in the world. I loved the chemistry and the creative influence I could make on people with hair color. I became very well known as the “fix it girl” or” the Greek chemist” and never looked back. I also challenged myself by teaching color for major brands until my work here got so busy, I couldn’t really do both, so I worked in Orange County and Santa Barbara for almost two years to notice the difference in people’s trends in different environments.

Moving forward I decided to be more full time in Santa Barbara and kept taking classes to stay up to date and got training from Tabatha Coffey and other celebrity stylists. I realized I needed my own home and opened E salon for other stylists to create and really get into the chemistry of color. I wanted to take that to another level by 2017 and earned my American Board of Hair colorists degree which only has less than 3000 stylists in the U.S. A very eye-opening experience in every way possible. Being part of an elite group of people made me feel even more confident to work on people with cancer or other conditions that I took upon myself to heal them by regenerating their hair back to life and their soul.  When I see my clients cry from joy from a dark place in their life it only gave more gratitude and power to make a difference. I know I chose the right career. Doing hair for 30 years and having my salon for 15 years has brought me joy and a great sense of what people need which is a confidence boost in their life.  

It’s truly amazing to connect with people and help them with their journey in life and here so many stories while doing their hair. It made who I am today. I’m always grateful to my peers and clients who continue to support me in my career.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, not at all. During my career, I have been challenged with three recessions and stylists leaving my salon because they didn’t see my vision as an artist or businesswoman. I worked two jobs for ten years and almost threw in the towel. I was exhausted and had no personal life with myself and lost a lot of time with my family. I just didn’t get here overnight. Also, the passing of my father in August was extremely difficult.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the E Salon story. Tell us more about the business.
E Salon was established in 2004 when a lot of salons were closing, and I took the plunge to find a more permanent home. We have independent stylists who run their own schedule and come and go as they please, but we do work as a team to better ourselves.

I specifically specialize in color and the chemistry around it with a personal haircut to enhance your facial features by using geometry.

We are known for privacy and personal space in the salon where the stations are separate from each other which gives that one on one attention. I designed the salon to be timeless with redwood grain stations and chocolate brown chairs that are extremely comfortable for any client male or female. They also love the music we play here which is a buddha bar vibe, it has energy but still has a chill feel.

I’m proud of being in business as a salon owner for 15 years which is one of the hardest things to do in this industry.

We do a lot of different clients from everywhere and with so many different types of hair. I only carry non-diversified hair products that you just can’t buy anywhere. I’m in the process of launching my own products as well.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Good luck for me has been connecting with others in the business and sharing goals which have led me to where I am today. What I perceived as bad luck has been a blessing in disguise but when you’re in you don’t quite see that. I’m much better at taking hits here and there with wisdom now. It truly has molded me into the person I’m with integrity, honesty and an intuitiveness that has only strengthened with time.  I have everything a woman could want to be happy within herself and being a woman in business is no joke these days. You got to just push through it all with diversity and change.  

Pricing:

• Haircuts with me are $90.00 with style
• Color is depending on what kind. $85.00 and up
• Extensions per hour $160.00
• Color correction $120.00 and up

Contact Info:

• Address: E Salon5575 Hollister Ave St C
  Goleta, Ca 93117
• Website: www.esalonsb.com
• Phone: 1-805-683-4042
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: eleniatesalonsb
• Facebook: E Salon
• Twitter: Esalonsb
• Yelp: E Salon

Image Credit:
Eleni Tziouvaras
Stellux Elaboratore

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