Building the Valley: Salon marks 1st anniversary of bringing beauty to Tarentum's revitalization

Decades of working as a hairdresser for national chain salons taught Traci Zinn a valuable lesson: If she ever had the chance to open her own shop, it wouldn’t be like any of the places she had worked.

That opportunity came last year when Zinn, 55, decided to use money she received from an auto accident settlement to open Hailey’s Hair Creations & Spa at 318 E. Fifth Ave. in Tarentum.

The salon, which is a partnership between Zinn and her daughter, Nachole Campbell, 31, is named for Zinn’s granddaughter.

Zinn was injured in September 2017 when a vehicle crashed through the front window of the Cost Cutters salon in Verona where she worked. Money to open the salon came from an insurance settlement she received for the injuries she suffered.

“I was at a point where I was just tired of working for corporations,” Zinn said. “So I decided that it was time for me to do this on my own so I could have more control over how things are run.”

Zinn studied cosmetology at Forbes Road Career and Technology Center in Monroeville while she was still in high school.

“My daughter literally grew up in a salon and she really wanted to become a hairdresser, but she was steered away from doing that by a school guidance counselor who told her she was too smart to go to a vocational school,” Zinn said.

Campbell attended Empire Beauty School in West Mifflin after high school graduation.

Zinn said the corporate structure of chain salons can sometimes make it difficult for stylists and customers to feel comfortable together.

“The chain salons are doing things like booking appointments online, which can be convenient,” Zinn said. “But booking online doesn’t give the stylist a chance to consult with the customer before they come in.

“At our salon, the consultation process begins when you make the appointment.”

Zinn said the back-and-forth communication during the consultation can help ensure stylists get to know the clientele, who can provide valuable information during those calls.

Choosing Tarentum for the site of the new shop was not a matter of happenstance.

“We did a lot of research to find out the number of salons in several towns we were looking at and found that many of them already had too many shops for the population,” she said. “That isn’t the case with Tarentum. I felt that if people gave us a chance here, we would do well.”

Word that revitalization efforts were underway in Tarentum also was seen as a positive sign that the time was right for Zinn to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.

Even though the storefront they rented had previously been a hair salon, “all that was left were the shampoo sinks,” Zinn said. “We worked for about six weeks putting our shop together.”

The business has grown slowly and steadily during the first year, but Zinn said she thinks there is potential for significant growth.

“People are mostly finding out about us through word of mouth from our customers,” Zinn said. “And we’ve also set up at the Tarentum Night Market so we can be out in the community to meet people. I love animals, so we are hoping to do some fundraisers in the future to help out the local shelter Frankie’s Friends.”

Nichole Magoc, 40, of Tarentum said she learned about the salon from her sister and decided to give it a try.

“This is my first time here,” she said recently after getting a trim. “Traci did a wonderful job. I’ll absolutely be coming back.”

Partnering with her daughter, Zinn said, was a smart decision because they each have different skills that complement each other.

“My daughter is a wonderful colorist,” Zinn said. “So she’ll handle anything a customer wants that is more involved or complicated. And there are certain styles that I’ll handle because I have experience or expertise doing it.”