Exclusive Clientele Salon — Where Every Client Is Treated Like Family

By Gary Nager

Even though it’s usually the male-dominated barber shops that are famous for their unique banter between clients and haircutters on everything from presidential politics to sports to popular music, if you’ve been looking for a great, new place to get your hair cut, a place where every client is made to feel like family, you have to visit the incredible ladies at the new Exclusive Clientele Salon in the Cross Creek Plaza on Cross Creek Blvd. in New Tampa.

Of course, neither owner and Master Stylist Christy Johnson nor her equally-well-trained, ultra-talented crew of Master Stylists — Nica Kennedy, Tiffany Ivy and Sally Lingg — are men, but they all have fun speaking to any subject and always make their clients feel comfortable. “When I first moved to Tampa from Maryland, I found that a lot of the hair salons weren’t very welcoming,” says Christy, who has now owned three salons and has 30 years of experience in the industry. And, she is licensed to cut hair in four states (Florida, Maryland, California and Pennsylvania).

She adds, “So, when I opened my first Exclusive Clientele Salon in the Pebble Creek area a few years ago, my goal was that everyone who wanted a great hair style or color job — men and women of every color and ethnicity — should feel they were more than just customers to not only me, but also to everyone who works with me, and that we were able to provide professional styles and color for every hair type. I even chose the name ‘Exclusive Clientele’ because we want to make all of our clients feel like they’re special to us.”

Speaking of special, Christy says her husband Thomas Johnson, who she calls, the “Michael Jordan of taxes,” believes in her ability and her goal of having the most popular salon in Tampa.

It was Christy’s “we are family” attitude that first attracted Nica, Tiffany and Sally to work with her and, like the owner herself, all of the stylists at Exclusive Clientele Salon also have had amazing training and experience.

For example, Nica has had 20 years as a stylist, as she, “went right from high school to hair school” in Delaware and moved to Tampa in 1995. She met Christy less than three years ago and worked with her at the original Exclusive Clientele Salon.

“I actually scouted out a few salons with a local product distributor when I asked for recommendations about salons in Tampa, says Nica, who is licensed in Florida and Georgia.“Christy really was the only one I met that I wanted to work with.”

Nica, who has been married for four years to her husband Frederick, adds that her specialty is creating precision, custom, “trendy” cuts for natural hair, as well as hair transitioning from relaxer to natural. “We all have similar training and stay up on the latest trends by going to trade shows and taking classes every year.”

Are You Kidding Me?

As someone who gets his hair cut only once every 6-8 weeks, depending upon how good the haircut turned out to be, I was stunned to learn that some women get their hair cut or styled every week, sometimes even twice a week!

In fact, Tiffany (who has 24 years of hair styling experience) says that for some women, having the same person cut their hair is so important to them that 30 of them are willing to actually pay for her to fly back to her native St. Louis (she is licensed in Florida and Missouri) to cut their hair once every month.

“They’ll have local people do their weekly touch-ups,” says Tiffany, whose husband Jerry Ivy recently started providing great BBQ for customers of the Halftime Sports Lounge in the New Tampa Center plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. “But, they all want me for their major styling and coloring and especially, for my weaving. I see all 30 clients in one week each month and fly back to Tampa.”

A New York State-licensed Cosmetologist with 25 years of experience in the cosmetology field, including having owned and managed her own salon and three years as a cosmetology teacher, Sally Lingg moved from New York to New Tampa last year with her husband and daughter and wants to work close to where she lives. Specializing in color and highlights. Sally is equally comfortable with any member of your family — women, men, children and says she is looking forward to building her New Tampa/Wesley Chapel client base.

“I’m happy to be joining Christy in her ‘we are family attitude,’” Sally says.

Start With Healthy Hair!

One of the things Christy and her crew all stress is that any hair type can be “good” hair, as long as it’s healthy.

“Although we all have no problem with styling kinky or over curly hair,” Christy says, “a lot of people think curly hair is bad hair. It’s not. You just have to know what you’re doing…and we do. Not only can we give you the proper cut for your hair type, we can recommend and provide the best products (including Redken and nairobi) to keep your hair as healthy as possible.”

And, perhaps best of all, Christy and her styling team all offer free consultations. “Anyone who wants to come talk to us about their hair is welcome,” says Christy proudly. “Whether you’re black, white, Asian, Hispanic, blonde, brunette, redhead, or want to know more about extensions, we hope you’ll think of Exclusive Clientele Salon, where our goal is to leave all of our clients happy and smiling.”

To that end, Christy recently added eyebrow threading with a woman of Indian descent to Exclusive Clientele Salon’s already impressive list of hair styling, coloring and weaving services. Call or visit the salon for details.

Exclusive Clientele Salon is located at 10026 Cross Creek Blvd., near Café Olé. For appointments and more information, call 994-2393 or visit ExclusiveClienteleSalon.com.