What inspired you to enter the hair salon industry? Growing up in Israel, I had a neighbor who owned a salon-barbershop. At age 15, I asked him to help me learn how to cut my friend’s hair—he agreed only if I would help him in the shop. After I went into the Israeli army in the tank division, I unfortunately became injured and could not rejoin my unit. The base sergeant asked what other skills I had—I told him I had studied architecture, worked in a firm and could cut men’s hair. I was placed into the base salon and began cutting men’s hair. From there, I attended a prestigious hair academy in Tel Aviv on weeknights and learned how to cut women’s hair. I realized the impact I had in altering how someone felt about themselves through great hair, and I knew from that point on that hair is what I was meant to do.

How does Valery Joseph Salon differentiate itself among other hair salons? The difference between Valery Joseph Salons and others in the industry is our sense of family and loyalty. Most of my team have been with me for over a decade, helping me to build the brand to its current success. Our clients are extremely loyal to the Valery Joseph family and understand that what we provide is beyond hair; we are part of their lives and have watched them, their children, sometimes grandchildren grow up. We have a very personalized approach, which creates a certain level of intimacy between the team and the clients.