When walking down Erie Street in downtown Kent, some might miss the green sign above Get Pretty salon, a local beauty spot offering manicures, tattoos, facials, eyelash and eyebrow treatments.

“A lot of people walk past it, and the biggest comment is, ‘Oh ‘Get Pretty,’ so you’re telling me I’m not pretty,’” said Baylie Baker, a nail and tattoo artist at the salon. “People will walk past and not really see what it is.” 

While the name of the salon is Get Pretty, it is not meant to indicate the clients are not already looking good before they enter, Baker said. She said the salon’s motto is, “You’re already beautiful, so come get pretty.” 

Baker said she wants more people to know about the salon and what it offers to the Kent community. 

“I feel like it’s people knowing that people are here, especially college-aged girls,” Baker said. “We are not these random older people. We’re closer to the age group that is [at the university].” 

Baker is one of three women who work in the salon. She left Kent State after her first semester and immediately went to nail school, she said.

“I was always around the beauty industry, I’ve always been more creative in that type of stuff,” Baker said. “I wanted to find a way to implement my art into the beauty realm.”

The salon, which opened in October 2020 at 201 E. Erie St., has an open concept with three different women owning independent businesses working in the salon. Each woman works beside each other but offers different specialties to clients under their own business name.

Baker specializes in nails with her business Bay Nailed It. 

“It’s a booth rental, so we don’t work under anybody,” Baker said. “We work under ourselves and our own businesses here.”

Tenants are responsible for finding their own clients to further their business. The clientele built at the salon is one thing that keeps Baker coming back to work, she said. 

Each tenant at the salon also has to display their social media to clients. This practice ensures everyone who comes in knows what they are going to be getting.

“Here, you pick the person that you want to go with, and we all display information about ourselves and all of our work,” Baker said. “So you know what you are getting.”

While the small businesses working under the Get Pretty roof have rotated since the salon opened, the many different services offered in the space keeps people coming back, Baker said. 

She said Get Pretty being an entirely women-owned and operated business is one thing that sets the salon apart from other beauty salons.

The owner, Jana Caraboolad, also owns Vanity Brow and Beauty Room in Stow. She opened Get Pretty in Kent under many of the same core values as her other salon.

“[Jana] opened this place for women to have a spot to rent,” Baker said. “Especially people who are newer in the beauty industry.”

It can be difficult for younger people to find a place to operate their beauty businesses, Baker said.

“It actually is really hard finding a space to rent, especially being younger,” Baker said. “A lot of places tend to discriminate against it. They will say, ‘We see that you’re pretty young, and you’re a female, you don’t know what you’re doing, you can’t rent here.’” 

Being women-owned takes a lot of the pressure off the job, Baker said.

“Everyone here gives me full support,” Baker said. “It’s a lot of pressure taken off being women-owned.”

Apart from being an entirely women-owned business, Baker said the one-on-one, personal aspect of the salon helps it stand out from others. 

“It brings a different standard for the beauty industry,” Baker said. “A lot of the time you go in, and you say ‘I’m here for my [noon] appointment.’ They get you in and get you right out. Here it’s a little more comfortable, more of a personable experience.” 

Baker said she tries to make sure the salon is a safe space for all clientele to feel comfortable expressing their needs.

“Being here, being women-owned, you can make it how you want,” Baker said.

Olivia Montgomery is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].