If your locks have had enough of the winter (or summer, or swimming pool water, or indoor heating), do them a favour and take them to The Beauty Centre, where owner Wass Barrege will take one look and know which shampoo, conditioner and finishing touches you need to administer hair TLC in the convenience of your own home. He admits when he started out back in 1989, it was with the help of an expert — his wife Beverly. “I came from LA to Canada and met my wife here,” he says. “She’s ethnic and I saw all the products she was using to look after her hair and it opened my eyes. She introduced me to a niche market.”
As well as selling what Wass categorizes as ‘ethnic’ hair products such as shea butters and relaxers, you’ll find a range of other salon quality hair and beauty products on his shelves. He also stocks beauty accessories like hair extensions and equipment such as curling irons, barbering kits and waxing apparatus for both professional hairdressers and the general public.
In short, The Beauty Centre is like a spa where you can spoil your hair with top-range products at bottom-level prices. “When I came into this business I said to Beverley, ‘Let me open a store and bring you the products from the States’. Instead of you guys going down there, I bring it all to you at better prices.”