Always in Style
Founded by Christina Kane and Jody Iacovelli, HairPlay Salon provides a welcoming, relaxed, and novel space where stylists deliver results their clients love.
by Erica Young

When Christina Kane co-founded HairPlay Salon, she had a specific goal in mind: to have her clients not only love the experience of getting their hair cut, colored, and styled, but also to have them love their hair, period. 
 
“I care deeply about each person that comes through our door, and want to give them everything,” says Christina. “That shows in our staff and what we are able to offer our clients every day, and we’re really just getting started.”
 
HairPlay, which is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, boasts 10 chairs and six stylists devoted to providing anything a client might need: cut and color, event services, facial waxing, hair and lash extensions, and more. For Christina, who studied hair at the Jean Madeline Aveda Institute in Philadelphia, HairPlay has been a long-held dream in the making. 
 
“I come from a family of ambitious people who have launched and ran their own businesses,” she says. “That ambition has been a mindset for me since the beginning.” 
 
That said, running an enterprise is nothing new to Christina. In 2015, she and partner Jody Iacovelli opened Beyond Bridal, a traveling business that provided services to bridal events, as well as bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs, throughout Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. As Beyond Bridal took off, Christina and Jody saw an opportunity to expand their offerings into a full-service salon that could also provide off-site services. With that, the idea for HairPlay was born. 
 
There was just one hurdle to get past: the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the United States at around the time that Christina and Jody began their plans for opening the salon. Instead of slowing down, Christina took the opportunity to expand her knowledge, enrolling at Rowan University and obtaining a degree in business administration. 
 
“I wanted to be an owner who knew everything about the business,” says Christina. “I wanted to know everything, from how to work in the chair to how to assist our clients at the front desk and how to make the business the best it could be.”
 
With her new degree and a sense of renewed ambition, Christina and Jody took over a salon space in February 2021, ultimately choosing to gut the entire space and build from the ground up.
 
“We looked around and knew we needed everything,” Iacovelli laughs, “so we did everything.” 
 
From drafting the initial blueprints to designing its custom beauty stations, HairPlay was imagined as a completely original concept. The salon opened in October 2021 to rave reviews. Now, with one year under their belt, the team at HairPlay remains committed to providing every opportunity to their clients.
 
“We’ve changed so much in just a year, and we are already looking at how we can expand to provide more for our customers,” Christina says. “We want to create a salon where everyone feels comfortable, so we are focused on building an environment where everyone feels at home.”
 
Committed to Comfort
Christina stresses the importance of listening to clients’ concerns and goals. Doing so has helped the team provide a salon experience that “checks every box,” from the minute they enter the salon to the moment they arrive home and look in the mirror. 
 
“Every customer has a different experience with their hair, and we want to make sure they are understood,” says Christina. “So often I hear that a client comes into another salon with a goal or with photos in mind, and they’ll leave with a cut that the stylist wanted, or they’ll go in with a budget and find that the price has skyrocketed while they’re there. It can be an emotional experience, which is why we aim to make the salon experience as personal and comfortable as possible.”
 
Christina and Jody work with their staff to provide a healthy and collegial working environment, giving them the opportunity to succeed and grow with HairPlay. Taking care of the staff was the foundation on which HairPlay was built, according to Christina. 
 
“We make sure that the team has access to everything they need, whether that’s actual tools or additional training,” she adds. “Because of that, Jody and I conduct trainings with the staff for continuous learning, and we’re training staff members to help new employees get comfortable.”
 
HairPlay’s efforts extend into the surrounding community. For example, Christina and Jody work closely with Wigs & Wishes By Martino Cartier, a nonprofit organized created by the famed stylist and media personality. Wigs & Wishes works with a network of national salon owners, stylists, and industry specialists to provide and care for wigs that are donated to people battling cancer and alopecia.
 
“Martino is a lifelong friend of Jody’s,” Christina says. “So naturally, when we opened the salon, we partnered with him by becoming a salon who participates with his organization. Maybe that means having space [for Wigs & Wishes beneficiaries] to be alone, or to just have help and someone to talk to. It can be so deeply uncomfortable to experience hair loss, so we listen and utilize our resources in every way we can.”
 
Christina attributes HairPlay’s growth to the team’s commitment to listening to clients and then adapting to their needs. Their mission going forward: to help every client find a style customized to their wants, needs, and personality. 
 
“We want people to feel comfortable in whatever way that looks like,” says Christina. “When we look toward tomorrow, we are building a space that matches that goal, to give our clients results that they love.”
 
HairPlay Salon
484 E. Evesham Road, Suite 1
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
(856) 350-6050 
HairPlaySalonNJ.com
 
Photo by Alison Dunlap
 
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, September 2022. 
 

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