I met Renée twelve years ago. Almost exactly.  She did my long tresses in an undo for CeCe’s wedding.  She’s been making me feel beautiful ever since. Plus, she makes me laugh.  That first time I sat in her chair, she told me she had a real live ghost in her apartment.

“For real,” she said, her blue eyes wide, looking at me in the mirror.  Besides, she calls me a genius. How can I refuse to love Renée?  She makes me beautiful and she thinks I’m smart.

Renée is funny and she’s brave and she’s good.

Just a few months ago, she left the Big Name Salon where she worked for almost 18-year career, and ventured into a smaller salon. Sure, Big Name offered security and health insurance, but her new home, Salon Coccolé, offered something more important: freedom to pursue what she wants to do and a chance to grow and learn.  Her friend, mentor, and boss Donna Gentile encourages her to do that. For the first time in her career, thanks to Donna, Renée went to a Beauty Show where she met Ted Gibson Nick Arroyo of “What not to Wear” fame.

“Adela, you won’t believe how nice he is,” Renee’s blue eyes popped in the same way they did when she told me about her ghost. “He’s smaller than I thought he’d be, too.  He does cool makeovers.  He knows