Salon and spa moves to Sagamore Square

by Nancy Vondrak

A happy accident led to Laura Boykin finding a space in Sagamore Square Shopping Center to host her business So Pretty on Purpose, a salon and spa that opened in August.

Boykin stumbled upon the location at 500 W. Aurora Rd. while helping her mom look for a possible event center space. “Blessings come in all kinds of disguises,” she said.

So Pretty on Purpose is located in what used to be The Mane Difference Hair Design, a salon that Boykin said had been there since the shopping center opened in the 1970s.

Boykin originally entered the working world as a trained Emergency Medical Technician, a position she had for five years. “Although I really liked helping people, I decided I wanted to work for myself, and I didn’t see that happening in the medical field,” she said.

Her hair journey began as a young girl when she’d style her own hair and eventually the hair of family and friends. She liked it so much she decided to attend the Paul Mitchell School in Twinsburg to study cosmetology.

“I was still helping people, but now in a different way. Stylists are like therapists,” she said.

After earning her cosmetology license, she worked in a salon in Twinsburg for a year and then in her own salon in Solon until the end of 2020. By that time, things changed in the beauty industry and in Boykin’s personal life as she married and became the mother of a baby girl. But when the Sagamore Square space became available for her to open her salon, she said, “I knew I had to do it.”

There are seven licensed stylists at the full-service salon offering a variety of hair services including color, braids, relaxers, perms, highlights and all types of extensions. A nail tech that specializes in hand painted designs, and two eyelash techs also offer services. Facials and full body waxing treatments are available in a private room. Boykin has a section in the salon for two barber chairs with the hopes of hiring barbers in the future.

“We want to be a one-stop shop where both males and females can come to feel like a new person,” she said. “Coming in to get your hair or nails done is a real confidence piece for a lot of customers.”

Two future goals Boykin has are for the salon to partner with area event venues to provide hair and makeup services for bridal parties, and to engage in a community event at the shopping center like a “kids day” or “family day” in which multiple businesses are involved. ∞

Photo: Laura Boykin is the owner of So Pretty on Purpose. Photo by Nancy Vondrak.