By Jessica Oates
A Cut Above Salon has been primping and pampering Lawrence residents since 2007, when owner Linda Parker first opened her salon, fulfilling her lifelong dream of styling on her own terms.
Parker and her staff are passionate about their work and eager to create the ultimate client experience, whether it involves a color, cut, or style.
“My salon is cozy and comfortable,” Parker said. “Our clients are like family. At times the atmosphere is quiet and relaxing, but there are times when you’ll find a bunch of women chatting in clusters around the salon.”
Parker and her staff see many regular clients, some dating as far back as Parker’s earliest days as a hairdresser, in 1987.
“I really enjoy my work and feel I have a natural talent for it,” she said. “I worked as a hairdresser while I was in college and had a very demanding schedule. After my third year of exhaustion, my father told me about a small storefront he had seen for rent in Lawrenceville. It had been a salon for years, and when I saw it, it sparked excitement in me—the thought of working for myself! Of course, being 20 at the time, I didn’t know how hard it would be to own a business.”
Parker wound up opening her business in that location, and remained there until 2007, when she opened A Cut Above in its current location in the Manors Corner Shopping Center on Lawrenceville-Pennington Road.
“What sets my salon apart is the time my staff and I take to really listen to our clients’ needs and wants so that we can achieve a look that they love and can style easily at home,” Parker said.
She said that she attends regular classes and workshops to learn about new products, techniques, and equipment, and brings this knowledge back to her stylists to share with clients.
The salon’s services include cuts, coloring, highlighting, low lighting, relaxing, keratin treatments, perms, waxing, makeup artistry, formal styling, blow-outs and hair and scalp treatments, including phyto-treatments, to address concerns such as oiliness or thinning.
While stylists will gladly accept walk-ins when they can, the salon tends to get very busy, and Parker recommends making an appointment in advance.
“My staff and I love what we do,” she said. “I have five employees. My sister, Melissa Manfredi, Marsha Nirenberg and Alba Depaola are stylists. Chrissy Hart is a stylist as well as my assistant, and Angie Mastroianni also works as an assistant.”
Staff member bios are available online for any client interested in getting to know my stylists a bit before making an appointment.
“We will work till you love your hair,” Parker said. “We make sure we spend as much time as we need to make our clients happy. We also make sure to rectify any situation if a client is less than satisfied. Sometimes a stylist may do everything right and spend a long time consulting with a client, but a color may come out too light or too dark. This is science we are talking about. If it were as easy as applying a box color and having perfect results, people wouldn’t need hairdressers.”
Parker laughed as she explained that she loves making her own hours and being able to decide what type of people she works with. “There is more to styling in running a business. Orders, training, cleaning, bills—that’s no fun. I would love if I could just beautify people all day long,” she said enthusiastically.
Parker graduated from Mercer County Vocational School at the top of her class. She currently lives in Pennington with her husband and three children.
A Cut Above salon is currently seeking an additional stylist to join the team and grow their clientele. Interested parties are encouraged to call for more information. A Cut Above is located at 160 Lawrenceville-Pennington Road, Suite 17. Phone: (609) 896-2500. On the Web: acutabovesalonandspa.net.
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