Hurricane Harvey, the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in over a decade, left destruction and despair in its wake. The City of Houston bore the brunt of much of the storm as flooding caused evacuations, property damage, and life-threatening situations.
However, several businesses and individuals mobilized to offer assistance and hope during those dark days, especially to those were impacted the most by this storm. Houston’s Crown Salon, along with Mielle Organics (a hair care brand), joined forces to provide shelter and care to many women who lost everything.
Crown Salon is owned by Kristen LaFell, and her husband, Brandon LaFell (who is also a football player for the Cincinnati Bengals). “Our city and its residents experienced record numbers of flooded homes and vehicles – some families lost everything,” LaFell says. As a business in the Houston area, she said it was important to show support and love to the storm’s victims.
A “Day of Beauty” was conceived as a way to embrace and support some of the hardest-hit residents. “We have a heart for educators because they are building our future, so most of the women were teachers, and they needed to return to work.”
LaFell says the expression “when we look good, we feel good,” is more than just a catchy phrase. “After such devastation, Crown Salon wanted to give the ladies a day in which they could experience organic facials, facial threading, and hair care services in a stress-free environment.” She felt it was important to provide a sense of normalcy to these displaced victims.
The ladies started their day of beauty with breakfast and mimosas, prepared by Hell’s Kitchen Chef, Nedra Harris.
Mielle Organics provided the ladies with gift bags full of hair care products made of certified organic ingredients.
But, this was about more than just providing cosmetic services. “Our focus was pampering these ladies in the midst of the storm in order to help repair their minds and strengthen their hearts as they venture back into classrooms to support their students – our future,” LaFell says. “Our hearts went out to them and so many felt worthless and not good enough so we wanted them to feel beautiful on the inside and out.”
In addition to the day of beauty, Crown Salon provided hotel rooms and gift cards to the ladies, many of whom were rescued by either boat or helicopter with no other possessions than the clothes they were wearing at the time.
And, the salon continues to provide assistance to victims of the storm, leading several efforts to collect clothes.
Crown Salon was founded in July, 2016 and opened in December, 2016. “The focus during our first year of existence has been bringing our industry to a higher level of empowering women of all backgrounds and providing a place of togetherness as we create inner and outer beauty in all,” LaFell explains.
In recognition of its efforts, Crown Salon was voted Best Salon in Houston. It’s not hard to see why.
