MEET THE COLLECTIVE OF HIGH-GLAM DAY-MAKERS AT THIS SEA GIRT BEAUTY SALON, AND THE DYNAMIC WOMAN BEHIND IT

BY AMANDA McCOY • PHOTOS BY VIOLET KARYN PHOTOGRAPHY

At a sunny studio in Sea Girt Square, an entire subculture lives behind double glass doors. Enter as high energy music radiates out onto the sidewalk and hear the clink of champagne flutes through the melody of blow dryers and laughter. Ten styling chairs line the 1,300-squarefoot space, where clients ages eight to 88 come in for the camaraderie as much as the luxury hair and makeup services.

“It’s like the real housewives of Sea Girt,” laughed Believe Beauty Co. owner Jenny Pizzo, an ebullient 23-year beauty veteran in high heels and ripped jeans. “The girls here have a true sisterhood. Everyone likes to come in and share their plans for the weekend or date night. We pop a lot of bottles and celebrate. There’s a whole culture. We not only want to make you look gorgeous but feel gorgeous.”

Believe Beauty Co. opened its doors in June 2012, but the founder’s career in the beauty industry began to simmer long before the salon performed its first blowout. At 17 years old, Pizzo landed a job as a receptionist in her cousin’s hair salon, instantly enamored with the joy that comes with a fresh new cut or color. It only took her two weeks at Brookdale College to realize her fervor lay in cosmetology, and she promptly dropped out to pursue a career as a hairstylist.

In 2009, after several successful years in hair and beauty, Pizzo opened a Paul Mitchell cosmetology school in Brick, compelled to share her expertise with the next generation of stylists. It was here she learned that passion was a far better tool for success than even the most robust of marketing budgets.

“Even at the school, instead of selling services I was selling an education,” she noted. “I was so passionate about the industry that it was easy to enroll students.”

Enrollment boomed, and three years into the venture Pizzo wanted the ability to offer her recent graduates a professional home – thus Believe Beauty Co. was officially born. She found her perfect space in Sea Girt, draped it in black-and-white glamour and contemporary lighting, and hired a close-knit squad of stylists. But as the owner recalled, those early days weren’t without their challenges.

“When I opened the salon, none of my girls had a clientele or following because they were fresh out of beauty school,” explained Pizzo. “It was slow, and people weren’t making much money because everyone in the hair industry works on commission.”

The new salon owner quickly adapted. She began offering low-cost monthly memberships covering a range of services, from blowouts to balayage. This offered clients the freedom to come in as many times as they desire through – out the month for cuts, blowouts, color touch-ups, and more. Soon, Pizzo’s stylists cemented regular clients.

“I had to revamp my business model,” she continued. “The memberships took off. It helped the girls build a clientele and their skillset. A good core number of my girls have been with me for nine years, and to see them thriving where they are today brings me so much joy.”

On any given day, there are 120-180 appointments on the calendar. The salon specializes in women’s hair, offering a full gamut of services and treatments, from customized cuts and shaping to single process color, balayage, and keratin smoothing treatments. Extensions, scalp treatments, up styles, and makeup are also on the menu, as are men’s and children’s services. Locally famous “extra-body” blowouts are a fan favorite, and while the salon has always offered bridal services, a post-pandemic uptick in weddings has kept the stylists especially busy this summer.

“We had to close for three months because of the pandemic, but that gave us a chance to revamp. It gave us an opportunity to really get back to the basics, back to that personal experience. These were things I learned early on in my career and this was a chance to revert back to that. I feel we are better and stronger than ever now.”

Face-framing highlights or the “money piece,” as Pizzo coined is a booming trend this summer. The owner has also noticed a rise in demand for hair extensions in her mature clientele. “For our clients coming in with thinning hair, extensions are able to take ten years off,” she noted.

Though the owner has taken a step back from the styling chair in recent years, she’s still in the studio daily, managing the front-of-house and spearheading all social media and marketing efforts. With more than two decades of experience and a pair of fruitful enterprises under her belt, Pizzo explained she still hasn’t lost sight of what pulled her into the business as a teenager helping people look and feel like the best versions of themselves.

“The most rewarding thing about what I do is simply making people happy. I get to be that day-maker. I’ll see ladies twice a week for their blowouts and once a month for their color. It’s an occasion and a moment for them. I’m honored to be a part of it.”

Believe Beauty Co.
2100 NJ-35, Sea Girt / 732.449.1110
believebeautyco.com