Sona Bella Salon and Spa Feels Like Home

It’s like walking into another room of your house.  The warm paint on the walls, the candles and whimsical decorations at , 17251 Oak Park Avenue, immediately puts you at ease.  The atmosphere is relaxed, calm.  You want to stay a while.

The sedate atmosphere exists in contrast to owner Elizabeth Crum.  Her nine tattoos include the entire upper part of her left arm and a portion of her chest.  Her nose ring is subtle compared to the green highlights in her hair that match the green and black paintings on her nails.

 “I may look abrasive but I’m really not” Crum says. “Everyone who meets me is shocked that I own a salon.  They think they’re going to a strip mall but when they get here they’re pleasantly surprised."

Owning a salon was never in Crum’s plans, but when her previous employer decided to leave the business everything was turned over to Crum.

“They really put me on the spot," Crum said. "But if I didn’t do it we  would have been out of jobs.” 

Crum and three co-workers banded together to find a new location and start a salon from scratch. 

“This is a 100 percent group operation” Crum said.  “When we moved to this building all of us came together and did all of the renovations . . . so we all take personal pride in this place.  It’s like a little house.”

It is a house that has become home for the eight employees, some of whom have been working together for almost 10 years. 

“I handle a lot of the business aspect but this is a team operation." Crum said. "I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without the women I work with”

Crum's  motto goes above treating clients as you want to be treated, and focuses on being warm and welcoming. 

“I want people to feel like they’re guests in my home or we’re guests in their home” Crum said.

Crum takes this motto literally.  When the weather is bad and clients can’t make it to the salon, she makes house calls. 

“I really appreciate when she comes,” Tinley Park resident Arleen Oakland said. 

Oakland won a gift certificate for a manicure/pedicure that was donated to the Lioness Club two years ago. She now has a standing appointment every third Friday. 

“It was a wonderful win that I got to come here” she said. 

It’s not unusual for the staff at Sona Bella to go above and beyond for clients. 

“We had a bride who called two weeks before her wedding” Crum recalls.  “She had a trial with her usual hairdresser and didn’t like it.  She called me and because I have such a good relationship with my clients, I was able to reschedule them for earlier in the week so we could take care of the bride and her wedding party.”

The dedication to clients is not only shown in their work, but also in the services that they do not provide. 

“We will not do any sort of services that would endanger or harm our clients body in any way shape or form” Crum said.  “We do not do artificial nails.  We do not do body wraps.  We try to be very health conscious.”

Crum and her staff regularly take continuing education courses to stay abreast of the changes and new procedures in the industry. 

The salon has over 200 nail polish colors that are changed every month and has recently added the two-week manicure by O.P.I. to their repertoire.  Massage therapist Sarah Ward, who was just honored by the Soma Institute, has introduced a fire and ice massage that uses both hot and cool stones.

“Our bridal services are out of this world” Crum says of the salon who offers airbrush make-up.

A full list of services and prices can be found at the salon’s website at www.sonabella.com where you can also make an appointment.