L'oquencE Salon Celebrates Grand Opening in Style

L’oquencE, a new full-service hair salon located at 1703 Springfield Avenue, celebrated its arrival to Maplewood with a grand opening party and ribbon cutting Thursday evening. Co-owned by friends Erica Jackson and LaToyia Woodson-Payne, the festivities were complete with a red carpet, disc jockey, hors d'oeuvres and complimentary makeup consultations.

“This salon looks like it’s going to be a great place,” said Mayor Vic DeLuca, who was on hand for the ribbon cutting along with Township Committee member Jerry Ryan and Vice Mayor Kathy Leventhal. “A number of new businesses are opening in the area. For a while, the economy was preventing that from happening. But people are creating their own opportunities and L’oquencE seems to be a first-class operation. Some salons start off on a smaller scale. These ladies haven’t done that.”

The shop’s welcoming atmosphere includes a comfortable seating area and warm décor and lighting. In addition to creating styles for relaxed and natural hair, the owners provide treatments for maintaining healthy hair, color services, and weaving. Clients can also receive brow and eyelash services and purchase products from the L’oquencE hair care line.

“We pretty much create whatever people want in terms of styles,” said Woodson-Payne. “We design styles for adults and for children.” Both Jackson and Woodson-Payne bring a wealth of experience to their salon, which officially opened this past August. The pair have worked together at various local salons for the past thirteen years and both learned their trade at Natural Motions Institute of Jersey City.

After developing their skills as hair stylists, the ladies decided it was time to strike out on their own. “We have so many ideas and things we want to accomplish,” said Jackson. “It can be hard to do those things when you’re working for other people. Now we’re on our own and we like to think of our shop as a luxe spin on hair care.”

During the grand opening, guests, family and friends dined on food catered by Peter’s of Millburn, listened to music provided by DJ Paypus, and received makeup tips courtesy of makeup artist Kathy Genchi. For more information about L’oquencE Salon and its services, call (973) 762-2121.