Helping People From Their Head To Their Toes

This Q&A feature helps readers learn more about Mount Vernon area residents working in our business community.

This week’s Q&A profiles Yvonne Le, Owner of a Mount Vernon-based full service salon. Yvonne, along with her sister and partner, Le Le, offer a variety of spa services for women, men and children, from hair and nail services to face and body treatments. The salon, which has approximately 30 employees, has additional locations in Woodbridge and Crystal City.

Over the last few years, Yvonne’s salon has been featured on a number of national news television shows, including Good Morning America, The View, E! and The Doctors, to highlight her salon’s latest, trendy beauty endeavor, a unique “Dr. Fish”  pedicure treatment and massage therapy. 

Yvonne and her husband, John, moved to the Mount Vernon community 12 years ago from Falls Church. The couple has three children, ages 14, 12 and 9. Yvonne and John moved to the Northern Virginia area from Vietnam nearly 16 years ago. After Yvonne graduated from JEB Stuart High School, with a focus on cosmetology, she began working for the Hair Cuttery chain, where she learned about the beauty industry for six years. After acting as assistant manager, she decided to pursue her dream of running her own salon. She officially opened her salon’s doors 12 years ago.

Describe your business.

We are a full-service salon and day spa, offering beauty options to customers from their head to their toes.

Why did you decide to open your business here in the Mount Vernon area?

I always knew I wanted to own a salon and I took the leap when a barbershop space opened up in the Mount Vernon area. While that place didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to, I spent three years looking for a better place..and that’s where we are today.

How did you become interested in your line of work?

I knew as far back as when I was just 12 years old. I used to love to make my family and friends beautiful. It makes me happy to know that I have helped people to feel good about themselves. I go home and go to sleep each night smiling, knowing that I’ve helped people.

What’s an interesting aspect of your job?

It’s interesting to always see the different types of people who come in to our salon every day. They come in with all kinds of emotions, happy, sad, you name it.

What do you enjoy most about your line of work?

The best part is to see how happy they are afterwards.  I really enjoy talking to my customers and seeing their big smiles. It’s why I love my job so much.

What are your hobbies?

I really don’t have time for hobbies. But I like to say that helping people and giving back is my hobby. Currently, we have adopted three families in Vietnam, one that has five kids, a mother and no father. I also like to help people in our local community, especially at the area schools and church. It’s important to always help those less fortunate.

Between working full-time at all three of your salon locations, do you ever have any free time? If so, what do you like to do?

It’s very rare for me to ever have free time. But if I do, I like to crochet hats and scarves and give them to my clientele, friends and neighbors.

With three kids at home, how do you balance work and home life?

It’s actually been pretty easy. I’m very lucky because my kids are very  good and well behaved. And I have always known how to take care of them … it helped that I actually helped raise my little sister when I was just 12 years old. I had a lot of experience starting at an early age.

Where is your favorite place to go in the Mount Vernon area?

I like Thai Herbs and the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant.

If you weren’t in this business, what would you be doing?

I am living my dream. My only hope has been to be successful, and then turn around and give back to others. I am so happy that I am able to do that in my life now.