Van Gogh Hair Spa is growing, but it’s not going far.
The longtime Palos Heights salon is preparing to move to a larger location at 12250 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights, giving owner Amy Redden more room to expand the business while keeping it right where it has been for nearly three decades.
Redden is waiting for building permits before setting an official move-in date. She hopes the salon will be ready to move by the end of the year.
The decision to move came down to space.
“We have been incredibly fortunate to have such a loyal clientele and a strong team, but our current space limited what we wanted to do,” Redden said.
Redden, a Palos Heights resident, said staying in the community was never really in question.
“The most important thing to me was staying in Palos Heights,” she said. “This community has supported Van Gogh Hair Spa for 30 years, and I couldn’t imagine taking the salon somewhere else.”
Van Gogh Hair Spa opened in April 1991 and moved to Palos Heights in April 1997. Redden took over ownership in April 2022.
Much of what makes the salon special to Redden has little to do with hair.
It is the people.
The salon has clients who have been coming in for decades. Now, their children and grandchildren are becoming clients, too. Redden said those relationships are at the heart of the business and are a big part of what she loves about being in Palos Heights.
“There is something really special about being in a town where people support local businesses, know their neighbors and genuinely care about the community,” she said.
The new location will give Redden the chance to build on that foundation.
Van Gogh Hair Spa plans to expand its services beyond hair, adding head spa services, facials and eyelash services. The salon also will offer more extension options and expanded nail services, including additional manicure and pedicure chairs.
The larger space will give the salon’s team more room, too. Redden plans to continue investing in education and training while giving staff members opportunities to develop their specialties.
Keeping up with new techniques and trends is important to Redden, but she said the salon’s personal approach won’t change.
Clients may come in for a haircut, color, extensions or a complete transformation, but Redden wants them to feel like they are visiting a place where they are known.
“You’re also coming into a place where people know your name, care about your life and genuinely want you to leave feeling better than when you walked in,” Redden said.
That feeling is something Redden wants to carry into the new space.
She isn’t looking to erase the salon’s history or change what longtime clients love about it. Instead, she wants the additional room to make it possible to do more.
“We’re not leaving behind what made Van Gogh Hair Spa special,” Redden said. “We’re giving it more room to grow.”
The move also gives Redden an opportunity to bring her own vision to the business while respecting the salon’s long history.
“When I look at Van Gogh Hair Spa, I don’t just see what it is today. I see what it can become,” she said.
That future will still be in Palos Heights.
Redden said she is proud to be carrying on a business that has been part of the community for so many years and hopes the new location will allow Van Gogh Hair Spa to remain a place where families continue to return, generation after generation.
“I don’t want to simply own a salon,” Redden said. “I want to build a legacy that I’m proud to leave behind.”