{"id":3999,"date":"2022-09-27T20:31:15","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T03:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/?p=3999"},"modified":"2026-08-30T21:33:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:33:28","slug":"beauty-meets-bravery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/beauty-meets-bravery\/","title":{"rendered":"Beauty Meets Bravery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chic<\/span><\/div>
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This article was printed in<\/em>
\nChic Compass Magazine - Issue 12<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Desert<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Desert Beauty Lab features a menu of innovative and health-conscious services that refrain from using harsh or abrasive chemicals.\u00a0Photo by KBS Photography<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Beauty Meets Bravery<\/h1>\n

Las Vegas Cancer Survivor Turns Dream of Owning a Salon into a Reality<\/p>\n

BY HEATHER TURK<\/p>\n<\/div>

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When Susan Salas got laid off from her job as a nail technician at The Salon at Wynn Las Vegas during the COVID-19 pandemic\u2014a position she held for 16 years\u2014she decided to use her free time to follow her dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I was a kid, I\u2019ve always loved to make people feel good about themselves,\u201d Salas told Chic Compass. \u201cMy mother was the one who exposed me to facials at a very early age (11 years old). She would take me to her Mary Kay classes, and I was so fascinated by all the makeup and skin products people would use on themselves. I always dreamed of opening my own salon with my own twist. I kept telling myself that this was my calling, and when the timing was right, it would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the day Salas was going to sign the lease to transform a former Kidz Rule Indoor Play & Party Center in Southwest Las Vegas into the salon of her dreams, she received the worst news of her life\u2014she had breast cancer.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Salas said that she knew \u201cthe chemicals, odors, and in-and-out mentality\u201d most salons have were all things she wanted to change when opening her salon. Photo by Nicole Szewczyk<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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\u201cMy thoughts went from \u2018Do I give up on what I thought I was meant to do?\u2019 to \u2018Do I fight for my life and what I was meant to do?\u2019\u201d Salas recalled. \u201cIt was then and there that I decided to fight harder than I have ever fought. Nothing could have prepared me for my battle with chemo\u2014my side effects were worse than I could have ever imagined\u2014but the business needed me, and I needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On December 10, 2021, just two weeks after Salas underwent a double mastectomy, Desert Beauty Lab opened its doors at 7260 S. Cimarron Road. While Salas was advised after her long surgery (more than 6 hours due to the additional removal of her lymph nodes) to take six to eight weeks to heal, the day following her operation, she made herself walk without pain pills. Eight days later, Salas was busy assembling furniture at her salon and doing as much as possible to prepare everything for its grand opening.<\/p>\n

Far from your typical salon, Desert Beauty Lab is a holistic luxury salon where beauty organically coexists with wellness. It offers reasonably priced manicures, pedicures, facials, and hair services for women, men, and even little \u201cprincesses.\u201d It uses only top-of-the-line products that are safe and organic in its treatments, like FarmHouse Fresh, Eminence, and the vegan nail polish line, sundays.<\/p>\n

\u201cDesert Beauty Lab is a place where you can embark on a journey of transformative services that focus on the mind and body,\u201d Salas said. \u201cOur salon smells different since there are no fumes from acrylic nails, as we have chosen to offer Apr\u00e9s Gel-X nail extensions as a cleaner and healthier alternative to acrylics. It also feels different, as our guests are treated like family. Simply put, Desert Beauty Lab is a different realm altogether, and I hope that what we do can become a new concept for other local salons.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Desert Beauty Lab offers a high-end salon experience off-Strip. Photo by KBS Photography<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Guests are given VIP treatment from the moment they arrive at Desert Beauty Lab by being offered a complimentary beverage to enjoy, including (for adults) champagne, wine, or beer. They can also book a wide range of services not typically found at your neighborhood salon. Highlights include the unique men\u2019s Honey Beer Bath Manicure, which includes a beer bath soak to soften rough skin, and the rejuvenating Wine Me Down women\u2019s pedicure that includes a fragrant Cabernet scrub to leave feet feeling silky smooth. Additionally, guests can customize their manicures and pedicures by adding on an invigorating Theragun deep muscle massage or the use of relaxing guided meditation headsets, the latter of which pairs perfectly with the salon\u2019s zero-degree gravity pedicure chairs.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Guests can put a little pep back in their step by adding a Theragun massage to their pedicure. Photo by KBS Photography<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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While salon-goers can book treatments \u00e0 la carte, monthly membership packages are also available, providing additional benefits for frequent guests. Since Salas knows more than anyone that life can be unpredictable, any unused services can be rolled over to the following month for members to use. Additionally, one unused monthly service can be gifted to friends or family for a nominal transfer fee, which is practically unheard of at other salons.<\/p>\n

With Desert Beauty Lab\u2019s first anniversary on the horizon, Salas continues to look toward the future. She noted that she would love to expand the salon to different parts of Las Vegas \u201cwhen the time is right\u201d and is in the process of creating her own product line to use at the salon. Most importantly, though, the woman who opened a beauty salon in Sin City that believes wellness is a necessity is working hard to take care of herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in the recovery phase right now,\u201d the mother of three said. \u201cI lost a lot of weight and am still trying to gain energy through my food intake. I have started to work out again, though\u2014it feels good going back to the gym and getting some of me back. I have two more surgeries to go, but I will be here for a long time living the best life I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for what words of encouragement the inspiring salon owner would offer to those still trying to turn their dreams into a reality, Salas simply said, \u201cIf it is a thought, it can become a reality. Become obsessed with what you want, and do not let that slip away from you. Don\u2019t let people tell you who you are\u2014be you and love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

To see the salon\u2019s complete menu of services, visit: desertbeautylab.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Desert Beauty Lab has zero-degree gravity pedicure chairs for guests to lounge in while their feet are being pampered. Photo courtesy of Desert Beauty Lab.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Far from your typical salon, Desert Beauty Lab is a holistic luxury salon where beauty organically coexists with wellness. It offers reasonably priced manicures, pedicures, facials, and hair services for women, men, and even little \u201cprincesses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,3819],"tags":[3832,3830,3628,3831],"class_list":["post-3999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beauty","category-issue-12","tag-beauty","tag-desert-beauty-lab-salon-spa","tag-heather-turk","tag-salon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4104,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3999\/revisions\/4104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiccompass.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}