Hair Body & Sol

When I first walked in the door, I was struck by the clean gorgeousness of the architectural features of this über-clean Upper Manhattan-flat-style interior with a brick accent wall; black leather couch; knotty hardwood floors; delicate tiny halogen lights in the open industrial ceiling; side-by-side curved silver shelves so painstakingly arranged with Paul Mitchell products and Gold Canyon candles; elongated mirrors sandwiching vases of bamboo shoots; gorgeous, nicely dressed, smiling, friendly, conversational people (both customers and staff); the smell of a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake candle and fresh flowers, and the open, warm greeting by the very knowledgeable receptionist, Amanda Castanedo, whose devotion to the company, her employers, and her peers was readily evident -- and I wondered why, as a Vista resident, that I had not noticed this salon before. It dawned on me that its unassuming location and quiet exterior belies a gem underneath. The location is perfect for the ladies since it’s only a half-mile off of Highway 78, and is literally a stone’s throw from a tremendous sushi restaurant (the Japanese Café), a Starbucks, a Coldstone Creamery, a nail salon, and a 16-venue movie ‘metroplex.’ I could spend the entire day, and the contents of my wallet, on Main Street. I loved the salon’s “restaurant menu” of services that include “Appetizers” of artistic hair cutting; “Side Orders” of “Shiners,” which are clear shine topcoats; “The Color Bar” involving everything from a wide array of custom color services like “Guy-lites,” “Half-Pints,” “The Full Monty,” and “Tone the Goldschlager,” for “Bombshell Blondes,” and ‘Café Cocktails” like “Hold the Salt,” and color corrections for us brunettes; followed by a chaser of “Get Skinny” hair straightening options and a selection of “Smoothies” facial waxing and hair removal services. For “Dessert,” I could request a fancy “Up-Do,” “Blow Dry and Style,” or have one of their master artists work wonders with make-up.