Belle Sirène Salon offers luxurious experiences for all hair budgets

Hairstyling is as much passion as art at Belle Sirène Salon in La Jolla.

Begun nine years ago at 7838 Herschel Ave., the salon has since tripled its size moving around the corner to 7923 Girard Ave.

“Your hair is our passion,” proclaims the salon’s website at bellesirenesalon.com. The website adds, “Our team’s expertise is evident in the luxurious salon experience we provide. … the meticulous attention to detail and care we put into every service with a range of services tailored to fit all budgets. Let our skilled stylists transform your hair into a work of art.”

Founded and owned by hairstylist Sherri Belanger (above), Belle Sirène (beautiful siren/mermaid in French) has several specialties. Those include specialty blonding, lived-in Balayage, haircutting, brow and wax services, and custom-tailored treatments.

Additionally, Belle Sirène owns the distinction of being a flagship salon in the United States for Davines, an Italian brand that is the leader in sustainable luxury hair care and products.

A Massachusetts native, Belanger has an interesting tale to tell about how she became a hairstylist. She noted it was an outgrowth of having “unruly” hair as a child.

“I used to get made fun of for my hair and its texture,” noted Belanger with ultra-curly locks reflecting on her first visit to a hairstylist as a pre-teen. “The stylist taught me how to work with my hair,” she recalled adding the experience proved life-changing.

“It inspired me to master my hair, now that I knew it could be done,” she said adding, “Her (stylist) doing her wizardry with my hair – it was the first time I felt normal. The thought that I could help other people in the same way felt inspiring.”

Consequently, Belanger became “obsessed” with hair, working long hours while going to cosmetology school before graduating and moving to Los Angeles in her mid-20s to “follow a dream to be a celebrity hairdresser at a famous salon.” Which she did. Belanger added styling celebrities’ hair “put notches on my belt helping me further my career when I came back to San Diego.”

Belanger acknowledged her “heart was still in La Jolla.” So she moved back to the Jewel to realize her dream of being a luxury hair stylist, and starting her salon, Belle Sirène. “I was 32 and I had no employees,” she recalled about starting her own business adding, “I built my own little following as a stylist, though some of my clients followed me out from LA.”

Today, Belanger has 20-plus employees at Belle Sirène, whose clientele is from all over San Diego County and Southern California. “We have everybody,” she noted about clients at her new elevated salon space on Girard. “What makes us special is our luxury experience with four different levels of stylist pricing to fit everybody’s hair budget and their expectations.”

Belle Sirène also offers something not found elsewhere in the Jewel: a luxury blow-dry experience. “Blow drying has become a trend,” noted Belanger adding, “Women will go to a salon just to get their hair washed and blown out. It’s a popular service but La Jolla doesn’t have one. So we created one, our luxury blow-dry experience, which at $60, is affordable in the blow-dry world.”

Belanger also is something of a matchmaker. “I have somebody (a stylist) for everybody,” she said adding finding the perfect match between client and stylist is “what we do every day” in her salon.

The salon owner gets compliments frequently about “the energy of the space” at her new Girard location adding people tell her “how kind” all her employees are and “how happy everyone seems.”

Concluded Belanger: “It’s a happy environment to be a part of.”

BELLE SIRÈNE SALON

Where: 7923 Girard Ave.

Hours: Mondays-Fridays 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sundays closed.

Info: bellesirenesalon.com, 858-454-1607.