THE SALON EXPERIENCE
Silver Strands Salon
You're Never Too Old To Look Younger
Silver Strands Salon is located within First Colonial Inn at
845 First Colonial Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
We provide services to residents, friends, family and non-residents by appointment, Tuesday - Friday, starting at 9:00 a.m.
Mobile services are available by special arrangement.
We recognize that the families of some of our clients prefer to make financial arrangements for our services separately and we welcome the opportunity to talk with you so that our client's needs are taken care of.
A safe, comfortable and familiar place where the senior client can enjoy the "beauty parlor experience".
Silver Strands Salon was created by Michelle Sandler to provide a familiar environment specializing in the beauty needs of the senior client. The limitations of age, mobility, dexterity, memory and illness should not present limitations on looking and feeling your best.
Silver Strands Salon provides a full complement of hair and nail services in a setting designed to make the senior client feel pampered and welcome.
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Monthly and seasonal decorations
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Games, contests and prizes
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Music from the Swing and Big Band Era
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Soothing hot towels and a heated massage pedicure chair
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Manicure station designed to be wheelchair accessible
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Snacks and beverages
"These are my moms and my dads, they are my friends and I want them to relax and enjoy the experience of feeling beautiful and special".
keeping you beautiful
FACIALS
Feel refreshed and leave the salon with a new attitude, both inside and out, after you have had our facial treatment by our master esthetician.
MANICURES
We offer our full manicure services and the latest gel nail treatments performed with special care for special hands by our nail technician, Luna.
PEDICURES
Senior feet often present unusual challenges. Our trained nail tech and our heated massage pedicure chair provide a relaxing setting for this type of therapy.
HAIR STYLING
Providing hair styling services for women and men, including simple shampoos, traditional roller sets, teasing, color and perms.
WIG CARE
When you decide that it’s time for a wig, we help with care, washing, fitting and styling, so that only you and your hairdresser will know the truth.
THINNING HAIR
SOLUTIONS
Thinning hair is a frequent problem for women as they age, but not to worry! At Silver Strands Salon we use the latest products to solve this problem and return your hair to the lush look you desire.
THE SALON EXPERIENCE
DECOR
The decorations within the Salon change monthly with each having a special theme or holiday celebration. Not only does this give the client something new to enjoy, it "awakens" the senses and gives our clients something to look forward to.
CONTESTS & GAMES
We are all children inside and who doesn't like to play games? Every month we offer a different game or contest, such as guessing the number of snowflakes in a globe, or the length of the Father's Day neckties around the room. Some contain physical challenges and others stimulate the mind, but they all give our clients reasons to stop by and socialize.
MUSIC
The contemporary Salon often bombards the client with the non-stop processed music, blaring at top volume. Not at Silver Strands Salon! Music from the memories of the client fills our air with tunes from the 1930s and 1940s radio station. It is amazing how quickly the words to a long forgotten song come back to you
COMFORTS
The beauty parlor experience may be slipping away, but the senior client remembers the days of spending time relaxing and socializing at their salon. Our clients can partake of a variety of snacks, tea, lemonade or other seasonal treats. They can relax with hot towels, rest in the heated massage pedicure chair and simply spend time chatting.
SAFETY
With aging comes limitations in mobility, dexterity and memory. We take care to provide a safe environment with wheelchair accessible manicure station, transfer skills to enable movement from walker or wheelchair to styling chair, adaptations for shampoo chairs and care in handling glasses, hearing aids and a variety of medical conditions. We are also specially trained to help those clients with limitations posed by Alzheimer's disease.
Our Team of Professionals
Michelle Sandler is the owner and lead hair stylist at Silver Strands Salon.
Michelle Sandler has over 37 years of experience as a licensed cosmetologist and she has devoted her entire career to the beauty needs of the elder client.
Michelle started Silver Strands Salon at First Colonial Inn 8 years ago, to provide a safe, familiar and comfortable oasis for residents to visit, while providing clients with complete professional salon services, focused on the needs of the elder client. She has developed the techniques necessary to accommodate the needs of the senior client, including addressing limitations in mobility and memory and sensitivity to the surroundings. More importantly, Michelle enjoys her special clientele, she understands them and she believes that they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Michelle was trained during a time when the roller set, styling and teasing were in demand, and while those skills are not often found in today’s modern salons, they are still very much in demand by the aging client. Michelle provides salon services both inside Silver Strands and through mobile services to those clients who simply can no longer visit the salon.
Carol Earnest, Salon Manager
No business can provide our level of service to our clients without the help and supervision of a fabulous manager and girl Friday. Carol provides the seamlessly smooth operation of Silver Strands Salon. She spent 14 years as the front desk manager at First Colonial Inn and provides full time care for her own elderly mother, so she has developed the skills needed to anticipate the needs of our clients and to cater to them in a professional and personal way.
Mina Sanchez, Nail Technician
Our senior licensed nail technician is Mina Sanchez. Mina is originally from Okinawa, Japan, and has been residing in the United States for 13 years. Mina developed her expertise over 8 years and has learned the special needs of the Silver Client while working at Silver Strands. She lives in Virginia Beach with her husband. Mina has 3 children and 4 grandchildren, and spends her time with her dog, Leo and her family. Currently Mina is available for nail appointments Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Mai Laucella, Nail Technician
Our newest licensed nail technician is Mai (my) Laucella. Mai is originally from Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam, and she emigrated to the United States 12 years ago. She learned her craft over 4 years and has proven to be excellent in delivering nail care to our elderly residents. She lives in Virginia Beach with her husband and young daughter, and of course her 2 dogs, Cooper and Gracie. When not working, she likes spending time with her family. Currently Mai is available for nail appointments on Thursdays.
What our Clients Think
Thanks so much. My mother is VERY pleased with her perm and cut. We appreciate your flexibility
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Peggy Powers
You are always so kind and patient with mom and you make her look like a million bucks
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Paula Bonocore
Carolyn Lindsey
Your kindness is greatly appreciated by the entire Conti family, as you provide excellent care and
service to Mom Conti
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Barbara & Gene Conti
A.J. Sabatello
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Michelle cares about our residents as individuals, not simply "the elderly" and is consistently aware that our residents' self esteem is in her hands.
Patricia Swan, Executive Director, First Colonial Inn
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I was very impressed with Michelle, she was absolutely wonderful and I was thrilled with my hair.
Maryann Sanford
Colleen Britton
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I recommend Michelle to so many people, because I'm always so pleased with what she does with my hair.
Frances Cobb
“Thanks for what you do for all the shut-in people. If Yetta could talk she would say it!!!”
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“I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my mother – especially in her final, more difficult months. You kept her looking beautiful and feeling pampered and loved. Ou helped her live with dignity and grace. Thank you so much.”
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Pam and Larry
Holly
“There are no words to express our humble gratitude for your selfless gift of your time and talent sprucing up our cousin at Lake Taylor with an awesome haircut and brow trim! This was an unmeasured gift that greatly brightened his day! Thank you!!”
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“We can’t thank you enough for all the wonderful care you provide Mary K each week. She looks forward to seeing you not just because she gets her hair done, but because you are so kind to her and you make her laugh, you bring her books and you listen to her. All of us are very grateful.”
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Susan and Andy
Mary