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- LGBTQIA+ - Owned Businesses (June)
LGBTQIA+ - Owned Businesses (June)
FXBG Pride | History Behind Pride Month
June 25, 2021 | Joshua Lawrence Salon | Josh Bethka and Lawrence Henderson
Joshua Lawrence Salon is named after owners Joshua Lawrence and Joshua Lawrence. Clients know them as Josh Bethka and Lawrence Henderson, the couple who met at a hair salon and discovered they had the same first and middle name. Together, they moved to Fredericksburg and opened their first salon on William Street. We had the opportunity to interview Josh and Lawrence in their salon lounge about their work experience, the importance of hair care, and their love of the downtown community.
How did the both of you get into salon work?
Lawrence: I remember growing up I would always take my sister’s Barbies and style their hair! My mom eventually got me a Barbie and that’s how I got started. After high school my mom said I had to go to school for something so I said, “cosmetology!” She said, “Pick a place and we’ll go!” I went to Heritage in Manassas and after school I worked for Elizabeth Arden.
Josh: My mom had me going to salons at a young age. I had a few bad haircuts in my life, so I knew that you had to go to a nice salon to get a good haircut. Even in my early 20s, I would pay $50 dollars for a haircut, even though I only ate ramen because that’s all I could afford. When I was thinking about what I was passionate about I thought, “I love my own hair!” At the time I got my hair done at Elizabeth Arden, so I talked to my stylist about where she went to school, which was Graham Webb Academy in Rosslyn. I started there before I worked at Elizabeth Arden where I ended up being the department lead.
What made you decide to start your own business?
Josh: Lawrence and I moved down here in 2010 to have more community. Up in D.C. you don’t really know your neighbors, so we wanted to try something new. We opened Joshua Lawrence Salon in 2018. We were fully booked doing haircuts and coloring on our own, and we wanted to keep growing. We said we would never open a salon! If you talk to other salon owners they’ll say, “Don’t do it!” We wanted to learn about the process and take it as far as we can go.
Lawrence: A lot of things just seemed to happen at the right time. He was cutting hair for one of his guests and she asked if we had thought about opening our own place. We told her that we wanted to do it, but only downtown and we didn’t see any spaces we liked. She said, “Well I have a building downtown! Come and see it, I already have a few offers on it!” We came and saw the set up and thought it was perfect!
Josh: The concept for our layout was different zones: the styling floor up front and the waiting area in the back, to make it more of a lounge setting. That way guests weren’t sitting up front watching people come and go.
Lawrence: A lot of people come to their hair appointments and call out of work for “an appointment.” So we didn’t want guests sitting up front by the window and getting caught!
Why did you want your business to be located downtown?
Lawrence: We wanted to be part of a community and to do as much for the community as possible, opening downtown was the best way to do that. Josh has done a lot of work with the SPCA, the local schools, and Hope House. We’d love to do more and work with Empower House, do makeovers for women getting back into the workforce, we have lots of ideas!
We also already knew a lot of the business owners downtown and it seemed like a close knit community, which we loved!
What does the Fredericksburg community mean to you?
Josh: The level of support and love from this community has been great. In June of 2019 we did a Pride window at our salon and the outpouring of love from the community was amazing. There was nothing more fun than seeing people stop by the window and take photos. It was a very welcoming feeling for two gay men. We were nervous about putting the window up, but now it has become our favorite part of the year!
How did you two meet each other?
Lawrence: It’s funny because no matter how many times I bring it up, Josh doesn’t remember how we first met! When I went into Elizabeth Arden for my interview, he was working the front desk. I noticed his name tag and said, “Oh my God! We have the same name!” When I officially started working there as a colorist, the educator said there was already a Josh working there so I had to change my name. I just made it Lawrence, since that’s my middle name. We met again in an elevator at work and he asked me why I chose Lawrence as my alias name. When I told him he said, “That’s my middle name too!” We had the same name!
Josh: I had never met another Joshua Lawrence in my life! It’s a family name for both of us.
Do you work well together as co-owners?
Josh: We spend more time together than any couple we know. We work together, live together, and share the same values and ideas for the salon. We’re human and we have disagreements, but just to have the connection that we do is good synergy!
What is the most rewarding part about what you do?
Josh: We both got into this because we love the work we do behind the chair. Having a client be excited about the finished product is why we do it. To help anyone feel good about themselves, it’s a very precious gift, to feel like you’ve contributed to someone’s day. We’re running on a high like that right now because our last client felt that way. It was her favorite color she’s ever had, and we’ve been doing her hair for the past ten years. It’s nice that even ten years later you can get that feeling from people.
Lawrence: It’s like being a painter, you get that sense of meditation. When painters are done, but I get every 6 weeks to tweak it and try something new! It’s a constantly evolving art and that’s what I love about it.
What’s one thing about hair care you wish people knew?
Lawrence: Towel dry before you condition! If you think of your hair like a sponge, if you wring it out first you pick up the most product. Your conditioner will work so much better! Companies don’t put that on the back of their bottles because they want you to use more product.
Josh: Getting your haircut is taking care of yourself. There is a mental aspect to it, and people don’t always think about that. It feels great to know you’re doing your best to feel good at the end of the day.