Customers of Reaction Beauty Salon in Jamaica not only travel from as far as the Bronx and Long Island to receive the salon’s high quality professional hair care services but from as far as below the Mason Dixon line.
“My customers come from Florida, Georgia and Virginia for their perms and colors” says owner Gicela Polonco.
Originally from the Dominican Republic, Polonco moved to the United States at 17 years of age. Her career began in the least expected place for a hair salon owner. She worked as a computer programmer after graduating from Baruch College with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was her older sister who was a beautician and a hair salon owner.
“My main concern is to make the hair healthy,” Polonco says.
Located at 144-02 Jamaica Avenue, Reaction provides a smorgasbord of services from a wash and set to customized colors. Polonco, a professional colorist herself personally analyzes, mixes, and supervises each color application by one of her four certified beauticians.
Emphasizing healthy hair care, Reaction only uses top of the line hair products such as Nexus and Paul Mitchell as well custom blended products to give her customers beautiful hair. Polonco is especially proud of Reaction’s unique scalp treatment. She claims that because of these treatments she has basically been able to eliminate dandruff from most of her clients’ scalps. She also has a special conditioner blended and manufactured in the Dominican Republic that she uses to stimulate hair growth.
Polonco bought Reaction from her sister in 2003 after spending four years working at the salon on the weekends. It was her sister’s boyfriend who taught her the basics of hair mixing and coloring. She furthered her knowledge by attending classes and receiving personal instruction from prestigious and reputable teachers in the hair care and beauty industry.
Reaction has five beauticians and four chemists and is open seven days a week and services walk-ins. Each beautician has no less than ten years experience and holds a license in cosmetology. Polonco boasts that all her “beauticians are very talented” and it is due to their exceptional talent and skills that her shop has garnered its reputation and maintained such a loyal customer fan base.
For more information or to make an appointment, call (718) 725-9758.
Simona Bost
