A lifelong dream and a passion for her work helped Lois Christie, the founder and CEO of Christie & Co. Salon Spa de Beauté, to create a hugely successful business and has earned her the honor of being selected the first female president of Intercoiffure America/Canada.
“I really have a passion for the beauty industry,” Christie said. “I just love what I do. I think when you’re passionate about what you do you can be successful at it.”
In the 1970s, Christie took a small loan from an uncle and opened her own hair salon. It has grown throughout the years and remains successful as it celebrates 37 years in business.
Christie said that she always wanted to be a hairdresser and always had a desire to have her own business. When she opened her first salon in Bayside, she had only six employees, including herself. Her salon now occupies an 8,000-square-foot space in the Bay Terrance Shopping Center and has more than 100 employees.
“We don’t let ourselves become stale,” Christie said. “We are educators and mentors in the business ourselves. When you teach, you learn.”
Christie said that the community has always been supportive of her business, and she likes to give back. Saying that they are always happy to reach out to others, Christie said that after the Hurricane Katrina disaster she joined with the Intercoiffure members, led by Vidal Sassoon, building homes with Habitat for Humanity Hairdressers Unlocking Hope. She also works with St. Mary’s Hospital and the American Cancer Society, and sponsors Little League baseball and football teams.
“Any way we can give support to people in need, we do,” she said. “Hairdressers are usually very caring people so it’s in our nature to be involved with our clients’ lives and what’s going on around us.”
Christie has been honored many times for her work. She was named one of The Queens Courier’s “Top Ten Women in Business” and “Business Women of the Year” by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She is also the recipient of Outstanding Achievement in Women’s Rights from the Queens Women’s Center of New York, Humanitarian Award and Top Hat Award from the American Cancer Society, Women of Vision Award from Life WORC and a Juvenile Diabetes Award for Outstanding Contributions.
Along with being the founder and CEO of the salon, Christie was recently named the president of America/Canada Intercoiffure, making her the first female ever to hold the position. She first became a member of the organization in 1992. She described it as being the most prestigious beauty organization in the world and said that in order to become a part of it, you must go through a lengthy selection process.
“It was quite an accomplishment for me personally,” she said of becoming president.
Recently, one of Christie’s hairdressers, Lisa Bartfield, won Intercoiffure’s Nouveau Young Talent contest at the group’s annual gathering at The Waldorf Astoria.
As the salon continues to evolve to meet the needs of its customers, Christie said they will be expanding their medical spa/laser services, as well as their Face Games cosmetics center and hair color department.
Christie said that there are times it seems unbelievable that she got where she is today.
“It’s rewarding for me, and I’m particularly happy when I see the staff grow and accomplish their goals,” Christie said.
Christie & Co. Salon Spa de Beauté is located at 23-64 Bell Boulevard in Bayside. Its hours of operation are Monday and Tuesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.christiesalon.com or call 718-225-7766.
