The Beauty and the Beast: Local Business Thrives

For a little over four years, Erica Furches has worked tirelessly as the sole owner and operator of a hair salon in Athens. May I add, the only hair salon in Athens. When she was in high school she worked as a receptionist at a beauty salon. “I just fell in love with it,” Furches said.

    Furches decided to attend Mercer County Vocational Technical Center in Princeton for beauty school. Shortly after attending the beauty school, she opened up The Beauty and The Beast Salon. At the salon, she provides a wide assortment of options for her customers including haircuts, tanning, pedicures and much more. Not only does she give many options to customers, but she tries her hardest to create a great atmosphere for them during their stay. In the background of the salon, music is played to make the mood upbeat and happy, stylists are constantly smiling and welcoming clients in and encouraging them to always come back and visit. 

    Erica says that the most challenging part of her job is just owning the business. “It consumes my life completely in order to run it.” Furches runs the shop by herself with the occasional intern in her shop. “It’s a lot of work and dedication but I enjoy it,” says Furches.

    One of the many things she loves about her job is how she is able to meet so many new people all the time and help them feel good about themselves through her work. The Beauty and The Beast salon is busiest when winter ends and spring and summer roll around. Furches said that it’s a big change for people. “They are leaving winter behind and are getting ready for the summer, flip flops and tanning,” she said.

    As previously stated, the salon offers many different options. For hair, they offer haircuts, color treatments such as highlights, perms, up do’s and extensions. The salons nail options include manicures, pedicures, gel nails, and acrylic nails. The salon offers some unique services as well, such as scalp massages, waxing, facials, and feather extensions. A service that attracts a lot of CU students is the tanning services. They give many options such as one, ten, and fifteen session packages. The salon also offers a four-month package and a one-year package. To find prices for this service you can visit the salon’s Facebook page.

    In the future she would like to be able to expand to more workers and grow her clientele. She also wants to thank the community for always supporting her and being there for her. When she can, Furches likes to donate money to local grade schools, the high schools, and the university.

The Beauty and the Beast Salon is located right across from the Athens Post Office. The salons hours are Monday and Saturday 10:00AM to 5:00PM and Tuesday through Friday 10:00AM to 7:00PM. The Beauty and The Beast Salon can be reached for appointments at 304-301-4509 or on their Facebook page.