Business: Lumos Nox Salon
Address: 2728 Hassert Blvd.
Phone/website: 630-478-5371; www.lumosnoxsalon.com
Owner: Twylla Jane, 40, of Joliet
Years in business: 5
What does your business do? “We are a co-op of artists who are trying to build a safe place to do cool hair for fellow weirdos,” Jane said.
Why did you start this business? “I always said I wouldn’t open a salon. … I didn’t want to manage a bunch of girls. … I worked at a salon for seven and a half years, then went out on my own and had a studio. In my studio, people reached out to me, ‘Can you train me?’ I grew in this 10-by-15-foot studio to where I had six employees. I was like, ‘I guess I’m opening up a salon.’”
Why take the plunge? “I weighed the pros and cons. It came down to that nobody had the culture I was looking for. Nobody in the area that I knew of had a super LGBTQ friendly salon.”
What do you identify as? “I’d put myself as a Q maybe.”
What makes this LGBTQ friendly? “We’re listed on several different websites for the community. Strands for Trans is one. We want to help people who are trans or are transitioning. We want to be here for them, a safe place to evolve. Maybe (they) call back and say, ‘My haircut feels too feminine, I want it more masculine.’ And having a place that gets that for them.
“It may not be the same for everyone. … My team is coached to be really open to coaching from their clients. Whatever their reality is about their hair is fine. … It allows them to be creative in a way I was never able to in my history of being a hairdresser.”
Is that exciting? “Yes. People reach out to us for that reason. … We do all sorts of crazy. vivid hair colors. Things like that, or putting extensions in to give someone a really long mullet is really fun. Sometimes, we cut and style someone’s hair to have little spikey horns. It’s fun. We do all sorts of creative (styles). We do normal hairstyles, too, but we also get to do fun avant garde stuff.”
Are clients limited to LGBTQ? “No. Anybody can come in here. Your friend that’s a ‘normy’ is allowed.”
Is the salon name based on Harry Potter? “We do have a Harry Potter vibe. I’m a fan. That helps get us a lot of people. … Lumos Nox is how they turn the light on and off on the tip of their wands. Lumos to light, nox to turn it off. … (Some) people come in wearing their Harry Potter gear. It’s so cute.”
Why does Harry Potter appeal to you? “I read the books when I was much older. … I love fantasy, magic, all of that. … In 2020 the author, J.K. Rowling, came out as being anti-trans. It was hard. … We don’t align with the author. We love what she created.”
Why are you a stylist? “I always wanted to do hair so I think it was for the creativity of it, for sure. I like crazy hair colors like I’m wearing. … It evolved into getting to help people.”
What happens when someone comes in? “We consult with them. We do short, medium and long cuts. … We sit and we talk and we look at pictures if they have them. Some ask what we think. We’re open to that. Sometimes, someone comes in the first time, shows us pictures and from there they let us play.
“I have a handful of clients who say, ‘What do you want to do today?’ One time I may cut their hair super short, grow it, blue this time, pink, yellow and orange the next time.”
How many people work here? “We have 11 stylists.”
Ever fire anyone? “Oh, yeah. Usually because it’s not a good fit or they don’t show up for work enough.”
What about competition? “There are enough clients for everyone.”
When are you busy? “Weekends. Fridays because I bring my cats in, two or three. People love it.”
What about the pandemic? “We opened in January 2020, two months before the pandemic. Luckily, I was able to pay the rent. As soon as we re-opened, everyone wanted to get their hair done.”
What do you like best? “As a stylist, it’s connecting with my clients. And it’s coaching my team to whatever their goals are. … I like taking in new stylists so we can train them.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Nothing can quite prepare you for what the ride will be like so get ready.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
