Happy 5th Birthday, Coco!

Happy New Year, friends! <3

As we welcome this new year, those of us over here at CocoLemon are also SOOOO excited to celebrate her fifth (!!!) birthday.

The milestones have been so incredible thus far, but ticking half a decade off of our calendars is some kind of actual, beautiful crazy that feels a little unmatched.

With each passing year we have grown, evolved, educated, been educated, learned lessons the hard way, learned lessons the fun way, grown some beautiful friendships (whether with our beautiful clients or our incredibly talented coworkers), had snacks, had laughs, had good days, seen each other through the not-so-good days, and alllll of the things gone that went unmentioned but are equally as important.

It feels like it goes without saying that Coco is precious to us and we hope you’ve felt even a smidge of our love for it, each other, and you all any time you’ve stepped in her doors.

In this new year of 2025 and our sixth year of life, we hope to continue to create a welcoming environment where creativity and self-expression flourish. A place where everyone feels comfy to be themselves and create magic with us. Here's to new beginnings, more gorgeous hair, and many more special moments together.

cheers

All that said, we thought it would be fun to take you on a tour of what five years of CocoLemon has looked like from our end.

From Coco 1.0 to Coco 2.0 to the very fun (seemingly immeasurable) ways the beautiful humans who work inside her walls have made the last half-decade so incredibly joyous we could not even begin to tell you…

We love you all. xoxo.

Fun fact: the name of the salon is a play on each of our fearless leaders’ specialties and is exactly what was taught in that first iteration of their classes (s/o to Blondes vs. Brunettes, we miss you always ily): Sarah’s known for her *killer* formulations in gray coverage + dimensional highlighting services and Ashley is known so very well for her work with the blondest of the blondes.

Both of these baddies shared a vision of creating a modern salon that offered something out-of-the-norm in our industry—a place for hairstylists to feel supported in whatever way worked best for them.

What started as a booth-rental salon—whose catchphrase was “Independent but not alone”—tripled in size in 2022 (we’re talkin’ over 3000 sq. ft.) and functions with a hybrid model of booth-renters, commission employees and hourly employees working side-by-side. Sprinkle in the top-notch talent, welcoming and comfortable atmosphere, and BAM you have the magic that is CocoLemon Hair today. Guest experience is at the forefront of everything we do and we hope the joy is as palpable for you as it us for us every day.

And, while five years can be measured in all the ways the business has changed, the square footage its gained, or even the number of guests we’ve had the joy of servicing in that time…

We wanted to take a moment to honor the many other ways you could measure five years of CocoLemon—

Courtesy of the wonderful humans who inhabit it, of course. <3

So here are some of the many, many ways one could measureeeeee…

…measure five years. :)

…the number of apprentices turned licensed stylists.

…the number of classes we’ve hosted.

…the number of classes Sarah and Ashley have taught.

…how many times Sarah has slayed a tricky grey coverage formula or rearranged the shelving just for the vibes.

…how many reels Ashley convinced us all to participate in.

…the number of platinum cards Anna has done……. like back-to-back… in the coolest outfit you’ve ever seen.

….how many times Emme has given a masterclass in stress or conflict management.

…how many times Nick has made lifelong friends just being himself on the salon floor.

…how much weave Rachel Lane has moved through the building or crazy, unhinged t-shirts she’s worn.

…how many times James has been to the river or played (& won) Mario Party.

…how many times Mel has done a curly cut or absolutely slayed the rink at RollerDome.

…how many jokes we’re not sure were jokes that Megan made or true crime documentaries she’s watched.

…how many of the cutest earrings you’ve ever seen that Alexis has made.

…how many times Liv had to hit “find my iPhone” (never forget the time it was literally in the apron she was still wearing).

…the number of haircuts Rachel Duke has done or the number of times she’s been approached about starting a podcast with a coworker.

…the number of headbands Caylie has rocked or the number of times she’s made five outfits out of one item of clothing.

…how many times Margaret went to the gym in the middle of the day.

…how many times Sam hit the assist on a Eufora color question or randomly gave a TedTalk about something no one consented to learn.

…how many times Sophia has worn the *coolest* shoes or the number of times she’s handled something so very calmly that would have the rest of us freakin’ out.

…the number of coppers Eileen has slayed or how much Pedro Pascal merch she’s acquired.

…how many bowls Halle has cleaned or festivals she’s been to.

…how much color Trent has mixed or shows they’ve performed in.

…how many O&M formulas Lauren’s helped formulate or how many countries she’s been to.

…how many times Chelsea’s created the blondest blonde you’ve ever seen or taught us just how small small towns are.

…how many times Pam has entered a new aesthetic era (we’re currently in clean grunge).

…how many times someone’s gotten cute aggression just looking at Lex.

…how many times we’ve heard Haley laugh or she’s stolen Emme’s trash can.

Thanks so much for hanging out with us for the first half-decade of Coco.

We love you all and cannot wait to see what this new year has in store.