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Salon Spotlight: MECAI @ The Loft In Sherman Oaks, CA

salon spotlight mecai @ the loft
Mecai Adelo knew she wanted to open her own salon when she was just a 12-year-old playing with hair rollers. She made her dream come true early on in life, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to reinvent that dream and think even bigger.

Last year, after 22 years in the industry, Adelo opened her latest salon: MECAI @ The Loft. Continue reading for everything you need to know about the salon that’s about to become your go-to in Los Angeles.

Whether you have dark brown hair or ash blonde locks, Adelo is a stylist you’re going to want to have on speed dial.

 

The Brand

Adelo’s been doing hair for as long as she can remember. From dolls to friends to her mother, she’d style any head of hair she could get her hands on. It came as no surprise to her parents when Adelo enrolled in a cosmetology elective in her Nashville, Tennessee, high school and started attending professional hair shows when she was just 15.

“I was inspired by those shows and those people and what they were doing,” she says. “Back then search engines weren’t really a big thing, so that’s kind of where you got your information from.”

Adelo was so taken by the hair industry, that she convinced her parents to allow her to begin collecting salon equipment for the salon she was sure she would one day open. She filled up her storage unit until it had everything she needed to pack up, moved to California, and opened her first hair salon at the age of 21.

“I had everything...My parents are both business people, so I guess it’s kind of in me from that end,” she explains. “It’s just about going after what you really want.”

The Nashville native set up shop in Los Angeles and never looked back. After more than 20 years in the game, working at several salons all over the west coast, Adelo opened her best salon yet: MECAI @ The Loft.

 

The Location

Adelo has worked all over Los Angeles, from Studio City to Beverly Hills, but just a year ago she decided to stop working for someone else and once again open up her own salon space at a location called The Loft in Sherman Oaks. Think of The Loft as part salon, part salon suite with multiple stylists working at any given time..

Even though Adelo isn’t the only stylist in The Loft, she has ample space to create her own salon environment.

“In my area, I have an Indian wooden station that I work out of and an Indian footstool so clients can put their purse down,” she says. “Most clients when they come in for the first time say, ‘I love the feeling here, the vibe is very chill.’”

While The Loft doesn’t have a traditional salon layout, Adelo says the 12-person staff works as a team to ensure every client has an exceptional salon experience.

 

The Products

When Adelo began sourcing products for her first salon, the stylist wanted to use products that she loved and trusted. She’d been introduced to Mizani products back in the ‘90s, so when it came time to stock her own salon the brand was a no-brainer.

“I was using Mizani when I first got into the hair industry,” she says. “It was one of the first lines that I was introduced to, and I’ve always liked it and I actually wanted to work with them when I was in Nashville, but the opportunity didn’t come about.”

Adelo's been using Mizani products ever since. In 2007, the stylist finally got her chance to partner with the brand when she relocated to California. Adelo decided to audition to become a brand ambassador at the urging of a Mizani distributor and it didn’t take long for Mizani to see Adelo’s potential. Just a year later she was sent to Las Vegas for her first job with the brand. One of the things that attracted Adelo to Mizani is its mission to be a texture inclusive brand.

“I was always like ‘Oh, I want to open a hair salon and provide this place where any type of hair can come in’—that’s always been consistent with me, wanting to do every type of texture of hair,” she explains.

While Adelo and her clients love all of the Mizani products, she says the tried and true favorites are the Mizani Scalp Care range and the Thermasmooth products.

 

The Services

MECAI @ The Loft offers a full range of services from blowouts and haircuts to color and smoothing treatments, but what Adelo is really known for are her hair extensions. The stylist actually has her own line of human hair extensions.

“As far as techniques, I do offer clip-in extension services where I actually do customize them myself,” she says. “I measure it on their head, so it’s made for them versus going out and buying packaged hair and getting eight to 10 pieces and asking, ‘Where does this piece go?’”

Adelo knows how disappointing it can be to leave the salon with stunning clip-ins and not be sure how to recreate the look the next day. That’s why she’s created a service where she personally places anchors in the hair, so you know exactly where to place your clip-ins every day.

“I create anchors that inside the hair so they can take them out and when they get up in the morning they can just feel the anchor spots and clip the clip right there,” she explains. “So every time they leave, their extensions are on point.”

No matter your hair type, texture, or concerns, MECAI @ The Loft is dedicated to making sure you have your best hair ever.

 

The Details

MECAI @ The Loft is located at 14615 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, California. To book an appointment, call 818-669-7175 or book online at www.mecai-hair.business.site.

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