Is Charmed Beauty 918 Woke?

Company Overview

Charmed Beauty 9 & 18 is a hair salon operating inside the Sola Salons suite complex at 1201 Hooper Avenue in Toms River, New Jersey. The salon is the joint project of stylists Andrea Vaz and Joanne DeCicco, experienced professionals who each run their own book of clients under the Charmed Beauty brand. The Sola Salons model matters for understanding what this business is: each suite is an independently operated studio, so clients get the personal attention of a solo stylist, the stylist keeps her own keys and sets her own hours, and there is no corporate salon chain layering its policies and politics on top of the chair. The salon's booking runs through GlossGenius, which publishes the full service menu with prices, a level of up-front transparency big-box salons rarely offer. The numerals in the name are part of the studio's brand identity, a personal touch rather than a corporate acronym, and the overall feel of the operation is exactly what it appears to be: two skilled women building a neighborhood beauty business on the Jersey Shore.

ESG & Sustainability

No ESG program, sustainability report, or governance structure exists here, and none is expected. A two-stylist suite salon's footprint is a small room, professional product lines, and a stream of happy clients. The business model itself is the socially valuable part: independent suite salons keep more of every dollar in the stylist's pocket and in the local community instead of siphoning it to a national chain's headquarters. Appointments are required, which keeps waste low and scheduling honest. There are no environmental claims to evaluate and no greenwashing to decode.

DEI Programs

No DEI infrastructure of any kind. No diversity statements, no equity training, no inclusion officer, no identity-based marketing. The salon serves men, women, and children at clearly posted prices: a kids' cut for ages nine and younger starts at $22, a men's cut is $25, a women's cut with blow-dry starts at $50, with a no-blow-dry option priced lower. That is a menu organized by hair, not by identity politics, which is precisely how a salon should be organized. Clients choose their stylist based on skill and rapport, and the reviews for shops in this Sola location consistently praise precise cuts and natural color work.

LGBTQ+ Advocacy

No Pride campaigns, no sponsorships, no advocacy. The service menu is devoted entirely to hair: single-process color from $65, partial foils from $115, full foils from $165, balayage and foilayage from $195, keratin treatments at $250, perms, updos at $95, and K18 add-on treatments at $45. Nothing on the booking site or in the salon's public presence suggests cause marketing of any stripe. In an industry where national brands routinely turn their storefronts into June billboards, a salon whose only statement is its price list is a small relief.

Political Activity

None found. No PAC, no donations, no endorsements, no lobbying. Independent stylists are among the least political businesses in the country; their civic contribution is showing up on time and doing right by every head of hair that sits in the chair. Nothing ties this salon or its stylists to any partisan activity in the public record.

What's on the Menu

The published GlossGenius menu deserves a closer look because it shows a salon pricing itself honestly. Cuts: men's haircuts at a flat $25, kids' cuts for nine and younger from $22, women's cut and blow-dry from $50, with blow-outs at $45, blow-outs with curls at $55, curling or flat-iron work from $50, bang trims from $10, and updos at $95 for events. Color: single-process root touch-ups from $65, partial foils from $115, full foils from $165, babylights from $150 to $195, balayage and foilayage from $195, glazes and toners from $35, lowlights from $85, and double-process and fantasy colors quoted by consultation. Treatments: keratin smoothing at $250, K18 repair add-ons at $45, and perms priced by length. The menu's fine print is fair and typical: toners, root taps, and long-hair density cost extra on color services, and perms exclude the finishing cut and blow-dry. That structure lets families budget precisely: a father and two kids can get cuts for under $75, while a client investing in a full balayage transformation knows the $195 floor before she walks in. With two stylists sharing one suite, availability splits by operator, so check which professional you are booking when you reserve. Andrea Vaz and Joanne DeCicco each bring their own following to the chair, and the salon's reviews praise precise cuts, natural color, and honest recommendations to skip services a client doesn't need, which is the highest compliment a salon can earn.

Consumer Impact

For values-based shoppers on the Jersey Shore, Charmed Beauty 9 & 18 is a low-risk, high-transparency choice. Pricing is published up front on the GlossGenius booking page, so there are no surprise upsells, and the suite model means the person you book is the person who does your hair. Budget-conscious families can mix and match services intelligently: bang trims start at $10, blow-outs at $45, and color services scale clearly from root touch-ups to full balayage. Supporting this salon means supporting two independent women in business for themselves rather than a corporate chain with a contributions budget you would have to research. As with any suite salon, book directly with your chosen stylist, confirm pricing for long hair or toner add-ons before your appointment since those carry extras, and note the studio's cancellation terms on the booking page. There is no woke footprint to worry about here, no parent company to audit, and no activism funding to unwind. It is a salon, it does hair, and it does it well, which is exactly the point.