It has been five years since locally owned The Salon at The Domain opened, and the business continues to attract clientele from throughout the state and even Oklahoma, Louisiana and Colorado.

“It’s amazing; people will actually fly in to get their hair done,” co-owner Charles Von Der Ahe said.

Von Der Ahe owns the salon with business partners Laura Anderson and Kerry Cobb. Although he does not have any cosmetology experience, he previously owned salons in Northwest Austin area.

The Salon at The Domain offers haircuts and facial waxing but specializes in hair coloring and uses Goldwell Color products, which Von Der Ahe said is one of the more top-quality lines of color products.

The salon focuses more on natural coloring and gray coverage, but stylists stay up-to-date on the latest coloring trends—such as ombre, balayage and oil spill—by receiving continued education through Bumble and bumble, whose products are available for sale at the salon.

Most of the salon’s clients are repeat customers, which Von Der Ahe said is a testament to the stylists’ expertise.

“The girls really take their time,” he said. “There’s a lot of intricacy that goes into weaving [color into] hair, and the girls do a great job at full-head coverage and coloring their hair.”

One of those clients is Cherie Hinch, who has been a client of stylist Alexis Allison for a couple of years.

“I was looking to make a change, and I’ve been coming back [because of] the quality and the relationship,” she said.

To ensure consistent quality among all its stylists, The Salon at The Domain has a structured apprenticeship program in which stylists who just graduated from cosmetology school train under another stylist for a year.

Apprentices meet weekly for additional color and cutting classes, Von Der Ahe said, because stylists often do not receive enough experience while in school.

“It’s all about quality control,” Cobb said. “… We know that when they hit the floor after about a year the quality of service [is] the same as everybody else.”

Von Der Ahe said establishing a personal relationship with clients allows the salon to know exactly how much time to allot for a client’s appointment. This helps them ensure no one has to wait for their appointment, he said.

“I’ve had clients tell me, ‘I know when I walk in, I’m going to be taken care of,’” Cobb said.