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Caribbean Tan & Salon pampers guests

Caribbean Tan & Salon, located at 1217 W. Main St., offers a variety of services, such as waxing, tanning, haircuts and manicures. photos by Sammantha Dellaria
Caribbean Tan & Salon, located at 1217 W. Main St., offers a variety of services, such as waxing, tanning, haircuts and manicures.
photos by Sammantha Dellaria

A little piece of paradise recently opened up just across the street from campus.

Located at 1217 W. Main St., Caribbean Tan & Salon provides an array of services including waxing, tanning, haircuts and manicures.

Owner Amy Brewer moved her salon from Peoria Heights, where the business was located for 10 years, to the new location on Main Street five weeks ago.

“I like it here,” Brewer said. “It’s more upbeat, [and] it’s more diverse. [There is] more traffic here.”

Brewer said her passion for her job as a salon owner comes from the time she spends working with her employees and clients.

“I just love people, and I also believe in the young talent [working here],” Brewer said. “I can see they have a great potential to bring something inside of them out … and I love the clients that I meet every day. I learn from everybody every day. That is just one of the best things in my career.”

IMG_6299According to Brewer, the focus at Caribbean Tan & Salon is the client’s overall experience.

“My job is to bring the new product in, the new style, and then anything [I can do] to make the client feel better or feel happy and just relaxed,” Brewer said. “They sit in my chair … and they are relaxed and don’t have to worry that the service won’t come out right. That is one of the most important things to my job.”

One way to make the client satisfied is to ensure the products being used on them are high quality, according to Brewer.

“We thoroughly investigate the ingredient and the function of [the product],” Brewer said. “My sister-in-law is a pharmacist, and she helps me with the products. So she understands the ingredient … and we try it out before we bring it in [to the salon] and make sure the product does exactly what it needs to the hair, the skin and everything. We are very careful with that because that is our job.”

Brewer said clients from the old location are actively returning to the salon in its new spot, but she said it’s also exciting to see students make the trip across the street to utilize the services offered at Caribbean Tan & Salon.

“It is nice to see a new face,” Brewer said. “Sometimes a student is a little stressed out with class, and they have a little time in the tanning bed or [they get] a haircut or something to rejuvenate them and refresh their mind to do better.”

According to Brewer, everyone should have the opportunity to feel better, which is something she said she keeps in mind when setting her prices.

“I do what is right,” Brewer said. “I make sure to keep everybody fair and happy. The price is reasonable for everybody because everybody has bills to pay, but at the same time, they need to pamper themselves [and] to take care of themselves before they take care of other people.”

At the end of the day, Brewer said her goal is seeing a satisfied client walk out of the salon door feeling refreshed.

“We just want the client to feel amazing,” Brewer said.

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