New Businesses are a Cut Above

Two recent additions to the Lansing-area business landscape are helping residents to look and feel their best.

Loyalty Barbershop, 1219 Turner Road in Old Town, and Gifted Hands of Joy, 4601 W. Saginaw Highway, are giving customers a fresh perspective to put their best selves forward.

Before opening Loyalty Barbershop, Alexander Dominguez got an instructor’s license and tried to open a barber school. When that didn’t work out, he refocused his efforts on his own barbershop.

“I knew that when I became a barber that the ultimate goal was to one day open something that I could call my own,” Dominguez said.

When looking for a place to set up, Dominguez finally settled on Lansing.

“Growing up in St. Johns, I was very familiar with Lansing,” he said. “I saw all the growth in Detroit and Grand Rapids and knew Lansing couldn’t be far behind.”

Loyalty Barbershop has a comforting atmosphere that comes from Dominguez’s fondness for older things. He began collecting old barber-related items, moving to federal eagle mirrors, velvet paintings, nautical oil paintings and anything vintage.

Gifted Hands of Joy is a salon/spa owned and operated by Maya Joy, who focuses on healthy haircare and massages that relieve pain and improve mobility.

“I like to focus on neck, shoulder and lower-back massages,” explained Joy. “My goal is to make people feel better and feel better about themselves.”

Her salon began last November, but she already has big plans on getting a larger space to provide more services. She has also been trying to give back to the community by working with a local nonprofit to give victims of human trafficking a free haircut.

“I want to provide a place of relaxation and rejuvenation, a place where people can get away from stress and be provided with the services of a full salon,” Joy said.

Joy also provides her own 100% natural products in her shop that promote hair health and hair growth, as well as products that relieve dry skin and help reduce psoriasis.