Organic products are sprouting up all over the place � milk, meats, apples, cleaning supplies.
Now the organic trend has hit the beauty industry. Two Baltimore women, Ambra Black and Maryam Dennis, are opening an organic nail salon mid-May in Locust Point.
Juste-B., to be located at 1624 E. Fort Ave., will offer manicures and pedicures and soy-based waxes. The scrubs and other products used on hands and feet will be made with essential oils and natural sugars, Dennis says. Nail polishes are water-based and don't rely on any chemicals.
The partners, who are spending $30,000 of their own money to start the business, will make their own foot scrubs using herbs from their herb garden.
Juste-B will be one of a handful of organic salons in Greater Baltimore. Others include Hampden's Sprout and Insignia in Overlea.
"We should be able to be healthy and beautiful without having to sacrifice the health of the planet," Dennis says.
Juste-B will embrace other green initiatives, including using light sensors and serving organic wine and vodka to guests. A combined manicure and pedicure will cost about $40.
The business owners chose Locust Point because it's a "new and upcoming neighborhood." With office and retail developments like McHenry Row, to be anchored by a Harris Teeter grocery store, underway, the business owners hope to get in on the area before it really builds up.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Maryam Dennis, Juste B