At Queen’s Palace Wax & Beauty Salon, each client is encouraged to “Embrace Your Royal.”
Coined by owner JaHannah Queen Mary Pitchford, 24, who opened the business at 150 E. Street Road in June, this motto aims to inspire women, especially adolescents and young adults, to feel a strong sense of confidence.
“I want to make you feel like royalty because you should always feel like that,” she said. “You should always walk with your head held high and walk with a purpose because we all have a purpose.”
Pitchford, a resident of Warminster, began discovering her purpose in middle school. Around the age of 14, as she endured bullying from her peers, she found a creative outlet in makeup. After a long day at school, Pitchford would go home to watch makeup tutorials on YouTube and experiment with different colors and techniques.
“Looking in a mirror, actually looking at myself and taking time for self care helped me build and heal, and that’s how I really got started with makeup,” she said. “It was just for fun at first, but it really actually made me feel confident.”
Her passion for the world of beauty continued to grow throughout her teen years, with Pitchford regularly receiving compliments on how her makeup looked.
“That’s when I felt really good. I always had makeup on and, when I would go out, I wanted to look a certain type of way because makeup, it always makes me feel great about myself,” she said. “People noticed it. It was a great conversation starter.”
Pitchford studied to earn her credentials as an esthetician, a natural career move for her post-high school. But what should come next? Rather than lend her skills to an already-established business, Pitchford decided to take a leap of faith and open her very own.
Queen’s Palace Wax & Beauty Salon primarily focuses on waxing, but also offers makeup applications, facials, eyebrow tinting and other services, all of which help women feel better about themselves when they leave.
“I want it to be a beautiful place that you can come into and feel like royalty, feel like you have a voice,” said Pitchford. “It’s such a great feeling. I’m not gonna lie, I’m taking a step out and going against the normal, going against the grain and not being like every other salon. But I’m coming with a purpose and a mission. It’s very rewarding, especially having people come out and support me and seeing the bigger thing and realizing, ‘Oh, snap, this is taking off and this is pretty great.’ ”
Part of that bigger picture is using her platform as a business owner to help local victims of domestic violence. Proceeds from every wax service booked at Queen’s Palace Wax & Beauty Salon benefit a woman in crisis at A Woman’s Place, the only domestic violence organization in Bucks County.
“In my four years of being an esthetician, I’ve seen so many things. I’ve gotten the chance everyday with my clients just to build a strong foundation and an open and honest relationship where I feel that I can talk to them about anything,” Pitchford said. “And there are some days that they do come in and I do see them and I notice, ‘Oh, you seem a little different today,’ or actually, when I’m waxing them, I will see marks and bruises and scars on their bodies. From my perspective, I can talk to them about that because I’m your beauty service provider, but at the same time, I have a very big insight into a lot of women’s lives that a lot of people don’t.”
Oftentimes, she explained, victims suffer in silence, either out of fear or not wanting to be a burden, until somebody notices that they’re suffering: “They may not recognize that they need help until they have that conversation with someone who notices and says, ‘This is not normal, you’re not alone and there are resources out there for you.’ Unfortunately, it’s very common. I kind of create that link to A Woman’s Place. I feel like it’s very necessary in what I do.”
When Pitchford decided to embark on her journey to entrepreneurship, she didn’t exactly know where to begin. Luckily, her mom discovered SCORE Bucks County, which partners aspiring small business owners with an experienced mentor.
Pitchford began working with Nina De Rosa, who guided her in finding an accountant, reviewing financials, marketing, applying for grants, developing a business plan and finding a space for the business.
“She really knew what was best for me and my situation, how to even step into this world of owning a business and entrepreneurship, and especially bringing my story,” Pitchford said of De Rosa. “I feel like you don’t really see that, there’s not a lot of talk about what I went through, domestic abuse and bullying, but especially creating a platform to actually advocate for what a lot of women go through, making it into self care and actually bringing the beauty side of it.”
As for the rationale behind opening up in Feasterville, the space was chosen because of its proximity to public transportation, heavy foot traffic (it’s located in a busy shopping center) and the welcoming nature of the community.
“I just love this community and I’m grateful to even be a part of it,” Pitchford said.
De Rosa continues to mentor Pitchford biweekly. Looking ahead, Pitchford will lean on De Rosa — and her extensive human resources expertise — in the next year or two, when she adds staff for her beauty services business (Pitchford is currently a one-woman show).
For anyone with a passion for beauty who is considering a similar path as Pitchford, she offered some advice: do what makes you happy. Trends quickly come and go (like the current preference for “clean girl” makeup over 2016’s carved-out brows and cut crease shadow), so whatever feels “cool” to you and brings you confidence is the right way to go.
“Don’t compare yourself to someone in the field because you never really know what people are truly going through,” she said. “Social media can be false. Just do what makes you happy, and if you’re OK with what you see in the mirror and how your makeup style is, there is no right or wrong way.”
Visit QueensPalaceSalon.com for booking information and follow on Facebook.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
