NEW HAVEN — Primping for the prom is one of the highlights of senior year for most teenage grads-to-be. But when Vicki Frenzel looked in the mirror shortly before joining her classmates for the big event, her spirits were decidedly low.
“I cried,” says Frenzel of her prom hairdo, which had been professionally styled — and which she hated. So she decided to style it herself, starting from scratch.
“I took it all down and redid it,” she says. Before the night was over, Frenzel received compliments from other Seymour High School Class of 1993 prom-goers. One friend even wanted Frenzel to style her own hair.
That was the beginning, says Frenzel, of her interest in professional hair care. Earlier this year she launched Pure Platinum salon at 845 Whalley Avenue in New Haven’s Westville section. It is an expansion for Frenzel, 35, who opened her Pure Platinum business in Oxford a year and a half ago. She divides her time between both locations, tending to clients and supervising a total staff of eight.
“It wasn’t easy in the beginning. This was a tough decision,” says Frenzel about the choice to expand in the teeth of a recession. However, landlord Lesley Roy “helped us greatly,” Frenzel says. “She started us on a sliding scale with rent so it slowly escalated monthly, and we could slowly afford to build our clientele.”
Frenzel already was familiar with the location, having worked in the Westville area for seven years after attending the Gal-Mar Academy of Hairdressing. She went from there to Fairfield’s Southbury section, where she established her hair-styling business before moving to Oxford.
The New Haven Pure Platinum salon is an 800-square-foot space designed to evoke Old World Europe.
“We’ve definitely got a boutique atmosphere — it’s comfortable and warm,” says Frenzel.
Stylist Mara Burk adds that the décor complements the surrounding area.
“Westville is experiencing a big renaissance in art,” she says, adding that the location is likewise convenient for clients.
No matter how convenient a business is, however, customers will not come if they are not provided with a quality product and superior care, says Frenzel. That’s where Pure Platinum excels, she says.
“All the girls are pleasant. We’ve all been trained exclusively in the art of hair cutting and coloring,” Frenzel notes.
“We’re all about customer service,” adds Burk. “We care about our customers, and we want them to feel like every visit is a brand new visit.”
Hamden resident Willow Sirch, who comes to Pure Platinum regularly to get her hair cut and colored, says she receives that kind of personal care.
“The thing I like about it is, the pricing is comparable to other salons, yet you don’t feel like you’re part of an assembly line,” says Sirch.
Barbara Kowal, of North Haven, feels similarly.
“Wherever Vicki goes, I go,” said Kowal during a recent appointment as she waited to get her hair colored, cut and styled. “Not only is she my hairdresser, but I consider her a good friend.”
— Felicia Hunter
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