About
It all started with the dreams of a young man raised by two hard-working parents in the small town of Wapato, Washington. Our founder, Mr. Gene Juarez, was drawn to the idea of a career doing hair because it would allow him to be creative and work with his hands at the same time. To become “Mr. Hair”, Gene moved to Seattle where he received his cosmetology education and initial experience working at the best salons in the city.
With a strong work ethic and unwavering drive to succeed, Gene opened his first downtown Seattle salon in 1971. As Seattle’s first contemporary fashion salon, Gene Juarez introduced Seattle women to best-in-class service, artistry, and innovative European haircutting techniques. A few years later, after training with Vidal Sassoon, the second Gene Juarez Salon location opened inside the original downtown Seattle Nordstrom on Fifth Avenue, offering a connection to fashion and world-class client service.
The Gene Juarez brand continued to grow with the opening of three more salon locations and the Advanced Training Center. Gene and his business partner Michael Coe knew that to expand the company to more locations, they needed to have schools to train the next generation of hairdressers. And in 1987, the first Gene Juarez Academy opened in North Seattle to provide first-class cosmetology education in the Northwest. Three years later, the second Academy opened in Federal Way and was the largest beauty school in the Northwest.
Over the years, the company has continued to grow with 10 salon and spa locations and relocation of the north campus to Mountlake Terrace with a state-of-the-art training facility. We have remained locally owned and employ over 1,000 licensed professionals.
The Gene Juarez brand is well known locally for providing outstanding client experiences with on-demand beauty services at luxurious locations. We are well-known both nationally and internationally within the beauty industry for our commitment to artistry and innovative education as well as launching the careers of countless professionals.
