“I seek to create community everywhere I go, to unite people as we celebrate their individuality.”

– Sal Salcedo

Sal Salcedo reveals the development of Nova Arts through this interview which presents a salon experience that combines artistic expression with sustainable practices and community engagement. The interview looks into Sal’s career development and artistic approach and his commitment to sustainable practices and his creation of a space where people can express themselves while living mindfully.

Sal, thank you for joining us today! Can you introduce yourself, share a bit about your journey in the beauty industry, and tell us what you aim to achieve with your work?

Hi, my name is Salvador “Sal” Salcedo and I am an artist. I work with hair and their people. I started doing hair at age 13, worked in my house and then the local barbershop, went to hair academy at age 21, and assisted at a couple of salons. At age 28, I opened Nova Arts Salon.
I now mentor and develop talent as I teach, traveling around other cities and countries. I just opened a salon in Mexico City 2 months ago!
I want to continue to strive for a world where more people can have access to amazing hair transformations. I seek to develop my own academy as well as work on a book titled Hairlosophy. I aim to leave a legacy behind for the generations after me.

How did your personal evolution and vision shape the concept behind Nova Arts?

I’m an Aquarius; I have big ideas and ideals. I seek to create community everywhere I go, to unite people as we celebrate their individuality. I seek to honor ancient knowledge with a modern approach. I also value education and self-development, so Nova Arts is definitely driven by this idea of continuing to grow and evolve in our own lives and using hair, beauty, and art as a way to express that.

What inspired you to merge artistry, sustainability, and community in a single salon experience?

The fact that these are all things that I am passionate about sparks joy within me, and I want to share that with my team and the people that come into our space seeking our vision and guidance.

The world needs more artists—people that can help beautify this world in as many ways as possible. Nova was created to be a hub of possibilities and inspiration.

Can you describe some of the key milestones in your career that led to Nova Arts becoming what it is today?

I’d like to think that we are all a product of our experiences, and I thank all of my teachers and mentors for inspiring me in different ways at the times they did—some older, some young, some experienced, and some not so much. I view everyone as a teacher, and I am a little bit of them and also my own self. So I think these simple and sometimes complex interactions allowed me to become a leader at my salon who encourages people to grow and become more of themselves every day. The milestones have been established every day. I don’t take any of them for granted. Seven years now of Nova! We have created a thriving ecosystem.

Many hairstylists develop signature techniques over time. How did your signature dry-cutting approach come to be, and what does it represent for you?

It came through play. As mentioned, I was 13 when I started working with hair, and I didn’t own a computer, so my intuition with hair told me to simply cut it as it was falling. I went to the Toni & Guy Hair Academy and learned there and assisted many other hairstylists as well. I took with me the things that I saw worked through observation and experimentation. I was always driven by the idea of traveling one day and meeting people from all around the world, so I found that by cutting the hair dry (as hair is), I could take this new trick around the world and balance out anyone’s head of hair!

My Hairlosophy is simple: regardless of hair type, texture, or density, I seek to balance what they already have. This way, the haircut becomes helpful to any hair type.

Could you share how you integrate eco-conscious practices into your daily operations?

I always give people the disclaimer: “I’m a big hippie.” I grew up in nature and continue to be inspired by it. Therefore, through what and how we do things in the salon, we seek to inspire others to do the same. We have been part of Green Circle Salons since we opened. Through our collaborative effort, we recycle everything at the salon—foils, plastics, leftover color, and even hair!

We will also be the first salon in Mexico City to bring this to the country! We use hair product lines that are more conscious of their ingredients and production and leave a smaller footprint.

You work with a collective of independent artists at Nova Arts. How do you foster creativity and collaboration in that environment?

By reinforcing the idea that we need more imagination and intuition in this world, like a child would. A child plays, a child imagines, and the child develops ideas without limits—some adults forget about this power. We push and remind each other that we are artists first and foremost. The duty of the artist is to remind people about their humanity and their beauty, especially when others have forgotten that.
We do yearly projects such as personal branding projects, in which we ask the artists to define and present themselves (color palette, personal style, inspiration, and philosophy). The idea here is that if we are able to know ourselves as we change, then we can help our clients as well. We also hold art nights, in which we—the collective—create art pieces and display them at the salon, inviting our clients and community as well.

These are just a few ways we do.

Over the years, you’ve likely received recognition and achieved professional accomplishments. Could you tell us about these milestones and what they mean to you personally?

The milestones are definitely cool, and I’m proud of them—some are “big” and others “small.” However, as mentioned before, what I’m most proud of is seeing our thriving ecosystem we have created in-house! Seeing how our team members come in fresh with possible ideas of growth and, after some time, take on leadership roles and fully blossom. I’m proud as well of those who have come in contact with us by either spending a day or two learning from us or taking classes in different cities; seeing their transformative growth is very enjoyable to me.

How do you see beauty and hairstyling as a form of personal expression and empowerment for your clients?

To me, it’s super important! The adornments we choose to use usually describe who we are—however, all these come off: our clothes, makeup, shoes, and accessories—but not the hair! That one stays with us all the time! It also rests on and around our face, which is our main focus—what we present to others. The fact that hair is located here, protecting our head and brain, to me, that’s undeniably the most important thing!

I also believe hair to be the antennas we possess connecting us to the world around us—the continuation of our nervous system, a marker of how we perceive the world. If we have a good day, our hair shows it, and vice versa. I can tell how people have been based on their hair quality. So I use this as a way to make them aware of how they may or may not be taking care of themselves. Our hair is a reflection of our current state. Yeah, hair is pretty amazing!

What advice would you give to emerging artists in the beauty industry who want to combine creativity, sustainability, and a sense of community in their work?

To get to know themselves—to understand themselves and ask deep within what their purpose here is. And based on those answers, seek to be in an environment that already does that. This way, they can learn alongside others. As the African proverb goes: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you seek to go further, go together.”

If you were to write your bio in your own words, what would you say? What legacy do you hope to leave?

Sometimes I want to say so much (and I have in the past) hahahaha! However, I’ve been challenging myself lately to keep it short—I want to be remembered simply as a person who always made people feel a spark of joy and inspiration inside, to be remembered by how I made them feel.

I do want to leave a legacy behind of a deeper and more conscious way of seeing the world and how we interact with our environment and the people around it.

Grandma said, “Leave things a bit better than the way you found them.”

“Grandma said, ‘Leave things a bit better than the way you found them.’”

– Sal Salcedo

Link

• Nova Arts Salon

Share Your Insights

We’d love to hear your thoughts after reading the interview:

• What does community mean to you in your creative or professional journey?
• What part of Sal’s story or philosophy inspired you most?
• How do you express creativity or mindfulness in your own life?

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