about
Greg Saumure | Vidal Sassoon Graduate, Santa Monica
My roots
I was an alumnus of the Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica, CA. Vidal Sassoon was very hard to get into then. But they had the finest education in the industry. At Sassoon, the focus was not just hair, but on art, fashion, trend prediction and even bone structure. Beauty is so much more complex than your basic cut and color. After graduation, I went to work as an Educator and Platform Artist for Paragon and later Goldwell International. That’s where I learned the science of color. I committed early to education, honesty and professionalism.
Founder GS HAIR
I enjoyed 2 decades in the salon industry before opening GS HAIR Sacramento in 2005. Our first salon was 3,000 square feet with 20 stations. Every Tuesday night for 10 years we had class. I taught my stylists precision cutting, hair color and color correction. We later added hair extensions, makeup and business building. It was a pleasure to watch them grow their businesses. Our award-winning team won the KCRA 3 A-List honors for Best Salon in our first year open. Over the years we added hair and wedding shows.
The end of a great salon
By 2015, we had survived a brutal double-dip recession. Our stylists needs had changed dramatically. Everyone wanted to work from home to save money and raise their kids. As business-people, we couldn’t provide the autonomy they desired. We closed the big salon in 2015. Later that year, we opened a small boutique salon on the ‘miracle mile’ in Sacramento. After 6 very successful years Covid hit. No one could survive being shut down over half the year. We closed our Sacramento salon permanently in 2021.
Raleigh bound
We followed our adult children to Raleigh, NC. We had been visiting for nearly 10 years and had planned our retirement on this coast. Our last child had just graduated from high school. So it was a good time to move. By the time we shut our doors and sold our home, we had 4 adult children, 6 grandchildren, 2 parents, a brother and a nephew here. We were the last to arrive.
Gratitude
The kindness of strangers has overwhelmed us. It’s one of the things we love most about the South. Neighbors stopped to wish us well and introduce us to their families. They offered to loan us lawn tools when we were still waiting for our POD. When our POD arrived, they offered to help us unload it. Other neighbors brought us entire dinners complete with drinks and dessert. We found gifts on our steps of fresh Cronuts and note cards. We feel very lucky and grateful to live here now.
California Soul
My wife tells people we bring ‘California Soul’. Here’s what that means. We were born and raised in a beautiful state. We are an open, loving, tolerant group. That tolerance, that love and that warmth is our California Soul.
GS HAIR is now located south of Raleigh, NC. Greg Saumure can be reached at (916)838-4642. You can call or text him anytime.