Salon Four Zero, located on the lower level of Gregg House, offers beauty treatments at competitive prices. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Washington University attracts new students with its spacious dorm rooms and incredible campus food (both ranked as some of the best in the nation by Princeton Review). Not to mention we boast highly respected faculty, top-quality education and a beautiful campus. But when you add a private full-service beauty salon to that list, who could possibly compete with Wash. U.?

The University’s old South 40 Sunshine tanning boutique has been revamped to a salon that, according to co-owner and sophomore Atima Lui, could compete with St. Louis’ finest beauty establishments. It has been renamed Salon Four Zero, restyled to offer the best beauty treatments at competitive prices and staffed with some of the best licensed beauticians and cosmetologists in St. Louis.

“My personal stylist, Jessica Amos from Shear Magic, will be working at Salon Four Zero,” Lui said. “Not only do I love her work, but so do other students who go to see her.” According to Lui, the salon’s services are on par with those of other establishments in the area, if not better.

“All of the stylists, barbers and nail technicians who will be working in the salon have previous experience and have either been referred to us by Wash. U. students or have done our hair before,” she said.

Lui and her partners, fellow sophomores Jasmine Knowles and Chelsea Brown, were chosen by the former South 40 Sunshine owners to take over the business. After signing the necessary legal contracts and composing a new business plan, Lui and her team got to work.

Over the summer, they focused on purchasing new equipment, recruiting cosmetologists, developing a new logo with the help of art school sophomore Diana Chu, designing a new Web site and working with Wash. U. contractors and the Facilities Department to remodel the salon.

Lui explained that the salon never quite felt like a reality. She and her partners were organizing Salon Four Zero’s transformation over the summer, across three difference time zones (California, Louisiana and Florida), via e-mail and telephone conversations. “The whole summer it felt kind of like a virtual salon,” Lui said. “Everything was online. So when we got back to campus and finally saw some real results, it was amazing.”

“Definitely the most exciting part for me has been recruiting the cosmetologists from other salons around St. Louis,” Lui said. “I have learned so much and have been exposed to a lot of great people in this city who are passionate about cosmetology.”

Lui and her team made sure to use stylists who had been recommended to them by fellow students. They were aware that Wash. U. students would likely be skeptical about the quality of services offered at an on-campus salon, and listening to students’ preferences was one way of minimizing this doubt.

“We were definitely prepared for the skepticism,” Lui said. “We did some market research before purchasing the business to make sure there was enough interest in Salon Four Zero before we got started.” Lui and her partners conducted a survey to determine how students would respond to the services of the salon. Lui said they decided to target freshman customers who have not yet found their own stylists in St. Louis and would be more likely to turn to Salon Four Zero for convenience.

In addition to Mystic Tan tanning services, Salon Four Zero now offers a wide variety of nail services, including manicures, pedicures, silk wraps, acrylics and pink and whites. Hair services for men and women include haircuts, styling, formal styling and deep conditioner treatments. All of the salon’s equipment and services are in accordance with the Missouri Board of Cosmetology. Check out http://www.salonfourzero.com for more information on location, prices and services.