Rooted in Community

New Heaven and Hair Salon Supports JISD Students

As the owner of newly opened but already beloved Heaven and Hair Salon, Mandi Christopher enjoys retelling how she started out in the beauty industry. “I gave buzz cuts in my trailer park at 9 years old. I stole my dad’s Walmart Wahl clippers and started shaving hair,” she says, laughing.

Despite a teen pregnancy that delayed her cosmetology dream, she graduated three days before delivering a healthy little girl. “Being a teen mom, I knew I needed to do something to provide a better life than what I had,” she says.

Originally from Fort Worth, Mandi has worked for corporate and franchise hair salons in 15 states, even traveling as far as New Zealand, before returning to Texas when her husband got a job in Austin. While she had always dreamed of living in Austin, she found Jarrell to be a fitting complement to her desire for a more slow-paced lifestyle. She worked at a salon in Jarrell but after “20 years of working for the man, I just decided it was time. I wanted to create a space that was beneficial for the stylists and providers but also beneficial for the owner as well.”

She opened Heaven and Hair Salon January 1 in Cougar Plaza, saying she enjoys being in a busy plaza right off I-35 in a fast-growing community. “With the expansion coming, I figured it was the perfect time to get in with Jarrell growing as quickly as it is.”

Grand Opening

Seeing a mom’s social media post about her child not having enough money in their account to buy a full school lunch inspired Mandi to host a grand opening that would help cover students’ lunch debt. “I decided that if we were going to have a big grand opening, we should definitely give back to our community.” She was grateful to see the community come together to help make the event a success, with a massage booth from Dr. Jennifer Gardner, a tinsel and hair color spray tent by Heaven and Hair, and bounce houses donated by Grace Church Jarrell. The event ended up raising $2,480.

When she heard the school district had another need, this time for winter coats for nearly 50 elementary students, Mandi also hosted a coat drive that gathered all 50 in less than a week. “It’s about more than just being your hair stylist. I want to give back in any way we can.”

Beyond The Chair

Home to six stylists, a barber, lash artist, and chiropractor, Heaven and Hair is a full-service salon that offers coloring, blonding, extensions, lashes, body waxing, spray tans, and chiropractic. Mandi specializes in coloring and color correcting and says, “I like to make people fall in love with themselves again. I love for men and women to look in the mirror and say, ‘This is exactly what I was wanting.’ ”

Having worked in salons that put profits before people, Mandi wants Heaven and Hair to become “the best salon in Texas to work. I don’t want to run a place that is all about numbers. I want to run a place where men and women are happy to come to work.”

Sierra Rodgers is one of several stylists who already feel that way.

305 Limestone Terrace • 512-848-8934 heavenandhairsalon.com

“WE COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR SUCH AN AMAZING TEAM OF PEOPLE AND EVEN MORE AMAZING LEADER LIKE MANDI. I’VE NEVER WORKED IN A MORE UPLIFTING, GIVING, AND FAMILY-ORIENTED PLACE EVER. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE FUTURE BRINGS.”