Amber + Slate salon soft opens on N. Washington Street in Old Town

There’s a new salon in Old Town.

Amber + Slate soft opened — a quieter trial run compared to the more bombastic “grand opening” — in January at 123 N. Washington Street in the former Circe Salon and Spa.

It’s an Aveda concept salon and only uses vegan, cruelty free, plant-powered products.

This is the second salon for owners Sally Frank and her partner Tricia Fisher, who opened their first location in Newport News in 2019. Frank signed a 10-year lease for the Old Town property.

“It’s definitely been a soft opening,” Frank said. “We wanted to be able to ease into it, and as we slowly grow we’re opening this spot up more.”

Amber + Slate is currently open Thursday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and hours will expand as its operation grows. The salon has a grand opening planned for Saturday, May 20.

“We’re capable of handling all textures of skin and hair, for women and men,” Frank said. “It’s really nice for people to come back and get that experience being back in a salon. Having that self care again, being around other people is very disarming for a lot of this anxiety that’s been piled on us over the last few years.”

The salon will unveil its spa this weekend, and will offer facials, waxing, and body scrubs, Frank said. Massages are coming in May.

Frank says she had no plans to expand to Old Town when she opened in Newport News. She’s been a stylist since 2009, when she worked at the former Circe Salon and Spa.

“I wasn’t intending on expanding really, ever,” she said. “I just saw that there was an opportunity for me to either stop working in Alexandria and let go of my clients, or to take a great opportunity with a salon that I had formerly worked for the last several years. So, I talked to the landlord and one thing led to another and now here I am.”