Why are there so many salons in downtown Hanover? Stylists weigh in.

Are Hanover residents obsessed with hair, or are they just blessed to have so many salons and barbershops downtown?

Just on Baltimore Street and up Broadway, there are five salons and three barbershops. Some have been there for years while others have just moved in, but they all say business is thriving.

"There's definitely a need, because we're always booked and we're actually expanding," said Josh Myers, owner of Diversified Cuts Barbershop. "I'm just not sure why everybody's coming downtown. I guess maybe with all the hype about revitalizing downtown is maybe why they're trying to come down this way, get a part of the action."

The barbershop, at 16 Baltimore St., has been in Hanover for eight years, and six of those years have been in their downtown location. Myers, of Hanover, said that there hasn't always been so many downtown salons.

"This started happening really in the recent years, that's why I think, with all the activity of downtown, trying to build it, that's why more people are coming downtown," Myers said.

Richard Tharp, of New Oxford, has owned Tharp's Barber Shop, 117 Broadway, for over 50 years. Like Myers, he said that there has never been this many salons downtown. He is retiring on Oct. 31 and said he wonders if another beautician will replace him.

Robin Newman, of New Oxford, has been doing hair in Hanover for more than 13 years. Now, she works out of Renaissance Hair Designs, 1 E. Walnut St., just off of Baltimore Street, and says the new salons are great for new people in the area.

"For me, the majority of my clients I've had for years, so I'm unable at the moment to take on new clientele," Newman said. "But maybe for the people who are opening new businesses and stuff, it's good for them because if they are trying to build a book, people driving past will see 'oh that's a new business' and they'll go in and book with them, check it out."

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Those who do come by and check out all the salons definitely get a variety to choose from.

"... I don't think there is any competition between one or the other," said Jen Buckmaster, salon coordinator for Rock, Paper, Scissors Salon. "We all offer different things, we all attract different types of clients."

That salon, at 33 Broadway, just moved downtown six months ago, and owner Jen Snyder, of Hanover, said that being on the main road has given them a lot of new exposure.

Snyder, who has been doing hair for 20 years, said that she likes taking in new stylists who she can help grow, "... it's more of an education-based salon ..."

Kelsey Ditman, who Snyder hired right after she graduated from Empire Beauty School in Hanover, said she "just felt welcome" there. 

Amy Loughlin, of Hanover, owns Levity Salon & Spa, 12 Center Square, and she has also hired students from the local beauty school. She said "they have great talent" and a lot of options for where to work.

"Right here in Hanover, it is a great source for them to find jobs because there are so many salons and, with people continuously moving into Hanover, we just need more service providers to take on that clientele," Loughlin said.

Snyder said that, in Pennsylvania, salons are not allowed to rent space to stylists, which might explain why there are so many small business owners with different visions.

Though, all the stylists agreed that Hanover is a great hub for getting people from Maryland and throughout Central Pennsylvania.

"I think there are so many salons in Hanover because it's a hub for a lot of other places, people can come from a lot of different directions, and downtown, things are happening...," Buckmaster said.

In addition, with the beauty industry booming nationally through the use of social media, Loughlin said that exposure has helped with the "surge of salons in the area."

"We get a lot of people from Maryland, a lot of people from York, we have people from Lancaster that come in as well," she said.

Loughlin, who has done hair in Hanover for three years, two of which at the downtown location, said that she thinks ultimately the salons are there to help make the borough grow.

"I think most of the salon owners that are here, we're striving to make downtown a thriving place again," Loughlin said. "So we all have the same goal in mind and it helps that we're all established, we all already have our clientele and we all offer a different vibe or environment for each client."

Biddy Ditco, of Hanover, gets her hair done by Loughlin at Levity and she said she thinks that there are so many salons because they are as necessary as gas stations.

"I think people just like getting their hair done," Ditco said. "Everybody wants to feel pretty, I know I do. ... It makes me happy when I leave (the salon)."