By Stacie Boyls | Arts & Life Writer

For Waco Salon Asylum owners Jesse and Meagan Kruse, hairstyling is not just about a good cut and color. To them, it’s about curating a welcoming environment dedicated to client connections and fostering a safe learning space for stylists.

The salon first opened its doors to clients in 2013 and has since added an additional location in downtown Waco. Meagan began her hairstyling career in 2007 and was later joined by her husband, Jesse. He was previously tied to the golfing industry, working on courses before the couple decided to band together and create their luxury salon.

“It was much later in my thought process than what you would expect,” Jesse said. “I was probably 25 when I realized ‘Oh, we want to do something.’ My wife is also a hairstylist, so we thought, ‘Why not open a salon together?’”

Jesse said he maintained a more administrative role for the first year of the business. Later, after watching his own stylists at work, he decided to take on the craft himself. After a quick year of beauty school, Jesse began his work as a hairstylist, alongside his wife, in 2014.

Today, he remains a highly experienced stylist, specializing in men’s haircuts, while his wife leads their team in personalized coloring techniques and client experiences. Together, they lead a team of 33 stylists and three staff members on their mission to curate personal experiences, he said.

They said their shared goal is summed up in the salon’s vision statement: “elevated experiences to create personal revival.”

With this vision in mind, the Kruses describe their salon as a personal hospitality service, rather than a business.

“We want you to walk out not just looking great, but feeling like your day is better than when you came in,” Jesse said.

This vision is also reflected through the name “Salon Asylum.” They want it to feel like a sanctuary, or a place of reprieve, he said.

“When Meagan was going through a hard time, she prayed for guidance and felt like God told her, ‘You’re in the middle of a tornado, but hold on to me. I am a fixed point,’” Jesse said. “From that, she felt our space would be a “sanctuary for His people.”

That feeling led them to the word asylum, meaning refuge.

Salon Asylum is also working on making services more accessible to clients of all backgrounds, Jesse said. The salon offers a range of prices based on the stylist, as well as offers discounted cuts through apprentices in training.

“We know not everybody can pay top-dollar, so we’ve created a structure where newer stylists and apprentices provide the same hospitality and culture at a price that’s affordable,” Jesse said.

Above all, Jesse said he believes it is their team culture that makes their salon stand out in Waco.

“Our team is so close to our hearts,” Jesse said. “We want to grow them, love them well and help them flourish in their careers. We see them as family.”

Salon Asylum stylist Katelyn Rankin said she appreciates the positive work environment Jesse and Megan have created at the salon. She said her experience there as a stylist has provided the support necessary to find personal expression and development in her career.

“I specialize in vivid hair, unique color placement and creative haircutting,” Rankin said. “I am so happy to have found a salon in Waco where I can express my personal creativity through my career.

She said the salon focuses on elevated experiences, highlighting hospitality as its primary concern.

“Our entire goal is to be as hospitable as possible to whoever enters our salon’s doors,” she said.