In high school and college, Lime Lite Salon owner Dawn Faivre was frequently asked by friends to style their hair for special events. “I would often forget to allow time for myself because I enjoyed helping them get ready,” Dawn says. “This is when I knew cosmetology was my passion and decided to pursue it as a career.”
In 2001, the Greensboro, North Carolina native attended Trident Community College and received her cosmetology license. Since then, she’s been on a path to improve each client’s day.
According to Dawn, running a salon is about “having a not so happy-go-lucky client transform into laughter and smiles or supporting someone through a hard time by just being there to listen. It’s not just creating great hair, it’s also about the bonds and trust that are built.”
Of course, as owner of Lime Lite Salon, Dawn is also responsible for banking, payroll, orders, day-to-day management, coordinating in-salon education and overseeing all operations in addition to her favorite part of the job – being a full time “behind the chair” stylist.
Although Dawn recently celebrated Lime Lite Salon’s sixth anniversary, she opened the salon with David Watson in 2009.
“The process was scary, but so exciting. We started with four stylists. This past July, I went from co-owner to sole owner of Lime Lite Salon. Over the years we’ve been so grateful to receive the Readers Choice Salon award four times. Lime Lite was also recently featured in a full-page write up in American Salon magazine. I plan to continue strong community involvement and providing the best service possible. I don’t believe things like this happen without the best stylists and customers a business could have. I am more than grateful and proud of the salon’s success.”
Dawn says that she learns something new every day, from what she calls “hair prickles” – confessions of what someone used as a styling product in a pinch – to details about wonderful trips around the world and a wealth of information people are willing to share.
Lime Lite Salon has supported many local charities and organizations including The Festival of Trees and Dragon Boat Race Day. They also offer free haircuts to anyone who is donating her or his hair.
Dawn’s family includes her husband John, daughter Caroline, who’s in fifth grade at Coosa Elementary School, and Thomas, a first grader at Riverview Charter School.
“We recently added seven members to our family,” Dawn says slyly. “Our seven hens are very happy in their hen house that John built. At first we didn’t know what we would do with the eggs, but now that’s not a problem at all.”
A snow skier since she was 10, Dawn looks forward to an annual ski trip with her sister. Since snow is in short supply in the Lowcountry, Dawn says her second love is paddle boarding. But it’s obvious that Lime Lite Salon is very close to her heart.
“Lime Lite’s staff is my second family,” she says. “Without this talented group the salon would not be what it is today. Looking back, I had no idea how rewarding being a hairstylist could be.”
