3-26-2023 4:00pm

Clifton Hairstylist and Mom Turns Business Owner

Tova Felder Editor

photos: Tova Felder

Clifton resident Jessica Rodrigues saw a childhood dream come true on Sunday, March 26 with the ribbon-cutting Grand Opening of her first store-front salon. The LUX Hair Lounge, located at 707 Van Houten Avenue, is her newest venture and her pride and joy. Along with Paola Vega, who serves as both a stylist and the LUX’s assistant manager, they welcomed Mayor Ray Grabowski, Councilman Latona, family, friends, and community members for the happy event after their soft opening last week.

Rodrigues has been a hairstylist for 18 years, having earned her cosmetology license at Parisian Beauty Academy just one year out of high school. She worked first as an assistant then moved to her own chair where she “loved every minute behind the chair connecting with my clients and making life-long friendships.” Last year she moved from a chair in a salon to a suite in Paramus with assistant Vega, whom she’d been mentoring for several years. In just three months they moved into a larger suite and now they’re back in Clifton in Rodrigues’ own salon.

The salon is decorated in calming, spa-like colors and has four chairs and two sinks. They offer services for both men and women including coloring, cutting, and special hair treatments. For a full list of services, see the photo gallery below. For your convenience, you can pay by scanning a Venmo code at the register. Visit Rodrigues’ Instagram for examples of some of her work, products for sale, and specials.

Rodrigues lives in the Montclair Heights neighborhood with her nine-year-old twins Paisley and Bradley and boyfriend Frankie. They have two pups, Zander and Zero, and seven chickens in the yard who provide them with fresh eggs. “So much change can really happen in a year, and for us it did. When you work hard and follow your dreams, anything can happen,” she said. “So excited for this new beginning.”