Wash and blow-dry business The Rinse Retreat to open in Henrico this week

Déja Coley is the owner of Henrico’s Rinse Retreat.

Déja Coley has added another business to her repertoire.

The founder of local nonprofit Girls Like Me is set to open The Rinse Retreat, a shampoo, detangle and blow-dry shop at 8123 Staples Mill Road in Henrico on April 23.

Rinse Retreat, which is not a full-service salon, is catered toward women with afro-textured hair and is meant to take the stress out of hair wash day.

Coley, who is also a licensed real estate broker with her own firm that handles single-family properties, came up with the idea for Rinse Retreat in 2023. After having trouble at the time trying to get an appointment with her hair stylist, she put out a Facebook poll asking her followers their biggest gripes about the hair industry.

Two of the complaints she heard most were that salons charge extra for longer or thicker hair, and the lack of a good wash and blow-dry at many local salons. Those responses and her own experiences have culminated in Rinse Retreat.

“I am a part of my target market. For black women who have afro-textured hair, wash day is an insane experience,” Coley said. “It’s really hard to fit it all in, and there’s more to life. People should be able to spend their time doing those things that really matter as opposed to a thing that’s making them feel dreadful.”

The full Rinse Retreat service, which includes a shampoo, detangle and a blow-dry, is $50, regardless of hair length or texture. Coley said some salons price a shampoo and blow-dry for around $30 but tipping and unexpected add-ons can push the price higher. Coley said The Rinse Retreat is a no-tipping business.

“When we say that’s the price, that’s the price. You can trust when you come in here, it’s going to be $50, and that’s it,” Coley said.

The Rinse Retreat interior has a retro feel.

Rinse Retreat has a team of five “cleanse care specialists,” and plans to hire more, Coley said. Customers can make appointments prior to coming in, and the business also takes walk-ins, which Coley said has become rarer in the industry. Guests can expect to be in and out of the door in 30 to 45 minutes.

Coley shopped around for locations last year before settling on the Staples Mill Road spot in January. The 1,000-square-foot location was formerly a salon and fit her spatial needs, also providing a central location for the customers she’s hoping to target, she said.

“We wanted it to be accessible to everyone…this was down the street from Willow Lawn,” Coley said. “When I came to see it, somehow I knew it was the right fit.”

Coley and her team gutted the interior, giving it a retro feel with pale-pink walls and pearlescent, ’60s-esque bubble murals.

While the space was previously a salon, Rinse Retreat is no salon, Coley said. Instead of offering braiding or highlighting, she said Rinse Retreat is meant for women to get their hair clean without the stress.

“This service is not being offered as a standalone service (elsewhere),” Coley said. “I think it deserves to be more than a means to an end. When you can help people reclaim more of their time back…that’s impactful.”

Upon opening, Rinse Retreat will operate Wednesdays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The new Rinse Retreat location at 8123 Staples Mill Rd.

Rinse Retreat adds to Coley’s business responsibilities. She founded Girls Like Me in 2016 as a group mentoring program that targets girls ages 11 to 17 using workshops, volunteer opportunities and field trips to help build self-esteem. Though the nonprofit has no physical office in town, its team of around 15 has worked with the likes of VCU and the Henrico Education Foundation on the nonprofit’s programming.

Getting into the hair industry isn’t completely out of left field for Coley. Alongside running Girls Like Me, Coley also has her cosmetology license. And since she was 12 years old, she’s worked here and there in salons, both as a shampoo girl and on the business side of things. Even after entering the real estate and nonprofit worlds, her passion for hair was something that never left her, she said.

And while it’s all systems go on the Rinse Retreat’s Henrico location, Coley hopes to take the business further than just one spot. She has aspirations of opening other local Rinse Retreat locations, and is particularly eyeing the Midlothian area, she said. Her ultimate goal is to eventually expand into franchising for the wash and blow-dry business.

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