Blend Salon, part of a collaborative group of services, is where someone can get a sunless tan without the danger of UV rays harming the skin. Owner Shelbey Roeder invites women to come and get spoiled in luxury.
Shelbey Roeder, who owns Blend Salon, wants to be the go-to destination for women who want to spoil themselves a little with pampering and some personal attention.
Blend Salon offers a host of services for women who want a sunless tan, have their teeth whitened, get some eyebrow work done or get ready for a wedding. The business is located at 118 East Jackson St. and only has been open for about a week at this new location.
Roeder has certified training in the application of a sunless tan, and her collaborative space offers many other services. She recently spoke with the Commonwealth to answer a few questions.
Here is that conversation.
Q. What led you to open such a business in Ripon?
A. It’s actually been a long journey. My degree is in culinary arts. I was the food service director over in Green Lake before I started all this. I have two girls and one on the way, and they inspired me to want to do my own business so I could do my own hours. It’s funny, because we just work 24/7 now. I have my own schedule to be around for them, and I’ve always loved makeup and things. I started doing makeup for family and friends, then it turned into ‘why don’t I just do this as a business?’ So I told my husband that I’m going to start spray tanning because we don’t have anything around this area. We have to drive to Oshkosh or Madison for actual custom airbrush spray tanning. I just one day told him I was going to do it, went and got certified by OG Sunless in Green Bay and the rest is history. I’ve loved it ever since.
Q. What are the services you offer at the salon?
A. Blend is my business and I offer custom spray tanning. I do bridal makeup and professional teeth whitening. Rustic Roots, owned by Makenzie Ralls, is a hairstyling service, and TK Beauty, owned by Taylor Stellmacher, offers eyelash extensions. And then we have Fancy Foliage, owned by Kassidy Miller, which offers wedding florals, but she also does different potted plants.
Q. Why do you feel that your services are needed in Ripon?
A. Very few people know about custom spray tanning, so I get a ton of new clients in regularly; that’s the majority of my clients. In the beauty industry, you [traditionally] go into a booth … or a UV tanning bed. Moving towards a healthier way is very important to me because that’s horrible for you with skin cancer. … It’s like a trend of going toward a more natural, holistic way of living. That was super important to me. Stepping away from the UV tanning bed, which is what I grew up with, there has been huge growth in the sunless [tanning] industry to be able to promote healthy tanning, and its all natural ingredients, minus DHA (dihydroxyacetone). That’s not organic. It is derived from glycerin and produces a brown tone in the skin. It is just having a healthy option for tanning versus going into a booth, which is not custom whatsoever. You just get sprayed by some machine and you pray that it turns out good. So that’s why I wanted [to do] something in this area. I’m all about luxury, empowering women, making them feel great and having that really awesome luxury option here in Ripon. I love Ripon, so it was just great to bring something like this here.
Shelbey Roeder, owner of Blend Salon, shows off her custom spray guns, which she uses to apply a sunless tanning spray.
Q. What does a typical tanning session look like?
A. When you come in, I have a mini consultation, ask what you are tanning for, what color you are looking for, all of that. I customize everything completely based on each client’s skin tone. I have a ton of different options that you can add on to make the experience truly customized, like finishing powders, which help you to not feel sticky afterwards and a hydration spray, which is great for living here in the Midwest. I actually formulate all of my ingredient lines so that all of the ingredients are super awesome and hydrating. Then I have a custom [paint] gun. I fill up the cup, screw it onto the gun and it sprays an airbrush mist. That’s what makes it go on so even and nice. How it works is the tan fully develops over 24 hours, so when you are sprayed it looks like you have cosmetic bronze on you. Then you do a rinse and you are on your way. The tan can last for up to two weeks. It’s much healthier and you have an instant tan. You don’t have to lay in a UV bed, risking your health; you just get instantly bronzed.
Q. What is your family like?
A. My husband is Dakota Roeder and he is the boss over at A.F. Gelhar. We have just hit our five-year anniversary, but we’ve been together for 13 years. We both graduated from Markesan and we’ve been together since high school. I have two little girls. My oldest is 4 years old and my youngest is 2. I’m also expecting my third daughter in February.
Q. What do you do when not in the shop? What hobbies do you have?
A. I hang out with my family, that’s about all I do. We go camping, Just chilling by the bonfire; really low-key.
Q. What is something the public doesn’t know about you that they should know?
A. I’m a true feminist at heart. I feel like “feminist” has gotten twisted in this generation. I just love women, and I have my two little girls and want to be a role model for them. Being in the beauty industry now, I want to empower them. I think people really get that vibe when they come in here; that is really important to me. I really want women to feel empowered. We live in a society that just drags women for their bodies. Despite being a very vain service provider, I’m all about it. Be vain for a second, who cares? When did it become a bad thing to love yourself and be selfish for a moment? I always want women to feel beautiful in the skin that they are in.
Q. What is your happiest memory here so far?
A. Truly it’s just the connections I make. When I have women come in and the confidence they feel afterward at the end of the session, when they are like “wow, I feel amazing and you never made me feel uncomfortable,” those are my happiest moments. So far, I have had all five-star reviews across the board on all social media platforms, which just blows my mind. I’m waiting for my first bad review. I’m sure one day it will come, but so far it has been amazing and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
