Station Salon & Boutique: Encinitas, CA Hair Salon Spotlight

Last updated August 12, 2026

Station Salon & Boutique has been a fixture on South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, CA since 2014, building a reputation around eco-friendly hair services, a carefully curated boutique, and a shop culture that prioritizes both the client and the planet. With 18 stylist chairs and a boutique stocked with clean beauty products and goods from California makers, it's grown well beyond its origins as a single-stylist concept into one of the more distinctive full-service salons in coastal San Diego County.

The salon holds a Green Circle certification, which means it actively diverts 95% of its waste from landfills, including foils, color tubes, paper, plastic, and even hair clippings. That's not a marketing slogan; it's a documented recycling program with a third-party standard behind it. Paired with a product menu built around Davines, a B Corp certified Italian hair care brand, Station Salon has built its identity around the idea that a great haircut and a smaller environmental footprint aren't mutually exclusive.

Across 311 Google reviews, the salon holds a 4.8-star rating, a number that reflects consistent execution across a team of stylists rather than a single standout performer.

History and Founding of Station Salon in Encinitas

Dana O. opened Station Salon in 2014 in a space on South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas that had previously housed Detour Salon. The founding vision, as the salon describes it, was straightforward: create a welcoming space for stylists and clients built on good hair and good values. That dual focus on craft and ethics has defined the salon's direction ever since.

Eleven-plus years in, the salon has grown from its original concept into an 18-chair operation with a boutique component. The boutique carries clean beauty products and goods from California-based makers, extending the salon's sustainability ethos into retail. The growth has been organic, shaped by the community that formed around it rather than rapid expansion for its own sake.

Station Salon Services and Specialties

Station Salon specializes in color work, particularly balayage and custom highlights, which are applied using Davines color products. Because Davines holds B Corp certification, the brand meets verified standards for social and environmental performance, not just marketing claims about being 'natural.' For clients who care about what goes on their hair and what goes down the drain, this distinction matters.

Beyond color, the salon offers a full range of hair services:

• Balayage and custom highlights
• Hair extensions
• Haircuts and styling
• Color corrections
• Clean beauty retail through the in-house boutique

The boutique itself functions as a separate draw, stocking products from California makers alongside the Davines line. It gives clients a reason to visit even between appointments and reinforces the salon's positioning around clean, intentional beauty.

What separates Station Salon from a standard color bar or walk-in salon is the Green Circle certification. Most salons discard color tubes, foils, and chemical-laden rinse water without a second thought. Station Salon routes 95% of that material through Green Circle's recycling and reclamation system. For a salon operating 18 chairs, that's a meaningful volume of diverted waste.

The Team at Station Salon & Boutique

Station Salon's 18-chair setup means clients work with individual stylists who develop their own client relationships, rather than rotating through a generic appointment queue. Several stylists have built strong followings based on specific skills.

• Alex is noted for a calm, attentive approach that clients describe as genuinely therapeutic. Reviewer Nicole Merlo called Alex 'one of the kindest, most gentle souls I've ever met in a salon,' which speaks to the kind of client experience that keeps people coming back.
• Leslie has drawn praise for her ability to listen carefully and translate what a client describes into an actual result. Diana Wilder wrote that Leslie 'took your time and exceeded my expectations,' specifically noting that the experience was the best she'd had in years.
• Irene Hernandez specializes in color corrections, a technically demanding service that requires both precision and an understanding of how color interacts with different hair types. Reviewer Talia described her as 'such a perfectionist,' a quality that matters especially in correction work where mistakes compound.
• Mia Suffredini is recognized for her consultation process as much as her technical output. Casey Oziah described the experience as 'an amazing consultation, and a more amazing outcome,' which points to a stylist who spends real time understanding what a client wants before picking up a brush.

Milestones and Track Record

• Founded in 2014 by Dana O. on South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, CA
• Grown to 18 stylist chairs over 11-plus years of operation
• Green Circle certified, with 95% of salon waste recycled or reclaimed
• Boutique expanded to carry clean beauty products and goods from California makers
• Featured in local Encinitas news coverage as a notable community business

What Customers Say About Station Salon

The reviews that surface most often at Station Salon center on two things: the technical quality of the color work and the interpersonal quality of the stylist relationships. Clients aren't just satisfied with their hair; they're describing the appointments as experiences they look forward to.

Alex is one of the kindest, most gentle souls I've ever met in a salon.

- nicole merlo

You listened to what I was hoping for, you took your time and exceeded my expectations!

- Diana Wilder

A third thread runs through the feedback about the salon as a whole. One reviewer described the team as 'lovely friendly, professional, and down-to-earth,' which suggests the culture Dana O. set out to build in 2014 has carried through as the roster expanded. A salon can have talented individual stylists and still feel transactional; Station Salon's reviews suggest the opposite.

I'm very picky especially when it comes to my hair so it means a lot to find someone who's such a perfectionist and does such an amazing job.

- talia

Mia was phenomenal. Amazing consultation, and a more amazing outcome!

- Casey Oziah

Location and Community in Encinitas, CA

Station Salon & Boutique is located at 594 S Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024, on the main commercial corridor that runs through downtown Encinitas. South Coast Highway 101 is the kind of street where locally owned businesses have historically held their ground against chain retail, and Station Salon fits that character. The beach culture of Encinitas shapes the clientele: people who spend time outdoors, in salt water and sun, and who are often looking for color work that holds up to that environment.

The salon's Green Circle certification and Davines product selection also align with the environmental sensibility that's common in this part of coastal San Diego County. Encinitas has a long history of surf culture and outdoor lifestyle, and a salon that recycles its waste and uses certified clean products is a natural fit for that community.

For those tracking the broader Encinitas real estate picture, home values in the area have appreciated at roughly 8.5% annually in recent years, with projections settling closer to 4.2% going forward. A stable, owner-operated business like Station Salon, with over a decade of community roots, tends to anchor neighborhoods that attract that kind of sustained property interest.

Why Choose Station Salon & Boutique

Station Salon & Boutique offers something that's harder to find than it sounds: a full-service hair salon where the environmental claims are backed by a real certification, the product choices are tied to verified standards, and the stylists are individually skilled enough to carry 4.8 stars across 311 reviews over more than a decade of operation. It's not a concept salon or a pop-up; it's a business that has grown steadily because the work is good and the culture is consistent.

For anyone in Encinitas looking for balayage, color corrections, extensions, or a cut from a stylist who will actually listen, Station Salon is worth a visit. The boutique is a bonus: a curated selection of clean beauty products you can browse before or after your appointment, from a shop that has earned its place on South Coast Highway 101.

Customer quotes shown above are from public Google reviews.