Belly, Baby, and a Business: The Birth of Simply Stated Belly, Baby, and a Business: The Birth of Simply Stated

Tucked along busy Brownsville Road, Simply Stated Hair Studio is the realization of a dream — the birth of a studio built with passion and persistence by Kristi Laychak, who turned her childhood ambition into a thriving business that now serves the people of Brentwood and beyond.

After a year in college, Kristi followed her heart to beauty school — despite being told she was “too smart to just do hair.” Over the next two decades, she honed her craft and gained real-world business experience.

One day, at nine months pregnant with her second child, she was driving through Brentwood when fate quite literally put an opportunity in her path.

“I was nine months pregnant, and I would drive past. It was such a high-traffic area, and it was super cute, and I pulled over and got out of the car with my big belly, and [the landlord] was putting a ‘for lease’ sign up,” she remembers. “And I was like, oh I want to look at this space, and she was like, ‘you look like you are about to have a baby,’ and I was like, ‘I am.’ But the pieces kind of fell into place from there.”

She signed the lease four days after her son was born, and Simply Stated Hair Studio officially opened its doors in September 2019.

The original location was a 400-square-foot space just two doors down from where the salon is today — small but mighty. As they were building momentum, COVID hit. Exactly one year after signing their first lease, another landlord had an opening in a larger location, and they jumped on it — expanding to 1,400 square feet at 3115 Brownsville Road.

On a recent visit, the shop was buzzing — every chair was full, clients chatting and laughing while getting their hair colored, and shelves neatly stocked with products. Kristi puts it simply: “We specialize in lived-in color — the more modern color.” The team regularly travels for continued education and attends national hair shows to stay on trend. “Always staying up to date with things and not fall behind.”

Kristi has been in the industry since 2003 and officially doing hair for 23 years. Her first salon co-ownership in the South Side lasted 11 years. “The first jump didn’t feel as scary since I was doing it with someone else,” she said. “I wanted to slow down a little bit after having kids, which is why we moved here — but that didn’t happen since we are super busy.”

Simply Stated offers a full range of services for women, men, and kids — from rich dimensional color and cuts to blowouts, deep treatments, and more. The salon also offers bridal hair, both on-site and in-salon, and Kristi plans to expand offerings soon to include eyebrow tinting and additional beauty services.

Kristi appreciates how welcoming and supportive Brentwood has been: “The community is great. It’s high visibility. We have clients that come from all over the place, so that’s kind of nice too because we are introducing people to the area.”

The location couldn’t be better. “The Fourth of July is such a big deal, and we are at a prime location for that,” she said. While they’ve hosted fun events like a hair glitter bar during the parade in the past, the salon will be closed on July 4th and the following week for remodeling and updates.

Looking ahead, Kristi is hopeful to buy a building in Brentwood. She’s also considering opening a second location in Elizabeth, where she lives, and eventually moving to a seven-days-a-week schedule to keep pace with demand.

On weekends, you might catch her kids, ages six and eight, popping into the salon with her husband — a reminder that Simply Stated isn’t just a business, but a family story.