Behind the Business: Pierino Scarfo of Pierino Scarfo Salon

Pierino poses at the Goldwell Global Zoom, an annual global hairstylist event, in Vienna, 2019. Photo courtesy of Pierino Scarfo.

As to how he came to his professional calling as hair stylist and owner of a hair salon, Pierino Scarfo said he sort of fell on to that path.

Growing up in Thunder Bay, Ont., his godparents were in the hair business, as owners of a hair salon and hair school in the city. When Pierino was younger, his father would drop him and his brother off at the godparents’ salon while he ran errands. The brothers would pitch in on the work, and as the Saturdays went by, they graduated from sweeping hair off the floors, to applying colour to the hair of clients.

“It kind of was never something I thought that I would do. I always knew I wanted to be in business,” he said.

Pierino said his original plan to go to business school was put on pause when the college he was attending was seized by a workers’ strike. When he went home with his next year’s tuition refunded, his godfather suggested that he give hair school a try.

“Long story short, I stuck with it,” he said. His godparents took him to a hair competition—a student competition—which he won. During the first part of his career, Pierino said he focused on hair shows and editorial work, which kept him on the road. He said he decided to shift away from that part of his career, and toward something that allowed him to focus on his family.

“It kind of just happened, really. I guess I ended up being good at it. I never really thought about running a business as a hair salon,” said Pierino.

The first Pierino Scarfo Hair Salon and Spa opened in Bells Corners in 2003. In 2010, he and his team opened another location in Westboro Village. Asked what he enjoys about his work, Pierino said a big part of it is the connections he makes with the people that come to sit in his chair.

“They’re trusting me with something that is huge, which is their hair. So you feel privileged to be able to do that for somebody,” he said.

Pierino referenced a book by hairdresser David Wagner that made a big impression on him and how he approaches his work. Titled, “How to Change the World Simply by Making Someone’s Day,” the book shares a story of a client for whom Wagner did not just cut and style her hair, but took the time to simply talk with her and made her feel good. He later received a letter from this client, who told him that she had planned to take her life that day, but changed her mind just from the way she was treated in her experience at his salon.

“You’re not a hairdresser; you’re a daymaker. You never know how you’re touching somebody’s life, right?” said Pierino. This ethos infuses the whole of how the salon delivers its services to clients. He said he and his team work to ensure clients have “the best ultimate experience that they can,” by consulting and making sure their needs are clearly understood so they can meet them.

Pierino said he is planning to add a lounge area in the Westboro Village salon, where clients can sit and enjoy themselves in a beautiful space while waiting for their hair colour to develop.

To learn more and book an appointment with Pierino Scarfo Salon, you can visit their website, Facebook and Instagram pages!