At PENZONE Salons + Spas, we’re more than just beauty—we’re a community for self-care. Our artists and therapists share their craftsmanship and creativity to deliver today’s trends in hair, makeup, skincare, massage, and nails. Our guests are top priority. In our holistic approach to beauty, we only use the best ingredients and techniques to support the lifestyle, ambition + beauty our guests are seeking.
In 1969, Charles Penzone defied what others thought was impossible—he opened the doors to his first salon with only two employees and a $500 bank loan. Several decades and six salons later, Charles and his wife, Debbie still believe in the same values that brought them to this moment: a passion for community, an emphasis on education, and a never-ending desire to make others feel beautiful, from the outside in.
Before becoming the President + CEO of PENZONE, Debbie was a hairstylist first and quickly climbed the ranks to Creative Director. With hobbies including painting, art classes, and plenty of makeovers on friends and family, she always found herself wanting to create like an artist. Like an artist, Debbie knew that the composition of design and color should complement not only a guest’s face shape, but their entire essence. Growing up, she learned that beauty is so much more than what’s on the outside—it truly comes from within. During her time as an artist, she realized that every guest she saw had undeniable inner beauty, and she wanted to do everything she could to help them find self-confidence—a motivation that continues at PENZONE Salons + Spas to this day.
Featured in industry publications such as Salon Today and Modern Salon magazine, PENZONE continues to be recognized locally as the Best Salon and Best Spa in Columbus. But we didn’t do all of this to win awards. We did this to build careers and take care of our guests.
The secret to our success? We like to think it’s our focus, strength, fearlessness, and smarts—our team is made up of nearly 500 people bringing these to the table every single day. When a new technique or trend emerges on the East or West Coast, our artists and therapists are on it. Our professionals learn it, create the experience, and make it all PENZONE.
Our training is rigorous and thorough. We provide our artists and therapists so many opportunities to learn new skills, dive into new certifications, and take their careers to the next level to create new career paths. PENZONE is constantly evolving to meet—and exceed—the needs of our guests.
The sixth PENZONE Salon + Spa and an entirely new concept for the brand opens at BASE ONE!
Our new concept salon is for already licensed Hair Artists as they fine-tune their skills. Hair Artists in Training will be supported by a Creative Educator + their work will prepare them for their careers within a PENZONE Salon + Spa location.
June 2024 marks the epic evolution of the PENZONE hiring + training program.
Now, we're hiring year-round + provide a supportive, self-paced program for salon and spa professionals at all points in their careers. From brand new costmetology school graduates to established professionals, it's never been easier to begin your path at PENZONE.
For more information, visit the Training + Education page on our website.
The original Charles Penzone Grand Salon has been transformed into BASE ONE, an immersive + inspirational environment created to help people ground down + level up their careers and their lives.
BASE ONE is for our PENZONE team, the greater Columbus community and salon + spa professionals from across the country!
Within this concept, find trainings, curated events, L I T Life + Yoga's second studio, rentable event + office spaces, a creative studio + so much more. For information,
visit atbaseone.com!
Our fifth go at innovating our PENZONE Salon + Spa concept came with the opening of PENZONE Gahanna/New Albany. Our aim was to continue to live our mantra, “improving lives from the outside in.” This was delivered via new opportunities for mindfulness, wellness, health + of course, beauty!
German Village got a glow up! That's right, our quaint PENZONE German Village Salon was refreshed, while still keeping its village charm.
Next up was a refresh for PENZONE Polaris. Talk about transformation! This new space has helped our team embody our mantra of improving lives from the outside in.
Our new concept was city-bound with the reinvention of our PENZONE Short North location. Graduating to a bigger space, our urban concept has been building community ever since.
The Company reinvents the salon and spa industry once again with a new concept, PENZONE Salons + Spas.
The new PENZONE Dublin opens it's doors, later earning top honors as NAHA's Salon/School Design of the Year + Salon Today's Salon of the Year.
December 2017 marked the opening of LIT Life + Yoga.
Royal Rhino Club Barbershop & Lounge opens its doors in Italian Village -- offering a modern touch to old-world barbering.
MAX THE Salon, a Charles Penzone Concept, is rebranded. MAX THE SALON Upper Arlington (formerly Q Salon) is introduced.
Debra Penzone was honored as one of YWCA’s “Women of Achievement.” This recognition honors women in Central Ohio for their dedicated years of service.
Charles A. Penzone was honored with the International SalonSpa Business Network Lifetime Achievement Award, a title also held by industry icon, Vidal Sassoon.
The second MAX THE SALON opened in the hip, urban Short North Arts District of downtown Columbus. The Charles Penzone Salons was named the “Top 200 Fastest Growing Salon” by Salon Today Magazine.
Charles Penzone opened a third Grand Salon at Polaris Parkway. The Grand Salon at Polaris Parkway was named Salon of the Year by Modern Salon Magazine.
MAX THE SALON, a 1,100 square-foot salon designed to serve the eclectic, upscale community of German Village also opened this year.
The success of The Grand Salon in Dublin was duplicated when Charles opened The Grand Salon in Gahanna/New Albany. The remaining salons were consolidated to create the 20,000 square foot structure – at the time, the largest and most luxurious salon and day spa in the world. The Grand Salon in Gahanna/New Albany received Modern Salon Magazine’s Salon of The Year award.
Charles consolidated six of his nine salon locations around Columbus to create the first Grand Salon in Dublin, Ohio. The transition created the 18,000 square foot structure consisting of three floors of hair styling stations, manicure stations, treatment rooms a training room and a private garden. The Grand Salon in Dublin received the grandest of industry honors – Salon of the Year from Modern Salon Magazine. Charles was also featured on The Today Show, Inside Edition, People Magazine, InStyle Magazine and Redbook.
Charles Penzone, Inc. had grown to nine salons with 150 employees. The average salon size was 3,000 square feet – larger than industry standards at this time.
In the years that followed, Charles opened several small salon concepts throughout Columbus’ neighborhoods and revolutionized the Midwest by introducing the Vidal Sassoon styling technique to the local market.
Charles A. Penzone defied what others thought was impossible by opening the doors to his first salon with two employees and a $500 bank loan from local Huntington Bank.
Opening our hearts and lending the power of our hands makes us whole. We believe in living purpose-driven lives and do so by supporting local and national causes. Please reach out to your PENZONE pro if there's a community initiative you're interested in us supporting.
DONATION REQUEST FORMAs a local Columbus business, we take great pride in giving back to the community that's supported us for over 50 years.
We're dedicated to focusing on initiatives that support the well-being, health + wellness of women and children.
With a big heart and passion for people, Debbie Penzone donates her time, leadership and funds to many non-profit organizations and her own—Earth Angels, The Debra Penzone Foundation.