Local hairstylist opens new salon

Janelle King’s dream of owning a hair salon has become a reality.
On Friday she opened Nelle’s Outback Hair Shack behind her home at 318 S. Chestnut. The entrance is in the alley behind King’s Sandwich Shop, which she co-owns with her husband Kyle.
The salon started out as a deck in the King’s backyard until five months ago when construction began to create a small, private salon.
“Hair styling is something I’ve always liked and had always been told I’d be good at,” she said. “I like to do things out of the ordinary with my hair, change the cut or the color and I would experiment on friends’ hair.”
In 2011 she switched careers from certified dietary manager to hairstylist after she graduated from the Fort Scott Community College School of Cosmetology. Upon graduation she worked in local shops, Wild Hare and La Riviera, but she always had hopes of her own place.
“It is a big risk in a town with oh, 15 salons, ” she said. “Honestly, I have really good clientele and I wanted something better for them. It’s one of those things if you don’t try you won’t know. With my salon I’m gaining a more private environment for clients and they can let their worries go.”
Private indeed. The shop is a nestled between tall trees and flowers line the sidewalk to the salon’s entrance. The shop has only one station so clients have peace and quiet.
King wanted to make her services affordable.  She offers $5 men and kids’ haircuts, $15 cut and style for women, $50 for color and waxes for $5. She uses Chi and Joyco products in the salon.
“I have a lot of clients who come in for the shorter hair,” she said. “They are very open to change and they come in and say ‘do whatever’ which I love because I love to experiment.”
Outside of helping her husband run the restaurant she has three children, Summer, a sophomore, Blake, a freshman and Beau a first-grader who keep her busy. King said her daughter is always willing to let her try new things with her hair.
“She’s always been accepting to a new color or new cuts, even perms,” she said. “She has the talent to be a very good hairstylist if she wants to be.”
King isn’t afraid of change; in fact, she embraces it.
“I love doing different colors and I change mine every three weeks,” she said. “I’m known for my shorter hair and I look at it as an advertisement to clients saying this is what I have, this is what I do.”
 The great thing about her business being right outside her back door is the boost in availability for clients. She is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and she accepts walk-ins.
“One day a week I wanted to be available at 7 a.m. for night shift workers,” she said. “Things are usually closed when they get off work so I wanted to be available on Wednesdays so they can come in, get a cut and head home to bed.”
King can be reached at 620-212-4134 to book an appointment. More information about her salon can be found on Facebook at Janelle at Nelle’s Outback Hair Shack.