Born in Boulder to a “hippy” mother and an IBM-employed father, Ivy Pryer looked through a wide-open window into different ways of living within her own household.

Although her mother was never interested in fashion and make-up, Ivy always enjoyed it and found working at Beauty Brands, a high-scale salon with a large retail area, the perfect fit while she attended college.

She spent nine years there, learning the ins and outs of the beauty industry, before deciding to launch out on her own and opening Beauty by Ivy on Aug. 1 at Sola Salons, 3280 29th St. Sola is a collective of individuals who wanted to own and operate their own salons without opening up a larger salon or spa.

Ivy says she enjoyed doing her friends’ nails and makeup, and her experience provided her the opportunity to get paid for doing something she loved while earning her associates arts degree at Front Range Community College.

“It turned into a career from there,” Ivy says.

Ivy provides manicures, pedicures, and spa manicures and pedicures. She offers all nail types and services including Shellac, a thin gel nail overlay that stays for two to three weeks.

Her spa services include using salt glow, paraffin wax dip, or moisture mask and a massage for the hands or feet. Ivy also specializes in all kinds of waxing, offering brow, lip, leg, arm, bikini and Brazilian waxes. She says clients keep coming back to her because of her technique and the speed at which she does her waxing, with many of them saying she is the best waxier that they have come across.

While the focus of her business is on nails and waxing, Ivy also does makeup on special occasions such as weddings.

Ivy’s parents have since gone their separate ways and left Boulder, but she says it has always been home to her – a home she now shares with her boyfriend and pit bull-boxer mix dog named Layla she adopted from the humane society.

“It’s the only place I’ve ever lived,” she says.

Ivy is close to her brother Mikael, who now lives in Loveland, and they often get together on the weekend and enjoy breakfast while they catch up on their week.

But it’s not like she doesn’t have any way to compare Boulder with other places. Besides the fact that she and her brother were both born at home to “hippies,” they also had the opportunity to travel the country in their dad’s “hippy van,” Ivy says. She’s been to New York, Vermont, Washington D.C., North Carolina and many other states.

“They’re all beautiful places, but I just really like the people in Boulder,” she says, noting people here live healthier lifestyles and are considerate of others’ needs.

And, unlike people in other parts of the nation, when she sits down to work on their hands or feet, Boulderites treat her with respect, Ivy says.

“I don’t feel like I’m doing a service for them, that I’m less than them,” she says. “They’re more pleasant to be around.”

While a back injury sustained when she was bucked off a horse six years ago prevents her from living the outdoor lifestyle to the extent many Boulderites do, Ivy says she enjoy the fishing and climate here.

“I love the fact that even though it’s winter and there’s snow on the ground, you can go outside and enjoy yourself – it’s sunny,” she says.

And that’s especially a plus when much of her free time is spent walking her dog.

  
“We definitely take our dog out all the time” to reduce Layla’s anxiety, Ivy says. “She’s the sweetest thing in the world. If anything she’d lick you to death.”

Beauty by Ivy is open 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or by appointment. Call (303) 818-3824 or e-mail ivypryor@gmail.com.New customers who mention this article in the RE/MAX of Boulder Ezine will receive 50 percent off any service.