Miss Lexi’s Place: A Salon and Spa for Kids

From haircuts to facials, Miss Lexi’s Place in Naples caters to the wee set.

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Real beauty comes from within. And that comes through at Miss Lexi’s Place, Alexia Walulik’s salon and spa for kids ages 3 to 13, where haircuts and manicures come with self-esteem boosters. With a mission to help build confidence, Alexia teaches kids the first step to self-love is self-care.

The salon offers all the things you’d expect from a grown-up rendition—hair services like cuts, temporary dyes, up-dos and recital buns; manicures and pedicures; makeup; themed spa packages; makeover parties. And, Alexia’s an ace at doing braids: She grew up braiding her friends’ hair and has plenty of experience doing her biracial daughters’ hair (she’s happy to give parents lessons, too). For more fun, there are summer camps and princess brunches where kids decorate donuts and make homemade beauty products, such as lip glosses and sugar scrubs.

The heart of the operation is Alexia’s drive for inclusivity and building self-confidence. “I want to make sure that every kid—no matter what ethnicity—feels welcome here and beautiful in their own skin,” Alexia says.

She teaches children proper hygiene and how to maintain their image to build confidence, showing them how to do their hair and care for their skin. “No one told me how to brush my hair, put my hair up or take care of my body or face. I grew up without any of that knowledge … and kids were always making fun of me,” Alexia says. She had a tough childhood, growing up between homes with a mother who faced drug addiction and a father who battled alcoholism. At 14, she started working full time and would leave school early. “I saw a very ugly world at a very young age,” she says. “It was my goal to give my children a safe space.”

Seven years ago, Alexia moved to Naples from Ohio with her two daughters, who are now 11 and 7, to find a better life with more opportunities. She started working at a local kids’ spa; when it closed, she felt inspired to open Miss Lexi’s Place. “I grew up searching for things to fill in the emptiness. I lacked self-love, self-awareness and self-confidence,” she says. “That’s why it’s such a big goal of mine to provide something for kids that can help with all of those things.”

Check out these four other mini-me salons in Southwest Florida.