Meet a Mom – Gavali Salon Owner – Gabbie

Coming from a Grandfather who owned of barbershop, it’s no surprise that young Gabbie wanted to be a hairdresser from the age of 5, braiding everyones hair.  Not only a single mom of 4 who overcame breast cancer after covid and getting divorced, because of her own detection and perception, her story is unlike so many others. She has her hands in many salons in Fairfield you’re bound to meet her! If you don’t know her you should, a fun loving inspiration, with a great eye for hair!

Where are you originally from and how long have you been in Fairfield?

I am originally from Bridgeport, CT but I spent so much time in Fairfield growing up. I went to Our Lady of the Assumption school from kindergarten through 8th grade and my great grandfather, Joe Vernuccio, was the original owner of the Fairfield Barbershop so we were always in town!

In high school, my first few jobs were all in Fairfield. Ambrosia Bakery, Primo Pizza, Bear and Grille and Hollywood Tans.

I moved to Fairfield when I was 21, left for a few years and then moved back officially in 2015.

Tell us about your Family!

I am a single mother of 4, Vincent 17, Nicholas 14, Anthony 12, and Stella 3! We also have 3 animals, two black cats who are brothers, Turbo and Flash and an Italian greyhound, Pepe.

One thing people would be surprised to know about you? 

I was only 18 when I had my first son, got my G.E.D when I was 17, went straight to hair school while I was pregnant, opened my own business at the age of 25, I’m now 36.

One thing you wish someone would have told you about motherhood?

You’re never actually really fully prepared for teenagers and high school!

It’s actually NOT easier when they get older that’s a lie haha

You also cannot just expect your children to turn out how you want and they will eventually be exactly who they want to be. I could go on and on about this one!

What’s your favorite thing about raising a family in Fairfield?

I Love the community and the convenience in Fairfield. It’s a town that has everything you need and more!

Best mom hack that makes your life easier?

I am not quite sure I have the answer to this one haha but if I could say anything, best mom hack is to have a healthy balance in your life and not let the stress take over you. Do not forget who you are and do not change yourself completely and let yourself go just because you are a mother. I think one of the most stressful things of being a mother is that we have so much pressure from the outsiders to make sure you are the mother that everyone else wants you to be so do not let yourself go and be true to yourself and raise your kids the way you want to and try and not let everyone’s opinions get in the way of what your instincts tell you to do. Always trust your instincts!

Tell us about your business Gavali  Salon, and when & why you decided to start up this business? What are you new business ventures in this industry?

I was actually supposed to open my first salon as salon suites in Fairfield back in 2012! I was going to be the first salon suites in CT but it’s a long story, I ended up putting my plans on hold. My business name is actually Gavali’s Beauty Suite, because that’s essentially what it was going to be, I just DBA Gavali Salon now.

So, funny story, January 1st, 2014 I sat down with my friend Nikki who owns Sun Kissed Glow, we were chatting about how she heard they were opening salon suites in Fairfield, my eyes lit up! I asked for more info and gave them a call. My Salon Suite was brand new and ready for renters! I went in and signed immediately, conveniently I already had my LLC started up and it was already unintentionally so fitting, Gavali’s Beauty Suite!

I was there for a year and opened my first actual solo salon location on Black Rock Turnpike.

In 2019 I signed a new lease for the Brick Walk and was originally going to expand but I also had a salon suite in NYC in Chelsea that I would go to on Mondays and do hair in the city, Gavali NYC, but stopped in 2020 when I decided to just stay in Fairfield.

The goal was to have one salon on each side of town, but then found out I was pregnant with my daughter a week after opening on February 24th, 2020 and then lovely COVID came along shutting us down just 3 weeks after the move to our Post Rd. location.

My life had made a major shift in 2020 like everyone else but in different ways. I had to close the Black Tock Turnpike location and focus on the Post Rd. location.

I wanted to expand again, this time not alone. My business partner Shelby and I opened up La Flor Salon January of 2022 also located on the Post Rd. Not sure if you noticed but Gavali is my first and last name combined and La Flor means “the flower” in Spanish, Shelby’s last name is Flower and we wanted to be creative.

We wanted to open another salon because our goal is to have different locations with all individual vibes to cater to everyone’s aesthetic and energy.

Októ Hair Lounge was originally supposed to be mainly a barbershop, but after trial and error we decided to switch things up a bit!

Októ Hair Lounge has two floor and we are now turning the first floor into our Associate/Junior stylist level where we have all of the same services at an affordable rate with our new stylists.

The upstairs level is dedicated for our talented Master Stylists who are more advanced and they have a higher price point.

My next goal in business is to hopefully open up a hair school one day 🙂 but I’m always brainstorming on new business ideas and ventures!

Tell us your background? 

I started doing hair when I was 17. Funny thing is I always wanted to be a hairdresser from the age of 5! I was always braiding hair and getting creative with different styles at a young age. I was a hairdresser for career day in 5th grade and my 7th grade science fair project was “The Effects of Hair Color on Hair” how fitting haha but I was going to actually go to the art institute in NYC for interior decorating and design but chose hair because I was pregnant and wanted to finish school as fast as possible so I could start working and the program was a lot quicker. I went to Ricci’s In Newtown, worked there for a few years and then worked at S Salon in Shelton prior to opening up my own salon in Fairfield.

Tell us about the different services that you offer at these salons?

We offer all coloring, highlighting, blonding/darkening and fantasy colors, cutting services for all lengths and textures (depending on the stylists you see), styling, extensions, smoothing treatments and more!

Any fun events you hold?

I would like to host events more often, it’s just hard juggling everything! We would love to start hosting networking events, moms night out, singles nights and just have more fun!

We know you have been affected by Breast Cancer and as it is Breast Cancer awareness month tell us about it and to help us women and how important it is to get a mamogram?

I had no idea that my father’s mother had breast cancer until after my diagnosis, so I had always said I had no family history of breast cancer, nowadays it doesn’t matter either way! Back in 2022, when I was going through my divorce I decided to have a mommy makeover which involved a breast lift and augmentation. Shortly after I was complaining about this strange sensation and pain in my left breast that I had never felt before. The Dr. kept reassuring me it was all due to the healing process and I was ok. The pain kept getting worse and other things were happening to my body. I didn’t know if it was stress from the divorce or if I was having a reaction to the implants. I had lost a ton of weight and was only 96lbs at one point, my left implant was sagging and strange looking, I was extremely emotional and my skin was breaking out badly. Finally after months of complaining, the Dr and I decided to do a revision surgery. When I went in for my pre-op I showed him a lump that I had that was getting larger. He was concerned and said I needed a mammogram and ultrasound immediately.

This was literally on the exact morning that we opened up La Flor Salon.

I had to move my clients the morning after to have my scans done. I had several scans and they weren’t even concerned with the side with the lump, they were more concerned about calcifications I had on my right breast. The other Dr, not my plastic surgeon, washed to biopsy the calcifications, but not the lump, stating that it was “dense tissue.”

The results came in from the calcifications biopsy and I was cleared to have my revision surgery.

I had my revision on March 1st, 2023 but when I woke up my plastic surgeon had said I needed an MRI because the lump was however not dense tissue and was a concern.

So, because I had just had surgery, I had to wait to have these scans. But I went a few weeks later.

My results were confusing and concerning because they said they hadn’t seen anything like this before and they were confused. That was concerning to me as a patient! So I went for a second opinion.

This second doctor told me this was one of the most complex cases she had seen and she wanted to monitor me, she didn’t know if my cells were actual cancer cells or if my body was mimicking cancer cells. I then felt the need for another opinion.

My friend insisted that I go to MSK and I decided to go.

All in all I had 3 MRI’s and about 12 mammograms and ultrasounds, a total of 7 biopsies and they said I needed to have a full mastectomy on my left breast because the tumor was too big to do a lumpectomy. I then chose to do a double full mastectomy to prevent any future complications because I already had calcifications on my ruby side as well.

Literally 1 year and 1 month after my first breast surgery, I had my double mastectomy. When I woke up from the surgery they informed me that my tumor was a whopping 12.3 centimeters and they had never seen a DCIS tumor that large. They also told me that I had to go back in two weeks because they had to stop my surgery due to skin flap necrosis. So I ended up having 4 breast surgeries within the first year. My pathology took weeks because they had to send it out a few times for multiple opinions. I ended up having DCIS with a lymph node that had invasive cells. They didn’t think chemo was necessary but they wanted me to go on tamoxifen, but I turned it down.

I ended up having to go in for another surgery this past April have my tissue expanders removed and my implants put in. I will be going in for my sixth surgery in February because I now have malpositioning of my implant on the left side and need to have mesh put in.

My advice for everyone is to make sure that you are your own self advocate because every doctor has different opinions and not everyone knows everything! If you’re having pains or if you are genuinely concerned with something do not downplay anything because you never know what could happen!

Best advice for moms who experience the inevitable MOM GUILT handling a career and raising a family?

I have my fair share of mom guilt! It’s a normal feeling and it sucks but we have to remember we are all human and none of us are perfect. Try to not let the little things get to you and know you’re doing your best! Do not compare yourself to other moms because everyone is unique and has their own situations going on. Sometimes the moms you think have it all together and are perfect are actually the ones that are struggling the most. We all have a story and we are all just trying to survive and make sure that our kids are all taken care of. Don’t forget to take care of yourself in the meantime! If you’re experiencing mom guilt, I suggest you find another mom to vent to and I can assure you that you will be able to connect in someway and it will make you feel a little bit better about your situation.

Who has most influenced you to be the mom that you are today?

Definitely my mother in someways lol we are very different, but she was also a single mother and did everything for me and my sister. I would have to say that it’s not just one person that shaped me into the mom that I am today. I have a lot of really great powerful women influences in my life between family members, friends and clients and I am very appreciative of everyone who has been there for me throughout the way. I think it’s very empowering to see women especially women with children be able to accomplish their goals because it is not easy doing it as a solo human let alone when you have children involved, especially when you are single!

What advice would you share with a new mom or other moms?

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again- do not lose yourself! Make sure you make time for yourself and stay happy because when you are happy, the kids will be happy. Try not to get stressed out and still make time for your friends, your nails, your hair, the gym taking care of yourself is so important! Try and do fun things with the kids, don’t let the world dictate how you choose to raise your children. And always trust your instinct.