From Salon Kid to Owner: Logan Hines Tells the Mitchell's Story on Women in Charge

How Did Mitchell's Salon Start?

"My mom was a businesswoman first," Hines told Jenn, quick to add that Deborah Mitchell Schmidt was also "the absolute best mother" to her. In 1983, Deborah opened Mitchell's for Hair, Skin & Nails in Montgomery, in a little gray house near the Montgomery Kroger, with a staff Hines puts at 10 or 12. The Mitchell's history timeline records ten employees and a Montgomery Road address.

Many of those early employees stayed with Mitchell's for years, many until they retired. Hines called that "very rare in our industry," and she sees it as a reflection of who the company is for its people.

The salon kept outgrowing its walls, sometimes literally. After Montgomery came what the family now calls old Kenwood, near First Watch, where Mitchell's "busted out walls as tenants would leave" to claim more space. When that ran out, the salon moved across the street to its current Kenwood home. Tri-County, Hyde Park, and West Chester followed, and most recently Lytle Park downtown. Hines says the team has grown to around 300 employees.

A dozen people, then around 300. Same soul.

Growing Up Inside Mitchell's

For Hines, the salon was home base. "My babysitters were the nail department," she said. She gave herself pedicures perched on the side of the tub because her feet could not reach from the chair. She counted change at the front desk for the more patient guests, back when more people paid in cash. She campaigned to run the price sticker gun, a job she was rarely given, "for probably obvious reasons." Her mother had a name for all of this: "my special kind of help."

Naps happened on the leather loveseat in her mother's office. As an only child, Hines has a simple way to describe the business: "It's the sibling I never had."

Why Her Mother Made Her Work Somewhere Else First

Joining Mitchell's was never automatic. Working elsewhere first "was my mom's requirement," Hines said. Deborah wanted her daughter to see life outside those protected walls, and she had even picked 30 as a mature enough age to come back. Her reasoning was generous and direct: "This was my dream. It doesn't have to be yours."

So Hines went. She spent time in New York in the buying department at Vera Wang, which she remembers as "a very fun, expensive learning experience." Back in Cincinnati, she took a project management role at a local agency, which later sent her to Philadelphia to help open a new location. That is where the aha moment hit. "This doesn't feed me," she realized.

She came home well before 30.

Earning the Office, Not Just the Name

Back at Mitchell's, Hines worked her way up while completing an MBA at Xavier University. The degree was about respect as much as education. Some of her colleagues had known her since she was a baby, and a few still call her "Logie." She tried calling her mother "Deborah" at work for exactly one day before going back to "mom." Anything else felt inauthentic.

"I really wanted to earn my office more than just with my name," she said. Readers who want more of that story can find it in her own 40th anniversary essay, which covers her marketing degree from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and those first years back.

Leading Mitchell's After Losing Her Mother

The hard seasons came, as they do. During COVID, with employees at home, Hines and her corporate team worked "harder than ever just to make sure we could take care of them and keep the doors open." She says the stretch pulled the company together as a professional family.

Then, in 2021, Hines lost her mother. She spoke about it with real honesty. "I believe that I would not be the leader I am today if I still had her as my safety net," she said, while making clear she would give anything to have her back. Without that net, she has to "show up the best you absolutely can for your people." Because employees already knew her, she believes the transition felt steadier for them.

What Does Being a Woman in Charge Mean to Logan Hines?

Collaboration, first. "All of our viewpoints matter," Hines said. When someone introduces her as their boss, "my spine cringes." By her estimate the company is about 95% women, and she leans on their strength. After her first maternity leave, unsure how she would leave her baby, she looked at the working moms around her, many with several kids, and thought: you did it, so it is possible.

That support shows up behind the chair. Hines described departments trading advice on color formulations, or on how to relieve a guest's neck pain, or on how to land the exact color a guest has in mind. Stylists, estheticians, massage therapists, and nail technicians solve problems together. "We are better together. We are stronger together."

She holds herself to the same openness. "Sometimes I say I don't have all of the answers, but I can answer what I can now and I will follow up with you." The best advice she ever received was to stay true to herself, and she is comfortable saying someone else is better at something than she is. With her corporate team, she likes to say, "together, we make a whole person."

Growing vs. Nurturing a Family Business

Hines drew a clear line between two generations of leadership. "My mom grew the company," she said. When Hines stepped in, the moment called for something else: "I felt like I was at the position of nurturing the company." She would love to keep growing, but she felt the company needed time to come together and simply be itself.

Her compass is personal. "I truly lead with my heart. It's how I'm wired," she said, and if her heart can stand behind a decision, she trusts it will pay off. Asked what makes her proudest, she did not name a location or a milestone. She named the people, and the safe spot they have built for guests. "We are in the business of people."

How Mitchell's Gives Back to Greater Cincinnati

Mitchell's sets aside a quarterly donation budget that reaches organizations across Greater Cincinnati, from neighborhood fundraisers for a client's friend in need to schools to discounts for healthcare workers. Hines admitted the company could do a better job telling people about it. She does it because it is the right thing to do.

Jenn brought up a day that stuck with her. Mitchell's staff volunteered on a Sunday to offer free services to parents of children with autism and to people caring for a terminally ill loved one. As the guest list came together, the team kept coming back to say it could take 10 more, because more employees had opened their schedules to help. Mitchell's holds a day like this every year, its Day of Peace, when the salon closes to the public and staff volunteer their time to pamper caregivers.

"You Don't Have to Be Perfect. You Just Have to Care."

Asked what she would tell her younger self, Hines said trust the process, have patience, and show up as best you can. Then she shared a line the team uses internally: "You don't have to be perfect. You just have to care."

Her mother held on to the business until Hines was old enough to choose it for herself. Hines wants to offer her own three kids the same thing. They are growing up inside the salons, just as she did, and when her son recently found out his mom owns Mitchell's, his verdict was quick: "Well, that sounds fun." If they choose the business one day, wonderful. If life takes them somewhere else, that is just as fine.

A year later, Hines returned to the show to talk quiet leadership and asking for help. Read that recap in Logan Hines on Quiet Leadership.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns Mitchell's Salon & Day Spa?

Logan Mitchell Hines is the owner and president of Mitchell's Salon & Day Spa. She is the daughter of founder Deborah Mitchell Schmidt and describes her role as nurturing the company her mother grew.

When was Mitchell's Salon founded?

Deborah Mitchell Schmidt opened Mitchell's for Hair, Skin & Nails on Montgomery Road in 1983 with ten employees. The doors first opened on January 10, 1983, and Mitchell's has been locally and woman-owned for more than 40 years.

How many Mitchell's Salon locations are there?

Five, all in Greater Cincinnati: Kenwood, Hyde Park, Tri-County, West Chester, and Lytle Park. One number, (513) 793-0900, books every location.

Where can I listen to the full episode?

The full August 2025 conversation plays in the audio player on this page and is also on the Q102 episode page and Apple Podcasts.

Listen, Then Book

Forty-plus years in, Mitchell's is still, as Hines puts it, in the business of people. Hear the story in her own words, then come see it in person. Book at (513) 793-0900 or through the Mitchell's locations page.

No perfection required. Just an appointment.