At March Hare, what constitutes good hair changes with the times, but the top-notch service stays the same.

When a client walks into the March Hare salon in Carmel, they’re met with a clean, boutique-like environment and shelves stocked with natural Aveda haircare products. Clients relax and sip tea while getting everything from their first haircut to an intricate bridal updo to the trendiest naturally flouncy highlights. This place feels classy.

But what most people don’t know about this chic salon is that it got its start in the ’80s. The era of Molly Ringwald movies, Prince’s Purple Rain and some very unfortunate hairstyles. Think Aqua Net bangs, mullets and perms. “The big teased hair certainly came into its own in the ’80s,” says owner MaryAnna Wagner Stahl. “It went hand in hand with large shoulder pads and disco dancing.”

Wagner Stahl has been doing hair for almost 50 years and in 1985 she opened March Hare, named after the Alice in Wonderland character. Though retrospectively the ’80s was an embarrassing time for hair trends, in the moment, many stylists went with it anyway. “My first assignment as a member of an elite group of educators for Aveda, called ‘Purefessionals,’ was teaching the art of perms,” she recalls.

Though the salon has evolved into something completely different today – known for accentuating natural hair color with an angle toward the simple and elegant – back then, larger-than-life hair was something customers wanted. “It’s true March Hare was and is today known for beautiful classic styles but, we certainly did our share of fun ’80s styles then,” Wagner Stahl says.

Accepting what her clients wanted is a continual lesson that’s helped her grow as a cosmetologist. “To be given the responsibility to work with someone and to truly listen to their wishes and desires for transformation and be able to have a successful outcome has been deeply fulfilling,” she says. “It is so much more than a hairstyle.”

It’s not just the customers, but also employees who help keep the business fresh. “My stylists have been some of my best teachers,” Wagner Stahl says, adding that the back-and-forth mentorship is an ongoing process, and a mutually beneficial one too. One of her former stylists, Diana Hayes, started at the salon at 18, and went on to open her own salon in Monterey, Salon Beija Vu.

As for her current hairstylists/students/teachers, they say March Hare is more than just a job. “It never feels like work,” says Monica Rocha, a stylist. “It’s sharing knowledge and helping each other grow together.”