Le Bijou Salon & Day Spa building clientele with full-body makeovers

Myrtle Dixie Rouse Desmares
January 6, 2009
Wilson Joseph Mabile
January 8, 2009
Myrtle Dixie Rouse Desmares
January 6, 2009
Wilson Joseph Mabile
January 8, 2009

Clients enter an oasis for the mind, body and soul when they walk into Le Bijou Salon and Day Spa on Polk Street.

Owner Janabeth “J.B.” Daigle said she has set out to make Le Bijou one of the top salons and day spas in south Louisiana.


“We are passionate about what we do here,” she said. “At Le Bijou, we welcome you as a guest. Here you will find a refuge from the hectic pace of your world.”


Daigle has been a hairstylist in the Houma area for nearly 28 years. Prior to opening Le Bijou, Daigle operated J.B. and Friends out of Renaissance Health Club in Houma for 15 years.

It was always her ambition to expand her salon to train other local salon professionals about what it takes to be a top hairstylist.


In the late 1990s, she finally got her wish. Renaissance was looking to expand to include a day spa. Although the day spa industry was new to her, Daigle was willing to try her hand at the new business venture.


“I researched the spa industry nationwide,” she said. “I joined the International Spa Association to learn everything I could about the spa industry.”

However, Renaissance was slow to move on its new business addition, and Daigle was anxious to try out what she’d learned.


In 2003, she decided to leave Renaissance and open her own business.


The Houma native said it’s her belief that when one door closes another one is bound to open. Daigle bought the property on Polk Street and opened Le Bijou in December 2003.

She tapped into the salon and day spa industry just in time. The full-body maintenance buzz had just reached south Louisiana.


“People wanted to start taking care of themselves, more so than just getting their hair done,” she said. “They desired to have massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. They wanted that total inner-beauty makeover.”


With the arrival of the new year, the public’s focus will again shift to creating a new look.

“Just the other day, I woke up thinking about what I can do to make myself feel and look more youthful,” Daigle said. “I am not the only one. Everyone’s making resolutions to get healthy inside and out.”

As a Redken educator, Daigle has an upper hand over the competition because she knows the hottest new trends in hairstyling.

Le Bijou has the three main components that make up a total makeover: hair, body and nails. Daigle said each component has its own significance in the renewal process. Combined, they comprise a complete package.

Le Bijou’s trained stylists offer shampooing, conditioning, coloring and haircuts.

On the spa side, customers can choose from an array of services to help renew the skin, which include six different massages, 11 different body wraps, 12 different facials, as well as seven treatments for the hands and five for the feet.

It’s her Redken connection that Daigle credits with keeping her abreast of the latest trends and products.

Daigle auditioned and became a Redken 5th Avenue New York City artist in 1989. Redken is one of the nation’s global leaders in hair care products. Its products are sold in professional salons in over 50 countries.

“I bring to the table what I learn and teach at Redken into my own establishment,” she said, “which is a win-win situation for all.”

Today, Daigle is one of Redken’s top educators in the country. She holds a certification as a Redken colorist, and travels all over the United States lecturing and teaching advanced hair cutting techniques.

“Education has been one of my biggest desires and successes over the years,” she said. “I have a deep yearning to know things. I think it’s the discovery of new things that fascinates me the most.”

Daigle ignites that same desire for learning in her employees.

“I want them to learn everything they need to know about the business so that they can build up their clientele,” she said. “And if they choose to, they can open a business and be as successful as I am.”

Janabeth “J.B.” Daigle, a 28-year veteran in the salon business, instructs her stylists on the latest advanced haircutting techniques at Le Bijou Salon and Day Spa in Houma. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN