Love From Head To Toe

The faint scent of hairspray mixed with the sharp sweetness of nail polish lingers at Meena’s Classic Touch Spa & Salon. Blow-dryers hum, brushes clink against countertops, and the quiet buzz of conversation fills each room. At the center of the little converted home tucked away on Thomasville Road is Meena Karnik. Although busy as ever running the salon, she still finds time to check on each client with a smile, a touch on the shoulder, and a listening ear for all they have to say.

This, she says, is the heart of her work. “People don’t just come here for hair or nails,” Karnik explains. “They come here for care, for conversation, for family.”

It’s a family she has spent more than 40 years building, though the story of how it began starts thousands of miles away.

Photo by Dave Barfield

In the late 1980s, Karnik boarded a plane from India. She carried little more than a suitcase and the promise of a new life. Tallahassee was unfamiliar, the future uncertain. “I didn’t know what I would do here,” she remembers. It wasn’t until a family friend noticed her expressive hands and said, almost offhandedly, “You’d make a great hairdresser.”

It was a suggestion that changed everything.

At Lively Technical College, she found herself surrounded by students often younger and more confident, but she leaned into the challenge. Her manicures and pedicures quickly drew notice. “It came naturally to me,” she says. An instructor recommended her to a brand-new salon in Carriage Gate, and within six months, Karnik’s chair was always full.

Sitting in that chair, her clients weren’t just getting polished nails—they were getting conversation, laughter, and an attentive ear. Trust built quickly, and for 17 years, Karnik grew alongside the people who came to see her week after week.

Then, tragedy struck. Karnik’s husband passed away suddenly, leaving her a widow with two young boys. The grief was crushing. “I didn’t know how I was going to survive,” she recalls softly. But she did survive—thanks, in large part, to the very women sitting in her chair.

Photo by Dave Barfield

Her clients rallied around her. They encouraged her, reassured her, and ultimately nudged her toward independence. When a salon space went up for sale, they pressed her to take the leap.

Twenty-six years later, Meena’s Classic Touch has become more than a business. It is a haven. Walk through the doors, and you’ll find not just stylists and clients but sisters, friends, and confidantes. When one stylist is out sick, another steps in to make sure clients are cared for. When someone moves on, Karnik makes sure they take their client list with them. “It’s not all about money,” she insists. “It’s about respect.”

That spirit extends far beyond the salon walls. For several years, Karnik adopted a special needs school in Thomasville, organizing Christmas parties and gifts for children whose families were struggling with incarceration or addiction. “Sometimes all people need is a little kindness,” she says.

While the beauty industry has shifted toward fast-service chains, single-suite salons, and speed over substance, Karnik has held her ground. “This is not a doctor’s prescription,” she explains with a knowing smile. “This is a reward to yourself. And when you reward yourself, you deserve compassion.”

Photo by Dave Barfield

That philosophy has shaped generations of clients. Some have been with her for nearly four decades, marking milestones in her chair: marriages, graduations, illnesses, recoveries. Others arrive for the first time and quickly sense that this isn’t just a salon, it’s
a sanctuary.

What began as a way to survive has blossomed into a lasting legacy of resilience, humility, and care. Looking around her salon, Karnik doesn’t just see chairs and mirrors. She sees laughter shared, tears comforted, lives touched.

“If I can do it, anybody can do it,” she says. “All you need is compassion and commitment. That’s what keeps you going.”

And with that, she turns back to her client, picks up her polish, and continues doing what she’s always done: creating beauty, one touch at a time.