Planted Salon
“When you walk into Planted, you’re walking into a piece of my heart.” Tucked into the garden level of Salt Lake City’s vibrant Maven District - a community of more than one hundred women-owned businesses - Planted Salon feels more like a sanctuary than a shop. The soft hum of hair dryers mingles with laughter, the scent of rosemary and mint drifts through the air, and conversations range from celebratory to cathartic. For owner Tori Plant, it is not just a salon. It is a place where connection, care, and creativity live side by side.
“There’s something really special about being a ‘Maven girl,’” Tori said. “We’re part of this ecosystem where women lift each other up. We’re friends, we’re like sisters. We collaborate, we share ideas, we celebrate wins, and we walk each other through the hard stuff.” Being surrounded by other women-led businesses helped shape not only how Tori runs her salon, but how she sees her role in the broader community. “When you’re here, you’re family. There’s a camaraderie that’s real. And knowing you’re not doing this alone, that you’re part of something bigger, is everything.”
Raised in Murray, Utah, Tori did not grow up dreaming of hair color and product lines. “I was a tomboy,” she laughed. “I grew up in the Thunderdome - two brothers, constant sports, a basketball or water polo ball always in hand.” But there was one person who offered her an escape from the chaos: her Aunt Suzanne, a hairdresser whose salon felt like “rainbows and butterflies” compared to home. “She was my second mom, my safe space.”
Aunt Sue was diagnosed with a brain tumor when Tori was young. Doctors gave her six months to live. She lived another twenty-seven years. “She still cut my hair until she passed away,” Tori said. “She was a survivor. And people didn’t just admire her talent. They wanted to be her.”
At sixteen, Tori began volunteering alongside her aunt with the American Cancer Society’s Look Good Feel Better program, teaching women undergoing chemotherapy how to apply makeup, style wigs, and reclaim their confidence. “It was beautiful. You could see past her limitations in those moments. She radiated strength.” Those early experiences for Tori planted a seed that would take years to blossom.
In 2010, Tori worked in special effects and production makeup, but a lost opportunity on a feature film due to her lack of a cosmetology license changed everything. “I said I’d never let an opportunity be taken away from me again.” She enrolled in beauty school in 2014 and, while still a student, began working at Got Beauty in Sugar House, where she stayed for five years. “I learned the ropes." She started as a receptionist and makeup artist, then moved into assisting and later became a full-time stylist and salon manager.
By 2020, Tori was ready to chase her own dream. The world had shifted. COVID-19 had upended the salon industry. “It felt like the perfect time. SBA loans were available, and I had the LLC. I was ready.” That October, she opened the doors to Planted Salon in the basement of the Maven District, starting with just four chairs and a few close friends.
But growth brought lessons. “Working with friends isn’t always easy,” she reflected. “Some relationships didn’t survive. I had to learn boundaries, respect, and how to lead, not as a boss, but as a salon mom.” Six months later, she doubled the space to 1,500 square feet. Now, in the summer of 2025, her team includes ten stylists who each run their own independent business under her roof. “We’re not cookie-cutter. None of us look the same, do the same thing, or work the same way. But we all care about one another.”
Clients range from college students to doctors to queer community members and working moms and dads. “Everyone is welcome here. It’s a safe space. That’s something you don’t always find.” Each stylist brings their own personality, skill set, and story, but all buy into the same ethos: kindness, respect, and intention.
Planted is now more than just a name. It is a philosophy. After her sister-in-law was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer linked to talc in cosmetics, Tori overhauled the entire business. “She’s been through so much - part of a lung removed, no pleura lining on the other. She’s still undergoing chemo. That changed everything for me.” The salon became a low-tox environment, with every product carefully vetted for safety and sustainability. From the shampoo to the scent diffusers, the brands are clean, ethical, and often locally sourced. “Even our soap comes from just around the corner. Michelle at Pantry Products is amazing.”
The products Tori chose - like Reverie and Innersense - are plant-based, vegan, and EU-approved. “As stylists, we touch shampoo thousands of times a year. Our risk for cancer is higher than most. Why wouldn’t I protect my team if I could?” She added, “It’s a no-brainer. I want long, healthy careers for all of us.” They have said goodbye to big-box brands, and now carry smaller, thoughtful lines with impactful histories that matter to them.
In many ways, the story of Planted is the story of healing - not just from illness, but from heartbreak, growth, and transformation. Tori does not pretend it has all been easy. “I’ve had to let go of people I loved deeply. I’ve been hurt. But I’ve also built something that matters. And I’m proud of that.”
Without Planted, without the community it nurtures and the intention behind every decision, those conversations, those connections, and that sense of belonging might not exist. But because Tori built this space, they do. “We’re your best friends,” Tori said. “You can talk to us about anything.”
