Greta Patel always had a passion for beauty. As a young girl, her mother indulged her with haircuts at high-end salons and massages for birthdays. “At the salon, I would sit in the chair and just be so infatuated with the busyness and the women who were working there.”
When she was 10 years old, she even painted her own business sign for what she called Greta's Great Hands. “I pretended that I was a masseuse and I would give everyone in my family foot massages and shoulder rubs.”
As a high school senior, Greta toured the Aveda Institute and had the same feeling she did at the salon. At 18 years old, she enrolled there and flourished. “I graduated at the top of my class with the most retail sales and also the most client referrals, and received my cosmetology license.”
Originally planning to do hair, she contracted Lyme disease and couldn’t stand for long periods of time. So, she pivoted and started doing lash extensions and brows out of her parents’ house as a way to make some money while recuperating. But, her skill set became so in demand that she knew she needed to start working in a more professional setting.
“I worked for someone else for about a year, and then in 2020, I started my own business, The Lash Sanctuary, in Edina,” says Greta. In 2023, she opened another location in Minneapolis.
“The unique thing about my story is I actually had a baby 16 days after the launch of the North Loop location, so I feel like I actually gave birth to two babies.”
The Lash Sanctuary, she says, is truly a space to relax and feel pampered. “It has a modern flair, but it's so cozy and inviting.”
Beautiful lashes and well-defined eyebrows can transform someone’s entire face. Services include lash extensions, lash lifts and tints, eyebrow waxing and eyebrow tints. Its newest offering, at the Edina location, is microblading.
The eyelash extensions are made out of synthetic mink. “A single lash is dipped in a teeny amount of adhesive and then strategically placed on one natural eyelash at a time,” says Greta. “We can do everything from barely noticeable for every day to really dramatic for a wedding. It's completely customizable and tailored to the client's desired look.”
Lash lifting and tinting allow clients’ natural lashes to stay curled for up to eight weeks and also appear darker.
Eyebrow waxing includes a consultation of what someone’s brow goals are and also a shaping, which not a lot of places do. Eyebrow tints involve applying semi-permanent hair dye to brows to get a darker result, while laminations make brows appear fuller. For microblading, the ideal client is anyone who cannot achieve fuller brows on her own.
“We've seen a lot of amazing transformations here,” she says.
The other amazing thing about The Lash Sanctuary, adds Greta, is that she’s able to run a business and still be there for baby London. Her husband, Tyssul, grew up in London, and is a brand creator and graphic designer who personally branded The Lash Sanctuary.
“This business has supported me in different seasons of life and it’s so accommodating and flexible to my needs,” she says. “I never thought it would get to this point, but I've been really fortunate. I'm blessed with amazing women who work with me and who have helped grow the brand, and I’ve been so supported by my clients as well.”
3902 W 50th St. Suite B | 612-750-9667 | TheLashSanctuary.co
