For Shear Ego at 50, change and continuity

When Gene Cardamone passed away unexpectedly last year, his daughter, Shayna, had to quickly step into his role as owner and president of Shear Ego Salon & Spa.

“I had to sort of go into action very quickly to make sure that everybody understood that we’re going to be fine,” Shayna Cardamone says. “Shear Ego is not going anywhere. I’m fully here and I’m fully committed.”

A beloved member of the community, Gene Cardamone joined the Peter Webb School of Hair Design in 1967 after serving in the United States Armed Forces. In 1976, less than a decade later, he and business partner Anthony Cotroneo founded Shear Ego Salon & Spa. They founded the Shear Ego International School of Hair Design two years after.

Shear Ego Salon & Spa, which in 2026 celebrates 50 years in business, is one of the area’s upscale, full-service luxury salons. Located on Monroe Avenue in Pittsford, the salon has 85 employees; 65 people work at the salon and spa, and 20 work at the cosmetology school.

In the early 2000s, when Shayna Cardamone was in high school, she told her father that she wanted to join the family business.

“He said, ‘Nope,” Shayna Cardamone recounts. “‘You’re going to college.”

After graduating from Syracuse University, Shayna Cardamone moved to New York City to pursue a career in fashion. A decade passed, and she decided that she wanted to come home. That still didn’t mean a spot at Shear Ego.

“He said, ‘All right, that’s great. But I want you to really understand the business from every angle and every perspective,” Shayna Cardamone recalls. “I had a lot of really great exposure to and experience with the business side of things, but he wanted me to understand it from the chair, so I agreed to go to cosmetology school.”

Still in New York City, Shayna Cardamone got her cosmetology license at Arrojo Cosmetology and then worked at Frederick Fekkai Salons. Finally, she moved back to Rochester and started a full-time position at Shear Ego. Cardamone told her that instead of coming in at the top, she would have to start at the bottom and earn her stripes. Shayna Cardamone agreed and began as a guest experience coordinator, where she earned minimum wage at the front desk.

From there, she climbed the ladder until she became spa director. In that role, she worked to modernize the spa. Shayna Cardamone updated the space, made changes to compensation structures, and brought in new and in-demand services. These changes led to 30% revenue growth since she stepped into the role in 2023.

When Cardamone passed away, the Shear Ego community mourned. For Shayna Cardamone, the transition meant jumping into a new role in the midst of a crisis.

“There’s a big difference between knowing that someday you’re going to take over the family business and actually having that moment happen unexpectedly,” she says. “It was hard not to be able to grieve and deal with the loss because I had to go into action mode.”

As she moves forward as the new owner and president of Shear Ego, Shayna Cardamone remembers her father’s leadership and the values he instilled in her from a young age.

“He taught me to take care of people, to build relationships, have pride in the work, and be able to take risks,” says Shayna Cardamone.

Cardamone’s catchphrase was “Make It Happen.” He often encouraged his daughter to take risks.

Looking ahead, Shayna Cardamone doesn’t plan to make any changes at Shear Ego. Her goals for the salon and spa’s new era are to keep things as they are.

“For right now, I’m focused on keeping the momentum of what he’s built and continuing to connect the multiple generations in the community,” she says. “I want the next generation of clients to feel the same connection to Shear Ego that previous generations felt.”

Shayna Cardamone is serving as president while continuing as spa director, though she hopes to find a replacement for the director job so she can focus on her new leadership duties.

“I’m still growing into the role and still learning, but I have learned that leadership isn’t about having every answer,” Shayna Cardamone says. “It’s about being willing to step up and figure things out.”

Audra Fitzgerald is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s third cohort.

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