About
About Kaizen Education and founder Sal Misseri
Kaizen Education is the professional education side of Reverie Salon in Chicago — where Sal Misseri and his team teach other professionals the standard they work to every day.
Our story
The story behind Kaizen
Sal Misseri founded Kaizen Education to pass a career's worth of technique on to the next generation of stylists and salon owners. The name comes from the Japanese principle of continuous improvement — kai, change, and zen, good — because great hairdressing is built the same way: small, deliberate changes that compound into mastery.
Kaizen is based at Reverie Salon in River North. Every member of the Reverie team, assistants included, is trained to the Kaizen standard — which is why the education is built around what actually happens with high-end clients behind the chair.
Founder
About Sal Misseri
Sal Misseri is one of the most decorated and versatile hairstylists working today, recognized at the highest level across haircutting, color, men's work and editorial. He is known for precision dry cutting and razor cutting that plan how a haircut will grow, so shapes last longer than a conventional cut.
Between 2016 and 2020, Davines brought Sal in to work on new product launches — most significantly The Century of Light, the bleaching system the brand released in 2018, and View, its tone-on-tone colour line, which he worked to bring up to the standard required for a global launch. Over the same period he trained Davines' North American hair colour education team several times a year, working with the educators themselves on technical ability — foiling and balayage above all.
Most colorists learn a brand's system. Sal was brought in to help build one, and to train the people who teach it.
A Davines Global Artist, Sal has taught hairdressers in more than nine countries, including Japan and South Africa, and worked backstage at New York Fashion Week for designers including Christian Siriano and Porsche Design. His work has been featured on Vogue’s website, and he has been interviewed by GQ and other magazines. He is the founder and creative director of both Kaizen Education and Reverie Salon.
Recognition
Awards and honors
North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA)
Recognized 17 times by NAHA
Newcomer of the Year — winner, 2012
Hairstylist of the Year — three-time finalist: 2013, 2015 (the collection Rebel Love, photographed by John Rawson) and 2016
Master Hairstylist of the Year — nominee, 2017, the youngest stylist ever nominated in the category
Haircutting — nominee, 2017 · Men's Hairstylist of the Year — nominee, 2018 and 2019
Contemporary Classic — finalist, 2012 and 2014; People's Choice — finalist, 2013; Team of the Year — nominee, 2015
Competition wins
Irish Hairdressing Awards — winner
America's Beauty Show Global Image Awards — 2017 winner for Editorial and Salon Team (Kaizen Education / Reverie Salon) and recipient of the Leo Passage Gold Trophy — the award for best overall look — one of several Leo Passage trophies across his career
Behind the Chair Big Shot Awards — Creative Colorist of the Year, North America (2015)
Estetica's Choice — Men's Hairstylist of the Year (2013)
Sassoon Academy Shoot Out — winner (2012) · Aveda Congress — Best Haircut (2011)
International nominations and honors
Multiple nominations at the AIPP Awards (Association Internationale Presse Professionnelle), the Canadian Mirror Awards and the International Visionary Awards in London
By year
2016 — Canadian Mirror Awards, International Stylist of the Year finalist · International Visionary Awards, London, nominee
2015 — Behind the Chair Big Shot Awards, Creative Colorist — winner; nominee for Best Haircut and Best Men's Stylist · AIPP Awards, London, Best Men's Stylist nominee
2014 — Canadian Hairdresser Mirror Awards, International Stylist of the Year finalist (one of six stylists from the US, London and Paris) · AIPP Coiffure, Best Men's Collection finalist (the only American nominated) · Named one of the top 30 colorists under 30 in the U.S. · New York Fashion Week hair for Christian Siriano, Porsche Design, Kimberly Ovitz, Behnaz Sarafpour and Ann Yee · Led hair for Chicago Style Fashion Week
2013 — Estetica's Choice, Men's Hairstylist of the Year · Aveda Congress guest artist · Led hair for Latino Fashion Week Chicago (2013–2014)
2012 — Sassoon Academy Shoot Out — winner
2011 — Aveda Congress, Best Haircut
Most of the photography on this site is Sal's own. Kaizen also offers hair and beauty photography — marketing, competition and brand shoots for stylists, salons and brands.
Press
In the press
Independent coverage of Sal Misseri's work as a stylist and educator:
Modern Salon — America's Beauty Show Global Image Awards winners (2017) — Editorial, Salon Team and the Leo Passage Gold Trophy
Modern Salon — 2017 NAHA finalists — Master Hairstylist of the Year and Haircutting
Beauty Launchpad — 2016 North American Hairstyling Awards — Hairstylist of the Year finalists
Modern Salon — 2015 NAHA finalists — Hairstylist of the Year
Brown Aveda Institute — Canadian Hairdresser Mirror Awards — International Stylist of the Year finalist (2014)
American Salon — Hairbrained Up-Close: Sal Misseri (2017)
American Salon — On the NAHA Red Carpet with Sal Misseri
HairNews South Africa — Davines View seminar tour with international educator Sal Misseri — Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth (2019)
Aveda Institutes — 2016 NAHA finalists — North American Hairstylist of the Year
Bangstyle — Featured Stylist: Sal Misseri (2014)
Davines — Sal Misseri — Davines artist profile
Free Salon Education — Artist spotlight: Sal Misseri and Reverie Salon (2026)
Who founded Kaizen Education?
Kaizen Education was founded by Sal Misseri, the Chicago hairstylist, educator and Davines Global Artist who also founded Reverie Salon in River North.
What does Kaizen mean?
Kaizen is a Japanese word usually translated as continuous improvement — kai, change, and zen, good. It describes small, deliberate improvements that compound into mastery, which is how Kaizen Education approaches teaching.
How is Kaizen Education connected to Reverie Salon?
Kaizen is the professional education side of Reverie. Classes and mentoring take place at Reverie Salon, 300 W Grand Ave, Suite 5, Chicago, and every member of the Reverie team, including the assistants, is trained to the Kaizen standard.