State-Of-The-Art Cosmetology School Now Open In Wayne

WAYNE, NJ — The longest-running esthetics school in the nation has moved into Wayne Township, with an expansive new building ready for aspiring beauticians to learn the trade.

The Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics & Cosmetology officially opened on Tuesday in the Willowbrook Center, offering accredited courses in cosmetology and hairstyling, skin care, and manicure.

Founder Christine Valmy (birth name Cristina Xantopol) was an esthetician, consultant, and entrepreneur from Romania who emigrated to the U.S. in the 1960s with her family. She opened the first Christine Valmy International School in 1965.

The new school in Wayne was built to provide more space for classes and more modern classroom amenities, and includes specially-designed rooms for classes and clinics, company leaders said.

This 20,000 square-foot facility next to Willowbrook Mall (201 Willowbrook Blvd., 8th floor) is the largest Christine Valmy school yet — and also is now the only one in New Jersey, the organization said.

Current students are moving to the new classrooms in Wayne from the existing school in Pine Brook, which was open for about 35 years. The Christine Valmy company will keep its headquarters in the Morris County community, though that school will close.

CEO Peter de Haydu said the new school is a "game changer" that raises the bar for both the Christine Valmy organization and the state's beauty education system as a whole.

“We are incredibly excited to give our students and staff a beautiful new home in the Willowbrook school,” said de Haydu, who is also Valmy's son-in-law. “Our New Jersey presence has historically been relatively small due to space constraints and limited access to public transit. This brand new school is sprawling and next to a major bus destination hub, so we can now offer our top-quality education in both English and Spanish to a much larger population of budding beauty pros."

For more information on classes, enrollment, and financial aid at the new Wayne school, click here.