Articles: Whiter teeth, bronze tans elicit "Brighter Smiles"

Posted to Web: Thursday, May 7, 2009 05:00AM
Appeared in print: Thursday, May 7, 2009, page G15
News: Last Seven Days: Story

Heidi Brancato faces a fierce competitor: the sun. Natural sun tanning is free, and, well, looks natural. But nature, as they say, can be cruel. Golden tans fade, leaving premature wrinkles and perhaps a risk of skin cancer.

The Brighter Smiles salon owner offers a harmless alternative to the UV-ray damage of sunbathing: airbrush tanning. A 15-minute spray-down in a sugarcane-based color will give you a bronzed, summer glow. And it won’t, Brancato insists, turn you orange. If that doesn’t brighten your smile, well, she sells those as well.

Heidi Brancato worked as a dental assistant for 10 years before opening Brighter Smiles, a multi-service salon sandwiched between a Jiffy Lube and H&R Block on Coburg Road. A time-crunched mother of three, she desired greater work/life balance and time to spend with her “little heroes and best friends,” her kids.

She also noticed her patients’ mounting frustration with the cost of teeth whitening. Dental offices require cleaning and X-rays before performing teeth-whitening procedures, while professional labs provide the single bleaching service at a third of the cost. Recently deemed a cosmetic procedure by the FDA, teeth whitening also no longer requires dental credentials. Brancato heard her clarion call, found a 700-square-foot space at 390 Coburg Road and went into the business of brightening smiles in April 2007.

One-woman show

Brancato loves her shop’s location near the Oakway Center. “I frequent (the Coburg Road area) all the time,” she says. “It’s the main artery of Eugene. All the development that’s going on has helped us so much.” She says “us,” but really, Brancato’s a solo act. She does it all. She whitens teeth, sprays on tans, custom fits sports and night guards, operates as a wholesale distributor of bleaching gel, and even answers her own phone.

With the economy in limbo, she used her down time to get nail and esthetic technicians’ licenses last October, adding manicures, pedicures, facials and massages to the services she offers.

Though a one-woman show, she’s created a supportive community of regular clients and fellow business owners. “If the phone’s ringing, my clients will say, ‘Oh, I’ll get that for you, Heidi,’” she says.

Chip Brannon, owner of neighboring business Emerald Employment, will often stop by to help Brancato keep up. Another Oakway neighbor, The Web Zone owner Monica Crissman, designed the Brighter Smiles Web site after hitting if off with Brancato while out canvassing to meet other business owners.

With salons and offices and boutiques blossoming along the Coburg Road Corridor, the area has grown fertile with entrepreneurial minds seeking camaraderie. “It’s a lonely world when you’re in that position,” Brannon says of owning a small business. A year ago, he and Brancato created a networking group that meets at McMenamins North Back on the last Tuesday of every month. “It’s grown from two people to 20 people to 40 people,” Brancato says. “It’s open to any business owner who wants to promote their business.” The group also provides an opportunity to share ideas and meet potential clients.

“She did my entire wedding party, spray-tanned all of us,” says Crissman. “The photos just turned out awesome.”

When Crissman came in to have her teeth whitened, she also mentioned her life-long battle with migraines. Brancato examined the impressions Monica’s teeth created, discovering that she had a habit of grinding her teeth at night. Brancato fit Crissman for a night guard, which Crissman says is so comfortable she doesn’t want to take it out in the morning.

The migraines? History.

Rosy outlook

Last year, Brancato donated more than $4,000 worth of services for auctions and to local nonprofit organizations. She also doesn’t accept tips. Through community involvement and enthusiastic endorsements, her “mostly word-of-mouth” business has grown flush with a roster of smiling, glowing regulars.

Brighter Smiles is fully booked for spray tanning, with clients including University of Oregon cheerleaders and coaches.

Brancato plans to expand her services: In August, she hopes to move into the former Jenny Craig building on Coburg Road. With the extra 1,500 square feet, she wants to add a couple tanning beds and offer microdermabrasion and laser hair removal.

“She’s as hard-working and as energetic as they come,” Brannon says of his networking partner and neighboring business owner. “Everyone who walks out of her office walks out feeling like a million bucks.”

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