Owners across the state are learning to grow beauty businesses beyond the big cities. Wellness and beauty have quietly become a growing part of life in the state's cities.

Small-town salons rely on loyalty and word of mouth.

What sets it apart

Booth rental lowers the barrier for new stylists to start out. Small as it sounds, it is exactly the sort of thing that defines the experience on the ground.

Social media has widened the reach of rural beauty pros.

Why it matters

What ties it all together is a distinctly South Dakota balance between the wild and the worked-over. For a growing number of South Dakotans, that kind of reset has become part of the routine.