I didn't just stumble into this career. I didn't want to do things the "easy way" as has been suggested(if you can believe people think trade school is "easy"). The seed was in fact planted a long time ago....
I grew up in this world of blow-dryers and color brushes. I guess you could say, I didn't choose the hair life, the hair life chose me. I grew up running around in my mother's beauty shop. I can remember getting picked up from school, sick, and spending the day sleeping in a facial room because that's how you gotta do things when you run a busy and thriving salon. I was there all the time, I knew all the stylists, and I was absolutely enamored by the whole process of hair. I'm sure all of my questions were exhausting, and that I probably got in the way some times, but you gotta start some where I suppose.
Well, that fascination never died and at 14 I found myself working in the salon with my momma. For a few dollars I would sweep hair, rinse color bowls, keep laundry rolling, and I could make a mean pot of coffee. Now, at this time I was in a very fortunate position to pursue my passion. My mother was a seasoned stylist, and my father was a packaging engineer for American Crew, Abba, and CND, just to name a few. I was lucky enough at this point to be able to attend my first ever hair show, and it was on a vendor pass. Ya'll, I wasn't even in hair school yet, but when I walked through those doors at the Orange County Convention Center for the Premiere Orlando Hair Show I was shook.
My little 14 year old min was blown. The lights, the glamour, the artistry, everything had my eyes as big as saucers. And after watching a choreographed platform show by the then power couple of hair Sonya and Christopher Dove I couldn't deny it any more. I needed to be a part of this world.
So I had some serious goals. I worked as salon gopher, then shampoo girl, then receptionist throughout high school proudly, it was the cool job for a high school girl to have and I couldn't have been happier. Enter high school guidance counselor... apparently I was wasting my AP credits, I was throwing my life away, I didn't know what I was talking about, and needed to reconsider. I wouldn't amount to anything he assured me before recommending the local community college as a feasible replacement since I seemed to want to do things the easy way. Of course that only made me want to do it more, and I was touring schools with momma bear within a week. I wanted to start with night classes, I would double down during the last few months of my senior year, but unfortunately none of the schools would let me start without a diploma since I was only 17. But eventually I would register several weeks before graduation with a start day set about a week after walking across the stage and snatching that diploma.
Truth time, hope you're ready for a little tea! I wasn't immediately sold on things once I started beauty school. I was super intimidated, in part because I was the youngest one there by several years. I wasn't thrilled with the work I was doing, roller sets, pin curls, one length hair cuts, and little boys who would not sit still for more than 10 seconds. I was happiest when I was able to create freely (and still am), but I got so frustrated being made to go through the motions. Of course I get it now, but at the time I think I caused some friction. Hindsight, it's 20/20.
I got to do some really awesome things while I was in beauty school and shortly after I was licensed. I was assisting with education for Goldwell and KMS, getting such amazing hands on education with product lines I loved. We got to travel the state, do trend shows, and even model prep for the very hair show that had won my heart years before. I continued to work in the salon during my time in school and had a job as soon as I graduated. Sounds great, right? Well, it was briefly. Then I did some stupid things, made some bad decisions, and ended up in another state for a few years. But that's neither here nor there.
Upon returning to my native land of Florida, where the sun is hot and the rain is plentiful and the drivers are insane I got a job as a rep for a hair care line while settling back into my trade, double dipping for a while between the world of sales and hands on practice. It was a weird world entering into an hourly salon, after I had a more upscale commission based beginning. It served me well for a time, allowing me to build speed and a more consistent technique. But I really struggled with working long grueling hours for minimum wage.
Then I ventured into the land of the independent contractor. I started to be able to control what I was making. The harder I worked the more I was able to take home. But I was still missing something. I was doing 20 men's cuts in a day, I wasn't building or growing, the clientele I had was there for the salon and the cheap ($9 haircut) prices, not for me, and color was a seriously under utilized and underappreciated service. This also served me, until it didn't.
I did a part time stint with another hair care company (my "he-who-shall-not-be-named"), traveling and doing fashion shows and professional conferences and training, which was awesome, but ultimately the whole thing crashed and burned as a result of shady business ethics and poor management. Tsk tsk.
But it led me here. Today I am a small business owner, I've gotten to build my brand, create some beautiful things, and I have some outstanding clients who have become family. I am obsessed with what I do, I spend what little free time I get trying to bloom into something more. I have picked up so much knowledge along the way and a love of the industry that I need to share. I want to dive in deeper, learning more things so I can, in turn, share them with all of you.
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