Hair Stylist
Since I was a little girl I’ve always loved doing hair! Whether it was my own, my family or my Barbie dolls it always has brought me joy. In 2011, I decided to pursue my dreams and enroll at Stylemaster’s Beauty College of Hair & Design. While I was in beauty college I met a girl who I knew would be a lifelong friend! We dreamt that one day we would work together in a salon where we could share our passion for hair and helping others to feel beautiful! After 8 years and our lives going in opposite directions between Washington and Oregon we managed to stay close. Traveling together for continued education and encouraging each other to never stop dreaming. Finally the time has come and my dream of owning my own salon has came true, it wouldn’t have been complete without my best friend Megan!
After beauty college I rented a chair at a salon in Longview for a few short months with amazing and inspiring women at Split Enz Salon. In the summer of 2012 I moved to Yakima, WA. Within the first week I obtained a position at a men’s hair cutting franchise, SportClips. After a short period of time I was asked to take the managerial position. It was a great experience specializing in men’s haircuts.
I found an apprenticeship opportunity that I applied for at a high end salon named The Gazebo. I worked along side a stylist with 10 years experience and assisted her 3 days a week learning the foundations of hair from blow drying, shampooing, hair cutting and coloring techniques. After a month of mannequin practice and assisting the clients with my trainer I started taking clients 1 day a week while she was working that way she could teach me more in depth formulas for colors and answer any questions I had. I completed the apprenticeship after 4 months and the amount of knowledge I gained from that experience was detrimental to my career in the hair industry.
Since 2016, I have been back in my hometown of Astoria, Oregon renting a station and focusing on my growth and knowledge in the hair industry. Over the course of years I’ve tried multiple hair color and product lines and have found one of my favorites to be Redken. I love the continuing education provided by Redken. I have been to classes for specialty coloring in blonding, Balayage, Babylights & root smudging at venues located in Olympia, Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro and more. I have had Redken educators come to the salons I’ve worked in and taught classes as well. I attended the Redken Symposium held in Las Vegas in 2017. It was a 3 day experience with 12 speciality classes and thousands of stylists from all over the world. It was an amazing and exciting experience. I also went to a Brazilian Blow Out Certification class offered in the Portland area so that I can offer a treatment to reduce curl and frizz lasting up to 12 weeks and make the desired clients hair more manageable and easier to style. I attended a class brought to the Portland area by The Business of Balayage. This class went into detail and depth and taught me angles and placement to achieve the most natural looking haircolor effect.
As I’ve continued to grow and really center myself around the hair that keeps my passion growing and alive I’ve come to the conclusion that I love colors & cuts and hair extensions. I began my journey into hair extensions traveling to Arizona where I was certified and trained by Top Knot Extensions. I learned Tape Ins and 2 types of a sew in method. This opened up my eyes to the transformations that are possible with hair extensions. In 2017, I went to my first intensive for Natural Beaded Rows extensions in California. It was so much more than just a hair extension class they offered a continuing education program and included business aspects as well. I continued over the course of a year and a half traveling to more intensive trainings and conventions teaching the method and practicing daily on my foundational skills and became level 3 certified. In February of 2019, I took another hair extensions class called SKW Extensions. This is a new method that was created by a Nurse practitioner as well as a licensed hair stylist. I chose to invest in myself and my career to become certified in this method because it is not damaging to your natural hair and is not harmful to the scalp. I’ve tried multiple different extensions on myself and this method is by far the most comfortable to wear. I am able to style my hair as if it were my own without worry that anyone will notice. What I love best about hair extensions is my ability to color the extensions and clients hair so that it blends seamlessly. I use hand tied hair which allows me to install enough hair so when I cut the layers everything blends and it doesn’t take away from the desired thickness. I love creating hairstyles for clients to achieve their hair goals and most of all to help them feel truly as beautiful as they are. I enjoy teaching my clients how to take care of their hair at home by recommending products or style tips that will make it easier for them!
To better prepare myself to one day open my own salon I obtained my associates degree in Business Management in June 2017 from Grays Harbor Community College. When I am not working I enjoy spending time with my family. We like to go hiking, to the beach, catch an occasional movie and even bowling. I love to spend time with my son Sterling and my bonus son Kason. We love to paint and make all kinds of crafts. We love to play sports, go to the park and play in the sand. Having the ability to spend time with my children is one of the reasons I enjoy the freedom that comes with the career field I am in!
Thank you for all your continued support and encouragement! I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am in my career without all of my clients, family and friends! My ultimate goal is to be the best I can be for my children to live an amazing life. Showing them that hard work and perseverance pays off and to never stop dreaming.
