Today we’d like to introduce you to David Richards.
Hi David, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up on a small farm in southern Maryland; the closest town was too small for its own post office or grocery store. I was a multi-sport athlete for most of my life, and then I graduated high school and followed the next step everyone around me was doing which was enrolling in a four-year university. The summer before I went to college, I experimented with hair color for the first time on my own head from a box with a friend. Then came salon visits to have it professionally colored, and I changed from blonde to red to blue with reckless abandon. I moved on to coloring friends’ hair at home, and by the end of that first year away at school, I had decided I was not going to return and instead, I wanted to pursue hair as a career. Turning my life’s plan upside down was difficult for me, and trying to explain it to the people around me was even harder. I wasn’t fully aware of just how endless the possibilities were when I started down this path, but something in me knew this is what I wanted to do. After going to beauty school and receiving my license, I worked all over Maryland without finding much success, my skillset was not what I wanted it to be, and I was really doubting if I had made the right decision, then after an impromptu weekend bus trip to New York City with some friends, I made another life-changing decision, I decided I wanted to live there. I returned back to Maryland and set to putting a plan in motion. After several months I had secured a job, an apartment, and a small nest egg to make the move.
Once in New York, I struggled to keep up, to learn the city, find friends, make money and increase my hair skillset. I lost my initial job a few months after I got to NYC, and things were looking pretty grim. Then, through a friend of a friend, I got an opportunity to interview as a colorist assistant. I didn’t know anything about where the salon was, the reputation or much about the program but when I got out of the subway inside the Plaza Hotel and waked up the marble staircase to the second floor and stood in front of the Warren-Tricomi Salon, I knew that this was the biggest opportunity of my life up until this moment. This salon was the L’Oreal flagship location at the time in NYC and was owned by celebrity colorist and stylist Joel Warren and Edward Tricomi. I received top-of-the-line education from their talented team of colorists and stylists, hands-on training from L’Oreal educators from all over the world, as well as opportunities to work on photo shoots and national color campaigns. My mentors here taught me the business, about work ethic, responsibilities, and everything hair color.
After 4 years training and working at Warren-Tricomi, I received my next opportunity and a promotion to join the L’Apartment Prive team as a colorist. Little did I know that two weeks later, at this new salon, I would meet Johnny Ramirez, celebrity colorist and salon owner in Beverly Hills. Or that during the next several months, I would work with him only a handful of times, but at the end of one of his visits, he would offer me an opportunity to join his team in Los Angeles.
Cut to now, 9 years later, I still work with Johnny and the team of colorists and stylists in Beverly Hills at Ollin Salon. After coming to LA, I honed and perfected my skillset from beachy blondes to rich brunettes and spicy redheads. I have a diverse clientele, ranging from all facets of the entertainment industry to literal rocket scientists.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Throughout every part of my journey, there have been parts that were extremely difficult. A lot of those difficulties were my own growing pains, my own process of learning what to do and not to do and understanding the importance of every day trying to live from a place of abundance and gratitude instead of reaction and fear. This is hard and by no means a perfect process; it’s a daily practice that we never fully master, just trying to do a little better each day. Self-doubt is probably the biggest saboteur that we all have, and it has taken me a really long time to understand how to trust in the process of what’s happening, even when it’s uncertain. Moving to new cities without a support system of family and friends in each new place were also difficult.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in hair color services. I do a lot of blonding services, from bright platinums to surfer, beachy and sun-kissed highlights. I am a stickler about the health and integrity of the hair, especially when achieving lighter looks, my process is meticulous but is completely customized to each guest to suit their lifestyle, features and keeping their hair healthy and beautiful every step of the way. I also do a lot of redheads, I love the complexity and chemistry that goes into designing the perfect formulas for my reds, it’s constantly challenging but so rewarding.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Nothing is guaranteed, and living each moment with integrity and purpose is the highest priority to me. We all endured something that we could have never imagined possible prior to Covid, and throughout the immense loss and suffering, there was also an opportunity to re-evaluate the life we were living up until that point and pivot in the areas that we needed to. I underwent a lot of self-discovery and self-work during the last few years that was only possible to commit myself to because of the time available when salons were closed during the quarantines and the limited schedule to work during the many waves of the pandemic. Also, I gained such immense gratitude for my clients, my team, and the beauty industry as a whole, without them, I wouldn’t have the life that I have. Their support meant everything to me during those times of complete uncertainty, and I am so grateful to have the relationships with them that I have.
Pricing:
- Highlights $400
- One Process Color $175
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @TheKidColors
