Conversations with Jessica Ruby

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Ruby.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career at 17 years old in New York City I went to school in union square. I randomly met this girl and she introduced me to this really cool fun salon. All the salons I had gone to check out were so boring and had a dress code.

This salon everyone had tattoos and the vibes were amazing. I went thru an intense 4-year training program where I had to go on the streets of NYC and find 4 hair models to practice on a week. I worked there for 10 years. I was one of their top stylist and had educators. I traveled all over the country, teaching other hairdressers how to do hair, I’ve built up a really awesome clientele in New York City and then I started to work for other brands. I finally opened up my own salon in New York Called the flamingo lounge. Then Covid hit in. My husband’s job took us out west. We ended up moving to Hollywood California and I opened up a second flamingo lounge. My concept for the Flamingo lounge is a safe space for people to meet each other and have a good time for me. I hate salons that feel like a robot cookie-cutter houses, sterile, and boring and too loud that you can’t hear anybody, my husband is a carpenter and he built out my salon and it’s a really cool tropical rainbow house bungalow in Hollywood and I do all the Pop punk musicians in LA and I absolutely love it I want people to feel good and look fabulous and also be able to style their hair at home. That’s what I’m known for and I’m also known for creative hair color.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The beginning of my career was pretty smooth. I’m not gonna lie the hair industry can be pretty toxic. I had a really hard time finding a safe space where I can do hair and be myself I guess that’s what inspired me to open up my own place to create that.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in cut and color and I’m known for giving people really cool, textured, creative hairstyles that you’re able to do at home. People love to come to me because they don’t have to go home and blow dry flat iron use a curling iron. I work with people’s natural texture so they could just do it at home and let it air dry. Last year I had a picture go viral called the two-toned mullet and now I am known for shags and mullets and really creative hair colors think money pieces, split dye, dip, dye anything that’s bright fun and looks like the rainbow. I do all the musicians in la!

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I definitely learned a lot during Covid being a hairstylist we were shut down for a really long time so there was no work so it was a lot of learning different ways to communicate with my clients, I did a lot of virtual hair had a lot of people have their partners apply the hair color and tell them what to do, so I came up with some really interesting ideas. I also took a lot of time to do lots of self-care, I am a bicoastal hairstylist. I travel between New York and LA. I go to Brooklyn every seven weeks because of Covid that definitely had changed.

Contact Info:

• Website: Flamingoloungehair.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/flamingoloungehair
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamingoloungehair?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jessicaruby6451
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@flamingoloungehollywood?_t=8ZA5CjRFKiR&_r=1 

Image Credits
Kailee Morgue Paige Margulies TiLLiE Maty noyes Luna aura Mikaila Delgado Shanelle noblick Nikole Horton Helen giron