Today we’d like to introduce you to Ley Hernandez
Hi Ley, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started Permanent Makeup as a side gig that I worked around my finance job. I started my finance job as a means to get back down to LA from the bay area. I was in the bay area, because it was my first opportunity for a full-time salary after graduating from Whittier College in 2012. And if you remember the economy in 2012, it was slim pick-ins in the job market.
Today, I’m a licensed esthetician, board certified permanent makeup artist, and owner of Jade Brows LLC, based in Covina, CA and Phoenix, AZ. I would never have predicted this back then. But every day, I am beyond grateful for what I get to call “work” where I get to meet amazing people and create art. Jade Brows was established in 2019 and I am so proud of what’s been built over the past 6 years.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It wasn’t exactly a smooth trajectory since February 2019, when I took my first Ombre Powder Brow training.
It took an insane amount of practice, continuing education, and shadowing to really get “good” at it.
At first, I continued my finance job in Orange from 6am-3pm. Afterwards, I’d rush to Rosemead to take client models, and I did this as many times a week as people would book me. I offered my weekends to clients as well. I posted what I did on Instagram and Facebook, and eventually people saw my brow work and referred me to their friends and family. Referrals meant everything and I started to gather reviews on Yelp & Google.
About a year into it, the COVID pandemic hit and I was forced into lockdown with the rest of the world. It took a few months for things to start opening again in LA, so I started driving to Phoenix to work on clients, in my friend’s dental office. Kind of random, but it did provide for a very safe and sterile environment for my clients.
At that point, my finance job was fully remote but it was exhausting to balance alongside brow clients. After a while my husband, who is also my accountant and biggest supporter, crunched the numbers and suggested I go all in on Jade Brows. And so, I did. I got my own little SOLA studio in Brea and I was a full-time Permanent Makeup Artist. As I grew, I moved from there to Placentia to Phoenix and now, I split my time between Covina and Phoenix, AZ.
We’ve been impressed with Jade Brows, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Jade Brows is an esthetics studio specializing in various brow enhancement services like Ombre Powder, Brow Shaping, Brow Lamination, and Brow Tinting. We are also a one-stop shop for other beauty needs like facials, waxing, and other permanent makeup services. In addition to brow artistry and experience, you can also expect a safe and hygienic experience from a licensed esthetician. I have also maintained my board certification with the American Academy of Micropigmentation since 2020 as well as my county Body Art license.
I specialize in and am most known for my Ombre Powder Brow transformations. It’s a permanent makeup technique similar to “microblading” but uses a tattoo machine and needle to implant pigment. Results can last up to 3 years before a Touch Up is needed. This was where I started in the beauty industry, and it is still my most favorite service to do.
I am most proud of maintaining my business in two states, even after having my baby girl in 2024. It’s been an extreme sport to balance it all, but I have such an amazing village of support from friends, family, and clients who continue to build the brand to where it is today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’d like to say that luck played very little in my life and business and that I was solely responsible for it all, but looking back at the crazy route I took to get to where I’m at today, I think good luck played a pretty big role.
I was lucky that the random finance job I took to get to LA, proved to be a lucrative career choice for 8 years, allowing me to pay off my student loans and providing the seed money to start my own business.
I was lucky that my Whittier College experience created lasting relationships, which later became my earliest brow clients.
I was also lucky that I married an insanely smart man who does my books for me for free. He’s gonna love that line.
I’ve been pretty lucky in this life and I’m so grateful for it all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.JadeBrows.com
- Instagram: JadeBrows.co
- Facebook: JadeBrows.co
- Twitter: JadeBrows
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jadebrows
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jade-brows-covina
Image Credits
Christopher Ung – The Love of Pie Photography
