Meet Giselle Soto of Giselle Soto Brows

Today we’d like to introduce you to Giselle Soto.

Giselle, please share your story with us. 
I am a 23-year-old Latin female of Mexican descent from Oxnard, CA. Like many women, I love beauty and happen to be a tad bit of a perfectionist. I’ve always loved the way tamed eyebrows highlighted a person’s beauty. It wasn’t until I went through a horrific threading experience in 2014 that changed everything for me. I was determined to never kill my eyebrows again! Thin brows and a confused look was NOT my thing. Being fed up, I started teaching myself how to properly shape my own eyebrows, which led my friends and family wanting me to shape theirs. I then realized, “I’m actually kind of good at this”. I decided to take the next step and visit my local beauty school, Lu Ross Academy, to inquire about the courses they offered.

I ended up enrolling in the Esthetics course, where I was able to service hundreds of ladies and gentlemen, which thankfully helped me build a starting clientele. Five months later, I graduated at the top of my class, earning my esthetician license and being known at the academy as “The Brow Queen”. Immediately after the completion at the academy, my self-taught brow shaping skills were being recognized and I was given the opportunity to work alongside a well-known celebrity eyebrow artist in Los Angeles at her salon.

Determined for this opportunity to be just a bump in a road and not halt my brow career, I sought out not only to perfect my craft but my business acumen.  In less than a year of working in my tight (but cozy) studio apartment, I was able to execute a plan to open up my own salon on Melrose Avenue in the heart of Los Angeles.

Has it been a smooth road?
Although God had aligned a lot of things up for me so that I could get to this point, it has not been a smooth road. Anxiety and time management were some of my struggles along the way. Along with my anxiety, I am also a perfectionist, two things that don’t go well together. In the prior months before opening the salon and in the very beginning I would sometimes over-analyze every step, micro-managing simple things unnecessarily, to only cause more anxiety.

I’ve learned to prepare the plan, execute the plan, and let God handle the rest. Time management is something I’m dealing with today. It always seems like there is something that needs to be done, so finding time for myself and loved ones is difficult to balance when work is now 24/7.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Giselle Soto Brows story. Tell us more about the business.
My business, Giselle Soto Brows, is a high-end client specific eyebrow shaping salon. Our eyebrow shaping service includes a trim, wax, tweeze, and make-up fill in and for clients with sensitive skin, we also offer a tweeze the only option. I also specialize in Microblading, also known as micro-needling or eyebrow embroidery, which is a semi-permanent makeup procedure where I create individual hair-like strokes to mimic the client’s natural hair color, texture, and growth pattern.

It benefits women who have sparse areas in their eyebrows and are tired of filling in their eyebrows every day and definitely for individuals with little-to-no hair growth at all. The new microbladed hair strokes can last anywhere from 1-2 years. My salon stands out from the rest for a few reasons. All my brow babes (artists that work at the salon) are personally hand-picked and thoroughly trained by me. I stand by their work as much as I do mine. Our salon gives you the personalized feel, from our flexible booking process to the prompt and personalize eyebrow service distinct for each client.

We pride ourselves in being the salon that we all dreamed of going to for ourselves… professional, CONSISTENT, friendly, catering, prompt, and did I mention consistent?

This is the type of business we strive to provide to each and every one of our clients every single day. I also love sharing, my new-found joy is my personal and group master classes. The classes are perfect for artists looking into the brow business, those looking to perfect their craft, increase their social media following, we give out information on tax preparation, and any pertinent information that helped me get to where I am today. I am young, I want everyone out there, especially other young women to know that they can do it.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I truly believe full and thick brow trend is here to stay. The days of taking off more hair than necessary are over. What I do see the eyebrow industry moving towards in the future is for even more natural looking eyebrows. I see the wispy brow will be the norm, equivalent to when women picked up the Beyoncé “messy/natural” look she started years ago. In terms of make-up application, I believe the market will have to eventually make a turn from all of the extreme contouring and bright colors to more of a natural look as well. Women and men alike are wanting more organic and vegan-friendly products that will camouflage marks and blemishes but still give off a natural finish.

Pricing:

• Giselle Soto Brow Wax/Shaping • First Visit $80
• • Each Visit Thereafter $65
• • Men’s Clean Up $45
• • House Calls $200
• • Fairfax HS Student $35
• • Tweeze Only +$15
• Brow Babe Wax/Shaping (Artists handpicked & personally trained by Giselle Soto) • Each Visit $45
• • Men’s Clean Up $35
• • Tweeze Only +$15
• • Total Investment $850

Contact Info:

• Address: 7813 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90046
• Website: gisellesotobrows.com
• Phone: 310-592-1959
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Jennifer Johnson Photography

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