Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauralai Hill.
Lauralai, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with my mom’s hair. She had strawberry blonde hair all the way down to her butt. She’d dip dye the tips with a red stripe on the top and a black stripe on the bottom. I couldn’t believe when I asked if I could dye the tips of my hair that she let me! I choose pink. Suddenly I was hooked. I’ve been pink, blue, half green and half black (my all-time favorite!), red, purple, yellow, orange…literally any color I could get my hands on. In high school, my friends started asking me to dye their hair.
Soon enough, I was cutting and coloring hair at my house every week. I kept getting in trouble with my mom because the bathtub, sink and all her white towels were stained! One day at school a Career Counselor approached me. She noticed my hair was always changing. She asked if I did my hair myself. I said yes so she put me in touch with a program that would pay for me to go to beauty school! I didn’t realize it then, but my career had begun. I was 15.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
So I had passed my state board exam and achieved my license and was ready to work! But I quickly realized I wasn’t ready for real people. The client experience is something you can only understand by doing it. It’s all about communicating effectively to really understand what people want. It’s tricky! I was an assistant at that time and I was in awe of how stylists could make people happy and juggle multiple clients at once. Meanwhile, my hands were dry and cracking from constant washing of hair. I blow-dried almost every single client who walked through the door with hardly any room for downtime. And when the stylist’s day was done, I stayed behind to clean the salon, do laundry, color and product inventory. But it was all worth it. I was learning how to talk to clients and what questions to ask. And most importantly for my career, I learned more specialized techniques, like balayage.
Making my way onto the floor came with a whole new set of obstacles. I now had to build a clientele. And this was when there was no hourly pay for stylists and you only get paid commission if you have a client in your chair. So there I am just sitting around hoping the phone rings or someone walks in needing a haircut. Don’t get me wrong I was constantly networking and passing out my business card and trying to get butts in my chair, but it wasn’t working as well as I wanted. Then along came Instagram and it changed everything. I already had an interest in photography and knew about posing and before and after photos so IG was perfect for me. And most importantly, I was posting a lot! And now instead of me searching for clients, my clients find me!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Painted By Lauralai – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
You can find me at Mimosa Salon in Hermosa Beach. Balayage is my jam. My favorite type of hair is “lived in” brunettes and blondes. I create specialized looks tailored for each person that hopefully makes their day, week, month, year all the much better. I truly enjoy being of service and making somebody’s day. My favorite part of my job is taking off that black cape and seeing my guest’s new hair compliment their style. Seeing a little more pep in their step when they walk out the door makes my day.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I LOVE hair education and nerding out over new hair techniques. There’s always room for growth and in this industry, you never stop learning. Just like I love to learn, I love to pass on my knowledge and to teach. I believe in surrounding myself with like-minded people. I dream of having a strong community of stylists who cheer each other on. Ultimately, I hope to open an education based salon where we are able to do just that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 405 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
- Website: http://mimosainhermosa.com/
- Phone: (310) 372-9411
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paintedbylauralai/
Image Credit:
Victoria Lomonaco
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
