Meet Lisa Giles of Newport Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Giles

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to the united states very young with my parents. to Delaware to be exact. I had a natural talent for art and wanted to pursue it, however being a child of immigrant parents, they did NOT want me to do that, so naturally I did it anyway. I went to a highschool that was considered a trade school and was able to get my license in cosmetology at 17. from there, I just worked my butt off in the salon; building a full book in just a year. I opened my first salon at 19. it was just me for a while and eventually I expanded it to a 4 chair salon with an esthetician. I closed it when I was 25 because I moved across the country to California to fulfill this hunger of success. I knew I was destine for so much more than just being in Delaware. upon moving here, I worked at a salon for about a year and quickly outgrew it. I left, opened another solo suite, but also out grew that in just 8 months. and thats when it dawned on me.. I truly am much more than just a “hairstylist”. I needed something much bigger than what I am. so I opened a company called Straight Out of Cosmo where we help new stylists find their way in this industry through affordable, attainable, accessible education. it’s the first app ever designed specifically for hairstylist education. with all the experience I had under my belt in the short 10 years of achieving all of this, I felt that the speed at which I worked was almost frowned upon since I got a lot of judgement for it. I believe that your version of success constantly changes and grows with you; whether thats fast or slow. I’ve opened every business alone, with no support, just a dollar and a dream. my obsession of growth has propelled me into rooms I didn’t know I could be in.

now I offer mentorship programs for stylists looking to grow their life than just behind the chair. I travel around and teach education in multiple cities. I still work behind the chair but am looking to open another salon to act as a house for all my projects and give a safe space for stylists to grow as fast as they want. I have a podcast that speaks about entrepreneurship and the good, bad, and the ugly of it all. I’m a multifaceted human and I believe my career reflects as such!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
smooth isn’t in my vocabulary LOL.

I had a very abusive childhood, but also my parents didn’t support my journey of being a hairstylist at all as well. they were very mad at me for going against them, causing a deep divide in our relationship. so I did everything alone. I moved out when I was 16. just a young kid fending for themselves. fortunately I was a hairstylist then so I was able to make some money and provide for myself.

I got married at 22 – 25 and had all my money stolen from me. even from the salon I owned as well. so I started out in California unbelievably broke, but I made it.

I’ve had a lot of odds against me with every endeavor and all aspect of my life, but I made it! and I continue to defy those odds.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a hairstylist by trade. I specialize in transformations/make overs! The more brittle and broken your hair is, the more likely I’ll take you on as a client. I’m known for these transformations and my outlook on life/hair.

most women are shamed for using box color – this has been an on going thing in the industry. I personally never turned those people away because it’s just hair color, but I especially saw a divide in the industry during covid. more people were turning to box color because it’s all they could do, and more hairstylists were shaming their clients for doing so. this divide drove me nuts.. so I took that time to start educating on social media and start posting the work I was doing with correcting hair color and it went nuts.

eventually I started teaching other stylists how they too can battle box color and how they can build their dream clientele/dream business.

I quickly learned it was much deeper than just box color; there was and is a lot of psychology behind this and has alot to do with mental health.

but ultimately, I became the stylist who not only taught you how to take on the hardest challenge behind the chair, but also equip you with tools to take on the hardest challenges of life.

What were you like growing up?
gosh growing up I was a WILD CHILD LOL.

I was always the life of the party. loud. eccentric. very much unapologetic (still am).
while I was loud kid, I was also slightly the werid kid. I was a band geek, I loved collecting rocks, painting. I drew on my walls. I loved the outdoors and just getting lost. I was always the one who led the adventures. I was quite the tomboy until about high school. highschool is when I became the loud party girl, but was still a werido.

what a combo

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lifeoflisag.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeoflisag/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifeoflisag/
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@lifeoflisag

Image Credits
Meghan Santana, TIFFANY NGUYEN