Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Tran.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mary. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up, I was never the kid that played with their barbies’ hair. In all honesty, I started beauty school as a joke and it ended up being a happy accident. I realized I was good at cutting hair after going to the beauty school where my creative skills were unleashed. I didn’t grow up in a family that had a lot of money nor did I go to an upscale beauty school in a fancy city. Instead, I went to a small county-owned beauty school in Stockton, California. During my time in beauty school, one of my most inspiring teachers forced his students to go to hair conventions and signed us up for hair competitions. As the underdogs, we never fathomed we would end up winning first place but we did.
Winning this hair competition pumped up my passion for the hair industry. It is very rare for a Stocktonian to move away from their small town, but my beauty school teacher convinced me to open my horizons and go to the big city to pursue hair. And so far, it has been the best advice I have ever taken.
After beauty school, I started my hair career in a salon in Los Gatos, California and gained valuable knowledge from some of the best hairdressers in the Bay Area. After 4 years at that salon, I decided I wanted to move to LA to pursue my dreams of working at Vidal Sassoon. During my interview, they said I needed a referral from someone at Vidal Sassoon to be considered for hire. I knew no one in LA at that time so I didn’t get offered the job. However, I did not allow that letdown stop me from moving to LA. After that interview, I packed my bags and headed to LA and haven’t looked back the last 8 years.
Its been an incredible journey and I have been able to work on set doing editorial photo shoots and film with celebrities. I had the opportunity to go to New York City and work at NYC fashion week. Now I own my own salon in the heart of Santa Monica and business is always booming. Sometimes I can’t believe I moved away from a small town where no one ever moves away and I take a look at where I am today and it truly blows my mind. I am really blessed for my life.
Has it been a smooth road?
I think the rougher the road, the stronger you become. I grew up in a poor family with a single mother with 5 children to feed. We didn’t have a lot growing up. I always knew I wanted to make something of myself so one day I can take care of my mom. My biggest challenge so far has been getting out of my comfort zone.
I moved to the Bay Area with no job, no car, and barely any money but somehow some way I made it work. I didn’t let those obstacles stop me from my dreams. I got a job at the best salon in Los Gatos, California where I had the best in-salon training and got introduced to the education at Vidal Sassoon. This eventually sparked my interest to one day work for them. I applied the Vidal Sassoon Salon in San Francisco and got rejected. I applied to the Vidal Sassoon in Los Angeles, and again, I got rejected.
I believe everything happens for a reason because if it weren’t for the idea of me wanting to work for Vidal Sassoon, I wouldn’t have moved out to Los Angeles. Instead, I got the opportunity to work on set with some pretty badass celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Christina Perri. This just proves that it doesn’t matter how little you had growing up. As long as you believe in yourself and really shoot for the stars, you might just land on some stars like I did.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My business is an intimate hair salon studio where we specialize in both cuts and color. Although my social media is centered around hair coloring, I specifically specialize in women haircuts. What I am most proud of as a company is that we always leave room for growth. There is always more to learn whether it be a classic haircut or the newest trend in hair color for the season.
We are always hungry for the knowledge of what’s new, what’s working and what’s not. We always strive to give our clients the best experience so they can leave happy, positive and feel pretty. What I love to do with my clients is to talk about what makes them happy and what they are passionate about. Our salon is centered around inspiring positivity and happiness. I feel like keeping the energy uplifting in the salon really sets up apart from others.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles is the best place for a hairdresser to start out because there is such an abundance of incredibly talented hairdressers here to learn from. Pick from any of the many city pockets of LA and you will find a badass hairdresser in that area that will mentor you. Los Angeles is so overpopulated so there is enough success to go around for everyone twice. As long as you work hard, kick ass, and never stop learning, this city is definitely failing proof.
Pricing:
- Women’s haircut $125+
- Full Highlights $400+
- Full Ombre Balayage $450+
- Partial Highlights $250+
- Subtle Ombre Balayage $350+
- Grey Root Coverage $95+
- Colors melt Toner $100+
- Color Correction $130 an hour
- Creative Color $130 an hour
Contact Info:
- Address: 1358 5th st. studio 505 + 508
Santa Monica CA, 90401 - Website: www.mare.la
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @mare.l.a
- Facebook: @mare.la
Image Credit:
Joey James Salehi, Aleksandar Tomovic, Jaimie Alexander, Christina Perri, Warren Alfie Baker, Leslie Alejandro, Mathias Alan, Sasha Goldenberger, Jamie Breuer, Crystal Tran, Gina Darling, Kristina Truong, Christopher Vanek, Tony Avina, Savannah Schmidt
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
