Today we’d like to introduce you to Laila Ashburn.
Laila, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I can’t quite remember how I answered this the last time, but I think my understanding of how I got started and my why has expanded. 14 years ago I embarked on a custody battle of the lifetime, as a matter of fact it still goes on. Through that particular journey, I decided that in order to show my stability I’d start pursuing a stable career. Choosing to become a hairstylist was the best decision I have made so far in life.
Through my amazing, forgiving, loving, wise, wild, (oh just any adjective you can think of) clients and coworkers I have learned more about life from behind the chair than I could ever learn from taking a class or reading a book.
Some have held my feet to the fire when they see me slacking or in my head, some have been more therapist than client, and to some I have been more therapist than hairstylist. All have helped me get where I am one step at a time.
The industry I work in is the greatest in the world because I can be creative, gossip, learn, and grow all in the same 2 hour highlight appointment. I get to create looks that fit my client’s lifestyle and helps make them smile when they look in the mirror.
And best of all?
I get to learn from some of the best mentors in the beauty industry who have accumulated just as much and more knowledge from their clients. It’s such a wonderful community when you find your salon family and your core clientele. You get to grow up with them and they you.
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?
Life will always throw curveballs, but I don’t think any of us were ready for what 2020 did to us.
Covid was, for several years, one complication to another. There were so many people who were too scared to be in spaces where there was a large volume of people in and out of it, or public spaces in general. There was hair loss we couldn’t explain or help reverse. And don’t forget the masks… sheesh I think I am still correcting some of those hairs that got hung up under the straps of the mask… every. dang. time.
Beyond Covid I was going through one of the darkest periods in my life where I questioned if I was even a good hairstylist, Mom, or even just a good human. Clients can feel that and it took me, admittedly. way to long how to tell cliffs notes versions of my stories, and even longer to untangle all those nasty beliefs that kept me from taking up space in the industry much less in my little pocket of the world.
The truth is that every obstacle I have experienced behind the chair has taught me that there is a solution if you just look for it. In life and in beauty.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am known for my vivid/fantasy colors and my haircuts. If you come to me and you want an alternative cut with a rainbow ghost root I got you. If you come to me and you want a perfectly graduated bob with sunkissed highlights or balayage… I got you.
Oh yea and if you ask the ladies I work with they would tell you I am pretty good at curling with a flat iron.
What’s next?
When my youngest turns 18 I do plan on taking some time off. I am saving for an RV and I am wanting to travel to state parks for a while after the journey I have been on.
After that my intention is to come back to the Hermitage area and open up my own salon. I hope to hire stylists right out of school and help build them up, teach them how to listen to clients, grow their skill and their business. I’d say the salon I am going to open is closer to a mini wellness retreat than anything. Along with hairstylists and estheticians, I intend to have meditation rooms, a salt room, massage therapist, and so much more!
I’m going to build it with community and community events in mind.
Pricing:
- Haircuts starting at $45
- Highlights starting at $125
- Color correction starting at $95/hr
- Vivid/fantasy color starting at $95/hr
- Creative color (think prisms and raccoon tail) $125/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Anewdaysalon.godaddysites.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/rosie_retro
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/retrorosiebeauty
