Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Youngblutt.
Hi Samantha, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been in the beauty industry for over 20 years. My grandmother was a hairdresser in the 60s and 70s, where she did competitive beehive competitions. She taught me everything she knew, which is why bridal and special event styling has always had such a special place in my heart. I spent most of my career in Chicago behind the chair, specializing in cutting and coloring and always doing special event on the side. I was a stage educator, teaching stylists cutting and styling techniques and was a brand ambassador for several brands as well. I have always loved every aspect of the beauty industry. I owned a salon in Chicago’s affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood, but felt like I needed to not have a ‘home base’ anymore. It was starting to feel too much like an office, and my adhd brain needed to mix it up! I wanted hotels and gorgeous venues to be my new office, and to take my experience and pour it into others by building a team. So my husband and I moved to Tennessee just three short years ago, and I founded Chop Chop Beauty Club, an on-site special event and wedding hair and makeup company. It has been such an incredible journey, and I am so grateful for how much we’ve grown in such a short amount of time.
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?
Owning a business is never a smooth road. And if it is, you’re probably not stretching yourself enough! When running a wedding-based company especially, the stakes are always high. We take it super seriously that this is someone’s wedding day and any bump that happens is handled quickly, there is no room for errors in this industry! It’s also been an interesting journey building a business in a place where I knew absolutely no one, and one that is much smaller and already close-knit. I really had to get over any imposter syndrome I may have had. It’s an ever-evolving practice too, because as you grow and stretch yourself, you’ll find yourself in tougher and scarier scenarios that you’ve never encountered, so you may feel like you have no idea what you’re doing-and you may not! But the best way to learn is experience, and maybe sometimes that means you make a mistake, but if you’re looking at it right, that experience will still give you something. Every mistake or obstacle, I’ve just used as fuel. You just have to keep your blinders up and not really worry about what other people are doing or saying. It has been a ton of work, but in our third year I can really see it pay off.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Something I am pioneering is the hair extension rental space. Every special event hairstyle that clients are pinning has added hair to them. I want to give my clients the results they want, but found that when I’d suggest clip-in extensions, they didn’t know where to begin or they knew they wouldn’t wear them again, so they didn’t want to invest. So I created the Dream Hair Club, which is a clip-in hair extension rental service. Client’s are obsessed. They get all the hair they want at half the cost, and don’t have to lift a finger. We do all the work! I will be launching this as a system for other freelance stylists to implement into their business soon so others can get these great results-stay tuned!
I’ve created a foundation-free bridal makeup look, the Silk Skin, that people are loooooving. I get tired of people telling women that they have to wear foundation to look good in photos. We don’t tell men that! And it’s simply not true. Great makeup is not about how much you apply, but about where you strategically use colors and contour, and it can be even harder to practice restraint when applying makeup. But I just looove seeing my clients’ skin when I do their makeup and feel like I’ve really made a name for myself in the natural beauty space.
I am also known for my customization. I don’t just look at inspo pics and copy and paste. I really want to take time to learn about the overall vision, learn and study my client’s features, and really create an incredibly customized look based on not only their inspo, but what I am reading between the lines too. So many clients don’t know the proper lingo or descriptors when they bring in their inspo, and that’s ok! That is my job. I like to break things down piece by piece and help them understand what it all means.
What were you like growing up?
I have always loved beauty. From a young age, I tried making my own lipsticks by smashing my mom’s lipsticks up and mixing colors (sorry mom!), and cutting and coloring my barbie’s hair when I was a kid. I loved using paint markers, for like everything. My grandma was an artist and a hairdresser, and I feel like I was graced with her gifts and was so lucky that she helped me further those as a kid. She taught me art lessons, let me practice on her hair (what a saint), and gave me great advice and guidance. I could not sit still in school, so I was lucky enough to go to cosmetology school while I was in high school, and it was a lifesaver! I am not sure I would have graduated if I didn’t. It was really the only reason I went to school, I loved it so much. I love connecting with people one on one, and truly have always been like that. I want to get to know you and what makes you tick, like right away. I’ve never been the best at small talk, but I think it’s been a huge reason I can understand my clients and what they want so well. I get to know them really fast.
Pricing:
- Bridal $225+
- Special Event $150+
- Hair Extension rental $165
- Skincare services $50+
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chopchopbeautyclub.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chopchop.beautyclub/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Chop-Chop-Beauty-Club-61565700291023/
