Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bailey Dowell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Bailey, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I love my job so much that OF COURSE I always *wish* I could have gone back and started sooner, but that wouldn’t make me the same person & artist that I am today!
I always say I took the “long way” to hair. While my mom had me doing cap highlights and kitchen perms from a young age, it was never on my radar as a career. After graduating college and going into a more traditional career I started offering hair and makeup services to friends from my small town who were starting to get married, on the weekends, for fun. After 7 years on a corporate track, I knew the lifestyle wasn’t for me- that is when my Mom and Partner, Joshua, encouraged me to quit my job and pursue cosmetology. I became a fully licensed cosmetologist in the state of Missouri in August of 2019 and went directly into the traditional salon space. Soon after, due to the state of the world, working in a salon was not a possibility so I started to branch out into the bridal community we have in St. Louis- this is when I fell in LOVE with providing on-site wedding day services. Since mid 2020 I have had the honor of collaborating with several local teams which have led to recommendations to start fully booking brides and bridal parties on my own! In 2024 I began collaborating with another company, The Ivory Standard, to offer hair services to destination brides and retreats – taking me to Oahu Hawaii, Milan Italy, & Crete Greece this year with more to come in 2025!
I truly believe that everything happens when it’s meant to – while starting sooner may have given me more opportunities by now, I also imagine I would have stuck it out in a salon and not branched out into the Bridal space had I had built more of a clientele prior to Covid-19. I also wouldn’t have had the business knowledge I now have to be able to build and operate my own business/systems to bring my brides an extraordinary experience.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi! I’m Bailey- I provide luxury on site bridal hair services. I’ve had the honor of working with over 250 brides and bridal parties since mid 2020- when covid pushed me out of the salon and into the St. Louis Bridal Vendor space.
I offer “copy/paste inspo” hair and hair that LASTS! One of the things I often hear from brides is that they’ve requested this style before and it looked nothing like the inspiration OR it only lasted about 30min outside of the appointment. Through product and styling education + my years of hands on experience I’ve crafted techniques to create styles that LAST- and as for being able to recreate the inspo? I do believe that is just my natural born talent.
I strive to be a safe space for Brides to express potential concerns, even with my own work, so that we are able to craft a perfect wedding day experience. We have preview appointments days for a reason- so there are no surprises and every detail can be accounted for! At one recent preview appointment the Mother of the Bride looked at her hair and said “you made my hair look exactly like the photo I showed you. And I hate it” – and, while it might sound crazy, THAT was a proud moment for me. She felt comfortable enough with me to express her dislike, while acknowledging my talents, and she also knew I cared enough to take the time find a style for her that she would absolutely love on her daughter’s wedding day- and we did just that.
As far as setting myself apart from others, I think in this type of work it’s just about the experience and it’s so very different and personal. I truly believe everyone’s talent is for someone. Not every bride is for me and my business and I love being able to uplift my fellow artists I’ve collaborated with by suggesting them when we don’t quite align.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The personal-ness of it. Creating a look for a Bride, Mom of the Bride or a bridesmaid is so individual and personal, it’s a special kind of creation. I love getting to connect with so many people and learn about lives lived outside of mine while doing my craft. I am deeply honored and enjoy getting to be apart of someone’s most precious memories. While I might just “do hair and leave” on surface I’m actually setting the tone of the day, calming the nerves of sisters and moms, making you feel like your most confident beautiful self and hand crafting the looks that will be captured in all of the photos that will be looked and admired for decades to come. It’s truly personal and special to me!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’m still working on this one too! I’ve invested in a few courses from creators I admire that also do bridal services and have been incorporating their tips into my posts! I think being present and authentic while talking to the audience you desire (though you may not have yet) is most important. If you’re not talking to the type of people you want see your posts then how are they going to find you? Showing up daily and engaging seems to go a long way! Do what feels comfortable but also don’t take yourself too seriously.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Www.Instagram.com/baileyb.designs
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/BaileyHAMU