We were lucky to catch up with Kenzie Foster recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kenzie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.

The most impactful boss I’ve ever had was in fact the first one I ever had in the beauty industry. Her name is Andrea cooper, I assisted her for almost a year at my first salon. I was 18 at the time and she had over a decade of doing hair under her belt, and the client count to match. I watched her every move so much that I just started to be 2 steps ahead of where she was at in her day. She handled herself so professionally but just had built these strong connections with her guests, I knew I wanted to be like her when I grew up haha. To this day, she is my best friend and now co-owns a salon in El Paso where we are hoping I’ll have a guest spot there every 6-8 weeks. I’m so proud of her.

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

So I knew I wanted to be a hair stylist since early high school. I was not great at school/sitting in a desk all day and was not into the idea of going to college. Of course I was doing my own hair for fun at home with box color and changing it constantly. Senior year rolled around and I felt left out of getting the whole “accepted to college” experience so I applied and started the fall at college, by winter I was out and I called my mom, she said “so you’re going to cosmetology school right” and here we are today! I provide custom color services such as Lived-In color and balayage. My favorite canvas to work on is brunette hair, giving them beautiful ribbons of lightness to enhance their natural color. I also love creating natural red and copper tones. And of course traditional blonding will always be the backbone of my career,
I’ve done it all in the industry in 10 years, from assistant to a stylist who got promoted twice In a year, moved to a salon closer to Austin to grow more skill in the blonding area of expertise. That is where my love for creating custom dimensional color started. I then when on to be salon director at another top salon in the area for 2 years, managing full time and taking my OG Clients on Saturdays. I then booth rented at a salon in Georgetown for a while and have recently started back focusing full time on guests at Blonde + Co salon. Reading that back, I guess that would be what I’m most proud of. I’ve tried to find my place In this industry and it has been HARD. But I haven’t given up and I know I never will. I’m also proud that I have had 30+ clients follow me from my very first salon all over the Austin area. Shout out to them, they have kept me going.
What matters to me most in an appointment is the guest experience. I deliver a clear consultation and make sure that we are on the same page before getting started, I love getting to know clients and just talking like a normal person to them. There’s usually lots of laughs coming from my chair! I believe that of course the technical part of nailing the desired result is important, but how a guest feels on the inside when they leave the salon is what will keep them coming back.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My most effective strategy for building my clientele has been word of mouth. I literally ask my clients before they leave “hey, I loved having you today and I’d love to have more people like you in my chair, please send your special people my way”

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’ve pivoted a lot in this career, I’m so blessed to have worked at some of the top salons in Austin, each had a place and worked so well at whatever point in my life I was at. I started in this at 18 and while working my butt off I have also gotten married, had my sweet son, and bought a home. Needs changed at different times and thankfully the beauty industry you have so much control over how your day looks and where it would be best to work it, to keep making it (hair styling) work. I believe pivoting may be necessary to grow your knowledge as well.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Heygirlhairtx

Image Credits

Korbyn McKale @mckalevisuals