We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Victoria Ybarra a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Victoria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

ABSOLUTELY! I wish I would’ve started seeing hair in a creative light earlier on in life. I grew up always loving hair and makeup but never really explored cosmetology as a career when I should have. I worked in the service industry straight out of high school and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life at that point. I started getting more into the craft of hairdressing in my early twenties so I decided to enrolled in cosmetology school. Once I entered into the program, I knew this was my path. I moved to San Diego and started my career as an assistant. I found a salon that was booming with passion and inspiration. It thought me so much about the creative side of hairdressing and opened my eyes to a lot of opportunities. I met some amazing stylist who helped shaped my career tremendously. If I would’ve started creatively seeing hair from this lens at a younger age, I could’ve saved my younger self from all the worry of “what if it doesn’t work out” or “what if i dont find my purpose”. All of those worries washed away once I started focusing 100% of my time and energy into growing my business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My names is Victoria Ybarra and I’ve been in the hair industry for 11 years. I was always so drawn to hair from a young age. I started exploring my options with hair in my early twenties. I enrolled in cosmetology school and never looked back. I met a team of strong, creative, and passion stylist who helped light a fire under me. Once I decided to start building my career here in San Diego it was game over for me. I worked 10 hr days 5 days a week and learned everything I could during my assistant program. I became a stylist and an educator for a Global brand called UNITE within the first 3 years of my career. I wanted to be the best that I could and bring some new creative looks into my career. My true passion is in transformations and extensions. I love working with clients to achieve a style or look that helps build confidence in every aspect of their lives. I’m proud to be behind the chair everyday creating love, inspiration, and confidence with every client who sits in my chair. It’s a true blessing to be able to do what I love everyday.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the craft. Figuring out what you truly love and what sets your soul on fire was something that has always given me the drive to continue to put 100% into my business. Working with a Global brand really set me apart from a lot of stylist in my industry because I got the opportunity to learn as a student and as a teacher. The opportunity to learn from people all over the globe and truly find my passion in my craft was a blessing. This allowed me to truly focus on what made me happy as an artist. Working with new people everyday to fit their lifestyles and needs continues to help grow my passion behind the chair. I love being able to bring my ideas to life and make every clients dreams come true.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Social media wasn’t a big accessible tool when I was growing up. I attended multiple classes a month and shadowed as many artist as I could to learn the skills I have today. Now a days its easy to pick up your phone and follow artist on social media who you admire and want to learn from. Now that I’m a mother and a wife, I don’t have as much time to attend as many classes as I’d like but my social media is filled with amazing educators And stylist who feed me education daily. This helps me to stay connected to new styles and trends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theroslynhair.com/
• Instagram: @victoriaybarra_hair