We recently connected with Katelyn Missig and have shared our conversation below.

Katelyn , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I think we could afford some change in our education system, not only public schools but also cosmetology school. As early as I can remember in public schools, our teachers were always pushing us to go to college and asking us what college we want to go to. In middle school we started taking field trips to local community colleges, in high school we had an entire class period dedicated to applying to colleges. College is the right choice for some, maybe even a lot of people but it’s not the right choice for everyone. Furthermore, it’s not a choice that should be taken lightly by anyone. I always knew I wasn’t going to go to college because I always knew that I wanted to do hair which only requires a trade school. I feel that so much of our public school experience is centered around going to college, that I didn’t feel as prepared when I went into trade school, in the same way that they try to prepare us for college. I think in more recent years the view on trades is starting to shift, but when I was going to school it was so frowned upon, the right thing to do was go to college. I received a lot of judgment from teachers, other adults in my life, and even my peers when I would tell them that I’m not going to college, that I want to do hair. A lot of people think that you cannot make a good living without going to college. But here I am five years into my career, and I support myself fully from doing hair. I believe the public school system needs to be more supportive of individual goals and not just pushing everyone to go to college. I think public schools need to prepare students for what it is that they want to do after high school, and I think this could prepare our students for a better and more fulfilling, life and career.

Furthermore the education that some cosmetologist receive can be subpar. The current curriculum for cosmetology is designed to prepare us for our state board exams, which are incredibly outdated. For the state board exam, we have to perform mock services on a manakin, many of which are outdated services that not a lot of people are requesting these days, like a roller set. I was fortunate enough that my teacher in cosmetology went above and beyond to teach us new techniques like balayage, which she was not at all required to do. But I cannot say the same for many of my peers, some of which graduated cosmetology, not having even used real hair color once. Many cosmetologist do not feel prepared to work in a real salon environment after completing school. I believe that the state board exams for cosmetology need to be updated to include newer techniques, and this would prepare future cosmetologists for a better and more fulfilling, life and career.

Katelyn , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Katelyn, you can also call me Kat. I am the creator behind Kat’s Hair Artistry. For as long as I can remember I always knew that I wanted to do hair, and I have always been an artist. After many years of practicing and honing my craft, I am now able to combine my love for beauty and art, in what I do every day. I am a strong believer that everyone is beautiful and beauty is what you make it. I practice this every day by encouraging my clients to express themselves in any way that they want regardless of beauty standards. Using my knowledge of color theory and composition, I aim to create one of a kind pieces of artwork on each individuals hair. I like to play with colors textures shapes and movement when I am creating. I want everyone to know that my chair is a safe space for everyone to be themselves, and I don’t believe there are any rules to creating, if there are I want to break them.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Working with vivid’s requires a lot of resilience. Because these colors are so intense, and require a clean canvas to achieve, you can often run into situations where you need to spend hours on the same head of hair before you can get to the results that you are wanting. I believe the longest color service that I have done was about eight hours long. Eight hours of standing, usually without food, meticulously sectioning, and applying color to the hair, sometimes backtracking and having to remove color, making sure to maintain integrity and health in the hair, all while trying to keep the person attached to the hair entertained, because this is a long process for them as well. It can be very discouraging, especially at the halfway mark, sometimes the hair looks worse before it looks better. But in the end, the results are always so satisfying, and the best part is seeing a smile on someone’s face who thought that their hair could never look this good.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me hands-down is social media. Social media is taking over the world, it is free advertising on top of so many other things. Staying connected with clients, connecting with potential new clients, staying up-to-date on all the latest trends, and even sharing more personal part of your life. Social media is the most useful and accessible tool for any small business owner in my opinion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kats-hair-artistry.square.site/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kats.hairartistry?r=nametag
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/kats.hairartistry/
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/kat-s-hair-artistry-berkley?osq=Kat%27s+hair+artistry
• Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdstHmDo/