We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Huckabee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

If I could go back in time, I would have absolutely began my creative career sooner. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer that everything happens when it is supposed to, but you give me a time machine, and knowing what I know now, I would hop right in and turn the dial to 2008 and head straight to cosmetology school. A little of my backstory – I always loved hair. As a kid, I would play with my friends hair, and of course my barbies’ (believe me, that never turned out well.) I learned by watching my mom braid or style mine and my sister’s hair. I watched how my stylist would cut my hair, and as I got older, how she would apply color or highlights. In college, I was the dorm hairstylist. We’re broke college kids, right? We couldn’t afford the fancy expensive hair yet. So, I would cut, color and style my friends hair for a free meal. I always had fun with whatever project a friend would throw at me, and that was when I had NO real idea how to cut or color someone’s hair correctly. But it sure was fun, and always turned out good. I always knew I was a natural, just didn’t know then that I could make it the fantastic career I have today.
Going straight to cosmetology school after graduating college in 2008 would have brought me to the career that I love so much sooner. I would be further along in honing my craft, I would be serving even more clientele than I do now, and I would have gotten the chance to build relationships with more stylists, educators and clients.
BUT, I also have to play devil’s advocate and realize that if I would have gone straight to cosmetology school from college, I probably wouldn’t have my beautiful little girl, and wouldn’t have my amazing husband. Life wouldn’t be what it is for me now, and my little family is such a blessing. They encourage and push me more than they could ever realize. No matter what I am trying to achieve, my husband, Josh, is always pushing me to be the absolute best version of myself that I can be. I wouldn’t be the Level 4 stylist that I am today without his encouraging words, and motivation along the way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

As you have probably read by now, I am a hairstylist. May not sound like much to someone that doesn’t know the craft and skill it takes to be one, but it is truly the most rewarding career I personally could have chosen. I work at Salon Dexterity in south Fort Worth, with an amazing group of girls, and the absolute best boss anyone could ever ask for! (Sorry we got her and you didn’t. Haha!) I am a hairstylist, first and foremost, I love to serve my clients and give them that confidence boost that they need. I am also in charge of our in salon education. I work with our educators and brand artists to setup classes that further our knowledge in any area we want or need it. We are a Redken salon, and we also have been approved to carry a fantastic line of haircare products, Kerastase. If you haven’t used anything by Kerastase before, you need to! It is the most luxurious line of products that has the potential to target each and every need of your hair. If you want to learn more, please don’t hesitate to ask.
I specifically target clientele for balayage and color. I perform and execute all services that our salon offers, but balayage and color is where my passion lies. I absolutely love creating unique looks and I strongly believe that balayage (a hand painted coloring technique) is the best way to customize a look and personalize it for each and every one of my clients.
The art of hair cutting is my second passion as a hairstylist. There are so many different hair types and textures, and each cut I perform is personally tailored to the needs and desires of my clients. In June of 2019, I visited New York City and invested in a very hands on cutting class with several elite Redken artists. The class blew my mind, and has forever changed my cutting techniques. It gave me more of a love for the art when it was something that had a tendency to intimidate me before. It is my goal, for each and every client, to look in the mirror when I have completed their service and just fall in love with themselves. Don’t we all need a good pick me up, especially these days??
There is so much that goes into perfecting the right color and cut for each and every person, and it is my goal to achieve that for every client that sits in my chair.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to make a pivot from the first salon I worked for. I was in a salon where no one wanted to help anyone. You fend for yourself, you don’t ask for help, and if you did, everyone scattered. Our boss setup the model of the salon that way. It didn’t encourage or inspire me. Then, I began going through a divorce in my first marriage, and became a single mom. I needed happiness somewhere. I loved what I did for a living, but was in such a negative head space from my home and work life and needed a change. I was so lucky to find Ann Powders at Salon Dexterity (SDX), and she still, to this day, doesn’t know how much she saved me and brought me back to life. For that, and many more things that have happened in my work and personal life since then, I am forever thankful.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Piggybacking on the previous question about me having to pivot, I had to make myself be resilient. I was a single mom to the most amazing daughter, and I had a living to make. I couldn’t give up, but I was so scared. I was still new to my career, and hadn’t built up a solid clientele yet to feel like I could support myself and my baby girl. I was afraid I would have to quit my risky career as a hairstylist and get back into a job that bored me, but had a steady income. Boy am I glad I didn’t go that route! Talk about a boss to the rescue. Finding Ann at SDX gave me the backbone and opportunity that I needed to continue on my career path. I thank God everyday for finding my forever salon and guiding me to the career I have now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sdx.salon/
• Instagram: @balayagebyamandah
• Facebook: Balayage by Amanda C – Salon Dexterity

Image Credits
Me – Amanda Huckabee