Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Truscello.

Hi Christina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
 My personal background comes from self made business. After high school I knew I really wanted to go into cosmetology, but my father strongly encouraged me to go to college. I put myself through college and got a degree criminal justice and psychology. During college and through graduating I was working as a paralegal for a Boston firm. Halfway through my first semester I realize this was no my passion nor was it what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t finding the fulfillment that I hoped for in helping people and got very discouraged with the legal field. I knew I had to make a change and follow my heart into the beauty industry. I finished my first semester and told my family and boss that I was leaving law school to go to cosmetology school. As you can imagine, they all tried to deter me as being a “hairdresser” wasn’t a favorable career. They worked long hours, were on their feet all day and made no money. There was a certain “glass ceiling” to the industry that was frowned upon. I didn’t care though and that was not the type of stylist I wanted to be. I wanted to educate, work on platform and do something that I really loved doing and felt that I had a talent for. I used to sit in my room before ever the Internet to learn from and practiced hair and make up on myself. I did all my friends here and make up for dances and prom at school and truly had a passion for it.

I begin cosmetology school going part-time nights while I worked full-time during the day to pay off my college in law school loans and put my throat through cosmetology school at the same time. Once finished, I kept my job as paralegal and planned to work nights and weekends and a salon until I built a clientele and hopefully would be able to sustain my living expenses as a stylist. I begin working out of Salon and realize that I needed to be there full-time so I deferred all of my loans, left my career as a paralegal and began working minimum wage at a salon hoping to work enough hours build a clientele and make enough and tips to sustain. I worked under the owner, assisted and learned as much as I could. I dedicated 60+ hrs a week to learning the craft, building a clientele and becoming an educator and specializing in hair extensions (20 years ago before they were mainstream). My drive lead me to educate other stylists and top salons all over New England, become a platform artist and become an expert in the world of hair extensions. I worked for the same salon / owner for 8 years and I was burnt out, unappreciated and knew there had to be more. This is when myself and co-associate created a business plan to open our own salon.

Our 5 year plan turned into a three month plan when we stumbled upon the space that was perfect and couldn’t pass it up. I really did not want to take out a business loan because I was still trying to finish paying off school loans. So I ended up cutting down all expenses to bare minimum, not going out, not getting my nails and hair done, and saved my end of the business opening costs within three months. It was one of the proudest moments of my life when I got to show my father what I had accomplished. I clearly remember him saying to me “Oh, so this is your chair right here?” as we stood in the salon. I replied with “No dad, these are all my chairs and my salon.” My business partner, and I had opened together and everything in the building was ours blood, sweat and tears. We were ready and nervous. I prayed daily that God would bless us with success.

As time went on we grew a team and my business partner had accomplished her goals with the Salon and we were planning her exit strategy. This had been a plan from the beginning and happen faster than we both expected, but I was so proud and happy for her and her family. They were going to live out their dreams of moving to warmer climates and building a life there that they truly desired. Three months after I took over sole ownership Covid hit and we were forced to shut down. I was terrified, but I put shut the TV off and pivoted. I got permission from my insurance company to retail at home color kits. I would go into the salon weekly to make them, I was delivering products via mailbox and spending time on social media coaching my team in the background and connecting with clients to make sure everybody knew we were still here. Thankfully, we were able to open a few months under strict rules, and regulations. But we made it through. I lost a couple team members because because of relocation and personal health challenges, but I began to rebuild our team again and utilized every avenue I could the loan and government grants to help with marketing replacing destroyed furniture because of sanitary precautions and so forth.
Today, I’m still the sole owner have a team of 12 with additional freelancers on our bridal and make up events team. We still continue to trailblaze the industry with hair extensions, color, bridal and special event hair and makeup. We are known for our collaborative studio where we all work together have a true culture of supportive team members and community. I have always said I can teach everybody to do hair, but I can’t teach you to be a good person and care for others and that is what TEAL stands for. Truth, education, artistry, and love. These combined what makes up our team and our salon.

I have also had a calling for coaching other leaders and salon owners to building a team along the way, which helps me grow as a leader myself and also has great fulfillment to cheer others on as they succeed.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road. My challenges and obstacles over my career started when I had overcome making an income that I could live off of. Transitioning from a paralegal to a hairstylist I had to defer payments and hope that I would be able to sustain my living expenses. Growing pains of beginning a business, and learning all the things that you need to know that no one tells you about regarding taxes and business policies, insurance, budgeting, etc., Covid was definitely a huge challenge as well . As an established business owner, I still face challenges . Navigating the Business, protocol at the salon, choosing team members that are a good fit and keeping up with marketing and social media all while trying to learn to grow even more. Really trying to step outside the box and become well-known in the industry is a challenge in and of itself . All of these things add up because it is not something that you learn in school. You have to have the drive and endurance to find the right resources, learn them AND apply them on your own.  

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
TEAL is truly different than any other salon. Our team is collaborative. There is 0 cattiness in our space. We care about our clients and are true artists, we give recommendations based off each clients customized consultation, lifestyle and ideal beauty routine. I think one thing that sets us apart in the industries that we truly care for our team & clients and we know our why. Why we became part of this industry why we started this business. When I say “we”, I am referring to myself and my team. TEAL would not be where we are today without them. I could never do what I do without the people that I work with. We really do want to make sure our guests are taken care of and feel that. We want them to feel good about themselves inside and out. Same with my team. Education is one of our core values and takes high priority to make sure we are always on top of trends, but also understand the processes.

We specialize in multiple hair extension methods including sew in extensions, k-tip hair extensions, tape in extensions, CombLine or individual hair extensions, mesh integration, toppers, V Light extensions along with different types of hair replacement systems and now hair extension rentals! Our studio also specializes in hair color, blondes, lived-in color and bridal / wedding hair and makeup and on site special events including editorial photo shoots and fashion shows. A lot of these services go hand in hand so we double down on education in these expertise.

I am most proud of our brand because of the growth and definition it has had over the years. My team and I have worked so hard in our messaging and I believe that it truly shines through our brand and is constantly evolving as we grow.

The unique perspective that our team delivers is that we are truly born into this industry by passion. Many of us knew from a young age this is what we wanted to do. Many of us have gone through struggles but we all ended up here, together, to serve others and make them look and feel good about themselves inside and out.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was shy, very shy. I wasn’t into sports until 1/2 through high school and only had a few friends. My family life was somewhat tough and we didn’t have a lot. My mother had substance abuse issues and my father worked so hard to support our family. I got picked on and teased a lot and had very low self confidence, but art was an outlet for me. I was always into art, painting and drawing. More over makeup and hair as I got older. I began to come out of my shell around the age of 15. I started gymnastics and cheering and turned a corner. I gained more confidence and stopped caring what others thought of me. From there I became a different person and wasn’t afraid to express myself through my fashion, hair or makeup. It was so liberating for me.

This is where my resilience really started to push through. I began to prove to myself what others thought didn’t matter. I had the power to block out the noise and stay focused on what truly drove me; what meant the most to me was to positively impact the lives of others through my story and knowledge. Now I get to serve my purpose daily.

Pricing:

• We are a luxury hair and makeup studio but we offer tiered pricing to try to fit every budget and offer everyone a life of beauty.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.teal-studio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tealhairstudio/ and https://www.instagram.com/tealhairchick/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.735245724451914
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/teal-hair-and-makeup-studio-lowell?osq=teal+studio&override_cta=Get+pricing+%26+availability
• Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=teal+stusio&sca_esv=3155dd6ef610aa34&sxsrf=ADLYWIJpN2ufaPpMvNnivNerfPrIBPeW1Q%3A1733794689466&ei=gZtXZ_qMHNao5NoPt6LlyAg&ved=0ahUKEwi60dDEiJyKAxVWFFkFHTdRGYkQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=teal+stusio&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Image Credits
Merissa Conley @IllumebyMC