We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dana Fortino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Dana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I went to cosmetology school shortly after realizing I was NOT meant to go to college and had dropped out. I was able to complete my initial schooling for cosmetology in about 9 months , which is fairly fast for the 1200 hours required by state board. But I do however wish, looking back, that I tried more to participate in the extra “clubs” and certificates they were offering when we were students! These would have helped me excel so much further early on in my career, and feel much more confident and comfortable jumping into this industry. Especially with learning boundaries, self worth, the value of a dollar, and the best way to navigate the many challenges that come with doing hair. I would have also been able to better value myself and navigate work life balance and what healthy relationships of any kind should be. Mindfulness is KEY working in this industry!!
Dana, 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?
Well, I started doing hair when I was very little. I always felt drawn to hair and different styles textures colors. I loved all the fun out of the box styles of the early 90s as a young kid growing up and I especially loved when my aunts and friends would let me do their hair for special events, like proms and homecomings weddings, and everything in between. I entered the hair industry in 2008 after doing a hair donation at the college I was enrolled in at the time. after I had just cut off 24 inches of hair, I realized I want to do this for people. I want to help transform them into their best versions of themselves each and every day. for me it was a way to express myself express art and just be free. upon finishing school at the very end of 2008 I began looking for jobs trying to work and all of the cool places that the East Coast had to offer. I applied to work in Hoboken Weehawken New York City even Philadelphia I just wanted to be in the middle of all the biggest fast changing fast paced places as possible learning from the best of the best. Now I’m that I’ve been in the industry for almost 15 years, I’m finally finding my way, my niche, if you will. I became a mom very young and very early on in my career which caused me to struggle to build the clientele I wanted and work in the places I wanted because I needed to sacrifice in order to give my son the best life possible, and make sure that the bills got paid, unfortunately this also meant that I had to put my dreams and goals on hold but that was totally worth it. I took classes that I could afford to take. In the meantime I made sure that I went to all the hair shows I could I also made sure that I kept in touch with people from cosmetology school who were working in those big time salons in all the relieve fast paced high-end cities. Then it was finally my turn in 2019 I made the choice to stop listening to everybody else and just listen to my intuition. I started doing the hair I wanted to always do. I started taking the classes. I’ve always wanted to take. I started truly investing in myself in my career. I was becoming a better mom a better person a better sister, a better friend and a better stylist. It wasn’t always easy but knowing that each and every day I was helping my clients achieve their dream hair and also transform as individuals with the most magical thing ever doing hair is more than just doing hair. It’s getting to know somebody getting to know their fears getting to know their desires getting another dreams. You’re getting to know sides of them that not many people get to see you’re helping them understand who they are and you’re helping them express that through their hair. When one of my sorority sisters introduced me to Reiki energy healing. I knew that it was some thing I needed to do. I became a certified Reiki energy healer in 2022. This was one of the best things I could’ve done for myself in my career because of the fact that I am always working with somebody one on one hands-on why not help them heal from the inside out as well. so many times I would have conversations with clients where we would be talking about things that have happened to them years ago, but were still affecting them. by adding this into my services and my abilities I was now truly giving my clients the healing experience they need. One of the things I’ve noticed in artistry is that there are a lot of clicks, and that’s not always a good thing as someone who never truly “belong“ I felt a need to create some thing that can unify anybody and everybody, regardless of where they are coming from what kind of hair they have, and the style and color they choose to wear it in, I became certified and curly hair care and cutting styles. I became certified visit haircolor specialist and a certified extension specialist with these certifications and my Reiki certification. I truly found what made me happy as a stylist and more successful within my career in July 2022 I was informed at the salon I have been working at for the last three years was going to be closing. This broke my heart. It was my home away from home. It was my place to create, but I realize the universe was trying to tell me something, and I was not about to ignore it , I decided on a whim that I would open up my own salon suite and it has been the best thing I could’ve ever done. I now have my own space where I am able to create hair magic every single day. I am able to give my clients a safe, inclusive space where they can come and be their true self without fear of judgment, or ridicule without fear that they’re gonna be told their idea is stupid or not possible. when my clients sit in my chair they know that they are in a safe space, and so welcome and that is what makes me love doing what I do every single day . I have always been meant to take this path and this journey in this industry of hairstyling and cosmetology, but I never in 1 million years would’ve thought that it would lead me to where I am today, but I am so grateful for it all. I’ve been exploring the different avenues with social media currently I am on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube and more recently I have started offering classes for other licensed professionals so they too can help add hair magic into their day and behind the chair with their clients! education is something I have always loved doing, and I have always loved being a part of. for me being in this industry means you are constantly learning. You are constantly taking classes because without education, we cannot evolve with the times and we will not be able to keep up., education is so necessary no matter where you are in your life, no matter what profession you choose. as long as you keep learning, you will always be growing, and I love being a part of that for this industry to help create the positive change that we need in this world, and that anybody with hair can benefit from. so if you would love to take the class with me whether that’s one on one or in a group you can find me at @the_Melted_Stylist on, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube! I’m so excited for this opportunity. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and I can’t wait to create hair magic with all of you!.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn was that you have to break your back and hustle hustle hustle if you want to be “successful”
This could not be further from the truth. When I first started out my career I worked for a few different salons barbershops and I tried to work in as many aspects of this industry as possible, in order to truly understand what it takes to be successful. Unfortunately, this also meant working for places and people who did not feel that taking a vacation was a necessity that having a day off was a necessity you had to work 24 seven any day that they were open and if you took a day off, it meant you couldnt hack it and would be penalized. when my son was small, he was sick very often and as a single mother, this was a really hard thing for me. I worked three jobs just to try and pay for daycare and make sure that my phone didn’t get shut off. One particular month he was so sick that he ended up in the hospital . My employer told me that if I didn’t go to work, I will no longer be employed there. I had to make a choice between making money to afford our bills or staying with my son in the hospital. This is a decision no one should ever have to make. your family and your health should always be a priority. You should never have to choose, which is one of the many reasons why going out on my own was probably one of the best decisions I could’ve made. I didn’t last much longer in this place and I made sure that any future jobs I took that they understood my son would always come before my job. This toxic hustle culture has to go. We have to start normalizing mental health care. We have to start normalizing self-care. We have to start normalizing taking a break before it’s too late. Burn out is a problem and it’s affecting new people in the industry more and more because everybody’s trying to be Insta famous, everybody’s trying to make it, but nobody really understands what it means to be happy once they’ve “made it.” by normalizing working smarter not harder by normalizing not saying yes to every single person all the time by normalizing taking breaks so you can eat while sitting down our industry can be a much happier and much more successful place. This is some thing that I talk about in all of my classes. We also discuss why it is so important to do consultations with every single person who walks in the door. that not every new client should just be taken blindly, we’re not going to be made for everybody. We’re not gonna be able to please everybody so we should be given the opportunity to decide whether or not that person should be in our chair. This will allow for a much more successful appointment, but also making sure that you don’t end up doing somebody’s hair that no matter what they’re not gonna like it. saying NO is OK and the customer isn’t always right one day we will all be able to book accordingly have those lunch breaks and leave work without feeling completely exhausted .
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
When I was just starting out in cosmetology school, I began dating this man who seemed lovely at first but unfortunately this was not the case. The relationship started out OK I had never really had a boyfriend before so for me this was fairly new. He always wanted to know where I was what I was doing who I was with, would call me every morning and every night. This all seemed very sweet at first but then it became very problematic. Everything I did was an issue. If they were other guys there I wasn’t supposed to go, if I was working too late there was a problem if I didn’t answer his calls right away I was cheating or some sort of ridiculous story . things escalated quickly, and before I knew it, he became extremely abusive . While in cosmetology school, they had talked to us many times about how to look out for signs of abuse, how to avoid abusive situation’s, and every time that they would speak to us about this we would all say “oh that could never be me,” and yet it was me.. I hadn’t seen it coming. His manipulation was so sneaky that I was almost blind to it until it was too late.. our relationship lasted on and off for about two years until finally it escalated so terribly that I almost lost my life. I am so grateful every day for the amazing people who were there for me when I needed them at my darkest times. I am one of the lucky ones, I am a survivor. As a survivor, I have done my best to try and spread the information on domestic violence in our communities in our country and cross the world and how it impacts millions each and every day. A goal of mine, as my success grows is to be able to help give back to the many places such as the women shelters who helped me in my time of need, so that way, I can help other women and other individuals who are survivors of domestic violence get through, what might just be the darkest times of their life. Something as simple as groceries or money for a bus ticket or being able to afford legal assistance so they can become safe again makes all the difference. as someone who wants to help heal those around her. My goal is to help the domestic violence survivors and community, to make it a place of healing. I am so grateful for the places that helped me when I was feeling very much helpless. They gave me hope. they gave me assistance when no one else would. And I want to do that for others. I’m always looking for other creatives and other small businesses who would like to help give back and help these survivors find the light again. it is something that I will never stop fighting for so that we can have hope for everyone who may go through this and hopefully one day we can end domestic violence,.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://themeltedstylist.glossgenius.com/
- Instagram: @the_melted_stylist
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@themeltedstylistdanas171