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

Dominique , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

One of my whys My business is in honor of my grandmother and women who are like me . I started my salon last year in a small studio and finally got it I brick and mortar this year . My grandmother was losing her site to diabetes, so I assisted in her hair and makeup because I had a natural passion and hand for it very young . I don’t come from any money just a single mom so if I wanted to be as cute as my classmates or colleagues I had to make it work . This led to fashion design in college which led to my first fashion show as a makeup artist which led to me getting my cosmetology license. I had became a mother at 16 so my goals had to be solid in order to take care of my family . Glam Life Approved Salon is now home to myself and four other stylists who offer their own specialties

Glam is an acronym for GRACEFULLY LIVING an ALIGNED and MINDFUL life . She saved me from myself . She was birthed out of a lot of pain in one of the lowest times of my life . But I was reading a book about Nikki Giovani and on her arm she had this tattoo that said Thug life . I ironically was doing makeup and brows and lashes inside of in fact a tattoo shop with one of my closest sister friends . I was so broken and fresh out of hair school . So I read this book and inside Nikki stated her adoration for Tupac and how she admired his mind , his mission , his way of interpreting THUG LIFE . I sat there and I honestly think it was god , he told me the GLAM life was what would save me , he showed me no matter how tough or how bad or how live the environment might be I could still survive . I mean I come from some humble and confused beginnings , I’ve been in foster care , homeless , abused and suicidal , so I was alway seeking a savior unknowingly . I was single mom at the time and truly unclear on what direction I was taking my new found career as a cosmetologist … that was back in 2012 . Now precisely 12 years later … you can “get glam life approved”

Dominique , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Born and raised in St Louis Mo but bloomed and planted in Kansas City . Artist , Salon Owner, Entrepreneur, Educator and your beauty bestfriend Dominique Hall is a mother, wife , and highly sought after artist for her custom curl techniques and niche artistry. She is one of a kind and has always made time for volunteering with organizations such as showmeshoes and the prom project philanthropy is her first pilar in anything she dedicates herself to. She is also an AMERICORP VISTA ALUMNI by way of the Missouri Women’s business project and SCORE .

A follower of servant leadership, with such a background and 15 years of experience, she has gained her own style and fashion , beauty and networking are her specialties. She believes her strongest skill is bringing the best out in YOU ! She has extensive experience in fashion styling, makeup artistry, textured hair and extensions as well as educates other salon professionals ! She is a well rounded artist of all things beauty and fashion that is such an asset to the industry!

Her Motto is:

“I am all about enhancing the beauty a woman already possesses, my approach is classic and timeless while always reflecting the natural beauty of a woman ” DH

Dominique has educated and freelanced for quite a few well known brands I’m sure you may know. Now independently speaks on educates on textured and curly ayie Huey’s if her own methodology CURLS ARE SACRED ™️ an advanced texture education class of the fabric of curls and hair extensions . She has mastered her own fave techniques and mentors incoming beauty professionals for a smoother transition into the field then her own experience . “Be who you needed when you were young” she always says !

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My most effective strategy on building my clients has been true word of mouth, reputation , focusing on my niche once discovered and that takes time decades even and good old fashion hard work and consistency consistency and major consistency. The trick is to service someone by way of something you truly love so that it never feels like work in a way. It doesn’t have to be something extraordinary or complicated either . My grandmother needed my help and I didn’t have much money coming up , being an art kid hair and beauty and nails those things came naturally to me by focusing them with an artistic approach , for example.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

There honestly is no end to the unlearning. In my case and the case of many of my peers or colleagues, we are all the first to accomplish a lot of these goals . The weight of being first can be extremely crippling, so you have to truly grow your network and bust through those glass ceilings and comfort zones . The grace on your life is within the fellowship of connection and when you are first to the plate it can be isolating . That is where the faith comes in , faith and prayer , prayer for guidance on breaking those bad habits and stagnant ways .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.glamlifeapprovedsalon.com
• Instagram: @beautywithdominique @glamlife_approvedsalon
• Facebook: @getglamlifeapproved
• Linkedin: @dominiquehernandezhall

Image Credits
Ronni Grand Photography