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

Gracie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Social Media is shaping fashion and beauty trends like crazy! I have seen so many small and large trends coming to life through TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest.

I would say probably 90% of my clients come in with inspiration photos or videos everyday. Trends are so fun to try out, wether you love them or not. It has been so fun seeing my clients step out of their comfort zones and try new things.

Current trends in the hair world is warm/golden tones, copper all over color, intense money pieces, split-dye, curtain bangs and long layers!

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

I have known that I wanted to be a hairstylist since I was a little girl. I started off by watching YouTube tutorial videos of updos, braids, buns, and curls. Each time I would watch a video, I’d run up the stairs and practice on my mom. I remember my mom telling me she was so impressed and shocked about how fast I picked up on these skills.

Fast forward to my older sisters Prom. I was 11 years old at the time and my sister asked me to do her hair. Hello?! How cool is that! I was so honored.
Not only was I the go to hair gal for dances, I have done my fair share of Wedding hair for both the bride and bridesmaids.

In the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I knew that doing hair was my calling in life. I went to my school counselor and got all of the information needed to start my hair school journey during my senior year.

I absolutely loved hair school. I had the best friends who made it so much fun. Hair school is exhausting. I was working 70 hour weeks between being on the hair floor, 2 part time jobs and going to high school. For a solid year and a half, my life was chaos. Then, at 18 years old I jumped into my professional career!

Something I’ve been very passionate about in my career is setting boundaries from the beginning. I believe in policies, procedures and mutual respect between client and creator. From the beginning, I worked a set schedule, set very clear boundaries with clients, and with myself.

During hair school, my love for blonding services was undeniable. I love all things blonde. I have been a blondie my whole life, so these steps and situations are like second nature to me. I specialized in blonding and balayage in hair school, I actually never once did a set of nails, a facial or a perm on the floor. (Shhh, don’t tell my instructors!) I knew from the beginning that I was a hair girl through and through.

My love for blonding grew with time. I am very passionate about continuing education and still do this day attend classes, workshops and conventions to improve my skill set.

I have been doing hair for 4 years, and I truly love what I do. Being creative while working brings so much joy to my life. Not only do I love the work that I do, but I just adore my clients. I have created friendships with many of them, hopefully ones that last a lifetime!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social Media is HUGE! Almost every single one of my clients has come through social media. These days, everyone tends to do more research before booking an appointment. Having a full social media presence is a great way to create trust and familiarity between you and a potential client.

The best part about social media is that it’s FREE! Back in the day, stylists used to have to pay to print business cards, ads in the paper, radio commercials, etc. How cool is it that our advertisements can cost little to nothing?

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Jumping into a new career at 18 was terrifying. I was fresh out of high school, hardly working a job because of how many hours I spent at hair school, and I seriously had $100 to my name.

My instructors all urged me to jump right into booth rental (independent contracting) because of my promising clientele during my hair school career. I remember I was so nervous.

I am so blessed and lucky that my parents were my biggest supporters. The week before I started at my first salon, my mom took me to the beauty supply and told me to load up a cart of product. I was so unbelievably grateful.

I had all the products, I had the skill, and now I just needed to apply that. Once I started taking clients, the profits came in. I was set!

The biggest piece of advice I have to someone starting out in the hair industry is to TRUST. Trust yourself. Trust your skill. Trust your passion. It will come!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hairbygracieclaire.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/hairby.gracieclaire
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/hairby.gracieclaire