We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Peacock a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Hannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Working within the hair industry, continuing education is key to surviving behind the chair. The world of hair evolves constantly, keeping up with it all is a full-time job on top of it all. I wish i would have invested in myself sooner, it would have helped me build onto my skill set earlier in my career. I came out of school knowing next to nothing and had no idea where to start. I was lucky enough to have a great group of coworkers who took it step by step with me. Those first months were tough, I was tired, working another job to make ends meet, trying to build clientele. School doesn’t exactly prepare you for what its really like in the salon but that’s okay! Finding your groove takes time, once i figured out what i wanted to really focus on it took off from there. Color and cut techniques aren’t mastered overnight, it took sometime for me to be 100% confident in what i do. Now it comes so naturally, when i start to feel burnout, i take that feeling and push it into a passion- it could be getting out a mannequin and trying something different, switching up a routine or searching for the next class to take. There is always room for improvement, We’ve heard it all before; “never stop learning”. It’s something that pops into my head quite frequently. Its good for us to keep learning something new everyday and its never to late to start somewhere.
Hannah, 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?
I’m a hairstylist of over 6 years, with a focus on dimensional color, blonding and extensions. Id say I’ve become a blonding specialist, any blonde/balayge service is my absolute favorite. I also enjoy men’s cuts with the goal of someday getting my barber’s license. Working with my hands, being crafty and creative has always made me so happy, that’s probably why i like my job so much. Getting my hair done when i was younger was my favorite thing, i think that played into me becoming a stylist. It all made sense that i was destined to be a stylist with how much i loved hair, makeup, clothes, anything beauty related.
Each of my clients that sit in my chair bring me so much joy, there’s a connection i look forward to creating with them from the first time i meet them. I love hearing about what’s new in your life, learning about your family, sharing kind words on the hard days, helping you though whatever life has thrown at you, someone to shed a tear with, i love being more that just your stylist. Seeing my clients happy and excited is what makes going to work easy. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Being a stylist isn’t getting to talk and play in hair all day long. Thankfully no one has asked me this in a few years but I used to get so mad at someone asking me if i was going back to school, when i was going to get a “real job”. It felt as if no one respected my choice of career. I wasn’t doing this for fun and waiting to figure my life out, this IS my life, its who i am. Salon life is hard. There is much more behind the scenes that most will ever see. The energy that is put into a day of work is honestly a lot sometimes. It doesn’t matter if I’m having a bad day, i have to put on a happy face for all my clients. It’s physically demanding. I went through hundreds and hundreds of hours of education to hold my license. I follow strict guidelines to keep my space clean and safe. Im a chemist, i can tell you everything about how that tube of color works and know how to use it safely. Ive learned multiple color lines and about hair products over the years and know how to put them to use. Im a customer service representative, making sure your expectations are met. The list goes on and on of what happens in a day, its always more than just cutting hair.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Networking. Its true about who you know, not what you know. Being able to pick someones brain or get a piece of advice, a different perspective on something is all it takes. I recently joined a few Facebook groups for hairstylists, from those I’ve learned so much about hair and all things salon related. Stylists shouldn’t be competing against each other, we all share the same love of hair and have the same goals of being the best we can be so why not just talk?
Building my circle outside of the salon has brought me more than i could ever imagine.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hannahpeacockhair
Image Credits
@hannahpeacockhair