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

Holly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I’ve been really fortunate in my career as a stylist to have chosen a salon that I called home for 15+ years. To a dedicated stylist, a salon is their second home. Ballyhoo Salon in San Marcos, CA was that for me. It was there that I built an amazing clientele, established life-long friendships and grew my craft (all while growing up). The global disruption of the pandemic and all of it’s mania caused me to reevaluate my career and truly ask myself “what does my next chapter look like?”. Following some deep self reflection, I realized I needed to shake things up and take my biz into a whole new level. After several hard conversions, countless days of organizing my life, tons of nerves and a whoooole lotta tears; I took the leap. I moved to a gorgeous salon on the coast of SD called Raven Collective. If you’ve ever experienced joining a new team; then you know how scary it can feel to be the newbie. I’m honestly still pretty shocked that I did what I did (because your girl thrives in the comfort zone) Any fears I had about whether or not making a huge move was the right choice have floated away in just three short months. My community of wonderful humans have lifted me up and supported my new venture. I’m thriving in my new salon home with a renewed sense of creative passion for doing what I love more than anything else. If you’re thinking about making a big career move, don’t hold back. Just take the leap. You’ll be so happy you did!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into cosmetology school when I was fresh out of high school. I wasn’t that girl who always wanted to do hair as a career. In truth, I got really lucky that my parents encouraged me to give it a try and I just so happened to fall in love with it. Here I am 17 years into my career and I love it more now than ever before. As a seasoned stylist, my mission behind the chair is simple; make women look and feel their absolute best by delivering an elevated in-salon experience and of course, gorgeous hair. I specialize in creating custom hair color that will fit my guests and suit their lifestyle. These days, I find that most women desire two things when it comes to their hair; less maintenance (going longer between salon visits) and effortless everyday styles. I love doing lived-in hair because it’s so customizable. You can be super blonde while keeping a soft, natural base. You can also go more bold with it and have that bright face-framing highlight with lots of dimension. Lived-in hair color is what I specialize in because it’s so versatile and I truly believe it’s what looks best on just about anyone. When you come sit in my chair, a few things are certain; we’re gonna have a damn good time and you’re gonna leave with a gorgeous mane. Plain and simple.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me this answer is simple. Delivering beautiful hair to my guests is a special gift to be given. It’s the ability to give confidence to the women who sit in my chair. Not just from the end result, but also from the shared experience of being in my chair. I feel so lucky to be a part of the best industry on the planet because who isn’t excited when they have a date to go see their hair stylist!?

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I love this question! Supporting artists can be so simple. Do you love your hairstylist? Write them a review on their preferred review platform. Share their work and tag them on your social media. Interact with their content and share it with your besties! The biggest compliment you can give to an artist is to love and support them by showing off their work and spreading the word about them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hollyherrington.com
• Instagram: hairstylist.holly_herrington
• Facebook: @hairstylisthollyherrington
• Other: Google Business: https://goo.gl/maps/ESHCDPueH795cNN26

Image Credits
Sarah McAllister