Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kyle Heinen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kyle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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 started my career in hair not as an 18 or 19 year old, but in my 30’s. Prior to this creative gear switch I was producing fashion photography for some great and very well respected photographers, Steven Klein, Mert and Marcus, Craig McDean, and the like. While I loved working in fashion, watching the creative on paper come to life with a team on a set and eventually end up on a billboard or on the cover of a magazine, I started to burn out. Knowing I needed to make a change soon I started thinking about what it was that I enjoyed or what it was that I wanted to explore in the creative space. Years before I started producing I had looked at a hair school on a whim…thought it might be fun at the time, but let it go. While contemplating this next step it popped into my head, “What about going back to school and doing hair?” It was a way for me to still be in touch with the fashion world, but be on a creative end of it. Reality eventually caught up with me. What am I doing? Leaving a great career working with some of the most creative minds in the industry to start over in a field I honestly don’t know much about?! Can I start at the bottom…again? In my mid 30’s? The answer was yes. I practice the idea of following your gut. I try to relate it to everything I do in life and my gut told to make the jump, follow your heart, take the risk.

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 touched on some of this earlier, but I grew up on a farm in Kansas and moved to New York right after high school to study acting. I did that for a bit in NY before moving to LA and ended up falling into production naturally so left the world of auditions and memorizing sides to pursue a career in fashion photography production. Once my time with that came to an end I went into doing hair. I got introduced to Kristen Shaw who became (and still is in many rights) my mentor. She taught me a lot of skills I still carry with me to my studio. Her way of intuitive cutting is still what drives my craft today. Through Kristen, I met Naomi Knights who then became my color mentor. Working with Kristen and Naomi, two incredibly talented people in the business, taught me to follow my intuition. Which is key for so many reasons. Not only in the work but in the art and also when dealing with people in such an intimate setting. Sometimes you end up alone in a room with a stranger for three hours. So figuring out what makes them tick, how they communicate, and above all things…..listening to them. That is the key! Listening. I think that’s the biggest key to success, I know it has been for me. I’ve had a lot of folks come in over the years and thank me for actually listening to them and what they want. And not so much as a “therapist” as people joke hair stylists are, but in terms of what they like and don’t like about their hair. With some folks, you have to read between the lines and navigate that a bit more but ultimately the answer is in what they are telling you in the mirror or the pictures they show you. That’s when you take your professional knowledge and experience and let them know what is realistic with their hair and how we can compromise to give them a version of that that is flattering to them specifically. Nine out of ten times just listening will get you where you and more importantly your client wants to go. Bangs just aren’t for everyone!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Helping people. Plain and simple really. When you look your best, you feel your best. But beyond that, there are emotions attached to how you see yourself. Sometimes people go through really hard times and just want to feel good when they look in the mirror. I can’t necessarily change what their personal struggles are, but I can be a piece of the puzzle to help boost their self esteem. Even if that blow dry lasts them just one day, I know when they stepped out of my chair and into that coffee shop to get a coffee, they felt great doing it. I’ve had (and still do have) clients who have gone through chemo or health issues that have affected their hair and helping them look into the mirror over time and see a version of themselves THEY want to see again is very gratifying.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think the obvious pivot we can all draw from recently was Covid. Both personally and business related. In regards to my business, having no place to work when the pandemic started to settle pushed me to start my own business and build out a studio. While my make shift studio during that time was temporary, I learned that being a small business owner and working for myself was the best way for me to move forward with my career. Can’t say I’ll ever go back to working for someone else. I still work for myself today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kyleheinen.com
• Instagram: @kyleheinen

Image Credits
Primary Photo and additional black and white photo with bleach on the head – Photographer Joey Battaglia @joeybattaglia Additional black and white photo cutting hair – Photographer Diane Crea