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

Lani, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents weren’t perfect, but I know for sure that they got a lot right too! I’m so grateful to them for instilling in me the sense of discipline and drive that I now have. While sometimes it’s hard for me to sit and relax, because I don’t want to feel unproductive, I know that my ambition is what makes it possible to own a successful business! The values and morals that they demonstrated throughout my life have helped establish my own set of values; Treating others how I wish to be treated, doing everything whole heartedly and with integrity, leaving things better than I found them, finding the good in all people, how to work hard, how to serve, how to love, how to cherish the earth, and how to be a good steward of the things in my care. I know so many people that do not know how to clean their house well, or how to fix their toilet. I have my parents to thank for all my handyman and life skills, as well as how to live life with integrity.

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 am an artist inside and out! I earned a BFA in Photography from Georgia State University and worked in film/music videos for many years. After receiving my BFA, I decided to pursue my other passion and graduated from the Master Cosmetology program at Keune Academy by 124 in 2018. Both degrees have helped build a strong foundation of color theory and develop my eye for detail!

I strongly believe in continuing education, which enables me to provide the most current styles, trends and techniques. It also gives me information needed to educate you on how to best care for your hair. I have done and continue to do extensive research about hair care products and how they affect our hair on a daily basis. Just like the products and foods we put in our bodies, what we put on our hair matters. It affects so many things, but it can be a lot to keep up with. That’s why you have me! I really believe my knowledge of hair care and hair healthy sets me apart from other stylists. I want your hair to stick around as long as possible and I’m convinced clean hair care is a huge factor!

When I’m not in the salon working with clients or researching haircare products, you’ll find me starting a new art project or learning a new craft, out eating yummy food or relaxing at home with my husband, Drew, and my three fur babies; Hero, my dog, and my cats, Gunter and Cena!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I would say consistency is the biggest factor to building my reputation. I take notes for each clients hair appointment so that I know what we did, I am then able to adjust in the future if needed, or stay the same!

My clients love that they can come sit in my chair and know they will get the same quality cut and/or color each time. When they have a consistently good head of hair, their friends start asking where they go! Most of my new clients come from referrals.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Since I started doing hair in 2018, I’ve been told you have to keep conversation rather surface level. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not the “surface level” type of gal. I like to go deep when I talk to people. I like to figure out what brings them joy, what has been discouraging them, or maybe how the current political drama is effecting their mental health.

I definitely over share, and I was always shamed for it. Whether it was my parents, my boss or my therapist, I was always told to keep personal, political and/or beliefs out of my conversations to avoid discomfort. I felt stifled, always anxious that I would say something deemed “inappropriate”. It wasn’t until opening my own salon suite, that I realized there are loads of people that want to talk on a deeper level, just like me. My clients don’t always want to talk about the current reality tv show. So often they want to talk about how upset they are with the gov, or their sister. Sometimes they want to share a new realization, or that they danced for the first time ever and how that made them feel, and I’m here for all of that!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.HairbyLaniCare.com
• Instagram: @lanicare.hair

Image Credits
Rebekah B Photography