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

Melissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

Having been in the beauty industry nearly 15 years, I transitioned to focus solely on hairstyling. Scaling up my business, I have become hyper-focused on and specialized in hair extensions. Personally, I have never prided myself on being the cheapest or most affordable hair artist in the So Cal/Inland Empire area, but was within the average range for my area. After becoming an extension artist, immersing myself in training, studying the science of hair and scalp in depth, I relish in providing the most luxury, honest, organized, and authentic extension service in the area, which means I am a little more expensive, and have increased my average ticket price providing luxury services.

Hair enhancements isn’t simply adding 100% Remy human hair to a client’s head, it’s a customized confidence booster. The business of extensions is specialized and requires training, practice, and honing skills that are constantly evolving when you’re considering and protecting the hair and scalp of every guest. Because each guest’s hair and scalp are unique, adding extensions while maintaining the integrity of the client’s natural hair and scalp must be addressed individually; it isn’t ever a one-size-fits-all service.

I’ve spent an immense amount of time training and certifying in more than a handful of brands and their methods and have experience from tape-ins to k-tips and everything in between. I’m a science nerd at heart so I chose to become a strategist in the foundation of extensions and understand the science of hair and scalp in detail to offer my guests the healthiest hair enhancement option. After working with guests whose hair types range from fine to coarse texture and low to high densities, concealed bead sew-in wefts, when applied properly by a licensed and specialized extensionist, are the healthiest option for all guests. Not to mention the easiest to maintain at home. My focus as an extensions professional is on providing the safest attachments to my guest’s natural hair. I’m able to offer them as a chemical free service, perfectly color matching or blending, but also part of scaling up my business has been with the art of color. Being able to seamlessly blend extensions with or without added color is an art and part of the secret of wearing extensions.

I’ve had many guests start out in my chair getting the usual services while experiencing hair-conscious insecurities and I’ve had the opportunity to combine the world of hair enhancements and my expertise to offer my guests the hair of their dreams. Concealed bead sew-in weft extensions has given my guests freedom! I can say that confidently because extensions not only are amazing for styling versatility but also for a simplified style routine, and active lifestyles. Extensions have not only given my client’s a lease on life when it comes to hair insecurities, but it has also transformed my business.

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’m the creator and owner of Styled x Melissa a wellness salon specializing in enhancements through integrity: extensions and dimensional color. When I’m not working behind the chair, I enjoy educating, occasionally working on editorials or red carpet events, or styling the locks of gorgeous brides.

My career has spanned nearly 15 years in the beauty industry, but I haven’t always been in the business of styling. I went to college and earned a Bachelor degree in Animal Science with a concentration in Equine (horse) Science. In what seems like a lifetime ago, I was riding horses and training horse and rider. Interestingly, fate allowed me the opportunity to reside as the Fashion Editor for the luxury magazine CVLUX in conjunction with styling wardrobe for editorial and red carpet. I dabbled in hair and have always had a bit of a love affair with hairstyling. Circumstances led me to pursuing hairstyling as a full time career and I haven’t looked back. Because of a passion to create, my love of fashion and beauty, and a drive to empower other women with a boost of confidence, I feel so driven in my career.

I strive to offer solutions to women that maintain the integrity of their natural hair while elevating their self image. Staying on top of my education and the latest hair trends is very important to me. Pushing boundaries and growing my skill set is a lifestyle I put into practice daily, and you’ll find me constantly investing in my career. I’ve collected numerous certifications, passed multiple examinations, as well as became a Regional Educator for Alter Ego Italy North America in 2022.

My curiosity and passion for hair extensions opened the door to a journey where I found it was possible to achieve the perfect color, cut, length, or volume guest’s natural hair could never live up to. I’ve met and worked with many women to make their dreams a reality.

A concealed bead sew-in method joined together my love of color and art of extensions leading me to offer a non-chemical service that fits just about everyone. Concealed bead sew-in extensions are a customized set of extensions tailored to an individual’s needs. Each set can be hand painted to ensure a seamless blend with natural hair or we can color match, or mix and match to create a balayage effect, or custom color. From a little change up to a full transformation, I love being able to create hair confidence.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Keeping in touch with clients is as much a business strategy as it is fostering a relationship. While I believe boundaries are important and have policies in place regarding my business, my clients also know I’m here for them. As a wellness and relaxation salon providing a luxury service, you don’t obtain that kind of brand by being absent or mysterious.

It is imperative for me to maintain a healthy work/home life balance and setting boundaries is a must for that to occur. However, being available within reason for my guests fosters an environment of brand loyalty. Guests know that if they have a question, concern, or just need some hair advice, I’m a trusted authority. I’ve garnered their trust by continuing my education and providing quality services. Responding in a timely manner is also an important factor in fostering trust.

For my business, my personality, my messaging, imagery, and my mission and values are all a part of my brand, and fostering the appropriate emotional connections between that brand and clients is what makes purchasing from your brand a client’s habit.

Connecting with my guest’s through top-notch services in a consistent manner, offering quality products, and building a relationship are lasting factors that I believe have created brand loyalty.

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

Building relationships is key to building and maintaining a brand, but also business is business. My clients become friends in the sense that I often learn some of the intimate details of their lives, and they know personal details about mine. While I want our relationship to go beyond me simply providing a service, I am first and foremost a business owner providing services that my guests are paying for. It’s a fine line, being friendly, but also maintaining an appropriate business relationship.

The saying ‘never mix business with pleasure’ does have some truth to it, and I think that sometimes being overly friendly with a paying customer can blur the lines and can lead to either a business provider being taken advantage of, or that provider feeling guilty and emotional discounting.

I didn’t really understand the idea of emotional discounting, until about a year ago when I was restructuring my pricing and services. Individuals who aren’t providing such an intimate, personal service as hair styling may not understand, but it is a real thing that many service providers experience. Giving, or thinking about giving, a client a service at a reduced price often crosses a providers mind because of feelings towards that guest, or their financial situation you may have learned about while they’re sharing their lives in your chair causes guilty feelings when it comes time to charge for your service. It’s often hard to differentiate between being friendly and connecting with your guests while running a business and being a professional. Many of us providers have friends who become clients and that grey area gets blurred even further.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.styledxmelissa.com
• Instagram: @styledmelissa.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/styledxmelissa
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/styledxmelissa/
• Other: https://bio.site/styledxmelissa

Image Credits
Photographer- Phillip Jojola