We were lucky to catch up with Philesha Alise Stern recently and have shared our conversation below.

Philesha Alise, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At Boujee Curls, are mission is creating beautiful work that allows each client to feel their most authentic, beautiful self, just how they are naturally.

Growing up, my parents never allowed my sisters and I to chemically relax our hair even though this was a huge trend at the time. My father had unrealistic conspiracies while my mother simply didn’t trust the chemicals and how they would affect our bodies.

Because of this, I was always forced to “deal with” or work with my natural hair pattern. My hair is curly and coily and has a variety of curl patterns, so this daily styling quickly became difficult to manage. I struggled with products, styles themselves and self worth. I didn’t feel pretty all the time like the girls in the magazines or on tv. At times, my hair was embarrassing or unruly, causing me to dislike it.

In high school, I started doing hair for fun for friends and classmates. I realized that I could always recognize the beauty in others, but not myself. So I decided to change that!

Not long after HS, I began experimenting with color, fun haircuts and different styles with my hair. Causing major damage. So I decided to enroll in Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy (Santa Monica) to learn all that I could about my curly hair and how to learn to love it! Fun fact: Cosmo school doesn’t teach you much about curly/natural hair sadly, so I knew I would need to make this my specialty. Clearly I can’t be the only one feeling left out and under served.

Now, in 2023, I created a salon and safe space for all curlies to feel welcome, appreciated and given the proper care and education required to maintain and LOVE your curly hair.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I received my license in 2009 and set out to focus on nothing but curls! Hairstyling has been around for ages, yet no one was really focusing on natural textures and patterns.

I began working for Devacurl in 2012 after attending a few classes in their academy and I knew I found my passion. Curls. I trained, studied and took as many courses as I could find to help me master my craft.
I knew other women and men deserved to feel beautiful with their natural textures and they most likely have been looking for these types of services.

At Boujee Curls, we are a full service salon. Meaning we do cuts, color, treatments and natural styling (wash and go/braid outs/TwistOuts/Blowouts/BohoBraids, etc) all on the clients natural hair. We focus on education and giving the client all the tips and proper routines to maintain healthy hair.

I teach clients styling methods for formal events and occasions as well as teach men and women how to properly style and maintain the hair of their children. That way the next generation has help too!

I am proud everyday knowing I get to help people feel and look their best, without having to alter or change who they are.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

With hairdressing, aside from the actual work you produce, integrity will take you so far!

The relationship between a stylist and client should have open communication on both sides, which creates that mutual trust. You never want to be the pushy stylist that doesn’t listen to the concerns or needs of the client. This relationship is all about building and maintaining that report.

I believe over the years, integrity is what has allowed me to build a strong clientele. Be honest with your client, be fair with your pricing, do amazing work and be invested in their lives. Have conversations, get to know them and their interests. Building a relationship is step one and will take you so far in this industry.

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

I was working for Devacurl and just found out I was pregnant with my second baby… when the salon announced they would be closing, for good. In Two weeks! Talk about stress!!

I knew there was no time to panic, just action. The day of the announcement , I drove around for hours trying to find the perfect location for me and my clients to relocate to. The problem was, I lived in Long Beach at the time and the salon was in Culver City. So finding middle ground between LBC and the west side of LA is hard.

Because I established so many great relationships with my clients, I wanted to be able to accommodate them as much as possible. I didn’t want them to drive too far for my salon but I also needed to be realistic about how my life was changing as a new mom.

I made the choice to open a salon suite in downtown Long Beach and prayed my clients would be willing to make the drive.

I was beyond worried, nervous and feeling very uncertain but I knew I had great skills, offered amazing services and would be able to advertise to the locals.

In business, you have to know when to take the leap, even when you are uncertain of the outcome. It was the best decision that I’ve ever made. Not even a full two weeks after Devachan closed, I was up and running my own salon location to service my clients!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BoujeeCurls.com
• Instagram: Hairby__PhileshaAlise

Image Credits
Larry Wright Photography