We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Toribel Mora. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Toribel below.

Toribel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I believe with being a hairstylist almost all bookings are special in their own way because it tends to be for an event coming up in my clients life. It’s been such an amazing feeling growing along with my clients & doing their hair for their graduation, gender reveal/babyshower, engagements & even weddings it’s truly an honor they choose me. I’ve been doing hair for about 8 years now but the most meaningful project for me was actually in cosmetology school, the Fred Jordan Mission event. In this event we gave out free haircuts for minors, I remember some kids weren’t willing to cut their hair but still wanted something done so I started offering French braids & something so simple for me to do was so cute and special for them. I will never forget that feeling especially because I was so early in my career but it was one of the little moments that kept me going in my journey.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For those who stumbled upon my story Hi my name is Toribel a.k.a Thetorytouch and I’m a hairstylist located in the SFV. As I mentioned before I’ve been doing hair for about 8 years now, not counting my teenage years! I’ve always had a love for the beauty industry starting off watching YouTube make up tutorials or DIY bleaching/dye jobs even if it was a disaster! At 19 I enrolled to Paul Mitchell Sherman Oaks & 11 months later I graduated and got an assistant job at a salon called Bigoudi in Woodland Hills.

I specialize in haircuts, colors (vivid, natural), balayage/highlights, color corrections & as of recently dabbling in men’s haircuts & up-do’s for special events.
I love educating my clients on how to care for their hair at home, trying new styles if they’re ready for it or sticking with the same style that makes them comfortable, if you’re my client & you’re reading this you know I always say “go ahead take a closer look, feel & play with your hair like you would at home and let me know if there is anything you would like me to fix”. I truly value my clients feedback & try my best to deliver their goal but hair is hair & sometimes it goes like doop ( I hope you guys know what meme I’m talking about lol!) Luckily I’ve built such an amazing clientele and truly I would not be the hairstylist I am today if it wasn’t for my clients and my past mentors.
For potential new clients you can find me on Instagram @thetorytouch or TikTok @tee.bellah where I post hair content or just random day in my life videos/trends.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Being from a Hispanic family the goal was always to go to college, graduate & get a good stable job which is the complete opposite of what I did and that definitely came with some opinions. My goal in my earlier years as a hairstylist was to prove to myself and those who had opinions that I chose the right path for me. Present me now has proved those people wrong and I’m proud of myself for choosing to do what makes me happy. I have a baby boy (9months) and he is currently my drive to continue to grow in my journey and make him proud. Also showing him that if you’re driven you can be successful college graduate or not.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In these 8 years looking back I feel like I’ve lived many different lives from joining cosmetology school and saying I didn’t want a balayage or highlight client to suddenly those being my only tickets at school. In a blink of an eye I graduated and ended up being an assistant working 5/6 days a week 9-12 hour days most of the time and getting a reality check of the work it takes to be a successful hairstylist. I then became a struggling hairstylist behind the chair only booking at most 2 clients in the week just due to being a fresh new artist on the floor, which led me to actually getting a second job as a nail salon receptionist to help support my hair stylist job. Suddenly a pandemic hits and I truly thought my journey was over but it ended up being my biggest blessing in booking new clients. Before I knew it I was fully booked a week then a month & suddenly 2-3 months ahead. This past year I ended up pregnant and of course had to take maternity leave which did have me nervous of losing my clientele rightfully so since it was during holiday season. This is most important time of the year for service providers but I was 1-2 almost 3 months postpartum and those clients who stuck by my side & waited until my books were back open truly made it all more exciting to be back behind the chair, although im not back full time, I eventually plan to be once again. I truly appreciate all the support of my clients, family & friends for keeping me going & understanding my journey in balancing work and motherhood for the first time. I’m just a girl who loves doing hair & will continue to do so as long as I can! <3

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Thetorytouch
• Other: TikTok @ tee.bellah

Image Credits

Toribel Mora
@thetorytouch