In case you missed it, celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen stopped by the Yes, Girl podcast to discuss the beauty and business of Black hair.
In addition to reflecting on her work with A-listers like Rihanna, Ursula also delved into why she was moved to open a salon and be a part of educating the next generation of stylists.
At first, finding skilled stylists proved to be difficult, as most weren’t equipped with the hair health expertise needed to work with clients. She also cites her own past experience as motivation to to “grow up” and work on the business.
“I would do hair then go out and party three or four days of the week. I was booking clients, but not taking myself seriously. I would go to nice events and people would ask me if I had my own salon space [I didn’t] and I realized how silly it was not to.”
“I had so many young stylists looking up to me. Many of them were coming straight out of school and I would work with them and I realized how much they weren’t learning. I realized I needed to add to my industry.”
Ursula also touched on how social media influencing can make the business of beauty difficult. Recalling times when people would ask for her services in exchange for a tag on an Instagram post, Ursula says that type of bartering is detrimental and disrespectful to those who live off of their craft.
“People are trying to offer you a tag I exchange for a free ‘do, forgetting that a great weave and style actually can cost $1,500. Yeah honey I want that money. Let’s not play around with these tags.”
Catch the full conversation on healthy hair and bomb branding by listening to the full podcast above.