Highbrow Hippie Blog

I was contacted recently by the Hollywood Reporter, who asked some fellow colorists and I about our thoughts on the recent chatter regarding 46 year old Alexandra Grant and her glorious hair. Of course, I had to ramble about a few other things that were bothering me about this topic. I recently had a new client disclose that the reason she booked an appointment with me was that she knew she would be safe and be seen in my chair, because she saw other women her age reflected on our Instagram page. It was feedback that made me exhale, because, as a colorist who is also a woman of color, I know what it feels like to feel invisible and erased. I also recently read a New York Times interview with Katie Couric on ageism that stated the alarming statistic that only 15 percent of all images in media are of people over the age of 50. That number gets smaller when we focus on only women. And it gets downright abysmal when we focus on women of color.

Sun-kissed caramel curls for our sweet client Esmé. THE PROCESS.... Like many of our clients with curly and textured hair, Esmé usually prefers to let her hair dry naturally after a color appointment, or opt to leave with our signature moisturizing treatment to replenish the hair post color. So unless I manage to hang out with them outside of the salon (or stalk their Instagram account;)) chances of getting an “after” picture are slim to none.

If you have been following us on this blog for a while, you know that we have been working on finding a physical space for Highbrow Hippie for some time. After many ups and downs (read more about that here), we are happy to announce that we have finally found a space to launch Highbrow … Continue reading "Highbrow Hippie Defined"

Changes. Leaps of faith. And new beginnings....Today marked my last day working at 454North before I move to Venice full time in our new space! There’s a saying that goes “the greatest advantage of speaking the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said”, and when I started working at 454North, one of the first things I said in my interview was I hoped to one day launch Highbrow Hippie as a brand and open a space in Venice. And they were understanding since day one. They were also supportive when Myka and I were blindsided and had to recalibrate our entire business plan and start over. I will never forget it. 

If you follow us in stories, you saw that a while back I did a skin detox. For 7 days I didn’t use any products on my skin – no cleanser, no toner, no serums, no moisturizer – nothing. I wasn’t trying to correct any issues or streamline my skincare routine, I simply wanted to …