As they work their way up, young up-and-coming beauty professionals are blazing trails and making waves. We scoured the country to find out who is doing what and how it all began. Here is our chat with up-and-coming beauty professional, Simone Pettigrew.
Salon Magazine: How did you get your start in nails? Why did you decide to be a part of this industry?
Simone Pettigrew: I have always been inspired by fashion. Taking risky chances on weird fashion trends. Sometimes they worked out, sometimes not so much. I was sitting in my stylists chair after a bad break up. (You know one of those life-changing hair cuts/colours). New start, new you! I was venting about how I was confused as to what direction I wanted to go in and my hairstylist mentioned beauty school. it resonated with me and I applied that week. The rest fell into place.
SM: What drives and motivates you as a hairstylist?
SP: Education, new techniques, re-invented trends. The industry is constantly evolving and that’s exciting. From working behind the chair, to running your own salon, working on set of a shoot or behind stage for fashion week. There are endless possibilities.
SM: What is your expertise? What do you specialize in or excel at?
SP: What I am most passionate about is session work. From bridal to editorial and creative. I love collaborating and creating something that others can enjoy looking at and find inspiration.
SM: What is one lesson you’ve learned throughout your education and career that you still keep in mind today?
SP: To never let fear get in your way. You maybe missing out on the biggest opportunity.
SM: Who is your mentor or who do you look up to up to when it comes to hair? Anyone in particular on social media?
SP: I have had many mentors in the 16 years that I’ve been in the industry. I am beyond grateful for those connections and for everything they taught and pushed me to do. As for social media, I follow a lot of different stylists, fashion bloggers, street style bloggers and artists. Specific hair inspiration for Instagram would be: @xpresioncreativos, @tonyandguylondonacademy, @fashionmeetspassion,@sammcknight, and @Sharonblain.
SM: Who is your hair hero? Is there someone youʼd like to work with?
SP: Hair Heroes would obviously include Roberta Labetta, Trevor Sorbie and Sophie springtt. I’d love to get a chance to work behind stage of the Alternative hair show in London,UK or work with Sam McKnight behind stage for fashion week.
SM: As a young artist, what has been the biggest challenge you have faced and how did you overcome that?
SP: As a “younger” artist I would have to say that getting used to how fast the industry changes with social media as well as getting more creative work. Before the fashion industry was really tough to get your foot in the door, but now there is social media which helps show your work to important people who can see your work at any time. This means more people can discover you for your talent and its not just about who you know.
SM: Who gave you the best advice as you embarked on your career? And what was that advice?
SP: When an opportunity presents itself, you jump! It does not matter how small that opportunity is, it could eventually lead you down a totally different and exciting path.
SM: What is your one must-have product?
SP: I don’t have just one. Revlon UniqueOne solves hair problems, it’s in my kit at all times and Fresh.Hair by KM and Reset by Style Masters. Every session artist needs a good dry shampoo.
SM: What are your goals for the next 5 to 10 years? Where do you see yourself in the beauty industry?
SP: In the next five years, I’d like to have more published work. I’d like to do some more collaborative work for a few collections or magazines. In the long run, I’d love to be an art director, but who knows what life has in store for me. I never imagined I’d be where I am today.
Comments are closed.