Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Fay.
Hi Jessica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My story starts with stumbling into the beauty industry and then falling in love with it. Beauty school was something I thought would help me pay my way through college. I had been working as a receptionist at a salon in high school and saw how flexible the stylist’s schedules were and thought it would be the perfect job for a college student. However, in hair school, I found my people and my creative mind’s door flew wide open! I hadn’t even known that I could love something this much, but hair was my new medium and I wanted to know everything about it. After graduating from hair school, I worked for a small-town salon that had a big push for education. I learned more in that salon than all my time in beauty school! From there, I went on to work for a few other small-town salons before deciding it was time to start my own thing in the city I love, Fort Worth. When I started my own business in Fort Worth, I had almost 20 years of behind the chair knowledge and countless classes from countless companies.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
One of my biggest obstacles has been to take more risks in my career. In life, I love taking risks and getting out of my comfort zone, but in my career, I always played it safe. I think a lot of that has to do with the outdated stigma that hairdressing is unstable and low-earning. So, for me, having a safe, reliable job in the industry I loved felt like I won the lottery. It wasn’t until 2019, when my family and I left the US to explore the world, that I realized what restrictions I had been limiting myself to. Coming home from that 9-month trip, I had a brand-new perspective on risk and what you stand to gain. I decided to start my own business and trust myself and it has paid off in more ways than one.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I consider myself a minimalist hairstylist. I specialize in organic cuts and colors that mimic how the hair wants to naturally behave. I think my diverse education sets me apart from other stylists. I have learned techniques from so many different companies, brands, and people and they have culminated into my own personal style. My cutting techniques blend traditional geometric cutting rules and free-form texture. I enjoy taking the hair where it tells me it wants to go. This ensures it will behave the same way when the client goes home and styles it themself.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Most of what I read or listen to has nothing to do with hair and everything to do with how people behave. I love everything from true crime to interviews. I enjoy a good, complex story that reminds me what it is to be human. Interacting with people all day has always felt like a bit of a social experiment and my favorite books and podcasts reflect that. Maybe, the more I understand how people behave and why the better communicator and stylist I can become.
Contact Info:
- Email: jessicajfay@jfayhair
- Website: jfayhair.com
- Instagram: jessicafay_hair
