Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicki Gazlay.
Nicki, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
That’s a loaded question!
I was lucky enough to discover my passion and God-given talent at a very young age; some of my earliest memories from childhood are playing with my doll’s hair, cutting and styling, and coloring makeup on them with crayons and markers. My mom still has some of these poor dolls in the toy closet at her house.
As I became older, playing hair salon with friends and family was my favorite thing to do. I was always doing my grandmother’s, sister and aunt’s hair and makeup. As a young teen, my makeup world expanded to MAC and other brand name hair and makeup products, but Raised by a single mother, she quickly told me that if I wanted these things, I was going to have to get a job and pay for it myself. My mother instilled an amazing work ethic in me from a young age. I was determined to have the best so I started babysitting, eventually found a job as a receptionist at a local chain hair salon in Memphis, so I could pay for all my favorite products. I took cosmetology classes through a program in my high school and began cutting my family, friends, teacher’s hair, styling prom hair, prom makeup, waxing eyebrows, etc.
As graduation was approaching, my mother was less than supportive of me doing hair full time; she was concerned that this wouldn’t be a stable career for me and encouraged me to go to college. Although kicking and screaming, I obliged. After two years of a mediocre but fun attempt at college, my mother finally saw the light and began to support my desire to pursue a career in hair and makeup. I immediately moved home and enrolled in the Beauty Institute and landed a job at Gould’s Salon in Memphis. Within my first year of employment as a licensed cosmetologist, I was asked by Gould’s to become a Bumble and Bumble educator. They sent me to New York City to get trained at Bumble and Bumble University.
I flourished in Memphis and built a great career fairly quickly. My passion for my business and education helped my career quickly advance. I also seized any opportunity to give back to my community using my God-given talents. Being from Memphis, St. Jude is close to my heart and I regularly participated in programs offering complementary services to the patients and families of St. Jude. All of this was before social media, but as a natural at marketing, I knew I needed to get my name out there in any way that I could. I took every opportunity to promote my talent. I participated in “Monday Morning Makeovers” for the local news stations, appeared on an episode of Ambush Makeover, collaborated on a fall spread for the Memphis flyer, as well as other promotional opportunities that came my way.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My path in life hasn’t always been a smooth one, but the hard times were not struggles, but challenges. After 12 years of a solid career in Memphis, my husband got a new job that moved us to San Francisco where I had to start all over. Unlike Memphis where I had grown up, I had to build a clientele in San Francisco, where I knew no one. I began working at a fabulous boutique salon, Le Reve, and I began networking with people that I knew already had a strong pipeline. I networked with successful realtors and financial advisors, etc., offering my services and hair-styling/make-up classes for their clients. The other challenge in San Francisco was that the clientele was much more diverse than in Memphis, very different in terms of styles and hair type; I took a lot of education to learn how to accommodate the needs and wants of this new clientele. My career was short-lived in San Francisco, after having our son we decided to move to Texas after only three years in San Francisco.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
After San Francisco, my husband’s new job relocated us to the DFW area and we moved to Flower Mound. Upon my arrival, I searched for an established, upscale salon that offered great education opportunities. This salon also needed to provide flexibility to work part-time, allowing me time with my family.
Tangerine Hair Salon provided me with a perfect footing for re-building a clientele in a new market because of their reputation as a first-class salon. I began my career at Tangerine as a studio-level stylist. After four short years, I have built an incredible clientele, advanced to a Master Level stylist and I am a member of the mentor team.
As a working stylist behind the chair, I believe my passion for what I do, education, the communication with my clients and my ability to blend a variety of techniques to achieve amazing results are what sets me apart in the hair industry. Hairstyling today has become a much more complex art, where knowledge in a large variety of techniques and the ability to truly understand what a client is wanting when they sit in your chair is crucial to success. When a client shows you a picture of a look they want, it is no longer simply one type of cut and color used to get that look, it takes multiple techniques to successfully achieve what clients are wanting and proper communication to explain expectations versus reality. I want my clients to LOVE their hair and feel beautiful, as well as educate them on proper styling methods, tools and products. I love to learn, take what I learn and incorporate it into my life to improve myself and my craft. My hair color techniques and my honesty are definitely what set me apart from others in my industry.
Tangerine’s education plan offers mentoring programs for apprentices and stylists coming right out of school. As a mentor, I show techniques of doing hair, assist in finding models and help the apprentices to master their craft. One of the most important things that I try and teach those that I mentor is how to effectively communicate with the client.
Tangerine salon provides us with an incredible team where we can literally accomplish anything; we can go to fashion week, make incredible tutorials, enter major competitions (and win), participate with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Hair squad; this company wants you to succeed!
What were you like growing up?
I was mostly the fun, outgoing kid that loved to laugh and have a great time. I’ve always had high self-esteem, which helped get me through those pesky weird years and I love to encourage other women to always see their beauty and talents. I’ve always enjoyed living a big, full life. I work hard to play hard and I work to live. I love to travel and enjoy life. I truly believe everyone deserves to be happy.
Pricing:
- Haircuts $75+
- Color $125+
- Special Event hair $125+
- Make-up $125+
Contact Info:
- Address: Tangerine Salon at the Shops of Highland Village
4151 Waller Creek
Highland Village, Tx - Website: https://tangerinesalon.net/nicki-gazlay
- Phone: tel:9723939200
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautybynickigazlay/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/beautybynickigazlay/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Terron Harrison (hairstylist at Tangeirne)
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