Today, we’d like to introduce you to Gracie Howard.
Hi Gracie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was interested in hair when I first got my hair colored in sixth grade. It was the coolest thing ever and I loved the environment of the salon! In seventh grade, we had a career day, and I remember filling out the list of careers the students wanted to see. The first thing I wrote was ‘hairstylist’! When we all got to pick the actual careers we wanted to check out, I looked strictly for what I wrote, but it wasn’t there… until someone told me ‘cosmetology’ was hairstylist!
I honestly think my name was first on the list because I was so excited! Skipping all the way to high school, I was still interested in wanting to do hair, and I think I got lucky because there was a lady from a cosmetology school in the hallway in front of our cafeteria, and that was the first time I actually talked to someone about what I wanted to do after high school!
I truly believe that was my push into wanting to actually get into this career path! I went home and told my parents about it. We looked at their website and saw they were having an event for people interested in cosmetology! (Good timing!) We got our spot booked and headed to the hair school! My first impression of a cosmetology school was amazing! I loved walking into a place that focused on something you want to do in your life! It felt really cool and kind of meant to be. (I’m not a ‘meant to be’ type of gal, but sometimes).
So we toured two more schools after the first one, and I actually ended up going to the last one we toured. It was closer to my house, but I loved the vibe and school so much, and I’m so glad I made the decision on my school! The school was right down Preston Road from Frisco to Plano! It was actually perfect! I graduated high school in 2018 and headed to hair school in August of the same year!
Cosmetology school was not what I thought it would be (in a good way), but I honestly didn’t know what to expect!
I came into school not knowing anything about hair, and they say even after you graduate hair school, you still don’t really know anything, which is so true, and I wish I listened to people telling me that when I first got out! Don’t worry! Cosmetology teaches you everything you need to know, but true experiences of being a hairstylist happen after hair school. When I finished hair school, I went to my first salon as an apprentice/stylist.
Being an apprentice for this certain salon meant a lot of cleaning and learning the ins and outs of the salon and the salon environment. At the time, it wasn’t the best time being an apprentice but looking back; I am grateful to have learned a bit from those days. Right before COVID, I was at my second salon on the actual floor! It was great! I felt so excited and began to get my rhythm as a licensed stylist on the floor! It was such a great vibe! Right on Main St. in Frisco, less than 15 minutes away from my house!
After COVID, it didn’t get worse, but not bad! Out of three people, I was the only person who showed back up in June. We hired another amazing person, so thankfully, I wasn’t alone. The team expanded just a little, but by mid-2021, it was time to move on to something new. I moved to Denton, TX! About 30 minutes west of Frisco, not too bad of a drive, but I really appreciate all of my clients who drive any distance to come see me, even if you’re in Denton!
Denton is where I started to really grow with my skills. The Denton scene made it exciting to do vivids and rainbow hair! I was at a couple of salons until I finally achieved my career goal in 2022! With the amount of support I’ve gotten from family, friends, and clients, I was able to continue my career growth and open my own salon suite here in Denton!
I (still) can’t thank my parents enough, though, for helping me and supporting me throughout everything! As a suite owner, I’m able to make my salon my own and it really helps make my clients feel comfortable while they get their hair done! I get to have my space, and they get to have their peace! (Plus, whatever show/movie I have playing in the background!).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey wasn’t smooth all the time, but experiencing learning and growing from the bumps in the road is kind of part of life.
It’s how you perceive it and what you can do to stay in control of your actions. I had a lot of challenges and obstacles in the way. I still do, but when I actually do what I went to school for, I remember why it’s worth what I went through. I get to see beautiful, cool, confident people with good-looking hair!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
I consider myself an ‘Alternative Freestyle’ stylist. I specialize in haircuts of all lengths (hair doesn’t have a gender), vivid colors (rainbows and rainbow prisms), and balayage! I also specialize in Asian hair, as I am a proud Chinese adoptee! I enjoy what I do and hope people can see that! I love making people feel confident in who they are as a person.
Hair really does have an impact on people, no matter what! It can make or break your day! I want people to wake up feeling like they can just brush and go! Seeing people post pictures of their old hair and how they miss it makes me feel so amazing as a stylist and a person! I am so proud of myself and happy for my client! I want my clients to know I always put 100% into their appointments! I want them to be my focus while they’re in my chair so I can produce some cool hair!
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
In September of 2018, right at the point of starting to get into cosmetology school, I was offered to skip the pre-audition line of American Idol. I turned it down… It was actually a huge decision because I literally just started school…
I couldn’t just have a backup if I wanted to do a singing competition show! I didn’t take it. I know what you’re thinking, “Do you regret it?” Yes and no, and that’s all I’ll say, haha! If I got an opportunity to audition for like The Voice, then maybe I’ll look into it, but for right now, I’m happy being a hairstylist!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/hairxgraciehoward
- Instagram: Instagram.com/HairxGracieHoward
- Facebook: Facebook.com/HairxGracieHoward
- Other: Hair-x-Gracie-Howard.square.site
