Today we’d like to introduce you to Jody Brinkmeier.
Jody, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story started when I was in third grade and my cousin taught me how to curl my bangs. I went home and asked my Mom if there was a job where I could curl people’s hair and she said, yes, it’s called a beautician. I’ll never forget that moment and from that point on, I knew I wanted to be a hair stylist. It didn’t take long before I learned how to french braid my Barbie’s hair and soon after, I was braiding my older sister’s sports teams’ hair. In high school, I was able to attend Cosmetology School and while attending school got my first job at JK Salon as a receptionist. I dove right in asking the stylists a million questions and getting my hands in as much hair as possible, helping out wherever I could. After graduating, I spent five years as a stylist at this salon before moving to New Haven, CT in 2001. It was here that I was introduced to Jo Bruno, who a few years later, sparked my interest in curls. She told me how life-changing DevaCurl was, so I purchased the Curly Girl Handbook and started learning about curls. For the first time in my life, I realized that my frizz was actually curl. It was overcoming the struggle with my own natural texture that led to my understanding of and passion for curls.
After moving to Texas and staying home with my boys for seven years, I returned to work and after two years attended the DevaCurl Academy in New York City to become a Deva Inspired Stylist. My phone started ringing the instant I was listed on the DevaCurl stylist finder with curly haired people who were desperate to find someone who understood their curly hair. As my business started growing, I knew how much I was needed in this area. After 18 years as a stylist, I found my calling as a curly hair specialist. Within the next few years, I extended my training to become a Level 3 Deva Certified Stylist and a Member of Curly Hair Artistry. I’ve received training both in person and through online courses from top industry leaders and curl specialists, such as Scott Musgrave, Lorraine Massey, Evan Joseph, Krista Leavitt, Atoya Bass, and Loni Jean and will soon be receiving my Rezo cut certification.
After 20 years in the industry and five years as a stylist at a commission based salon, I decided it was time to pursue my dream of owning my own business. I opened my salon suite, Helix Salon in 2018 and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
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?
I really can’t complain. I’ve had a very successful career, despite a couple of challenges along the way. I have lived all over the country, IL, CT, FL, CA, and TX. As a hair stylist, it’s important to establish a loyal clientele and its difficult to do that when you are moving so often. After ten years as a stylist, I made one of the best and most important decisions of my life, to be a stay at home mom. My plan was to return to work after the boys were school age. One of my biggest challenges is not having family close by to help with the boys, so this limited the hours and amount of days I was able to work. Finding a salon that would hire an experienced stylist that had been out of the salon environment for seven years also proved to be a challenge. After interviewing with many salons, I found KTS Hair Studio in Roanoke to be the right fit for me. The salon owner, Kevin Shoop, understood exactly what I needed and was willing to be flexible. He allowed me to have a career and be a full-time Mom. It took some time building my clientele because I didn’t offer evening hours, but KTS was busy and established enough that I was able to be successful at it. Now that I am actively growing my own business, finding a good work-life balance proves to be the biggest challenge of all.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Helix Salon – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I am a curly hair specialist who teaches people how to fall in love with their naturally curly hair. I am very passionate about curly hair and specialize in all textures and curl patterns. Most curly girls have gone through a lifetime of struggles and frustration with their hair and have never viewed their curls in a positive way. When they visit me for the first time they are nervous and afraid because of so many devastating past experiences. In order to provide my guests with the best experience in a comfortable atmosphere, I only schedule one guest at a time. This allows me to give each guest my undivided attention for their entire 1.5-2 hour appointment. I customize each guest’s experience by offering a thorough consultation, a specialty curly cut and an extensive curl coaching session, complete with tips and techniques for a wash and go, sleeping on your curls and refreshing second and third-day curls. I cut the hair dry, sculpting curl by curl, according to where the curls naturally lie. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the smile or tears of joy on my guests’ faces when they see their curls as beautiful for the very first time. Curls don’t need to be complicated they just need to be understood. I believe in a simple approach that each of my guests can duplicate at home. People travel from all over to see me, knowing they can relax and put their trust in someone who understands curls and has gone through the same struggles and frustrations that they have. No matter where anyone is in their curl journey I will be there with them every step of the way.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
From the beginning of my career, I have always dreamed of owning my own salon. My goal is to expand and open my own salon within the next year. Quality and attention to detail is very important to me, so I plan to start off small, with an assistant and build a solid team from there, no matter how long that may take.
Pricing:
- Curly Cuts start at $175
Contact Info:
- Address: Helix Salon at Salons by JC
301 Trophy Lake Dr
Trophy Club, TX 76262 - Website: https://www.vagaro.com/jodybrinkmeiercurlspecialist
- Phone: 214-814-0355
- Email: helixsalon@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curlsbyjodybrinkmeier/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/curlsbyjodybrinkmeier/
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
