In light of International Women’s Day on March 8th, Her Campus Lasell found it necessary to highlight the woman that have impacted our lives or who we see making a difference for their community for this week (and every day). In this Empowering Woman Series, we have chose to interview students, friends, family, and professors about what they do and what it’s like being bada** empowering woman.
Brittany Ring is a hair stylist at the salon, Be.You.Tiful Salon and Spa, located in Portsmouth, RI. Ring can always be found with a smile on her face, engaging with clients and making their hair look fantastic. You can tell she loves her job and she does it very well. People admire Ring because of how dedicated and hardworking she is. She is also super funny and just an overall great person. She does whatever she can to make her clients comfortable, is always friendly, and has the best suggestions to make their hair look its best. She also does some amazing braids, below are some examples!
When interviewing Ring, she provided some great information about what it is like to be a hairdresser.
When asked what made her want to be a hairdresser she said, “I knew from a young age, about seven or so that I loved cutting hair. I think subconsciously I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.”
She said hairdressing school was fun and challenging all in one. She said she always loved the hands- on approach in hairdressing, so it was tough for her on the days that she had to listen to four hours of theory. Her main desire in school was to be behind the chair doing hair.
She also said hands down jer favorite thing about her job is that she has the creative liberty to be able to make art out of the hair.
There are many things that Ring excels with in the salon, but hair coloring is where her passion lies.
“I am most comfortable when coloring hair, specifically balayage, which is hair painting,” she said. “It allows me to paint lightness or depth exactly where I want to see it. The beautiful thing about this process is it’s so individual and specific to each client that no two clients look ‘the same’.”
She says the most effective way to build a clientele is through consistency, communicating when you have openings or cancellations, and offering customized add-on services that make each client feel special so that they want to re-book. Oh, and a good consultation goes a long way!
She said, “I look forward to going in to work every day because it’s a place where I am free to be myself, personally and professionally. I have the support of two successful women and I believe the vibe attached to the salon is so positive and that’s why our salon clients are so great. “
Ring can be described as a people person who enjoys talking with others and sharing ideas, so it’s no surprise that communicating with her clients and coworkers is the easiest part of her day to day life in the salon. However, she said one of the hard things that she struggles with is when clients have hardships in their life. She stated that it’s hard not to feel their sadness too.
When asked what advice she would give for other women who aspire to be hairdressers she said, “Follow your dream, create your own ‘brand’ and I would tell you that each stylist is different and all hair is beautiful, you just have to stick to what you know you’re good at and what you think is beautiful. “
She describes a good hairdresser as someone who is going to be honest with their clients and who enjoys being around people all day. Above all, in her opinion, a really good hairdresser will always be a good listener.
The last thing she really stressed was how important it is to communicate with the clients when doing their hair. She says everyone’s ideas and thoughts are different. What a client may see as dark blonde, a stylist may see as light brown. It is always important to have a thorough conversation about your hair journey with the clients so that there are never any unwanted surprises with your end result.
Overall, Ring is hardworking and extremely passionate about her path that she has chosen for life. Her creativity and compassion shows through in her work and in her clientele.