Today we’d like to introduce you to Aliya Harris.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Looking at my personality while growing up, I was always going to be around the beauty industry. From braiding friend’s hair in class, to doing the hair and makeup for my friend group on special occasions, I’ve been spreading glam since day 1. Cosmetology school is quite an experience and I got through it while working two jobs and trying to soak up as much information as possible. Turns out, education never stops and that’s what keeps me in love with this industry. As a salon suite owner and educator with Keune Haircosmetics, I’m consistently evolving my craft—traveling, teaching, and learning so I can bring the latest techniques (and the science behind them) back to my clients. I thrive on helping people embrace their look, explore their Pinterest goals, and care for their hair between appointments with confidence.
Hair is more than just a style—it’s self-expression, confidence, and a little scheduled self-care that we actually look forward to. I help my clients achieve hair tailored to their needs and the confidence how to style and maintain it at home. I specialize in custom color, curly + textured cuts, but most importantly, I create a space where my clients and I can feel relaxed, valued, and celebrated.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think anyone who owns a business has a smooth road lol. I watched mentors over the years open salons with no business education, no clue about finance advice and it shows. Just because we’re good at styling hair doesn’t mean we know how to manage a staff, put in the correct product order and keep all the bills paid while still providing services. Most of my challenges we’re just maneuvering in spaces where I might have not quite fit or where inconsistencies were detrimental to the customer service or the team dynamic. I learned that I enjoy having total control (I am a capricorn lol) in how I show up for my clients and that’s suited me and helped grow my business over the years. I also learned that no matter where you are, imposter syndrome is real and we all need time to reflect at our growth to help us move forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I say I specialize in custom color this includes anything from vivids (rainbow hair), copper hair and lived in looks that grow out nicely for those who can’t come to the salon every 6-8 weeks. My other pride and joy is my curly clientele who I’ve worked with over the years. Curly clients tend to get pigeon holed in salon spaces because the lack of training. People are afraid to color, cut and sometimes even TOUCH curly hair. And I would bet most curly people have at least one crazy hair salon story. This is where I really saw how marketing and social media really built trust before my client even sat in my space. The people who trust me with their curls truly make me feel special in what I get to do and the stories and experiences we get to share. I’m naturally curly, and love wearing wigs when I’m not sporting my pixie so my clientele gets to see varying degrees of me lol. Whether our appointments are spilling the latest tea, chatting about fantasy audiobooks and horror films, or enjoying quiet “me time,” the appointment is about my cleints, because they deserve it. We all may be juggling work, relationships, the WORLD, human babies and/or fur babies and just trying to not DoorDash again tonight— navigating life and carving out space for self-care can be a challenge, but it’s easier with some help and the occasional appointment reminder.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The beauty industry is such a fun space and I think we’re going to watch a generational shift. Stylists who’ve been doing hair for 20+ years tend to be double or triple booked, doing all kinds of services with (sometimes but not always) poor work life balance. No lunches, no breaks, “surviving on iced coffee or a diet coke” vibes. When I went to school this was still en vogue but millennials and younger stylists were like “absolutely not.” We went hard on the charge your worth rhetoric, choosing to be a specialty stylist vs jack of all trades worked through a pandemic and worked our booty cheeks off- paired with the increase of stylists switching from traditional multi chair salons to studio suites . In some cases I feel like the next generation of baby stylists got those vibes but maybe without the reality of this industry/the hustle it requires. When you watch your friends and family work a M-F 9-5, being a creative can be tough. The fun perks of (usually) not starting work early, yapping at work and doing what you’re truly passionate about is also right along with being in an industry that traditionally doesn’t include benefits and PTO. Everyone is already exhausted and people who work a desk job may be getting AI shoved down their throats while as creatives I think a lot of us may not see this for our industry but I do fear that for people who aren’t prepared for the workload may seek out aI assistance in their career and I think that’s my biggest fear.
Pricing:
- Depending on the salon, your stylist either gets commission from the business or pays for their product out of pocket.
- Like everything, inflation affected all salons. Price increases are common in every industry except ours?
- Most stylists aren’t increasing their prices as much as they could for various reasons.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.glamourkittensss.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glamourkittensss/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glamourkittensss/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@glamourkittensss?lang=en
