Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Thomas.
Emily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
From my childhood years introduced to acting and singing, being artistic was in my blood! As I got older, I loved being in the content/Beauty space and just took that & ran with it. I became a licensed cosmetologist in 2018 and have been doing hair in the bridal industry as well as working behind the chair to now. When I first graduated, I was in a busy Salon environment, and then when Covid hit that’s when I went on my own. I started out in my little apartment washing my clients hair in my kitchen sink and doing hair in my living room. I was fully booked & still made the most of my adversity at the time. Now I work in a salon suite and have been self-employed since 2020! I still continue to do bridal hair, but I also have a joy for being online in the content creating space, and I also provide a self-care salon experience for my clients specifically busy moms and women who come to see me for a safe place to relax and really get the self-care they need. I specialize in low maintenance blonde and dimensional color.!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
it was definitely a roller coaster along the way… working with other women in a busy Salon environment, there can be issues of competitive personality types, and everyone just hustling. I worked under a boss who kind of kind of let us do whatever we wanted, but being that I was fresh out of school it wasn’t necessarily the correct guidance I needed being so fresh I needed someone to give me direction. I do believe because of that I learned how to do a lot of things on my own, which helped me excel exponentially when I finally went independent.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
so I definitely find myself as a creative for sure! I find that I really do excel in the social media content creating space and that’s just dated back to being a kid. I used to act on stage and singing and do dance, so once the youtube world was super popular in 2016, I also jumped on it and it was already starting to make make up videos and edit them on iMovie and just loving to be on the camera and also being creative at the same time. I went to a community college that just wasn’t best for me so I immediately went right into work and so when I worked at Sephora for a short period of time, that’s when I learned a skill of makeup. I almost went to school for make up, but then instead decided to go to school for hair so I can be versatile of many different aspects of the Beauty space. Now that I’ve been doing hair for 10 years at this point, I definitely specialize in romantic bridal hair, dimensional color, low maintenance blonde, and gray blending! I’m really proud of how I’ve been able to excel by just adjusting to adversity and my circumstances being behind the chair. Being a business owner can be a lonely place at times because you’re constantly trying to find new ways to change and elevate which may mean you make certain sacrifices of where you spend your time and friendships. I think what sets me apart from others is I look deeper into what being a hairstylist really means and it’s so much more than just doing nice hair and making someone feel good externally. I really take pride in the guest experience and providing a gold star standard as if my client just checked into a luxury boutique hotel for the next four hours.!
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I really love the city! I grew up in Chesapeake so this is all I know and I’m aware of. I did use to commute quite a bit to the Virginia Beach area for half of my career and then moved to the Chesapeake area as far as career goes, and I definitely do love the more Hometown girl next-door vibe that Chesapeake kind of brings. I felt like I kind of stuck out in the Virginia Beach area also because I think there’s so many more salons and hairstylists in Virginia Beach and it’s like cut in half for the Chesapeake area so I do feel like I can stand out a little bit more being that I’m in Chesapeake. I think what I would like least of Chesapeake is that it’s not as popular as Virginia Beach but that’s not necessarily a bad thing with my line of work and that I’m still able to provide for my clientele
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elegancebyemilyllc.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/elegance.by.emily?obrf=YXBteWE1MGgxYTh6&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C8JbRC9BV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@elegancebyemily?_r=1&_t=ZT-9AYYeMoBDaP
