Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandre De Paris.
Hi Alexandre, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story with hair really began when I was about 12 or 13 years old. Even at that age, I was fascinated by the way a hairstyle could completely change how someone looked and, more importantly, how they felt about themselves. I was constantly imagining different looks for people.
I convinced my brother to let me assist a hairstylist in our neighborhood, and that only made me more certain that this was what I wanted to do. I had four sisters, and between them, their friends, relatives, and neighbors, I had plenty of willing models. I practiced roller sets, styling and updos, and eventually began cutting hair. Looking back, they were really my first clients.
By 17, I knew I wanted to take the craft much more seriously. I convinced my father to let me travel to Belgium to continue my education in hairdressing. Because I was still a minor, he actually had to sign permission for me to travel on my own. It was a big leap at that age, but I was determined.
From Belgium, my journey took me to France, where I worked in Paris as a junior hairstylist. I was young and had a tremendous amount to learn, but I was passionate, hungry and willing to work. I began building a clientele much faster than I expected.
My career then took me somewhere completely different: Cameroon, Africa. I spent several years there and eventually opened a salon of my own. Living and working in different countries taught me so much, not only about hair, but about people. Beauty may look different across cultures, but the desire to feel confident and cared for is universal.
While visiting New York City for a hair convention, I met a colleague who had moved to Washington, D.C. He encouraged me to visit the area, and that visit ultimately changed the direction of my life.
In 1981, I opened my first salon in Fairfax, Virginia.
Forty-five years later, we are still here.
When I think about that, it is incredibly meaningful to me. What began with a young boy experimenting with hairstyles on his sisters became a business that has served generations of families.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road.
Building a business in a new country was challenging in itself. There were cultural differences, financial pressures and the responsibility of establishing a reputation from nothing. I didn’t have the luxury of assuming things would work out. I had to prove myself every day.
One of the most difficult moments came in 1997. After years of building my first Fairfax salon, the landlord wanted to substantially increase the rent, to a point where remaining there simply didn’t make sense. I was faced with the possibility of walking away from something I had spent years creating.
Instead, I decided to start again and move into a place of my own.
At the time it was frightening, but it became one of the most important decisions I ever made.
That experience taught me something I have carried throughout my career: sometimes the moment that feels like your biggest setback is actually forcing you into your next chapter. We were forced to go from a location in a mall to trailers in a parking lot. This shaped the way for our location today which has been in fair lakes for almost 27 years.
There have been many challenges over 45 years. Trends change. Economies change. Technology changes. The way people discover businesses has completely changed. But if you’re willing to keep learning and evolving, challenges don’t have to erase your history, they can become part of it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Hair has always been my first passion, but for me it has never been about simply giving someone a haircut.
I have always looked at the individual first, their face, personality, lifestyle, hair texture and the way they carry themselves and then imagined what would complement them best. That instinct goes all the way back to when I was a child looking at people and mentally changing their hairstyles.
I think that is one of the reasons I have remained passionate about this profession for so many years. Hair is technical, but it is also incredibly creative and personal. You can study technique your entire career, and you should, but there also has to be an eye behind it.
Over the years, Alexandre de Paris has grown far beyond one stylist or one chair. It has become a place built around beauty, education, service and craftsmanship.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was very curious, very independent and probably a little determined once I decided I wanted something.
I was also extremely visual. I would look at people and immediately imagine how I would change their hair. I wasn’t trying to do it it was just the way my mind worked.
Once I discovered hair, I became obsessed with learning. I wanted to practice, experiment and understand why something worked. That passion gave me the courage at 17 to leave home and travel to another country to learn more.
In many ways, I don’t think that part of me has changed.
I still believe that the moment you think you know everything is the moment you stop growing.
The industry is very different from the one I entered as a teenager. The hairstyles have changed, the business has changed, and now inspiration can travel around the world in seconds through a phone.
The tools change. The trends change. But the reason I fell in love with this profession hasn’t changed at all: you have the opportunity to make someone see themselves differently.
And after 45 years, I still think that’s pretty extraordinary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alexandredeparis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandredeparis/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandredeparisusa/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-philippe-de-paris-07811a323/
- Twitter: https://x.com/deparisspa
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexandredeparisusa
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/alexandre-de-paris-beauty-salon-and-spa-fairfax
