New Kid on the Block

So, as you know if you’ve been following along with my blog introductions of the Wayward stylists, I have known both Hazel and Haley May for quite a while. I surrounded myself to begin this new business with some of the most fun and creatively talented women I had met through my journey at other salons. Our newest stylist Justin, in contrast, was a complete unknown. In fact, one day he bravely walked into The Wayward Hairdresser and asked for an interview. Turns out that Justin has a friend who lives nearby the shop, follows our antics on Instagram, and thought that we might be a good salon home for his friend. The day Justin came in, I was working on a client and when he asked to speak to me I waved him over to chat. I was impressed with Justin’s initiative and we set up a more formal interview that same evening. After a couple of interviews, and looking through some of Justin’s work, I knew he would be a perfect fit for the salon. We agreed that he would start part time, and continue to work at his original salon, just until we could see if his established clients would follow him. Sure enough, we began to get calls requesting Justin, and we were feeling good about adding our newest member to the Wayward family, and then Covid hit.

As I’m sure you know, salons were forced to shut their doors, along with so many other small businesses in the initial months of this terrible pandemic in New York City. Believe it or not, you can’t do this job over Zoom. I certainly didn’t want to lose Justin, but I also wasn’t in a position to hire anyone new when we had no idea how long the shutdown would last, and more importantly if this relatively new shop could survive the lack of clients/income. To make matters worse for Justin in the terribly uncertain time we were all suffering through, his former salon was one of the unlucky ones which had to shut its doors for good, so Justin’s livelihood really was in limbo. He could have flee the city, like so many others did, to the comfort of his family in Alabama, but instead stayed the course in Brooklyn (which he will tell you is now his real home). Once we were able to reopen over the summer, I was so excited to be able to offer Justin a chair at the shop, and now he is a member of this crazy family. He is so talented and the looks he creates for his clients are truly inspired. Check out some of his most recent work:

When I was looking through some of Justin’s work to pick a good representation of what he does for his clients, I noticed something unique about the styles he creates. Justin almost always has an element of surprise in the looks he and his clients choose. Take this recent client for example, on the surface she appears to have a classic french bob with a short fringe. But if you look closer, you can see that the shaved sides add a touch of rebellion and uniqueness to a somewhat sedate style. It’s a look that not everyone could pull off, but if she wants you to know about her edgy side she can show it off as in the picture above.

Here’s another example of just what I was talking about. Justin created a beautiful, rich and dimensional medium brunette tone for his client. He also gave her a cut to get rid of some damaged ends, and showcase her silky smooth and healthy hair. The addition of a sparkly tinsel (can you spot it?) to the client’s hair makes the style a little more creative and unique. Justin is special in that he is always looking for ways for his clients to standout, whether that is in a bold way or in a more hidden way.

Speaking of standing out in a bold way. When this client walked through the door of The Wayward Hairdresser, she had a faded brunette hair, and she was more than ready for a dramatic change. I think that the result would fall into our Fu** it Hair category, and if you don’t know what I mean by that, go read this post. The color that Justin applied to achieve this color is called Absinthe, and isn’t that just perfect to describe this shade. Look how confident this client is after her major transformation.

Having lived through and thrived during the nineties, I can really appreciate a grungy root. This client’s hand painted, exaggerated balayage brings to mind Teen Spirit and Doc Martens and I am hoping that Justin is able to try this look with more clients, because a nineties redux trend sounds like fun to me.

This is the last image I want to leave you with to represent Justin. He is an incredible salon stylist, but in addition to that Justin has some incredible experience as a stylist for magazine shoots and weddings. He is so multitalented, and I feel so lucky that we were able to meet Justin, and that Covid didn’t ruin the opportunity for him to join our team. He truly is a unicorn, just like this style he created, and I couldn’t imagine the salon without him at this point. If you need a new look, and think Justin might be the perfect stylist for you, give us a call or book your appointment now.