October 15, 2016

Meet Sandy Springs Hairstylist: GiGi Heart

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to GiGi Heart.

GiGi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was 10 my grandmom took me for my first set of highlights, taking my dishwater mousy hair to a beautiful sun-kissed blonde. At the time I didn’t realize it would impact my life forever, all I knew is that the entire experience was so exciting as all the women in the “beauty parlor” made over how lucky I was to get my hair colored so young. My stylist was young, gorgeous, and so friendly. It was my first taste of being built up by fellow women, and feeling confident in my own skin. After that day I was hooked.

Of course, my mom was devastated that we were now going to have to pay for a ten-year-olds upkeep with highlights, so we began alternating my salon visits with coloring my hair at home. That’s when I really got to experiment and become creative with my color choices from the local Sally’s. With a huge push from my dad to cut his hair, I eventually got pretty comfortable with my clippers and cutting long layers (even though I had not been formally trained). So I would do my girlfriends hair after school or one of my dad’s friends and it just felt natural. I remember thinking that this is what I want to do forever but at the time had always been taught to go to a 4-year university. My senior year of high school I begrudgingly applied for a smaller four-year college and was accepted. I had nothing but fear for this new journey because it just didn’t feel right. That’s when I took the reigns and headed south to check out a well-known school in Nashville. It was beautiful. It felt right and I knew in my heart that it would be fulfilling. Of course I knew nothing of, nor anyone in Nashville, however, I did have relatives in Atlanta. One phone call later and everything was in action. I would live with my cousin’s while attending Aveda Institute in Buckhead.

For this small town girl, it was a giant leap, but I never looked back. I assisted throughout cosmetology school and once I graduated landed a job at Toni & Guy. My dream job, where I could completely indulge myself in the culture that is TIGI. I worked as a color specialist for 3 years, honing in on my skill set with color by continuously being involved with education. Eventually, I wanted more as a stylist, So I expanded my wings and set out on a new adventure on my own. I wanted to be closer to the city so I walked away from an amazing clientele in Alpharetta to pursue my own business. Starting completely over while paying extremely high overhead was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I pushed through it while continuing to attend as many education classes as possible. In that time I worked any and every day, not only behind the chair but also waitressing, babysitting, and bartending, just to make ends meet. I set goals and I met them. I eventually applied to be a color ambassador with TIGI and by the grace of God got accepted almost immediately. This has given me the opportunity to go into salons and share my knowledge of color theory, techniques, and product knowledge. It has been an extremely humbling experience learning how to teach others and delivering valuable information in a good flow that isn’t boring or to rehearsed. I have been lucky enough to work and be trained by some of the best hairdressers in the world, this October will be my 6th class taken at the TIGI Advanced Academy in New York in the last two years. There was a time in my life that I thought I would never leave rural Kentucky. So to say that I have accomplished more than I could have ever imagined in this career is an understatement. It really is a dream come true.

Has it been a smooth road?
There have been ALOT of struggles and setbacks. Especially in the beginning, color is art and science you have a vision but your canvas is always different. There are many variables when it comes to formulating: integrity of the hair, previous color, new growth, natural levels and textures. You have to assess and predict what the hair is capable of and in the beginning it was the unknown because I didn’t have the experience.

When you look back, can you point to a period when you wanted to quit or a period that was really frustrating?
Absolutely, in the beginning, it was all about learning, so I sacrificed income over education with the hopes that one day it would pay off. Eventually, it did, but it took me walking away from it and re-evaluating my value as an artist and recognizing that I had let the industry beat the passion out of me. Hairdressing is both physically and emotionally demanding and everyone wants a piece of you. If your not careful it’s easy to be taken advantage of. You must invest in your education and work smarter and know your worth.

What advice do you wish to give to those thinking about pursuing a path similar to yours?
Be humble and willing to listen. Listen to your educators, your mentors, and your clients…and above all never stop learning.

Is there something you are particularly excited about or working towards?
My next class in NYC is coming up. I’ll be taking sessions a class focused on catwalk and editorial hair. My dream has always been to work fashion week so maybe this class can put me in the right direction. Otherwise, I just collaborated with a fellow artist and got some amazing shots back from our model. We have four more shoots to go before the end of November so holiday season will be particularly busy this year. I can’t wait. I thrive to stay as busy and creative as possible.