Meet Trailblazer Misti Dort

Today we’d like to introduce you to Misti Dort.

Misti, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I graduated from high school and went to college because I thought that’s what you were supposed to do. I chose to be an art major because that seemed to be what I was most interest in at age 18

Instead of actually going to class, I would drive around the southeast and follow my favorite bands from city to city across the southeast. Clearly, this school thing wasn’t going to work out.

I started working at a department store in the home interiors section and eventually managed to weasel my way into cosmetics. I loved it but hated the “retail” aspect of it.

I needed a career with little to no rules. I wanted to be able to wear my hair, makeup, and body however, I wanted, but also be able to make a good living and somewhat make my own schedule.

Cosmetology school it was!

In a nutshell… a series of really bad choices led to a really good one.

Has it been a smooth road?
Their have been definitely a lot of struggles. One being that when I graduated cosmetology school in post recession 2008. Many long time stylists had seen huge losses, so It was definitely a horrible time to try and build a clientele. There were several times that I considered giving up and finding a new career, but I kept going because I honestly didn’t even know what else I could do.

Two, when you spend your life taking care of others it’s super easy to neglect things that are important to you. Family, pets, self-care, and significant others, unfortunately, fall victim to it.

I would advise anyone early on in the career to set clear boundaries for your personal life and your work life. It’s really difficult and will more than likely always be a struggle. I’m still trying to figure it out myself.

We’d love to hear more about Misti Does Hair.
At this point in my career, I am mostly known for doing “vivids” or “special effects” hair color. I would describe my brand as representing “youthful luxury”. A lot of my clients are nurses, attorneys, government officials, and other professionals that still want to have fun with their look. Fun color is no longer limited to the “funemployed”

I want my client to feel comfortable and at home in my chair. The goal is for them to feel 100% themselves, and let their freak flag fly. (I certainly do)

I pride myself on spending a lot of time on my pre-consultation and really making sure that I and the client are a good fit. If there’s another stylist that I feel like would be able to do a better job than me, I will absolutely refer them to someone else.

I also am extremely detail oriented and patient. I am willing to spend the time to make sure that my client is able to get exactly what they’re asking for.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
Percentage-wise, the hair industry is made up of mostly women, but if you go to any hair shows around the world the platform artists doing hair on stage are almost predominantly men. The same can be said for CEOs and high-level beauty executives. Almost all of them are male also.

I think one of the major barriers for women, is that we still have to choose if we’d like a strong career or a family. It makes for a huge disadvantage when trying to be competitive without male counterparts. High-level beauty jobs require a lot of travel and very little downtime. It can make it very difficult for anyone that has children or even some pets that they’d like to be around.

Pricing:

• Vivid hair color or platinum card starting at $225 or $75 an hour
• Balayage $185
• Full foil $155
• Partial foil $145
• Single process $105
• Haircut $75

Contact Info:

• Address: 246 North Highland Ave NE Ste. 170
• Website: http://www.mistidoeshair.com
• Phone: 229-296-4091
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @mistidoeshair
• Facebook: Facebook.com/mistidoeshair

Image Credit:
Madison Hernandez Chandler

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