Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabby Grubaugh.
Hi Gabby, 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?
I actually used to certify crane operators right before I decided to start hair school! I was tired of not liking my job and feeling like I hit a dead end. I got the inclination to read my grandmother’s obituary and found out she was a hairdresser which jumpstarted me into looking at schools. I toured Cameo College of Essential Beauty and enrolled the next day! I graduated in 2020 and have been doing hair ever since. I started at a salon doing an assistant program and working my way up to their salon director and part owner. There has been a lot of ups and downs within my time doing hair (including moving to Washington for six months to work at an up and coming salon.) I wouldn’t change any of it because it’s lead me here to working back in downtown Salt Lake City doing what I love!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, I don’t think it ever is when it’s something you have so much passion for. The service industry is a beast in its own sense; from working with people whose personalities don’t mesh well with yours to clients that don’t see the value in your work to having imposter syndrome. This industry can be cutthroat and unpredictable when it wants to be. The trick is to find your like minded community and remember you don’t have to be alone or at a well known salon to succeed! In my opinion the biggest struggle is remembering that everything on social media isn’t real life. People only tend to choose the best media and don’t show the slow days, or the weeks you have multiple redos, or even the days you only go in for a free consultation! That’s one of the reasons why I post the way that I do, I want to remind people to be yourself and to be real. I used to put on a facade within social media and really thought everything had to be prim and proper. The truth is, people like it when you are a little messy. It helps remind everyone we are still all human!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in queer and gender affirming services as well as I am able to provide services to a wide range of clientele; from short to long hair, curly/wavy/straight, dark going light or vise versa, vivid or creative colors. I believe that hair isn’t a luxury service and strive to help provide services within different budgets to help accommodate anyone who might step into my salon. It’s incredibly important to me that my clients know that I care about their hair, but more importantly them as people even after they step out my doors! My pricing is genderless and hourly to give full transparency with my clientele.
I also work along side the Salt Lake Public Library giving free haircuts to those in need!
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The right people will find you, your clientele will follow you, and you don’t have to be alone! Community is so important now more than ever, remember to foster your community because they will take care of you tenfold! You just need to show up for them! Find hairdressers you love and ask to shadow them, ask for knowledge and mentorship and people are more willing than not to help build community with you! Always remember though, the price of building good community is sometimes inconvenience (which isn’t a bad thing!) I think in a hyper-individualized society we forget what hard work it requires to build
community! I always leave my door and direct messages open for anyone to come in to shadow or just ask questions because I know how hard it is to find people who don’t hoard their knowledge! Anyone is welcome to ask me anything about hair, regardless of their prior experience or knowledge!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vaguelydoinghair.glossgenius.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vaguelydoinghair?igsh=eXE3NnZ2cjJsNGl3
- Other: https://share.google/ZFyyQ3DgAkP92h5ip
