Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Vaiz.
Hi Yvonne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Corpus Christi Texas 2006… Started off by just having this random thought about what it would be like to actually be able to work for myself. I was working at a haircut place at the time and decided I wanted to do so much more than just that. I wanted to travel and do hair with be able to bring my kids along with me if I wanted. And that’s exactly what I did.. I remember the day I left my job, I cried that whole day kinda worried and wasn’t sure if my small business idea would actually work. I didn’t have a name at the time but I had a space. I used my ruling planet in my zodiac sign and my favorite color is blue, to come up with my name And ended up with the name “Blue Neptune Hair.” A friend of mine had opened up a cute store and she had a back office that turned into a mini salon. Had my dad help out with a lot of it but I also did some of the work.. I wanted to be apart of everything, even the build. Got it all set up, stil didn’t really have a full clientele so I decided to have a radio commercial done since it was one of the ways of marketing yourself back in the early 2000s. I also used MySpace and Facebook. After that ad came out, all I remember was being extremely busy after that. The radio ad was basically a man noticing his woman’s new hair and that’s what brought so many ppl to my new mini salon. I moved a few times after that. it was either busy or it wasn’t. Regardless, it’s what kept me and my kids in a good place where I was able to drop and pick them up from school everyday.. I had good months where I was booked solid, then I had a some months where I wasn’t. I finally got me a space in downtown Corpus Christi back in 2015. Older building, looking a tad rundown and i knew I’d have to put in the work.. I had friends and family help me start this place from the bottom up and let me tell you, they showed up for me at that time to help me get it started. So grateful for that. Wasn’t long before I was working in that space when I had a few friends call me up and wanted to come work in the new space. I didn’t really plan on having others work with me at that time, so when they contacted about it, I thought, this would be so cool! And it happened. Blue Neptune had been thriving for so long all by itself that it now had more life with the other professionals coming in with me! It was going so good, we were right in the middle of all the festivals the city was offering to the community and we loved every minute of it. Everything was going so good for all of us at the shop then August 2018 came around and I woke up to the news that the salon had been hit by hurricane Harvey.. words couldn’t even describe on how we were feeling that morning when I woke up to finding out, my salon had been hit. I didn’t know how bad it was till someone called to let me know it was destroyed. I was at home in Austin when it happened and the salon was in Corpus Christi. It hurt my heart so much. I tried to restore it as best as I could, with the help of my family and friends.. so very thankful for them all. But it just wasn’t the same anymore so I let the shop go in early 2019. Ended up moving and working at a close friends salon ever since. Ive been taking care of my customers at the ultimate house of style salon for my Corpus Christi customers and everyone seemed happy with that so I stayed and made that my new home. I still work in Corpus and sometimes cities in between there and Austin. I was still trying to find a salon home in Austin, Covid had happened at the time and a lot of stylists were working from home and since I had all the stuff from my past salon, I set it up at home as a work space until it was ok to go back to a salon. I’ve been at my new spot for 4 years now. And I absolutely love it! I have customers coming in from all over the place! From all over. Texas, Austin and beyond. It’s been a road that wasn’t easy but I’ve kept this going for 20 years now. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. I’ve traveled for hair, education, worked on celebrities, influencers, gotten amazing women ready for their conferences, guest speakers for companies, wedding parties, brides, musicians, family events, you name it, I showed up and did hair! It’s my love and passion, it’s what I know I am good at and so very grateful everyday for being able to deliver. I’ve never really seen myself do anything else beside my love for music. Hair has always been something that’s kept me going and never let me give up hope. That’s why I love it so much. Just the fact that I get to get someone ready for their special days or just to a color change, I get to be apart of that. It’s kept me standing and held me and my family together for so long. I enjoyed being apart of my customers lives and getting to know them and call them friends means the world to me. I love my hair life with all of my heart and soul.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’d say the biggest struggles are when it slows down. Sometimes you wonder if you’re able to keep it going, but then, it comes back. Covid was a big one for me and for a lot of us. I think it has changed for a lot of salons/stylsits. It’s slowed down a lot since but slowly picking back up at the same time. You basically had to sorta start all over again after ppl moved and went back home, that type of thing. Losing out on good customers that became family to me. I do also think a lot about the hurricane that took my salon. I was so heartbroken about that one. I wasn’t ready for that, no one ever is, in a sense. picking back up after that happened was one of the biggest challenges I’d ever had to face. So thankful for being able to continue after that. I almost wanted to let it all go, just give it all up but I didn’t. Thankfully.. I had good ppl around me motivating me to keep doing what I loved. I Thank God everyday and for the ppl who believed in me. Especially my kids.. they kept me grounded, driven and working hard. I kept this going for this long because of that.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I consider myself a creative artist. It think takes being an artist of some sort to be able to do creative hair. I remember being in cosmo school and I was asked by my instructor if I’d be willing to be in a contest, so I signed up. Made a basket weave hat on my mannequin head and I remember it took me about 3 days. Showed up to the convention and saw everyone’s amazing work. Walked around and looked at all the creative ideas everyone brought to life. Then I went past mine.. saw so many ppl taking. Photos of my mannequin head and saw that I had already won several awards for my hat head!! I was a little surprised but also knew it was a different piece. I saw the idea in a 1970s hair magazine and decided to try to recreate it. I did just that. That was the day that I knew I wanted to style hair for the rest of my days. I love styling for special events and more. I’m also a color specialist, so I can make you a color if you’re specifically wanting something in particular. I work a lot with colorful hair, vivid colors, blondes,. Men, women and kids. I get to live a very colorful life because of all of the fun colors I get to do. I aim to keep it family friendly so my salon feels like a safe space for anyone and everyone.
What matters most to you?
what matters most to me is seeing my customers walk out with the biggest smiles on their faces. I’ve experienced hugs, love, happy tears, sadness, everything behind my chair. I’ve gotten so close to my customers and I consider them all family friends. Love every single one of them and am so very grateful for this life experience I get to have with each person.
Pricing:
- Haircuts $35-$65
- Color retouches $65-$115
- Blowouts $40
- Special event hair styling $65-$150
- Consultation required for all other services.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Blueneptunehair
- Facebook: Blueneptunehair
