Today we’d like to introduce you to Anais Salazar.
Hi Anais, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Las Vegas, and I felt like I had to grow up quickly. Seeing the struggles and choices of people around me shaped my independence and made me think about the life I wanted to build for myself.
I was always into makeup and hair growing up, and around 20, I started working as a freelance makeup artist. Eventually, I decided to go to school for esthetics. I chose Aveda Institute because I loved the emphasis on good energy. But while I was in school, I started moving away from makeup and actually became more confused about what I wanted to do.
During our last week of class, my instructor took us on spa tours to show us the different things we could do with an esthetician license. Our last stop was a little lash studio one of her former students shared with a friend. I was in awe. They were having so much fun, and she did a mini lash fill on my instructor as a demonstration. Seeing my instructor’s eyes light up afterward was the moment I knew. I wanted to give other women that same feeling. After graduating in 2015, I went straight into lashes and never looked back!
I later moved to Austin for a change of scenery during a difficult time in my marriage, which ultimately ended. I worked at a downtown spa for around two years before deciding I wanted to create my own work environment. A business partner and I opened a tiny studio inside a coworking building on South Lamar. We called it “the dungeon,” haha, but we loved that little room because it was ours.
I met Vonnie at the spa where we had both worked, and we became closer friends after I left. She eventually joined the business as a partner, and we moved into a bigger space in the same building. We always knew we wanted our own retail space, so we kept looking while building our clientele.
In 2024, we finally found the right space, still in the South Lamar area. Shortly afterward, our third partner stepped away, and Vonnie and I continued running the business together. In 2025, we decided to rebrand into something that reflected the two of us, and Austin Lash House was born.
Looking back at that first little room and where we are today, I’m proud of how far we’ve come. Now we’re growing our team and exploring more ways to bring wellness and community into the House.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Before starting my own business, I stayed in a work environment that wasn’t good for me because I felt like I had to. After around two years, my mental health had taken a toll, and one day I decided I needed to do my own thing.
Then, just two weeks after we opened our first little studio, we had to shut down because of COVID. When we reopened around two months later, building a clientele was very slow. I had to get a second job working at a nightclub while trying to get the business going.
Another big challenge came shortly after we moved into our retail space in 2024, when our third partner stepped away from the business. Vonnie and I suddenly had to figure out how to cover all the expenses and take on the additional clients. For about a year, we dedicated almost all our time to keeping everything going. There wasn’t much room for anything else.
That was a hard season. We were figuring things out as we went, and having each other made a difference. I’m proud that we kept going, but we’re also learning how to grow the business without letting it take over our entire lives.
We’ve been impressed with Austin Lash House, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Austin Lash House is a lash and brow studio in South Austin that I co-own with my business partner, Vonnie. We specialize in customized lash extensions and also offer lash lifts and tints, brow lamination, and brow tinting.
We put a lot of focus on the health of our clients’ natural lashes and creating sets they can comfortably maintain over time. Every set is customized, and we hand-make all our volume fans based on each individual lash. We want to enhance what someone already has, and we’re honest about expectations and what their lashes can support.
Clients often tell us they can’t feel our extensions at all and that they get so many compliments on how natural they look. That means a lot to us because we put so much care into the details.
But one of the things clients compliment most is our energy. Vonnie and I are ourselves, and we’ve created a relaxed environment where clients can be themselves too. They can close their eyes and rest, vent if they need to, or chat and catch up on our lives. We care about them beyond their appointments, and we’ve built some amazing friendships along the way.
That’s what I’m most proud of, the environment we’ve created and the relationships that have come from it. I’ve always said we don’t just sell a service, we sell a feeling.
We recently hired our first employee, which has been exciting, and we plan to keep building our team over the next year.
Something I’m excited about is bringing more wellness and community into the House. We’re starting with Pilates at the House, and my hope is to grow that into an ongoing series of pop-up classes, meditation sessions, and volunteering opportunities. We’re still figuring out what that will look like, but I love the idea of giving our clients and others in the community more ways to connect while supporting other local businesses.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something people might not know about me is that I’ve been lifting weights for over 13 years. Outside of the studio, I love strength training, yoga, and Pilates. Wellness is a big part of my personal life, which is where my interest in bringing it into Austin Lash House comes from.
I also have two senior Chihuahuas, Suki, who is 15½, and Yumi, who is 13½. They’re a huge part of my life. Caring for Suki through her health challenges has been emotionally difficult, and it’s also taught me a lot about patience and love. I’m happy to be sharing a photo with both of them alongside my story.
Pricing:
- Pricing varies by service, lash style, appointment length, and artist tier. Our full service menu and current pricing are available through our online booking page.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.austinlashhouse.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/austinlashhouse?exln=bmVxOWR2dXZya2p5
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/wcJVVSQof7
