Today we’d like to introduce you to Lo Shabino.
Hi Lo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always knew I wanted to create art with my hands. While attending The Academy of Arts University in my home city of San Francisco I focused heavily on sculpture, which made me want to explore shapes in a more wearable form. Especially in Art school, hair was a huge form of self-expression, which changed frequently depending on your mood. Different hair, different persona. I never underestimated the power of a haircut and how it could completely change the way a person felt about themselves, and invited others to get a glimpse of the world through their eyes. It was a true moment of power, and something I was sure I was meant to be a part of. I quickly enrolled in cosmetology school, became licensed and began working at a high end salon in the North end of the city. I decided to become a haircutting specialist for many reasons- shape felt incredibly important to me, and I was not into the idea of working with toxic chemicals every day.
I became a very busy stylist with full books, so when my husband told me he had gotten accepted to grad school in Austin, Texas. I was both incredibly excited and pretty nervous. I had to start my career over in a new state where I knew nobody, What was I going to do?! Luckily, I found a salon here in town that was in the middle of transitioning to departmentalization and found a home there for a little over three years. In my last few months at that salon I became a cutting educator there to the assistants, and really found my passion for teaching and mentoring other stylists. I knew I wanted to be my own boss one day, so I left that salon and made the jump to a booth rental boutique salon in town, which is where I feel like I started to find my place in this industry.
I took as many classes as possible, grew my skill set immensely, and became obsessed with straight razor cutting and non-toxic haircare. For the first time in my career, I felt the most at home in my work and became the most authentic to who I was and what mattered to me. I got really into rock and roll, lived in shag haircuts, mullets, rad short haircuts… basically anything that felt fluid and free. My clientele shifted dramatically and I started doing hair for local musicians, artists, creators, vintage sellers, entrepreneurs, small business owners… I felt like I was finally finding my people. I felt a connection to my clients and my art in a way I hadn’t felt since Art School all those years ago. I got to do pop-ups in other salons around the country and teach a few in person classes. Momentum had really picked up and I had some big plans for the future. When the pandemic hit and we shut down in March, I made the jump to a private studio in downtown Austin which pushed me even more into my authenticity as a stylist and an educator.
I began teaching one on one and group zoom cutting classes to help other stylists hone their techniques and stay inspired in a very scary time for our industry. I also did a short 20 episode video podcast with my friend and fellow stylist Jo McIntyre, interviewing stylists from all over the country and getting to know their stories and experiences before and during the pandemic. It was such a nice way to feel connected to our people while we were unable to see each other in person. When we were able to come back into the salon and work, I felt an immense need to care for my clients like never before. With the stress and anxiety of the times affecting everyone, my desire to create a safe space for all people to come and feel heard and cared for was my top priority. I decided that I needed to create a larger space to honor clients, support stylists, and be a place that all people felt welcome. A place that was a departure from the traditional beauty salon, putting healing and wellness as top priority, using only clean, non-toxic products and low-toxic color. A place that celebrated and validated each client’s uniqueness. I will be opening my full salon, Strange Bird in May of this year and i could not be more grateful and excited. It will be a very special space and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As a young stylist you are taught that being super busy, cramming a ton of people without a lunch break on your schedule for weeks, months, even years on end is success. I fell into that trap for years. I became horribly burned out and unhappy, and almost decided to leave the industry at one point. Salon environments can be extremely toxic in culture, and it can be really easy to fall into a pattern of being unhappy, but making good money, and just feeling lost and stuck, almost like a machine. The art is gone. The joy is gone. You are just going through the motions. The best thing I ever did was take a step back and look at my situation I and see who was really to blame for my unhappiness… and that person was me. You cannot blame other people, bosses, coworkers for your unhappiness. It is your choice to stay in a situation that isn’t serving you anymore. Sometimes things just aren’t a good fit. and that’s okay! The faster you realize that the faster you should move on. There is no shame in deciding something isn’t working for you. I think if more people were honest with themselves about what they truly wanted and just DID IT, the more fulfilled we would all be. How is being pissed off all the time serving you or anyone around you, you know?
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Strange Bird Salon (opening in May!)?
Strange Bird is a low-toxic, clean air salon, specializing in bespoke haircutting and lived in, organic color. We believe that individuality should be celebrated, and focus on lived in straight razor and scissor cut shapes. All textures welcome! As an inclusive, safer space salon, our mission is to make all people feel heard, validated and cared for. We do not gender our pricing, because we strongly believe that services should not be priced based on gender identity. A haircut is a haircut. We also offer energy healing offerings built into our services, because we want to nurture your wellness as well as your hair. Strange Bird is also an education space, offering classes and pop-up opportunities to stylists all over the country. We carry only small business, clean beauty brands, because as a small business we believe strongly in supporting our community and lifting each other up. You will never feel unwelcome here. 🙂
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Honesty. 100%. Being honest about what you want, what you don’t want, what you still need to learn and what you need to unlearn. Without honesty, you get burned out and lose purpose. Self-check in’s are super important to determine your next steps in your career and honestly, every aspect of your life. The clearer you are with yourself the more opportunity you will have to find your authenticity.
Contact Info:
- Email: Lauren.shabino@gmail.com
- Website: www.loshabino.com
- Instagram: @classiclois_hairstylist
Image Credits
Lauren Slusher Photo
