Brittany Mendez shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Brittany, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I was never a morning person before I met my husband but now I’m up at 6:00 am everyday. So much of my job is to help and cater to people all day, so my mornings are for me. I try to read a portion of the Bible every morning, I have coffee and watch a little bit of a tv show I’m into at the moment and get caught up on texts and emails and if I have time before work I like to get a little workout or walk around my neighborhood, which I really enjoy. Waking up early every day allows me more “me” time and starts my day off with less stress and then I can focus on making people feel their best.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I work and live in Fallbrook, California. I’ve been doing hair for 20 years now and I love what I do. My speciality is blonding but within the last 5 years I’ve gotten really passionate about hair extensions. I love giving women the hair of their dreams or making their inspiration pictures come to life and usually that is achieved with adding a little bit of extensions for length or fullness or even a pop of color. I feel like everyone should be able to afford a service like extensions so they can feel and look their best, so I try really hard to make sure to always work with someone’s budget but also have them see the value in what their getting.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
My mom is the hardest worker I know! She was a single parent for most of my childhood but there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to help her kids and herself. She worked really hard later in life to go to school and became a surgical tech and has been doing that for the last 25 years and even though she can retire and take it easy she likes to work and find satisfaction in that, and I feel like I’m the same. I’ve always been a worker and probably will even after I can retire, just like her.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Oh definitely! There’s been days in the salon when difficult projects or a color correction has made me want to give up on hair or has given me massive anxiety but it’s always rewarding to push through and try your best. But especially during the pandemic, I felt like maybe I needed to give up doing hair because I wasn’t able to because of the shut downs and that was a scary thought. I’ve been doing this forever and it’s all I know, career wise, so the thought of starting over with a new career was scary but I’m so thankful things went back to normal and I was able to go back to doing what I love and it made me more thankful for my job and clients.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
I would say yes, I can be a little quiet at first or even a little awkward at times but I try to be myself always behind the chair and let my personality come out over time. I think it’s important to always be your genuine self, you connect with more people that way.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
I love my job but I feel most at peace at the end of the week after I’m finished with my last client. I feel accomplished in knowing I tried my best to make people feel beautiful and know I have the weekend off and can enjoy it with my husband and friends.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @brittany.doesmyhair
Image Credits
Alissa Huber
Www.aliartandphotography.com
