Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Sherlock.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kimberly. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Kimberly and I am an aspiring hairdresser. I was born overseas, my dad was in the Army, and my parents divorced when I was young. My dad had fun custody of my sister and I. Growing up I was a bit of a tomboy, with only a dad to teach me about hair – he was amazing, learned to braid and even used a crimper, it was the 90’s. We moved to the San Diego area around 5th grade and while I became a little more girly, hair was never that important. In High school, I got into costume design and learned a little more about hair and makeup. I started getting interested in hair, mostly color, but I focused on costume design.
After high school, I tried college but it wasn’t for me and decided to just get into the working world. Being my father’s daughter, I moved around a bit before coming back to San Diego around 2009. I worked in the hospitality industry, retail and my first real salon experience. I loved the family feel of the small salon and boutique where I oversaw the retail area and helped the front desk. These girls loved what they did and had fun doing it, I was impressed by the ability to really make their own schedule and make more money than some doctors and lawyers. A hairdresser friend started planting the seed in my head that maybe I should go to cosmetology school. At the time, it didn’t seem feasible and I wasn’t in a place that I could invest the amount of hours needed.
In 2018 I found myself separated from my husband and feeling a little lost. I started thinking more and more about what I wanted out of a career and doing hair just became more and more obvious. I love coloring my own hair and the idea that I can help inspire others to love themselves by helping with their hair really spoke to me. The more I talked to friends the more I realized that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t have anyone to help them learn the “basics” of caring for their hair and it just seemed more and more a path I wanted to follow.
I was looking into different cosmetology programs all over California and even in Oregon, where I was living at the time when I found out my best friend’s mom’s cancer had made a major turn for the worst. I didn’t think much of it, I just packed up and made plans to get back to San Diego.
Once here and settled, I got back to looking into cosmetology programs and came across the City College program, this was the opportunity I was looking for. It was a program I could afford and in an accessible area. So here I am, less than 300 hours away from completing my program.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth ride, haha. I am not one to use my “hard” past as a crutch, but growing up with a single parent is hard, my dad did his best always a dI couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. Part of that is the fact that I have been diagnosed with a few mental health issues, anxiety and bi-polar depression to start and in a place where I felt ashamed of these issues.
I spent a lot of time thinking I wasn’t good enough, and part of that was that I wasn’t “pretty” enough. Even admitting to it now is hard, I know everyone grows up with insecurities, but if there was anything I could go back to that little girl and tell her was that she was enough.
It took me a while to realize that the things people seemed to like the most about me are the things I was worried people would think were weird. And that the more I embraced the weird the more people felt comfortable to be weird as well. Now I want to help people embrace their weird and learn to love it.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I do hair, I also do nails and want to get into skincare but coloring hair is really what I love. I was known in the student salon as the person to go to for fashion color and as I get out of school, that is the word I would love to be in the most. Lightening hair safely and maintaining the integrity of the hair is important to me when preparing the hair for color. And then picking the right colors and placement is all part of the fun puzzle.
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I think one of the reasons I am drawn to this industry is that when you find the right tribe, they seem to understand it’s about helping each other. For the most part, even at school, we try to help each other and once you are putting out that vibe, it attracts people of a similar mindset.
Contact Info:
- Email: hairbykimberly86@gmail.com
- Instagram: haironwheels86
Image Credit:
Kimberly Sherlock, Jesika Vado
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