Meet Christine Pierce of Chapter One Hair and Body Lab

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Pierce.

Christine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started with me being the bossy kid on the block and sitting children down to teach ’em a thing or two. Fast forward 20+ years and you end up at The Lab.

Before hairdressing, I was a professional dancer. My dancing career was put on hold when my son was 3. After enrolling him in preschool I decided to go to beauty school to pass the time. It felt comfortable. I was used to doing hair and make up for performances. Before even receiving my license I was ready to rock n roll and make some hair magic. However, things didn’t happen as planned.

After a couple of years working for someone, I realized that our industry needed a change. As the bossy kid on the block, I was willing to make the change. Thankfully with a best friend (Kirstie) eager to finance it and a team behind me (friends and family), beside me (Alexis) and a team in front of me, that dream came true.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been easy at all. Honestly, it’s been blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of prayers. As a single mom balancing finances and responsibilities on my own, it caused a lot of stress, to say the least. But it gave me the will to fight for my dream.

I felt like the Paula Abdul song opposites attract, ha! Every step forward was two steps back. Every building I fell I love with wasn’t in our price range or city zoning didn’t allow salons or the timing was off. As the dream became closer my personal life presented its own hurdles – custody battles and legal issues with my son’s father, the loss of a close friend and being let go by my former employer after I gave my two-weeks notice.

When you have a kid (and sweet doggies) who need you, you put your ass in gear and make that shit work. Our lives depended on me 110%. No one was saving us.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Chapter One Hair and Body Lab story. Tell us more about the business.
Chapter One Hair and Body Lab is a center for change, a new beginning for everyone. Yes, we do great work including cut, color, massage, facials and more. We are an education hub for other stylists. The next amazing educator we are bringing in is Anthony Edge from Edge Academy. At the Lab, we leave egos at the door and welcome everyone to better themselves and their work.

As a long-time Oceanside resident, I’m thrilled to support my community. I love having events at the Lab that bring people together. It’s more than a space for stylists. My favorite event we host is Yoga and Mimosas. Admittedly, I’m terrible at yoga but great at mimosas. We also proudly feature local art on rotation. The first artist we had was ManRabbit from San Diego. We hope to empower our customers with our services, stylists with cutting-edge education, and our community with unique opportunities to come together to learn, grow and have fun.

When coming up with the name I didn’t want to call it a salon. I felt like it would hold our potential back. After a few whiskey drinks around a table of friends we all agreed Lab would fit us best. And we agreed Chapter One because it is a new beginning – the first step on a journey I hope to share with my family, friends, colleagues and the community.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
My hope is our personal movement at the lab can change the beauty industry standards enough to build individuality. I feel currently that being unique means doing something “weird” or the opposite of what’s trending now just to be different.

We want to take what’s on the side of people and bring it out. No people are the same. And can we please kick photoshop to the curb yet?

Pricing:

• Haircuts $55+
• Color $70+
• Body services $65+

Contact Info:

• Address: 1319 S Coast Hwy Oceanside CA 92054
• Website: Www.vagaro.com/chapteronehbl
• Phone: 7607541543
• Email: chapteronehbl@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chapteronehbl/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/chapteronehbl/
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/chapter-one-hair-and-body-lab-oceanside-5

Image Credit:
@killerhair and @hairartistrybyalexis

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