Issue link: https://www.ahpindiestylist.com/i/1380995
22 indie stylist Volume 2 Issue 3 Imagine at 15 years old your parents tell you it's time to pick a trade, and you have three options: mechanic, florist, or cosmetologist. That's what happened to Nicole Leal, AHP's first Indie Stylist of the Year. "I didn't want to do any of those [jobs]," Leal says. "I didn't know what having a trade meant, the value of having work experience, or the world of opportunity that would be at my fingertips when I entered the beauty industry. I just wanted to go to college at UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara) and ride my bike around a beach community!" Today, Leal is one of the most sought-after stylists in Los Angeles—and is even besties with Rebel Wilson—but she still remembers the struggle. "The foundation of my career truly started with a high school regional occupation program and a $300 hair kit my parents bought for me to get me through cosmetology school." But balancing both schools was grueling for Leal. "I remember classmates thinking I was so lucky that I got to 'play with hair' every day after school," she says. "If they only knew that was not the case." "Like a wildflower, you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would."—E. V. Leal also remembers dealing with the stigma of going to beauty school. "I remember a classmate's mom saying that hairstylists 'don't amount to anything,'" she recalls, "and the term 'beauty school dropout' was used to describe the shelf life of a hairstylist. "Little did that mom know, being a cosmetologist wasn't something someone did to get through college. And she certainly didn't realize the many career paths one could take in the industry. Lucky for me, I saw the bigger picture and couldn't wait to complete my 1,600 hours and take the state board test." STARTING FROM SEED After graduating from high school in 1999, Leal earned her cosmetology license in November of the same year. From there, she went to the Sassoon Academy from January to March 2000. Leal recalls talking her parents into paying for her to go to the "Harvard of hair." "They agreed," Leal says, "and understood how important a six- week comprehensive cutting class would be to advancing my career." Soon after, Leal decided she wanted to teach, so she auditioned to be an educator for Sebastian International in June 2000. "I remember to this day being in the car with my model and crying," says Leal. "I told her, 'I have to get this, because this is what's going to change my career.' "It's so weird to me to think I put so much pressure on this one moment. Somehow, I knew it was going to take me wherever I needed to go—and I didn't even know where that was. I still cry thinking about that moment." According to Leal, there were 200 people who auditioned and only 20 were selected. She was one of them. "When they called my name," Leal says, "I couldn't believe it. How in the heck did I even get this far? Here I was six months after graduation— basically with my license and a Caboodle." That's when Leal realized her audition was just the beginning. Going forward, she had to show up for training updates. "I think there were only six of us who lasted because for some people, the realization hit that they don't like public speaking. For me, that's never been a problem. I realized I'm just passionate about talking to people." After teaching seasonal makeup trends for a year, Leal was asked to join the Sebastian team full time. "I was about two years in when Sebastian International was bought out by Wella," she says, "and that opened a new door for me. I was now able to teach color, cut, and makeup for both companies. All this experience helped me form structure, understand what the phrase work politics meant, and travel to so many places." "Bloom beautifully, dangerously, loudly. Bloom softly, however you need. Just bloom."—Rupi Kaur