Daily Inspiration: Meet Jessica Lynne Irvin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Lynne Irvin

Hi Jessica Lynne, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
So many hairdressers’ stories begin when they were children. I was never interested in styling doll hair, but my dolls had some deep relationships! They listened to each other, gave fashion advice, and went out together in their Barbie Corvette. I guess you could say I was all about the big picture from the beginning.

I contemplated working toward a career in nursing or mental health, or both, but when it came down to it I was the most happy working retail. The schedule was flexible, I got to meet new people every day, and there was enough responsibility to keep me interested. My ability to problem solve quickly earned me management opportunities. From there it didn’t take long for me to find a genuine interest in helping people find their strengths, growing teams and training other managers to do the same. I had worked my way up and at the end of my retail career I was training managers for Sephora.

I felt like I had been in the retail arena for long enough but had no idea what to do next. I asked my professional mentor what I should be and she told me I’d make a good hairdresser! I asked my hairdresser and he agreed! I started in a salon and immediately knew I made the right choice.

Having spent my entire life living between D.C. and Baltimore in 2011 my husband and I decided to make a big change and move to Oregon where we started a family and lived for 13 years. We enjoyed the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, but having both grown up on the East Coast we felt like fish out of water! It wasn’t a difficult decision to return to the East Coast and when we got the perfect opportunity to purchase a home near family we jumped at the chance! Raleigh is the perfect blend of city and small town with plenty of art, entertainment, farmers markets, and all four seasons! We are so happy to be here.

I’ve trained with Beth Minardi, a leading colorist in the hair industry. I’ve trained as a Vidal Sassoon cutter and worked with Paul Mitchell as a student and instructor. I worked with DevaCurl for 10 years and am a seasoned curly stylist, confident with all curl types.

You can expect honesty and integrity from me at all times. I’m a straight shooter with the ability to find your styling goal and work together toward a plan to achieve it. I am a strong communicator and use that ability mixed with vision to create a personalized experience every time. I believe in people taking care of each other. I am proud and humbled that anyone chooses to allow me into their personal space to support them with their hair goals.

People often ask me how I got into doing curly hair, if I’ve always been drawn to it. Oddly enough I got my start by chance!
Like so many wavy/curlies through my early childhood I had smooth hair! When I hit puberty my hair started changing and I continued to treat it the same. My mom has curly hair, but always blew it straight and styled it on orange juice cans or toilet paper rolls. I was not that interested in going to those lengths to get smooth, so I wore a lot of pony tails. As I grew into a teen I wore my hair so long it pulled out most of the curl into a nice wave. Bed head was just getting to be a style, so I fit right in!

As an adult I discovered a flat iron and learned to blow my hair dry then iron it to get it super glassy smooth. When I did try to wear it wavy I had no idea how to style it so it turned out messy every time. I straightened it and wore it long so it was always either frizzy or almost smooth but never quite right.

When I started my career as a stylist and learned a bit more how to style curly hair I tried several different ways and since I couldn’t commit to the curls I went back to the blow dryer. What I didn’t know then was that to wear your hair curly means that most of us have to do that 100% of the time. Blowing it out or straightening could set you back on having nice curls!

After school and my apprenticeship I was given the opportunity to go to a DevaCurl Curllaboration workshop. At that time I was not interested! Having just completed my apprenticeship I was ready to use the knowledge I had just compiled and did NOT want to add on more! I was left with little choice as non of the other stylists wanted to go either. Since I was the newest team member I was told I was going and so I did.

The class was interesting and as much as I loved the way they worked with the curls I had a tough time wrapping my head around the concept. Traditional hair cutting is based on shapes; square, round, triangle. Curl cutting is based on balance. And since there is no exact shape and since I was a novice and had just started with shapes I couldn’t conceptualize how this whole creating balance worked.
I tried a handful of times halfheartedly to do these cuts on guests. The styling was challenging and since it wasn’t coming easy to me I wasn’t interested in doing it. I honestly didn’t see the value in it, mostly because I didn’t wear my hair curly at that time either!

Then one guest turned it all around. She sat down and told me how she had never felt pretty, always looked different, never knew what to do with her curls. This was the recurring conversation with curlies that no one knew what to do with their curls! Neither the stylist nor the guest had a clear idea of how to handle them.

Then she told me how her sister had gone to Devachan in NYC, how she had left feeling beautiful for the first time in her life and how she too wanted that feeling! I recognized in that moment the great opportunity and responsibility I have to curls and how I could actually help the person and not just do the hair. I explained to her that I was a beginner and that her result was likely not going to mirror her sister, and that I’d like to try to help her. And it worked. It worked wonderfully! I did the cut and I did the styling and although it wasn’t perfect it was SO much better than when she arrived I knew I was on to something.

From that moment on I gave it my all. I began understanding how the cut worked in each curl type, and how to style the curls catering to the curls AND the guests needs. I’ve gone all in and am always seeking out the newest information and newest techniques. I ask everyone their styling routine so that I can incorporate as much of what’s working into what I’m doing. I’m able to share with my guests and really make a difference in how they’re able to manage their own hair care, AND I LOVE IT!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I owned a salon in Portland, Oregon for 9 years. When I opened the salon I knew my goal was to scale the business over time. I had outgrown the small 4 chair salon I was in and was looking to move into something bigger just as the Covid pandemic started. I decided to keep the small salon open as it was easier to manage the Covid restrictions in the small space. As things began to ease there were all of the sudden many salons available! I was sad and didn’t want to feel that I was profiting off of a salon that didn’t make it through the pandemic. And at the same time it opened up opportunities that allowed me to move into a bigger space and grow my team. The biggest challenge we faced in the new space was that we had more business than we could have anticipated! It was a happy problem to have, but definitely one that needed a solution. It forced growth and we rose to the occasion!

Now that I’ve moved to Raleigh I have to rebuild my networks and reintroduce myself to a whole new city! I’ve faced building a clientele several times and I feel like I’ve found a great location to plant my flag. I’m currently accepting clients at The Junction Salon in the Warehouse District. The salon has a team that has a wide range of specialties. The stylists here are very talented hairdressers. They also have an associates program to bridge the gap between beauty school and salon to ensure services are done confidently.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
While I am most known for my work with curly hair I absolutely love doing hair color! My passion is working with women to allow their hair to age gracefully with them and turn back the clock a few years. This means different things to different people. For some it means fully covering gray hair. It may be that we use products that camouflage the grays. Think of putting navy colored stockings on a leg with a freckle. You will still see the freckle, but it will be muted! For others it may mean letting their gray hair grow in. This may sound counter productive for a hairdresser to recommend letting your grays grow in, but that doesn’t mean letting yourself go! It means finding a different path. I truly enjoy working with women to find what works best for them at each stage of life. Getting older doesn’t mean giving up! We just have to work together to find what works within each persons comfort zone.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I love mentoring! I’m a natural extrovert so I talk to everyone I pass by! If you’re not an extrovert make attainable goals to do one thing a week that expands your network reach. Interact with a neighboring business, share a story from another local business on your social media, or give your business card to just one person you interact with that week. To find professional acquaintances and mentors you need to be present and say yes to every opportunity. Join all of your local groups, especially neighborhood specific groups. Joining Nextdoor or other social apps is helpful for finding where the action is. Talk to the baristas and bartenders! They know everyone. Consider every interaction as a business AND personal opportunity. I’ve definitely attended neighborhood networking events that weren’t in my professional field and met like minded folks who have led me to other people and so on. Expand your network, you never know who you will meet or where it can lead you!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.junctionsalon.com/
• Instagram: @jessicalynne.hairdesign