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Having been in the beauty industry for 20 years Yukiko had always sought out opportunities to further her education so that she was able to offer clients a wide range of services, such as special coloring and highlighting techniques and hair extensions. Mastering Curly Hair has been her most passionate and recent endeavor and she is constantly learning.
Yukiko is a member of CHA, or Curly Hair Artistry, an elite group of International Curly Hair Specialists. In October of 2013 she attended her first symposium in Atlanta, Georgia where she learned from the best the Curly Hair World has to offer. |
It was a convergence of 30 Professional Curly Hair Artists from across the world, and she was able to participate in hands-on learning and intensive instruction. She has since attended Symposium again in 2014, in addition to Raw Hair Organics training, and was excited to learn so much more that she has been able to bring back to Olympia!
Most recently, Yukiko had completed a DevaCurl two-day course and an additional one-day class and received the title of Deva-Inspired Stylist (twice), completing the Curly Hair Trifecta in training possibilities! In 2021 Yukiko achieved certification in Head Shape Matters, a precision method that takes into account the head shape, natural fall, and cowlicks of each individual. |
Being able to develop the OlyCurl method based on the variety of training she has received enables her to deliver a one-of-a-kind cutting experience. In 2021 OlyCurl was awarded the Best Turn-Around Award by Strategies, a business coaching company that serves the salon industry in the Team-Based Business Model. We are proud to be nominated in 2022 for the Staff Retention Award! |
My Personal Curly Journey
by Yukiko
I am wavy at best, so most new clients ask me while I am cutting their hair "How did you get into doing curly hair?" It just seems odd that I would have a passion for curlies when I myself am half Japanese, with coarse hair that would lay limp and relatively straight if left on its own. This is the story that I share with them in my chair:
In February of 2012 I went to a gold-buying party at a friend's house. The gold buyer there had this massive pile of blonde frizzy hair on top of her head in a giant bun. When I was introduced as a hairstylist, she told me that she had curly hair as a child, but that as an adult it has only ever been frizzy. She then asked me if I would know what to do with it.
I have always felt that hairstylists are humanitarian at their core and that we want to help everyone. We enjoy helping people feel great about how they look and we experience great satisfaction when we show them how they can embrace the beauty with which they were born. However, as I looked at her hair across the table, I had to admit that I had no idea why her hair was not curly anymore!
But my story does not end there! Quite randomly I had registered to attend a "mini hair show" in Tacoma that was happening that very weekend. I told this lady that DevaCurl was going to be there and that I would learn as much as I can and come up with answers for her dilemma. I did not know much about Deva at the time, just the name, and I figured they must know their stuff.
The mini hair show had about 5 product manufacturers set up with their booths, and after the morning intro session, where each one gave their introduction and spiel about what sets their products apart, we were free to roam around and watch their individual presentations. Note: DevaCurl was the only one NOT touting their "revolutionary" keratin straightening system. While my coworkers meandered from one booth to another, I planted myself in front of the DevaCurl booth and did not move the whole day. I watched and observed them do one miraculous hydration session after another (on frizzy hairstylists that were in attendance), asked questions and absorbed their methods.
Once I got home I started devouring all the information online that I could find about curly hair. I was on fire. I wanted to help all the curlies! A few weeks later I came across a forum where I saw Scott Musgrave talking about a group he was starting called "Curly Hair Artistry". I thought to myself, "THIS is the way to go! I need to be in this group!" So I sent him a message asking to join his group.
Scott messaged me back asking me to tell him about my education and background. So I regaled him with my experience with a couple classes in Seattle I took with Redken, maybe I told him about the Matrix Summit I attended in Las Vegas, and I told him I was a certified Hair Extensionist. He did not seem impressed and told me to let him know when I got some curly hair training. (!)
I thought to myself "Hmph! I didn't want to be in his stupid group anyway", and continued to scour the internet for information, and I started making plans to attend Deva training in New York.
A week later I received a message from Scott that said "Hey Yukiko. You have been on my heart since we last talked and I've been thinking I will let you into the group based on your passion alone. You will learn a lot!" I'm glad he took a chance on me.
And that's how I got started. Over the years of preaching and practicing the curly methods, I started to notice more wave to my hair as I was using the clean products that we carry and stopped blowing out my hair. As a kid, if I went to bed with wet hair, I would wake up looking like David Bowie, the Goblin King! It turns out I had wavy textured hair all along, it just needed to be cultivated. So here I am, a wavy girl in a curly world. I love it and I will continue to train new stylists in these practices so that OlyCurl can continue to be an oasis for curly girls and guys of Washington State for years to come.
I am wavy at best, so most new clients ask me while I am cutting their hair "How did you get into doing curly hair?" It just seems odd that I would have a passion for curlies when I myself am half Japanese, with coarse hair that would lay limp and relatively straight if left on its own. This is the story that I share with them in my chair:
In February of 2012 I went to a gold-buying party at a friend's house. The gold buyer there had this massive pile of blonde frizzy hair on top of her head in a giant bun. When I was introduced as a hairstylist, she told me that she had curly hair as a child, but that as an adult it has only ever been frizzy. She then asked me if I would know what to do with it.
I have always felt that hairstylists are humanitarian at their core and that we want to help everyone. We enjoy helping people feel great about how they look and we experience great satisfaction when we show them how they can embrace the beauty with which they were born. However, as I looked at her hair across the table, I had to admit that I had no idea why her hair was not curly anymore!
But my story does not end there! Quite randomly I had registered to attend a "mini hair show" in Tacoma that was happening that very weekend. I told this lady that DevaCurl was going to be there and that I would learn as much as I can and come up with answers for her dilemma. I did not know much about Deva at the time, just the name, and I figured they must know their stuff.
The mini hair show had about 5 product manufacturers set up with their booths, and after the morning intro session, where each one gave their introduction and spiel about what sets their products apart, we were free to roam around and watch their individual presentations. Note: DevaCurl was the only one NOT touting their "revolutionary" keratin straightening system. While my coworkers meandered from one booth to another, I planted myself in front of the DevaCurl booth and did not move the whole day. I watched and observed them do one miraculous hydration session after another (on frizzy hairstylists that were in attendance), asked questions and absorbed their methods.
Once I got home I started devouring all the information online that I could find about curly hair. I was on fire. I wanted to help all the curlies! A few weeks later I came across a forum where I saw Scott Musgrave talking about a group he was starting called "Curly Hair Artistry". I thought to myself, "THIS is the way to go! I need to be in this group!" So I sent him a message asking to join his group.
Scott messaged me back asking me to tell him about my education and background. So I regaled him with my experience with a couple classes in Seattle I took with Redken, maybe I told him about the Matrix Summit I attended in Las Vegas, and I told him I was a certified Hair Extensionist. He did not seem impressed and told me to let him know when I got some curly hair training. (!)
I thought to myself "Hmph! I didn't want to be in his stupid group anyway", and continued to scour the internet for information, and I started making plans to attend Deva training in New York.
A week later I received a message from Scott that said "Hey Yukiko. You have been on my heart since we last talked and I've been thinking I will let you into the group based on your passion alone. You will learn a lot!" I'm glad he took a chance on me.
And that's how I got started. Over the years of preaching and practicing the curly methods, I started to notice more wave to my hair as I was using the clean products that we carry and stopped blowing out my hair. As a kid, if I went to bed with wet hair, I would wake up looking like David Bowie, the Goblin King! It turns out I had wavy textured hair all along, it just needed to be cultivated. So here I am, a wavy girl in a curly world. I love it and I will continue to train new stylists in these practices so that OlyCurl can continue to be an oasis for curly girls and guys of Washington State for years to come.