Ten years ago, I was just a baby stylist—green as they come, only a couple of years out of cosmetology school, and absolutely obsessed with learning everything I could. Like most new stylists, I had that fire in my belly. I wanted to be great—not just good—and I was hungry for knowledge. I wanted to soak up every bit of education I could find like a sponge.

From day one, I was especially drawn to the hand-painting technique called balayage. Something about it just felt like magic to me. The softness, the artistry, the lived-in dimension—it wasn’t just hair color, it was painting, sculpting, crafting beauty. Back then, balayage wasn’t the buzzword it is now. There weren’t a million tutorials or creators posting reels every day. It was still a bit underground, still a little edgy, and it felt like this secret world I was desperate to break into. Clay lightener wasn’t even ubiquitous like it is today.

While I was living in Fort Worth, I dipped my toes in the water. I had taken a few classes, learned the basics of the open-air technique, hunted down the tools and products and I started offering it to my clients. But truth be told? I was fumbling. I wanted my work to look like those soft, seamless, sun-kissed blends I was seeing online—but it didn’t. Not quite.

You know that feeling when you know just enough to see how much you still don’t know? That was me. I could see what I wanted to create, I just hadn’t found the right roadmap to get there yet.

And then… enter “The Business of Balayage.”

I had stumbled across their content on Instagram, and it felt like I had discovered a secret garden. Two women—stylists, educators, artists—breaking down this elusive technique in a way that finally made sense to me. They weren’t just showing pretty before-and-afters. They were teaching. Explaining. Giving real tips and tricks. This was the beginning of live streaming on social medial and I devoured every video they posted like it was a sacred text. It was the exact blend of artistry and structure my brain needed.

So when I moved back to Amarillo, I brought that same passion with me. But this time, I doubled down. I made balayage one of my signature services. At the time, no one else in my market was offering open-air, classic hand-painted balayage as a standalone specialty—and that gave me an edge. I wasn’t the most experienced stylist in town, but I had something unique. And slowly but surely, clients who were tired of foils and harsh grow-outs started finding me.

But still, something was missing. I was getting better. My blends were prettier. My confidence was growing. But the work I was doing still didn’t quite have that wow factor. I knew the “why,” but I didn’t fully grasp the “how.” I needed the next level.

And then it happened: they were coming to Texas.

The Business of Balayage announced an in-person class in Dallas, and I jumped at the chance like my life depended on it. And in a way, it kind of did. I didn’t have a big budget or a travel allowance—I made it happen because I knew it would be worth it.

And let me tell you… it was.

Sitting in that classroom, seeing the technique broken down live, watching every flick of the wrist and hearing the why behind the placement—it was like the missing puzzle piece finally clicked into place. I left that class changed. They showed me exactly what I was missing and it was all in the toners. My confidence shot up. My artistry leveled up. And almost overnight, my business did too.

That class—that moment—became a turning point.

I built my entire clientele off of that foundation. I wasn’t just “another stylist” anymore—I was the balayage girl. The only one in my city (at the time) doing it this way. People would bring in screenshots and say, “Can you do this?” and I’d smile and say, “Absolutely.” Because I knew I could.

The word spread. My books filled. I raised my prices. I trained others. I built a team. I expanded my business. And eventually, I built a million-dollar brand rooted in the very thing I had once struggled so hard to learn.

That’s why I’m writing this today. Because recently, I had a moment that brought me to tears in the best way.

I was in a class in Huntington Beach, California—a room full of talented artists, eager learners, and educators. The kind of room that makes your soul buzz. And across the room, I spotted someone I recognized immediately: the assistant to the original founders of The Business of Balayage.

Now listen. I’m not the kind of person who fangirls easily. But I’m also not the kind of person who keeps quiet when there’s something meaningful to be said. So when I found myself in line for the restroom next to her (because of course that’s where all the best conversations happen), I took a deep breath and turned to her.

“Is your name Lindsey? I don’t know if you hear this all the time,” I said, “but what you and your team were doing all those years ago? It changed everything for me.”

She turned toward me with the kindest eyes, and I kept going—heart pounding, but words pouring out.

“I was a new stylist in a small market trying to figure it out, and I followed your content religiously. I took your class in Dallas and it clicked for me. I built my entire clientele around balayage. That led to building a business. And now that business supports not only my family, but dozens of other stylists. It all started with that education. With you.”

I won’t lie, part of me was terrified I’d sound cheesy. Or like I was trying too hard. Or that she’d just smile politely and move on.

But she didn’t.

She looked at me with genuine emotion in her face and said, “Thank you so much for telling me that.”

She was grateful. She was humble. And it was one of the most beautiful full-circle moments of my entire career.

We spend so much of our time chasing the next thing—more clients, more growth, more knowledge, more opportunity. But every now and then, life hands us this moment that reminds us to stop and look around. To acknowledge how far we’ve come. And to say thank you to the people who helped get us here.

That’s what this post is. A thank you.

To the educators who poured into me when I was new and unsure.

To the clients who trusted me when my placement wasn’t perfect and my blends were still learning to blend.

To my younger self who kept going, even when the outcome didn’t match the vision.

And to the stylists who are where I was ten years ago—eyes wide, hands shaky, watching tutorial after tutorial wondering if they’ll ever get it.

You will. I promise you will.

It won’t happen overnight. It won’t always feel glamorous. You’ll doubt yourself a thousand times. But keep showing up. Keep learning. Take the class. Try again. And when the moment clicks for you—and it will—you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.

And maybe someday, you’ll be standing in line for the restroom next to someone who helped shape your journey. And you’ll get the chance to look them in the eye and say:

“Thank you. You were part of my beginning.”

And maybe, just maybe… that moment will be part of theirs too.

Continually grateful,
Kendra