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Life and Work with Caitlin Essing

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Caitlin Essing.

Caitlin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
This morning I had an epiphany… how I got to where I am today is a series of bad haircuts.

I’ve known in my being that I wanted to be a hairdresser since I was in 6th grade. When I was 14, my mom took me to a popular chain salon with a $10 haircut Tuesday special it something like that. Of course, for $10, I didn’t get the dramatic emo style I wanted and I decided to fix it myself. Pretty sure my head looked like I got attacked by a weed whacker but at the time, I loved it! This experience really kickstarted me in cutting and experimenting with my friend’s and sister’s hair through high school.

I met my best friend and mentor when I was 18 after I got what was this time a scary bad haircut in cosmetology school. When I went to her salon to have her fix my haircut, I left with a job. My training there really is the cornerstone for my values today behind the chair and how I try and positively influence new stylists.

When I was 20, I cut my hair into a super cute pixie, rocked it for all of two months, got bored with it and dove headfirst into the world of extensions! At first, experimenting with a clip-in method and later on playing with glue-in, sew-in, tape-in. Nothing really consistent. At this point, I always had a set of clip-ins and I would change my hair often. My clients were requesting extensions I would send them out to some rinky-dink wig store to be matched and they would come back to me and I would then customize them!

After years of inconsistency, I craved a more professional approach with this and one of our product reps started offering HotHeads tape-in extensions. Myself and the salon I was at got certified. Right around this time, my boyfriend’s (now husband) job was moving him to Denver. I obviously went with him.

Prior to moving, I searched job websites looking for salons hiring and I came across Glo! My first reaction was this place is perfect! The decor is all pink! They do extensions and I wanted to focus on that. So, I went through the interview process and started working for Glo the end of June 2016 which is really when I solely shifted my focus on hair extensions.

Helping women with hair loss and thinning quickly became my passion. Since moving to Denver I have been certified in Hairtalk, GreatLengths Extension brands as well as HairUWear which is a wig and hairpiece manufacture.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think everyone faces obstacles and challenges it’s just a matter of perception. I graduated from cosmetology school in 2010 shortly after the Great Recession of 2008, so I did have to overcome building a clientele starting from scratch in a sad economic climate especially coming from West Michigan which was greatly affected. Luckily, I started working in the town I grew up in so I knew people which helped so much.

I definitely faced challenges when I moved to Denver starting from scratch. I did not know a single soul. It was hardest coming from a salon where I built a busy clientele over six years and worked so hard at establishing my reputation to having every person who sat in my chair look at me like its day one of doing hair. It took about six months to start to get back to a place of feeling like my clients trusted me. I am truly grateful for my employers, Heather and Tim, having a great marketing strategy in place. It was a culture shock moving from rural Michigan where I knew everyone to come to Denver which is so busy in comparison.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Glo Extensions Salon – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
The coolest thing about being an extension specialist is defying logic. I can give people great hair that would take them months or years to grow in a matter of hours! I feel like with extensions I tend to get clients from all walks of life. Some just want long mermaid hair, some have gone through chemotherapy or other health issues. Some women may have received a haircut that didn’t turn out how they wanted. Others have struggled with fine hair all their life.

Full hair is a sign of good health and I think that’s why we’re so attracted to it biologically and I love giving women the confidence they have been craving. One of the best reactions to date was a woman in her 40’s telling me she hasn’t had hair like this since she was 16! She was so happy! I truly take my skill set as a gift and I love blessing others with it.

The coolest thing about working at an Extension salon is working with extensions on a daily basis. The typical stylist maybe handles extensions once a week or a month but I am all day immersed in hair extensions

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
Starting out is always going to be tough, no matter what industry you work in. You probably won’t make your ideal salary for the first year and you will make mistakes!!! Stick with it if and if it’s truly your passion, you will be so rewarded!

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