Meet Kelsey Barnes

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelsey Barnes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey , thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome is such a great topic. I wouldn’t say I have completely overcome the feeling of being out of place in my profession 100%.
As a hair stylist, building your clientele is one of the hardest parts. You are putting yourself out there for brutally honest feedback. The days it doesn’t go according to plan and someone doesn’t like your work it hurts deep down, and then when you have a win, it boosts your confidence but then moments later your brain goes back to the failure you had previously.
Then thoughts begin to spiral about you being in the right profession, am I good enough to be here, am I deserving of this win and good feeling. I am a huge people pleaser and sometimes that plays hand in hand.

I have to constantly remind myself that, I am human. Not a copy machine.
I am worthy of my clientele and I am worthy of the career and success that I have. I have worked hard, I have been diligent in learning outside of work and within the walls of work to make sure I feel like I belong for myself.

You can never truly fail, unless you give up and choose not to learn. Find the balance between being proud of your success, but stay humble because you know the work it took to get to where you are. That’s how I I overcome imposter syndrome daily. It’s a daily reminder that I am where I’m meant to be, doing my dream job.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I have been a licensed cosmetologist since 2011. I stepped away from working behind the chair full time for approximately 9 years. In my time away from behind the chair, I held different jobs in many different career paths. From working in banking, roofing and even for a school district, I can talk shop with almost anyone on some sort of level. Even with my full time job, I couldn’t stay away from hair. I have done hair for multiple weddings, special events, a KC Fashion Week and multiple other projects and photo shoots.
Initially when I stepped away to focus on my growing family, I never thought I would ever step behind the chair in a full time capacity again. I always dreamed and thought of it, but didn’t think it was possible because the world of hair is ever changing with trends and knowledge. Could I do it? Is it possible?
Then the opportunity landed at my feet.
I jumped for it 100%. I have been back full time since August of 2022 and have an incredible boss who has filled my cup with encouragement and education and her time.
I have loved every minute I have had of rebuilding my skill set, settling in to my specialties and learning more and more about myself through my clients everyday.

I really enjoy a good dry curly cut with a good curly set to finish the service, lived in dimensional color and short fun funky pixie cuts with a razor!
I have also expanded my service menu to include 30 and 60 minute spa facials, back facials, and more! I am still building my clientele and accepting new curly and color clients!

I am located at a woman owned salon in Lee’s Summit named Retreat Salon and Spa that has a little cafe inside with the best barrista and specialty drinks. The salon is an Aveda salon, we use luxurious hair care and color.
We occasionally host pop-up vendor events for other small businesses to set-up and sell their merchandise, from cookies and sourdough to permanent jewelry. Currently these events are on the first Saturday of the month for summer! Follow our social media for exact dates and vendors!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Anyone who is currently going to cosmetology school, or recently graduated and you are building your clientele, remember that school does not teach you everything. Stay hungry for education, don’t settle for what you already know. Use it to build your craft into something that is yours.
Surround yourself with a team who cares about you. Whether you booth rent, are on a commission, etc. make sure the people in the building with you are cheering for you. It’s imperative to have a village.
Also, stay humble. No one is perfect. Do not be afraid to tell someone you can’t perform the service to their expectations. This will save you time and money from doing a service you may have to correct. I would much rather have a negative review saying “she refused service” rather than “she ruined my hair”. If you are open and honest with your guests they will respect you more. I’m never to proud to say, “That is a great inspiration photo, however I’m not sure exactly how to tackle this service so I’m going to grab another stylist and bounce some different application ideas off of them.”
As a stylist it shows you are capable of being a team player. For guests in my chair, they actually feel like a VIP guest and tend to feed off the “ooohs and aaaahs” of looking at their inspiration pic and feel like they are center of the universe.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

The person outside of my family who has helped me become the stylist I am today and continue to grow into, is my boss, Ashley Phillips.
She is such an incredible artist herself and human. Ashley pours so much into her guests and her team.
She is big on continuing education with us inside of the salon and has had such a huge impact on my success because of that.
I leaned on her a lot when I first came back to doing hair full time. It had been almost a decade that I had to make a new color formula, with an entire new to me color line. I had done the online training, I read all of the things, but still had questions. Ashley opened her home to me after I put my kids down to bed, late at night, for me to come over and go over the color line in more detail. She didn’t have to. But she did, and she continues to go above and beyond. Day in and day out. Without her, this opportunity wouldn’t have been possible, and without her, I wouldn’t have been as successful this quickly coming back.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.retreatls.com
• Instagram: @kbarneshair11

Image Credits

Gabrielle