Zoe Field is a hairstylist in Boulder, Colorado. She’s been doing hair for eight years and has trained dozens of other stylists. In light of COVID, Zoe left her job at a salon in downtown Boulder and started her solo venture by renting a private suite.
For the last four years, Zoe has cut my hair. Every time I see her, she usually has a different hair color and style. But most often, she’s rocking a pixie cut or bob—two of her specialties. A week after Zoe cut my hair in July (with masks on!), we caught up on the phone to talk about how cutting hair is an intimate art, the difference between being self-employed and employed by a salon, and the shocking cost of a pair of scissors.
How do you describe your craft and style?
It’s more than just trimming ends. It’s a chance to connect with people on a deeper level. People let go of a lot in that chair. It’s kind of an intimate craft. There are not a lot of jobs where you’re legally touching the other person, other than healthcare workers and tattoo artists.
My own personal style is definitely on the edgier side of things. You start to notice as you build your clientele that everybody has a very specific clientele. When I was at the salon, someone could’ve walked in and you could tell whose client it was. It’s fun because you just naturally attract certain people. I have a lot of clients in the queer community and a lot of people who just want change or something edgy and fun. I also cut a lot of short hair.
How did you become a hairstylist?
My grandfather was a hairdresser his whole life. I grew up seeing him in his salons and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I was a very outgoing kid, so it was cool to see him talk to people all day long and see how strong his relationship with his clients was. I went to college for one minute just to prove to my mother that I didn’t want to go to college. And then I dropped out and went to cosmetology school. I’ve been doing hair for eight years.
(A photo of Zoe’s grandfather hangs on the wall in her new private suite. Photo by Miranda Midler.)
Since you’re no longer with a salon, tell me about your new space. How did that come about and how is it working out?
I worked at Twig in Boulder and they had about 20 or so employees. We shut down for two months because of COVID. When it was time to reopen, there were so many regulations in place that allowed only 10 people in the building at a time. So that’s five stylists and five clients. The idea of going back was obviously scary in the middle of the pandemic, but I didn’t want to go back and just do random haircuts. I wanted to see my clients and find out what people have been up to, see how everyone’s doing, talk about the struggles that we’ve all been through. I didn’t know that was going to be an option with such a limited schedule.
I looked into private suite options, which as it turns out is all the rage during a pandemic. People love the safety of being in a room one-on-one, so that’s what my suite is now. It’s my own little business and it’s just me in there. Whenever I want to work, I work. And whenever I don’t want to work, I don’t work.
How do you determine prices? What is your hour worth?
When you’re getting out of school and you’re going into a salon, you’re usually starting as an apprentice. You start off shampooing, sweeping, cleaning, and learning from the advanced stylists. They usually have a tiered system, so your entry-level haircuts might start at $40. When you felt like you had gone to enough education classes outside of the salon, really honed in your skills and improved your craft, and you’re retaining clients, you could ask your boss to move up to a Level 2 or whatever the equivalent is. A lot of times, they’ll first want to see your product sales or client re-booking percentage increase. The rate is usually based on location and what other salons are charging.
You can make decent money being a stylist, but you put a lot of money into it for tools and education. Every time I’ve raised my prices, it’s usually after I’ve gone to a big class. As far as what my hour is worth, that’s tough. It varies so much. Right now, everything is booked on the hour. Normally, it would be 45 minutes, but because of COVID, we all extend our appointments for sanitation. In two hours, I can do a balayage, toner, and haircut and that would be close to $300. Or I could have two haircuts in those two hours and that would be $150. It depends on the service and it depends on tips. In general, I probably bring in close to $80 or $90 an hour before taxes, expenses, and what I set aside for myself.
Located in or near Boulder? Book a haircut or color with Zoe.
How do you learn new things?
There are so many educators in the hair industry. I was one for the last year before I left Twig. I didn’t go out and sell tickets for classes because I was more internal. But someone could. Then they make a name for themself. When you work for big salons, sometimes they bring in someone to teach everybody in the salon. That’s a lot more cost effective than sending one stylist to New York City. Vidal Sassoon is a huge name. People love to hear that you’ve gone to that training. I could say I was trained by Robert Cromeans, a famous dude to us, but that doesn’t mean anything to you. It doesn’t mean the training is any better or worse.
I went to a Vidal Sassoon Level 1 ABC training in February. They went over basic lines and shapes—a refresher on what I learned in school. I went into it a little cocky thinking I wasn’t going to get anything out of it. I feel like haircutting is my specialty for sure, specifically short hair and bobs. But in actuality, the class changed the way that I do bob haircuts. It made them easier and more efficient. I was shocked. There’s no one right way to do anything in this career. I would always tell that to the girls I was training. You’re going to watch me do something and it’s right, but you could watch someone else do something and it’s also right, even if those two methods are completely different. There is no one right way to do any creative job.
(Zoe’s favorite tool is also her most expensive.)
What’s your favorite tool or product or trick?
My favorite tool is my pair of scissors. I feel like that’s a very obvious answer, but they’re so great. People get very intense about brands of shears and types of metal. It’s a whole thing. The shear companies are very competitive. I have Hattori Hanzo shears, which are Japanese. They are my babies. I basically paid them off like a car payment. They were $750 total and I paid $50 a month for two years. You can get shears for $150. I have another pair that were $350. Some people will spend over $1,000 on just one single pair. Especially barbers. Again, there’s a tool for everybody and there’s not one tool for everybody.
(Short hair and bobs are two of Zoe’s specialties. Here’s me with a fresh chop and balayage by Zoe in 2017.)
What’s something about the industry not many people know about? Besides the cost of shears!
People don’t really understand how our income is impacted when they cancel last minute or don’t even show up. Obviously emergencies happen and things come up. We’ve all been in that position as awful as it feels. But some people don’t understand the timing of the day and how we get paid. A lot of people who work on a salary think we also work on a salary. There are also people who will show up 30 minutes late for their appointment and don’t understand I have someone coming in 15 minutes. I don’t think people are being malicious. How would they know? It is a very time-oriented business. The amount of times that I look at the clock in a day is really mind blowing.
Clients also don’t know how much we talk about hair outside of work. It is a passion. I go to the airport and I’m like, oh my gosh, I could sit here all day and watch everybody walk by and guess where they’re from based on their highlights.
Who’s the ideal client?
The ideal client is somebody I can connect with. Aside from doing hair, the part that brings me the most joy is getting to hang out with my clients all day. I look at my schedule in the morning and I’m like, all my friends are coming in today. That’s exciting. They were clients first and we’ve built this rapport, so now we’re friends.
On top of that, I love mixing a client’s creative ideas with my creative ideas and coming up with something that’s perfect. I love when someone trusts that I’m going to give them what they want. I also like people who like change. It doesn’t have to be shaving your hair into a faux hawk and dying it purple, but maybe it’s giving you bangs or layers or a few inches off. I have a client who’s a teacher and we usually play around with different browns for a while. One day she was like, “I just want a streak of purple.” It was so fun and silly and cute and something that I didn’t expect from her.
Where do you find inspiration?
Honestly, everywhere. Instagram is an obvious one. There are so many talented people on Instagram who are always posting. My friends in the industry and I are always sending each other things. I’m even spired by colors out in nature, like flowers and sunsets and the way that colors blend and mix together. I’ve seen a lot of people take a photo of something in nature and create a hair color inspired by that photo.
(Zoe on skates with the Boulder County Bombers roller derby team.)
What other side projects or interests do you have?
A lot. I try to do anything that seems interesting and even if it’s not something that I stick with, I love trying different things. Roller derby is super fun and the only reason I’m not doing that now is because of COVID. Sometimes I take classes at the University of Colorado - Boulder. I was doing them just online before COVID. I just would take a biology class or a creative writing class. It’s an expensive hobby, but it’s really fun. I love learning new things. I also like to volunteer at the humane society because that’s where I got my boys (her two dogs).
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