Meet Keriane Kuhlmey | Personal Hair Stylist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keriane Kuhlmey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keriane, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am originally from a small town called Lancaster which is outside of Buffalo & Niagara Falls, New York. I was raised in a family where no one moves away, everyone works regular Monday- Friday jobs where they are employed and receive a paycheck, and are just regular members of society. I bring that up because I struggled a lot with my place in my family as I was always just different. Potentially I was considered to be an little embarrassing to my family as I dressed very alternative at a young age and that came across as taboo to them and it naturally grow me into an insecure person who always felt the need to hide my big personality, my creativity, and limited my potential that I expected for myself. Although I appreciate my upbringing now but it was quite challenging as an adolescent because I had no one to be inspired by or to prove that my career dreams were possible. I enrolled in hair school at 16 years old, I was a junior in high school when I started the program and my family was very supportive of it but more as a second option to fall back on instead of a career but I always saw so much more potential and the lack of support definitely put a void between me and my relationships in my hometown. I moved away at 21 with $1200 to my name to move to California and save my career in the hair industry. Being pushed into to adult situation’s at such a young age grew me into a strong independent female entrepreneur and I know I would not be who I am today if it wasn’t for the way I was raised and I’m saying that in truly a thankful way. I love the life that I gave for myself. I earned it!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am an extremely creative & caring person and it is not possible for me to turn that part of my brain off. In regards to my art as a hairstylist I am very involved in self development; but, I was not always that way and to be honest if it wasn’t for the pandemic hitting our industry so hard I don’t know how I would be right now. I lived on pure passion for hair and it got me through that time of my life. Never in my life would I have ever taken that much time off but since we were forced to be home not just once but three separate times as our industry was mandated to do so, I went through variety of emotions and behaviors and when I realized we weren’t going back for a while i decided to work on myself. I needed to heal a lot of negativities that naturally occurred in my thoughts and process trauma that I put on the side. I did a full 360 and found self love, self-confidence and respect for myself that I have never had before. Nothing in the world compares to that feeling, it is the most liberating and powerful feeling I have ever felt in my entire life. I truly believe I was meant to go through that situation and to find the inner peace so I can be a better hairstylist. I often work directly on woman that put themselves down or struggle with their appearance naturally because it is the toxic mindset that woman have been pressured to feel with our current expectations of society’s beauty standards. My self healing journey has provided me the opportunity to encourage self love to the individuals that sit in my chair. Although it may sound contradicting to be in an industry that alters people’s appearance but I like to think of it as helping people love with who they are, teaching them how to take care of the hair they were born with, or by giving confidence back to clients with hair loss by using extensions. I believe it is unique to me as an independent stylist that I specialize in enhancing my clients natural beauty and helping them gain confidence to love themselves unapologetically! Obviously that new mindset called for a re-branding and I switched my simple business name from “Hair By Keriane” to “onyx hair company”! The switch was much needed because it truly shows the glow up! I chose the name onyx for my hair business because onyx is a black healing crystal that promotes self love, confidence, will power, heals grief, and helps with the shedding of negativity. I truly believe that’s what my job as a hairstylist is- we’re not just doing hair at my appointments, they are hairapy sessions!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
orkBeing someone that’s actually from New York this is something that I have a lot of experience with anyd have done several times a year since 2012! It’s easy to take things for granted in our city but my guests are all from New York so when they come to visit me they are always just in aw of the scenery. I learned overtime that I don’t need to show people the most exciting or expensive places we have because San Diego itself is just so breathtaking and the culture is truly what people love about our city. We have found a way to jam pack every persons visit with all things San Diego. We like to order takeout and then go eat it somewhere scenic like sitting on Sunset Cliffs, eating it from the beach at Mission Beach, La Jolla cove, Balboa Park and even up the coast to Oceanside. We also rent scooters to explore downtown and Uber into Hillcrest and bounce between coffee shops and small businesses! Also that being said, as a small business owner myself we make a point to always support small businesses as its what makes San Diego so special. They can go to chain restaurants back home but it really makes their visits more enjoyable & unique because they usually will want to go back when they visit again!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I absolutely love this question because it gives me a chance to shout out the amazing hair industry in San Diego! Moving to San Diego as a young hairstylist was very intimidating as I was a baby faced 21 year old with chunky highlights and a closet full of Cheetah print- I was a total fish out of water and looking back on it now, everyone was very accepting and welcoming of me as I was. I have never experienced that friendly warm welcome so for me I had my guard up but I didn’t have anything to worry about. The friendships I’ve created in this industry are so strong and genuine. We have a term in this industry that I see so many San Diego stylists using “stylist supporting stylists” and I have seen it actually being practiced. A lot of local stylists share free education, product knowledge and even clients purely because they want you to win too. When you stop and think about it San Diego is a very large city there is no need to fight over clientele, there is enough for everybody! I truly wouldn’t be the open minded outgoing hairstylist that I am now if it wasn’t for being surrounded by such amazing people every single day for the last 11 years! It is very true that you will never work a day in your life if you truly love what you do.

Website: onyxhaircompany.com

Instagram: @keriane.onyxhairco

Other: https://shop.saloninteractive.com/store/onyxhaircompany