Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacie Noble Stults.
Stacie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I remember the moment when I found out that the “beauty” industry was just a big ugly lie and I knew I had to do something about it. I was nineteen and working for one of those well-known product companies at a hair-show in Orlando when I realized that the law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients – other than color additives – to have FDA approval before they go on the market. Neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA.
After doing some research, I found out that in 1979 the FDA tried to insist that hair-dye manufacturers place a safety label on their products: “Warning: Contains an ingredient that can penetrate your skin and has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.” Manufacturers disagreed and threatened to sue the FDA if they pressed for the label. The FDA backed down. The beauty industry has too much power over consumer safety. I knew there had to be something better out there and that’s when I started my search for the products I use today in my salon. I wanted things that were organic, vegan, Ph balanced, biodegradable, and most of all safe for my clients, myself, and the environment. That’s when in 2012, at the age of 20, I started breaking ground on my Houston based eco-friendly salon DyeNoble.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
“I have lots of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly.” – Oprah Winfrey. At 17, I moved over 1000 miles to attend the best hair school in the nation only to have my professors/instructors tell me, “Stacie, stop chasing this dream. Fantasy colored hair will never be a thing just focus on how to do highlights.”
The tears welled in my eyes but they weren’t tears of sadness or defeat they were tears of passion, dedication, and the determination to never give up. Loving color too much always seemed to be an issue for me. My first job said I couldn’t brightly color my hair and once again fantasy colors would never catch on. I knew in my heart of hearts they were wrong and so I kept pushing the limit and finding new ways to teach myself color techniques that now have become a mainstay of my business. People are never going to understand a genius because it comes from something inside of YOU, not something inside of them.
Recently, I was hit with an obstacle I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have to face: At 2 AM, I woke up to my phone buzzing uncontrollably as my Facebook business page was alerting me to multiple one-star reviews pouring in and my Instagram was being slammed with hate-mail from a radical vegan group who desperately misinterpreted me advertising my use of 100% vegan products as me claiming to be a vegan business. In between trying to politely explain myself, reason with these people, and bawling my eyes out over false reviews left on my social media, I realized I could take all this hate and spin it into something AMAZING. With the help of my loving clients, I decided to throw an earth-friendly salon BBQ fundraiser (with vegan BBQ from Houston Sauce Co. and vegan ice cream from Over The Moon) and invite all my clients, friends, and even the “haters” to come participate in us making the world a better place! We were able to raise over $650 to donate to Blodget Urban Gardens whose purpose is to provide low-income families with a wide variety of fresh local produce.
The best advice I can give to young women just like me is to never let hate or fear into your heart and to always believe YOU are worth it. People won’t always understand how you see the world, who you are and what change may come. Never how others choose to see you make you any less beautiful.
what should we know about DyeNoble? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At DyeNoble my goal is to provide an experience, not just a service. Everything I do in the salon is customized and designed just for you and your wants and needs. I love what I do and I believe it shows! Whether it is a men’s haircut and beard trim, to a custom mixed vegan hair dye: my goal is to listen to what you want and provide you a wonderful and informative hair experience. I would say DyeNoble is best known for its color services, but in my mind without a good haircut color just won’t shine, so I’ve dedicated my continuing education to learning all aspects of hair from classical barbering techniques to modern and cutting-edge color placements. Black to blonde and short to long, my goal is to master hair from all aspects. I think the thing that sets me apart from the rest is my true fascination for the chemistry aspects of hair-care. Every morning I wake up and don my labcoat as I head to work and have the honor of mixing chemicals carefully and properly and get to apply them to peoples’ heads – how many chemists can say that? So many salons and clients don’t think about what happens to things like their shampoo and conditioner when they have washed down the sink but luckily I do. I love that I have biodegradable bleach, safer hair color, Ph balanced styling products, reusable plastic foils, and so many other innovative products I have worked hard to find so that together we can make the beauty industry something worth calling beautiful again
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
My father was a businessman and my mother was an eccentric artist. When they divorced, it created two homes for me. I think it was life in these entirely different homes that nurtured both sides of my brain. As a five-year-old, I would fake being sick just so I could be toted to work with my mother and watch as she painted murals in the houses of strangers. Her love of art consistently inspired me toward creativity and color and for that, I am very thankful. Through travel, my father showed me a world that opened my eyes to fashion and culture, but he also reminded me to do my math homework. He helped me understand the aspects of life that I couldn’t “create” like finance, science, and patience. My dad gave me the motivation to find a career in art, and my mother planted the seed that became my unconditional love of color.
I view myself as a perfect blend of both of these two wildly different individuals and I’m extremely grateful that they are my parents.
Pricing:
- Mens Cuts and Pixie Cuts – 35
- Mid Length Cuts – 60
- Long Hair Cuts – 80
Contact Info:
- Phone: 281-508-6784
- Instagram: instagram.com/DyeNoble
- Facebook: facebook.com/DyeNoble
Image Credit:
DyeNoble, Grady Carter Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
