Today we’d like to introduce you to April Kayganich.
Thanks for sharing your story with us April. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My mom came home one day after work and she noticed immediately that my once long, thick, and very curly hair was no longer down to the middle of my back, but cut above my shoulder. I was in middle school and I had just cut off my own hair because I was so sick of not knowing how to do anything with it. My mom was so upset with me, but I felt so much better. After that, that is when I knew that I wanted to get into the business of transformation as well as helping people understand their hair. Over the years, I would give my friends hair cuts, color their hair and pretty soon their friends were asking if I could cut their hair too. By the time I was in high school, I was focusing on getting accepted into a college for fine arts, but when I found out that I could go to cosmetology school during high school, I got so excited! I talked to my parents about it and to keep it short, they weren’t having it. I put that idea on the back burner and kept moving forward towards a career in art. In the back of my mind, hair school was always there, but so was my Dad’s voice saying that I wouldn’t be able to make a living for myself and that I was too smart for that.
I am 34 now and have been in the Beauty Industry for about six years now. I am getting ready to move into my own salon suite, have made numerous local TV appearances have an established clientele keeping me booked 6+ months in advance and I just started teaching at other salons on how to work with different textures which is something that is so important. I want people to walk into a salon and feel comfortable and confident that someone can do their hair. More and more people are embracing their hair in its natural state and I am here for it! We should all be as stylists.
But let’s rewind a little bit- I know you can kind of guess what happened with the Art degree, but I ended up dropping out of college during my 2nd year, which was in California and worked in the Food and Service industry for 7 years being determined to get myself to cosmetology school. After moving from Detroit, I went to Texas whose economy was thriving, I finally got myself enrolled at Avenue Five so I could pursue my license in Cosmetology. I was 26, working 2 jobs with no car, not sleeping more than 2-3 hours a night and I couldn’t be happier! I was finally getting closer to being able to do what I loved every. single. day.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road getting to where I am today, but that builds character, right? ha! I was so set on making ends meet to get where I wanted to be, that I sacrificed time with friends and loved ones as well as getting an adequate amount of sleep. I had so many great people around me supporting me along the way, giving me rides when I couldn’t afford to get a taxi or catch a bus, checking in on me to make sure I was okay, so if it weren’t for staying focused and having a great group of people who love me believe in me, I don’t know if I could’ve gotten through it all. My advice is to know who your friends are and always make sure you are doing the things that YOU want to do. A good friend will be encouraging and will be excited for your growth-surround yourself with people that are just as ambitious as you are. Always make sure that you are happy and not trying to please someone else. At the end of the day, you have to deal with the outcomes of your decisions, so if you have someone trying to tell you not to follow your dream, or questioning why you would even think of doing such a thing, just follow your passion and your heart.
What should we know about The Curl Whisperer? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a licensed cosmetologist. When I first started doing hair, I started an Instagram account and decided to give myself a name that stemmed from an inside joke in high school. My handle is @_thehalfrican. I owe so much to Instagram! I mean, c’mon, free advertising? When I was in hair school, I started posting before & after photos of my work and over the years, I started to get a following and I was surprised at the people I could reach with this app! I specialize in natural hair and being in Austin, I was always told there weren’t many people that knew what to do when it came to different textures and curl patterns, so that is when I earned the name the Curl Whisperer from one of my clients. I thought it was the cutest thing and most flattering thing anyone could say! One thing that makes me so proud of my brand that I am building and what I do is I had a client tell me she was out one night and she saw a few different women out and about and she said, “those hair cuts look like one of April’s” She ended up going up to each of those women and they all were clients of mine. The fact that a style or shape can be identified as “mine” made me feel so proud that I have a style that is distinguishable from someone doing a branded cut like a DevaCurl or Ouidad approach. What sets me apart is that I have made my own way of shaping curls based off of my Sassoon training in school. Yes, I am a fan of the Curly companies out there that cater to us curlies and have had a lot of education on curls and texture, but I definitely approach hair a little differently.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
Oh man, I love Headspace (when I am using it consistently), Favor has saved my life at work when I didn’t have time to make lunch for myself, I book my appointments through an app called Setmore which gives you your projected income for the week, will send automated text and email reminders and is compatible with Square (who I process my payments through!)
My Spotify Discover Weekly playlist is my JAM. It helps me find new radio stations to play at work. I love music and I love when people always ask, who is this? Makes me feel validated in my music choices:)
My favorite podcasts are anything NPR, especially Ted Talks! They keep me up to date with everything going on and I feel as a hairdresser, we need to be up on the latest happenings. I love True Crime podcasts because they distract me from all of the bad drivers on the road!
I follow so many different stylists and not just ones who specialize in curly hair just to see new products, new techniques and how to sign up for classes with them! Social media is amazing.
I read A LOT and that makes me a better person. I feel like I have better conversations when I am reading more and not scrolling my life away on Instagram, haha! Some of my favorite authors are Tom Robbins, Jim Harrison, and Saul Williams.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4477 S Lamar Ste #510
Austin, TX 78745 - Email: aprilkayganich@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/_thehalfrican
Image Credit:
Jinni J and Joeli B.
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