Meet Jelena Anaya | Hair Artist

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

Hi Jelena, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I decided to go my own way, I realized that I just didn’t find any joy or fulfillment in working under someone else. It actually made me work harder to make it on my own. I wanted to be in control of my business and I wanted the power to say whether or not I wanted to take on a project or client. The vibe and type of client that I wanted to attract and have in my chair, it’s extremely important to me as a believer that what I put out into the universe will reflect back on to myself. I never really grew or flourished while working for someone else, I had my own vision and I knew that I wouldn’t accomplish it working for someone else.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art is color. My canvas is hair. I absolutely love doing color, any color. All color. People sometimes think that I only like to do vivid colors but honestly I love any and all color services. I love how transformative color is and how much it can change your entire mood, look in a matter of hours. My vivid work is of course what I am most proud of, it’s my artistic expression, and I’m lucky because I have a handful of clients who will sit in my chair and just let me do whatever I want . The ultimate freedom to create whatever I want to without limitations, these clients truly feed my soul! Color- It’s always been something I loved, I was always cutting or coloring my Barbies hair because she needed a new look. I’ve always wanted to be able to express myself through colors. When other stylists were lamenting about having to do vivid colors I was always excited to be elbows deep into an entire palette, making a mess of my shoes, making my art on a head of hair. Over the years I have had a few coworkers who are archaic in their thinking and look down upon my style and my work, and that’s okay, some people just feel threatened by anything that is different. Over the years my style and my own hair has helped me to attract the type of clients that love and appreciate my vivid work. I have been able to grow as a colorist by taking so many classes, not just hair classes, I have taken painting classes as well. I constantly try new brands, colors, techniques. There’s a never ending stream of new things to learn and I wish to never stop learning. Was it easy? No absolutely not, I’ve encountered judgments and felt like an outsider, I’ve been a loner in many salons I’ve worked at because I am not the basic they want me to be. In a world of neutral colors my aesthetic is blinding and deemed offensive to some. I’ve even had a new client sit in my chair and tell me that they don’t want what I have. I just usually find a way to connect with them so that they understand I don’t just do one thing. After being in this industry for almost 20 years I have seen alot, learned alot and I continue to learn. But this industry, going to beauty school saved my life. I was on a track to destruction in my youth. I had no self worth, no purpose and no direction. I wasn’t interested in high school, I felt like they weren’t teaching me anything that would be useful in my life or future. I had already been on my own for so long as a latchkey kid that I had no use for the things they were teaching us. I was already working and partying with people quite older than me. I was drinking and experimenting with drugs. I was making all the wrong choices and quickly found myself at an alternative high school where it was made abundantly clear that if we were there already- there was little hope that we could or would ever be anything other than a burnout. Career day came and when the beauty school presented us with an opportunity, I jumped at it. And it stuck. It’s the only thing that ever maintained my interest consistently. It made me feel like I had something to offer the world, that maybe I was worth something, and it calmed me down. I stopped living my life on such a high speed downfall, I grew up significantly while in school. And it saved me from myself. Anyway, enough of that, I don’t want to be so long winded. I’ve learned so many lessons from the years behind the chair. My biggest lesson was that much of our lives, our path is something we must do alone. There’s not always going to be someone there to hold your hand. You have to take a deep breath and go. Do it now, don’t wait. When I was younger I was afraid to go alone, but now I realize that if I wait for someone to be there for me that I wouldn’t move. You have to move forward even if you are leaving everyone else behind., but you will find that people will either catch up or that you’ll meet new people along the way.
I’ve also learned that people think that working for yourself means that you can just work wherever you want, or that it’s somehow easy. My career path is physically and mentally exhausting at times. There are sometimes when a client sucks all the life out of you, leaving you completely drained. It may look easy but it’s not. It takes years of practice to make it look like it is. But being in business for yourself isn’t for the faint of heart, it’s hard. It’s scary at times and very uncertain, especially when you’re just starting out. I worked part time jobs while I was building my business. I took any and all projects that came my way. It’s not a straight line, but if it’s something that you love to do and you really want it? That’s what makes it possible. I’ve spent a lot of time crying and second guessing myself about whether I made the right decision, but in the end it was worth it.
What I want the world to know about myself and my brand is that I absolutely love doing hair. I love creating and meeting new people and hearing your stories and most of all, I love making people feel beautiful. I get to make you smile and feel good about yourself. I get to be a part of your important moments and I get to help you feel powerful and confident. That is why I love being a hairstylist.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh goodness that is a tough one. There’s so much here. Definitely Disneyland, the Getty, there’s a fun little bar in Buena Park near Knotts called the Cauldron. Definitely go to Chinatown and little Tokyo . Downtown Santa Ana has tons of good food and cute shops. I’d definitely go up north to Cupertino to visit the Winchester Mystery House, then head up to Monterey Bay aquarium and visit the otters . we’d eat our weight in sushi and search for the best obscure coffee shops. And I love old little book stores which are a rare find nowadays.

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?
My shoutout goes to all the incredibly brilliant women in my life who have built me up when I was down, believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. I’ve met so many incredible women who have been through incredible loss and tragedy in their lives, their resilience, hope and ability to overcome have inspired me and strengthened me when I felt like I had nothing left to give. Because even though the dark they knew that light would come.

Website: https://www.vagaro.com/hairbyjelena2

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hairbyjelena?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautybyjelena?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Photo with dogs taken by Danielle Spires https://www.daniellespires.com/pet-portraits