E15: Redefining Beauty, one Painless Braid at a Time with Boss Hair Studio

What makes Rachel Strader with Boss Hair Studio & Esthetics a good neighbor?  

Ever wondered why beauty and pain seem to go hand-in-hand? Rachel Strader, owner of Boss Hair Studio & Esthetics, is challenging that notion one client at a time. Born into the craft as the daughter of a hairstylist, Rachel was handling clients by age nine. Though she pursued higher education, graduating from Point Park University, her passion for hair never waned – it just evolved.

"Beauty is not pain," Rachel states emphatically as she describes her salon's specialization in painless braids and gentle protective styles. This philosophy stands in stark contrast to cultural norms that have normalized discomfort, particularly for Black women who regularly wear protective styles. At Boss Hair Studio, clients discover a refreshingly different approach alongside a vegan hair care line designed to promote healthy growth.

Rachel's journey from beauty school graduate to business owner wasn't without challenges. She candidly shares the isolation and mistakes made without proper mentorship, which now fuels her vision to establish educational opportunities for emerging stylists. Between managing her salon and raising five athletic children (including a son headed for the NFL draft), Rachel still finds time for her own artistic pursuits like DJing and playing saxophone. Her story demonstrates how setting proper boundaries became her greatest professional breakthrough, allowing her to create a business where clients don't just get beautified – they leave empowered, educated, and elevated. Ready to experience beauty without compromise? 

To learn more about Boss Hair Studio & Esthetics go to: 

https://bhse.glossgenius.com/

Boss Hair Studio & Esthetics

[phone]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of amulticultural hair salon?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Rachel Strader, with Boss HairStudio and Aesthetics.
Rachel, how's it going Good?

Speaker 3 (00:30):
morning.
It's going well, it's goingwell.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Awesome.
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business.
Tell us about your company.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
I'm the owner and stylist at Boss Hair Studio, and
at Bosser Studio we'reredefining beauty painlessly.
A lot of salons just focus oncertain things, but for us it's
just a matter of feelingbeautiful, confident and
courageous, naturally, Excellent.

(01:01):
How did you get into?

Speaker 2 (01:02):
this business.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Actually, I think the business chose me.
I was I'm a child of ahairstylist, so I was just
surrounded by hair and thenmoving forward, I think I was
about nine or 10 when I startedhaving my first client with my
mom and it was something thatjust couldn't escape me.

(01:26):
I finished a four-year degreeat point park university and all
the while I was still doinghere, then I had my own children
.
At this point I have fourchildren and, um, that's when I
decided to actually take myselfas a business, because before it
was mostly just doing hair andit was fun for me, it was a way

(01:53):
of life.
And I guess I was about 25 whenI finally decided to go into
beauty school and then I justtook like a deep dive.
After that it was just likeeverything here.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Excellent.
So what are some myths ormisconceptions in your industry?

Speaker 3 (02:16):
That's a good question.
There's plenty of myths andit's not so good A lot of.
The number one for me, I wouldsay it's just a huge
misconception where peoplebelieve that beauty is pain.
We specialize in painlessbraids and gentle, protective
styles, healthy hair.

(02:37):
We have a hair care line that'svegan and it promotes healthy
hair growth and a lot of peopledon't.
It's just one of the thingslike in our culture um, a black
woman and most of us wear braidsand then it's like you know,
you just take whatever just tolook good and it's.

(02:59):
That's.
That's the biggestmisconception.
For me, beauty is not pain.
In fact, your hair is yourglory, so how are you able to
walk confidently if you're inpain or you know?
So that that's onemisconception.
There's lots of otherstereotypes that come along with
the business Industry.

(03:19):
Wise, I would say we, we dostick together.
You know a lot of people.
There's not a lot of.
I think it's an oversaturatedmarket.
There's a lot of women who weall do the same thing.
So I think it's a stereotypemostly that you know we're all

(03:40):
bosses, and I'm one myself whereI can say after beauty school,
I had no direction, I had no, Ididn't work in a hair salon.
I just kind of I wanted to getinto it, but there wasn't the
support that maybe you know, ayoung future professional would
need.
And so I made a lot of mistakesand I had a salon suite I had.

(04:06):
I worked at home, you know,supporting my children and I do
wish that there was moreacademies or, like you know,
after school education, you know, once you graduate.
Now what?
Because that's where I fell inand I made a lot of mistakes.

(04:28):
I fell for the myths, even likein my salon suite there was no
growth, it was lots ofdevelopment, but it was at my
cost.
So I would go into my suite.
I can't hire anybody to workwith me.
It's literally was just me bymyself, or anybody to work with
me.
It literally was just me bymyself.

(04:51):
Um, so the only way to grow wasretail.
So I had that was like a wholenother dive into the business,
but I had no education in termsof the the business part.
So, um, I'm thinking about, uh,starting my own.
So that's my next step in myjourney.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
That would be amazing .
So who are your targetcustomers, then, and how do you
put them to the business?

Speaker 3 (05:17):
I have right now Instagram, facebook, tiktok.
The social media seems to bethe way I had a target target my
clients, my target audience.
I welcome everybody.
I am actually in the process ofhiring more future

(05:38):
professionals, like I said, justgoing back, giving back and
just kind of reestablishing thementorship and building the
brand.
So Instagram, mainly Boss HairStudio PGH.
On Instagram, facebook is BossHair Studio Aesthetics and I'll

(05:59):
be building up my TikTok soyou'll be seeing more.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
Excellent.
Yeah, it seems like you have aheart for educating others and
supporting others in maybe a waythat you weren't supported
coming out of school, so ittotally makes sense that, like
building out a school or aneducational program would be
your next step.
Have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast?

Speaker 3 (06:27):
I never thought of a podcast.
Some of my clients and some ofmy family have suggested in the
past like oh Rach, you got agood thing going here, you
should try it out.
And speaking public speakingwas always like a big fear of
mine, so it was never really athought to do it myself.
But, um, I guess that's where,that's where this, this route,

(06:52):
has hit it right.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
yeah, I mean a lot of your clients are on social
media already, right right.
So, outside of work, what doyou do for fun?

Speaker 3 (07:06):
My husband and I travel a lot.
We have five children, allstudent athletes from two years
old to almost 21.
So we spend a lot of timetraveling.
We spend a lot of time withfootball games.
Both my daughters are in trackand wrestling and both my boys
are in their junior year onehigh school and one college, and

(07:29):
, um, they are both top of thetop of the charts.
My oldest, he'll be going intothe NFL draft next year too.
Um, he was freshmanall-american.
Um, he just signed to AuburnUniversity.
So we got a lot going on withoutside of behind the chair.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Oh, congratulations to him.
I bet that makes you proud mama.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yes, all of them.
Yes, oh, very good, yepwrestling track.
I think I'm just an artist atheart, naturally For myself.
I like to DJ, I like to playsaxophone.
You might find me coloringsomewhere, so that's my idea of

(08:13):
fun Overall art, oh excellent.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
Yeah, so let's switch gears.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge you overcame
and how it made you stronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (08:30):
Hardships in the industry would be my number one
would be boundaries and learningto just say no if I can't, I
think my heart's just been sobig that it kind of it hurt.
So that would be like one of mybiggest hardships and
overcoming it feels so good, sogood, just being able to say,

(08:53):
hey, no, this is my schedule,you know, just just taking back,
and I'm sure my family willappreciate that as well in terms
of time.

Speaker 2 (09:04):
Right, absolutely.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
And it's hard to find the balance, sometimes as a
business owner and a mom, right,right, right, absolutely yeah,
and it's hard to find thebalance, sometimes as a business
owner and a mom right.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Right, right.
That was definitely a hardshipfor me.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
So, rachel, please tell our listeners one thing
that should stick with them, andthat they should remember about
Boss Hair Studio and Aestheticsabout Boss Hair Studio and
Aesthetics.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
Boss Hair Studio is a place where you can not only
just get beautified, but you'llalso be empowered, you'll be
educated, you'll be elevated andyour hair will be taken care of
.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
Excellent.

Speaker 3 (09:53):
How can our listeners learn more about your business?
To find out more again, you canfollow me at Boss Hair Studio,
PGH.
That's where I usually have alot of my content and things
that I have coming up.

Speaker 2 (10:04):
Well, Rachel, I really appreciate your time
today and you being in guests onour show.
We wish you and your thank youyes, thank you.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
Thank you so much thank you for listening to the
good neighbor podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to toGNPPittsburghcom.
That's GNPPittsburghcom,no-transcript.