Daily Inspiration: Meet Audrey Fornuto

Today we’d like to introduce you to Audrey Fornuto

Audrey, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
This is such a loaded question for someone like me who has experienced so many different things to get to where I am today.

I went to cosmetology through high school. I graduated in 2015 and began working in a salon full time. Deep down, I knew that I wasn’t quite satisfied with being behind the chair all day. I felt my purpose was much deeper but I wasn’t exactly sure what it was yet. I had always had a passion for working with children with special needs. It was something that brought me immense joy in my heart. A teacher of mine asked me if I would be interested in becoming a respite care provider for his two young children with Down syndrome. I immediately said yes and began employment through the state to offer relief to him and his wife. During this time I realized how much I loved this field of work so I began building my clientele of families to work with. While I was caring for these children with special needs, the parents often expressed to me how challenging it was to bring them to the salon or barber shop for haircuts. The noise and stimulation was pure chaos for them and made it a really difficult experience. This led me to create a sensory friendly in home hair cutting business, Special Cuts. I continued caring for these children and also became their in home hair stylist. I built a really successful business in my home city of Rochester NY where I went into nursing homes, group homes, and other residential facilities to provide convenient and compassionate hair services. I also obtained a job working in a wellness studio that offered infrared heat therapy for athletes and people with chronic illness. I loved working in the wellness industry as I continued to grow my Special Cuts business.

In 2019 I decided to add another skill to my tool box that would help me with my own health issues and allow me to help others as well. I enrolled in a 200HR Yoga Teacher Training. This is where I really learned how to work with the power of my heart and other energy centers in the body. It was a perfect time to complete the training, not knowing what was going to happen in the world a year later. When the world shut down in 2020 that obviously put a pause on mostly everything I was doing. I tragically lost my mom during this time and was reminded again, that I knew I needed to live a purposeful life, doing something that I love. As life slowly began to find its way back to some sort of normal, I had an opportunity to work at an old school barber shop and learn from barbers with over 30 years of experience. At the time, I didn’t have any idea what this would lead to. I had always dreamed of leaving my home town and moving somewhere west. With the many different jobs I had, I didn’t know how I would ever make it happen. Flash forward a year later, I booked a trip to visit some friends of mine in Phoenix Arizona. It was 2021 and the world was just starting to wake back up. While I was out here I had this deep realization that it was time I packed my stuff and started new. I had a lot of healing to do and knew the sunshine would be my guide in that. I ended up moving out here in August of 2021 and found a job at a Barbershop. I worked hard to build a clientele and learn even more about the art of mens grooming. While working as a barber, I was constantly being asked “what can I do for my dry scalp and hair loss” I realized that so many people were stressed out of their mind, losing hair and using products filled with plastics and toxins on their heads which was irritating their scalps. After a year and a half of working for a barbershop I had the opportunity to open and manage a second location of the shop for a brief amount of time before I realized it wasn’t aligning with the care, services and products I wanted to provide. I made the decision to leave the shop and took a chance on building something of my own where I could be a barber and cosmetologist and esthetician. I found a collective building in the Coronado neighborhood where I rented a private studio. This is where I combined my hair cutting and barbering skills with my love for holistic wellness and mindfulness. I began creating unique service offerings that not just provided a good haircut but treated scalp issues and relieved stress in a calming, quiet 1:1 environment. I now have over 200 clients both men and women that I see on a regular basis. I feel blessed every single day for the chance to do something that makes such a difference in the lives of others.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It wasn’t always a smooth road, no. I moved out here with a lot of grief in my heart which made my days feel very long and heavy. I questioned a lot if I had made the right decision to leave my support system and stability. Deep in my heart I knew I had to keep going and it would pay off despite not always seeing a clear path. I trusted that I would always be supported in the decisions I made.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I feel I have brought a new life to the traditional salon and barbershop experience. I believe hair care should be a mindful ritual. Our hair holds so much energy and there is tons of power in cutting off our dead ends, freeing ourselves from what is being held in our hair.
What sets me apart from other service providers is that I offer an intuitive and intentional approach to the services I provide. I have always been extremely passionate about the link between self care and mental health and believe that body, mind, spirit, and environment are all interconnected & deeply affect our health (and ultimately our hair). I use clean, non-toxic products that are safe for the endocrine system, body and environment.

Over the last several years, I have combined all of the knowledge that I accumulated with my desire to positively impact people and created unique heart led offerings.

I specialize in haircuts, scalp treatments and mini facials. Most people say the treatment experiences are like nothing they’ve ever felt before. It’s an energetic and sensory experience that words can’t quite explain but will leave you feeling renewed, restored, and nurtured on so many levels. I believe scalp focused, non-toxic hair care is completely changing the hair industry. I use a holistic approach to treat scalp, skin and hair troubles because the majority of the time, they’re connected to our unique lifestyles, stress management, diet, and product use.

I also offer yoga experiences for groups or one on one. Adding mindfulness and the practice of yoga to your lifestyle is a tool you can use to soothe and protect your nervous system. It also helps with stress management, grief, mental health, muscle tension, and chronic health conditions. Seeing the beautiful effects of safely guiding others into a deep state of awareness in their own bodies is one of the many reasons I love being a Yoga Teacher. Our nervous systems endure so much in our short time here on earth. Knowing how to align our energy centers is vital for a balanced life!
I love creating the perfect breath and movement routines tailored specifically to your unique needs.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I would like to thank all of the people I’ve met out here in Arizona who see me for who I am and support my endeavors. All of the clients who have followed me from the first shop I started working at out here. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support and encouragement. All of my clients who refer their friends and family and speak highly of my services are how I continue to grow. Also my family back home always rooting for me from afar and my angel mama who I know for a fact has helped guide me along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://audreygracewellness.com
• Instagram: @audreys.grace
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audreyfornuto
• Youtube: @audreys.grace

Image Credits
Photos By Melissa Carlson @mellymaey