Life and Work with Anna Combe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Combe.

Anna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My very first job when I was 14 years old was in a salon. I would sweep hair, fold towels, make coffee and do a ton of other odds and ends things. It was part-time while I was still in high school. There was a woman who worked there named Melinda and I was completely enamored with her work. The way she would foil and cut hair absolutely mesmerized me. She was just so talented. I didn’t work there for more than six months but right then and there I knew I wanted to do hair. But it took me almost ten years before I would be able to go to Cosmo school. I worked in retail mostly after high school. I ended up having extremely good luck without a college degree. I worked for Forever21 and Victoria’s Secret but I never stopped thinking about doing hair.

At 23, I left retail because I simply couldn’t handle another black Friday. I found myself at a glass company doing estimations and bids for storefronts. I hated it. I realized a desk job wasn’t for me. I really wanted more of a “normal” job with no more nights and weekends and I thought something like that I would like more. But I just couldn’t bring myself to like it. I started looking online and found the Avalon school of hair. I thought it would be a longshot but figured why not. I went in for my tour and started school three weeks later. In April of 2010, I graduated cosmetology school. However, I didn’t start doing hair for a very very long time. The previous March I found out I was pregnant. Finishing school was almost impossible. I was sick all of the time and I could barely hold down water. I was going to school from 8 am to 10 pm to try and finish on time. Everything was a struggle. But I’m proud to say I did finally finish. I took my state boards the written and practical. I wanted to start working so badly but I feared no one would want to hire a 5-month pregnant stylist who was sick constantly.

July 9th of 2010, I lost my son. I was devastated and utterly broken. Starting a career was the very last thing on my mind. I turned to alcohol and drugs to self medicate myself and I spent the next six months in a downward spiral that almost took my life. In March of 2011, I discovered I was pregnant again. I was absolutely petrified I would lose a baby half way thru a pregnancy again. That June, I entered my very first rehabilitation program and in July I entered my second. I just simply could not stay sober. In fact, I didn’t even want to. I just wanted to be numb. I had my first daughter November 26th of 2011. For a very small amount of time, I wanted to be better. I wanted to find a job and provide for her. I wanted to get into a salon and start making money and be back in the industry. But it was a very small amount of time. I was released into a transition program and able to get a job. I started working at a Fantastic Sam’s in Mesa and was able to move out and into an apartment. I relapsed shortly after. Immediately after my last relapse, my daughter had to go live with her Dad and I found out I was pregnant again. So, this time, it finally stuck. I spent all of my time and energy trying to get my daughter back, trying to grow a healthy little baby and manage and run a Fantastic Sam’s.

After I had my second daughter, it was finally what I needed to kick my butt into gear. I was a “manager” with no extra pay and a lot of extra expectations so I applied at a different location. I worked there for six months and loved it. I was finally doing hair! I had always loved color and I was doing three colors a month. If even that. I started working at a commission salon not long after I got my daughter back. I was thrilled! I worked there for three years and it was some of the best and worst experiences as humanly possible! I learned more then I ever would have if I had worked anywhere else. It was also a very tough environment emotionally for me. I butted heads with the owner frequently. There was a lot of favoritism. Eventually, it turned into a very toxic environment for me. I knew I wanted to branch out on my own but I didn’t know when or how but I did know when the time came that in my heart I would just know. It came down to me thinking maybe I shouldn’t be doing hair anymore.

On April 9th of 2017, I left the commission salon and rented in an open concept salon for six months. I was scared. I made myself physically sick the two weeks before I left. I wasn’t sleeping for more than three hours a night. But I knew it was the right choice for me. In September, I moved into a suite and I’ve never been happier. I make my own schedule. I do my own booking and advertising. I make mermaids and do balayages. I can start work when I want a take a night off if I need to. I’m able to help in my children’s classrooms once a week and help with the field trips I have built great relationships with my clients. As a small business owner, you take the good with the bad and the ups with the downs. But at the end of every day, I wouldn’t change one part of it because it’s all mine.

Has it been a smooth road?
Be glad, you are starting now! Start while you are young!

It took me almost 30 years of my life to find my passion. To find something I was really good at. To find something that I always wanted to learn more about no matter how much I knew or didn’t know.

I had a lot of hardships and a lot of personal conflicts get in the way of me moving forward with my career more quickly. I have always been a firm believer in things happen for a reason. My path clearly needed me to do and learn other things before being an established hairstylist.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with MorgannaDoesMyHair – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I’ve been blessed enough to have a majority of clients who like to do vivid’s. Some do their entire head and some do highlights with vivid’s over them so they fade out back to blonde. Some are under lights and some do it for fun twice a year. Every single one is so different and that’s one of the best parts for me. It’s constantly changing and never boring for one second. I feel like you have to have a very strong knowledge of “regular” color to be able to effectively do vivid’s and mermaids. A lot of what I learned I started doing on myself. It’s been an extremely fun road seeing new things and experimenting. I think what sets me apart from others is that I’m constantly learning. I will never know everything there is about hair. There is always more to learn, more to perfect and fine tune and more to advance on.

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that a lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
Find someone you admire and stalk them! Just kidding. Seriously though, social media has helped with this in a huge way. It’s so easy now to connect with people in other parts of the world or even people in the same town as you. I’m a huge supporter of the color line Pulp Riot. Alexis and David Thurston have ignited and shook up the entire hair industry as of a few years ago. They truly reset the bar as to how hairdressers and the entire industry treated one another. I personally have really utilized Instagram and referrals from my existing clients. It is really cool to have a high follower count on the gram but it doesn’t put butts in your chair. I’ve tried really hard not to get wrapped up in focusing on who and how many followers I have but how many actual clients I retain. That’s worked the best for me.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 4805283013
• Email: Am.combe@yahoo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannadoesmyhair/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hairbymorganna/

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