Rising Stars: Meet Skye Miranda

Today we’d like to introduce you to Skye Miranda.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I always wanted to do hair from the time I was a little girl. I remember I was less than 5 years old at my grandma’s house putting hand soap in my hair to slick it back thinking “this is going to look so cool and slick”. I also remember my mom washing my hair out in the airport sink before we flew back to Northern California saying “what the hell did you put in your hair “ haha. Growing up as an identical twin I craved my own identity so in 5th grade I begged my mom to color my hair black so I would look different from my twin. My mom was very supportive of my creativity and individuality so she reassured my dad, “it’s just hair, it will grow back “as she bought my first box of black hair dye from the store and colored my hair for me.

When it came to my high school years, no matter how ridiculous and fried my hair looked, my mom never said a word. I came up with the money to buy my hair color from Sally’s and she allowed it. I got a lot of practice of what not to do on myself before I even began schooling.

I used to color and cut my friends hair from the time I was in early middle school. I loved creating a new look from start to finish for my friends.

When I was 17 I had the opportunity to join the West Mec cosmetology program. I started the 2 year program my senior year of high school and became a licensed cosmetologist at the age of 19.

I began working as an assistant when I was in beauty school for someone who has become a dear friend and a second mother figure to me. She got me started as an assistant in a 7 chair salon in Sun City while I was in school and when I got licensed, they hired me on as a stylist. My career didn’t go far in that salon, but what I gained was a little bit of experience to add to my resume before moving onto my next salon.
I began working in a corporate salon and stayed there for about 2 years. I didn’t gain much experience as far as becoming a professional but I gained a lot of practical color experience. Working in a salon with nearly 30 other stylists and not so great management for minimum wage as a licensed professional I decided to move on.

I had continued to work for my friend as an assistant over the years and she had opened up her very own salon suite after 35 years in the industry. She offered her suite to me for a day out of the week so I continued working for her as an assistant, started Skyes the Limit Hair one day a week and also worked a warehouse job to make ends meet.

My first venture out on my own, a good friend of mine also opened her own salon suite. I joined her on this venture and really got a taste for what self-employment feels like. I stayed there for about 9 months while working night shift at a warehouse and still working as an assistant as well. After 9 months the pandemic began and I could no longer afford to rent my space there and my mentor had just expanded her business and opened a double suite with two chairs. After salons were able to reopen I started back in the building I began my self-employment in. Still working as an assistant PT and a stylist PT, my business began to grow and we began cutting back my hours as an assistant to open up more time for my business. After speaking with a few colleagues, I decided it was time to take the “leap of faith “ and rid the reliable income of assisting so we weaned me out of being an assistant entirely earlier this year.

I knew then where I wanted my business to go at that point. I wanted to open my own suite like my friends, Sarah and Kris. I told my fiancé “by January of next year I will be in my own suite. “

Just a few weeks ago the girl across the hall texted me “I’m moving, on a serious note, do you want to take over my lease? “It was an immediate yes even though I hadn’t prepared to do it until next year. I figured God doesn’t place opportunities in front of us that he doesn’t believe we aren’t ready for.

Before the end of July 2021, I will be opening my very own salon suite less than a month before I turn 25.

Coming from working 3-5 jobs at a time to improve my personal circumstances to being 100% self-employed and opening the doors to my own business is a dream come true. This very moment is what I have worked so hard for the past 7 years.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road to where I’m at now but things fall into place the way they are meant to be. I wouldn’t take back a single part of my journey because it has shaped me into the professional I am today. I learned a lot of what to do and what not to do.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a hairstylist, I like to identify as an artist. As a kid I wanted to be a painter. I really didn’t have a hand in painting or drawing but I did have a hand when it came to hair. I said “this is my canvas. Hair is my canvas.” I originally wanted to be in this industry for fashion colors however my focus has shifted to lived in hair. Fashion colors are fun for a week or two but extremely high maintenance and I love my guests but I don’t want to see them every 2 weeks. I shifted my focus too lived in hair because I want my guests hair to look just as good outside of the salon for the next month-3 months as it does the day they leave the salon. They are my walking billboard and I want my name to be associated with high quality work that lasts.

What I’m most proud of is my determination to not give up. They say it takes 5 years to build a business and there has definitely been a lot of ups and downs in the past 5 years of being licensed. Lots of moments spent thinking “is this really what I want to do?”. My answer to myself was always yes, I’m going to make it if I just keep going.

What I believe sets me apart from other stylists in the industry is my determination to preserve the integrity of the hair and being realistic with my guests. I try to under-promise expectations and over-deliver results. I explain the process to my guests every step of the way, and often, new guests are shocked and tell me “no one has ever explained the process so thoroughly to me”. I can’t tell you how many times someone believes their hair has only been “colored” previously when lightener was obviously involved in their previous process. I find it very important they’re well informed of the process so they are knowledgeable about what has been done to their hair.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
A distinct childhood memory I still hold with me today was when one of the neighborhood moms told my mom “maybe if Skye just dressed differently she wouldn’t be bullied so bad “. I didn’t find this out until my teenage years but my mom told me she would never ask her children to change or be someone they are not just to be accepted by society. My mom has always encouraged me and my siblings to be ourself and I think that’s the best thing a mother can do for a child.

Contact Info:

• Email: Skyesthelimithair@icloud.com
• Website: skyesthelimithair.glossgenius.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/_skyesthelimithair?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/skyesthelimithair/