The Year of Heather King

You might think you’ve seen Redken Artist Heather King everywhere in the last year, and you’d be right. In 2016 alone, Heather King had Beautycon, the NYX Face Awards, the Redken Artist Next Big Thing contest, New York Fashion Week, and an American Salon shoot under her belt. On the heels of Redken Symposium, King kicked off this year with Paris Fashion Week, styled hair at Coachella, founded her own company, and just touched down from Morocco following a photoshoot with jewelry designer Cleopatra’s Bling.

Did we mention she’s only been part of the Redken Artist Network for a year and a half?

We sat down with Heather King to share with you how you, too, can follow in her footsteps.

Redken Team: So Heather, for those out there who may not know you yet, tell us a bit about yourself.

Heather King: I’m from St. Louis, Missouri, and all my life I’ve marched to the beat of my own drum. While I was at TSPA (The Salon Professional Academy), everyone used to call me a rebel child. After school, I started working at an edgy salon in my area modeled after a west coast tattoo shop. Although I loved it there, after finding my Redken family, I discovered that I wanted the same vibe in my home salon. I ended up moving to Bliss Beauty Bar where I found that environment in my salon family.

Redken Team: How did you become a part of the Redken Artist Network, and when did you join?

Heather King: So TSPA holds extended education where they invite graduates to learn new skills, and I found out Sam Villa was going to be teaching a 2-day class there. He’s my idol and when no one else at my salon was able to go, I knew I couldn’t miss it and went solo.

At one point during those two days, Sam pulled me aside and told me to become a Redken Artist. Sam has made such an impact on my life. I knew if I could make others feel the way Sam made me feel, then I was on the right path.

I auditioned to be in the network at Symposium in 2015, and then moved on to training. I officially became a Redken Artist in November of 2015. November is my Redken anniversary!

Redken Team: What’s your favorite thing about being a Redken Artist?

Heather King: Meeting everyone around the world! I love meeting other hairstylists, meeting people at events, just meeting everyone that the brand touches. It’s exciting and humbling. Most of all I loved meeting fellow Redken Artists – finally meeting your people, meeting those rebels, those creatives, those artists. They are the people that love you and support you, and I’m so happy to have finally found my people.

Redken Team: You’ve had quite the year – NYX Face Awards, the NBT contest, Paris Fashion Week, Coachella – the list goes on. How did you become a part of these events and opportunities? 

Heather King: The easiest way I could put it is that it’s a domino effect. You start with one opportunity, and it knocks down the next domino. I was lucky enough to be recommended by a fellow artist to take part in Beautycon Dallas, and I flew out there the next day. It’s about putting yourself out there, being open to these opportunities, having fun, and voicing that this is what you love to do. From a social media standpoint, it scares people to put themselves out there because no one wants to hear bad things about their work, but if you don’t put yourself out there, you miss it.

I've also been motivated to go more into the editorial side. I reached out to two great Redken Artists (Ashley Flora and Matthew Tyldesley) to ask how, and drove 4 hours to sit in on a photoshoot. That shoot ended up being published in Bangstyle, and I was hooked.

I also won a couple contests for Redken that allowed me the opportunity to fly to LA to shoot with Bangstyle and another to be coached by Rodney Cutler for a spread in American Salon.

Reaching out is key, especially through social media (outside of contests, too).

Redken Team: Can you tell us more about that?

Heather King: Sure! I got the opportunity to do the hair for Charlotte Style Week by responding to a post on Facebook. I really recommend being proactive with your peers and designers – it helped me form some great relationships and opportunities.

I did an editorial shoot in Paris with a London Fashion Week designer I DMed (direct messaged) on Instagram. The photographer for that shoot was planning a photoshoot for jewelry designer Cleopatra’s Bling, and made the introduction! That’s how I ended up doing hair for a shoot in Morocco! It’s the domino effect! I will say it’s not all glamour though.

Redken Team: You bring up a good point, because it does take a lot of hustle behind the scenes. What are your tips to someone who wants to get into editorial?

Heather King: Save your money, especially starting out. The opportunities are really cool but they’re not always paid. It comes down to this: will you eat ramen to live your dream? It’s about the sacrifices you’re willing to make. The past year has changed my idea of success. At one point when I was going through a tough time deciding about an opportunity, Redken Artist Justin Isaac told me that although he doesn’t remember every look he’s done, he does remember everywhere he’s done hair. It gives you the chance to create amazing memories and do amazing things. The question is what is going to enrich your life more? 

That really stuck with me, and needless to say, I went for it. It wasn’t without its challenges, but it was 100% worth it.

Redken Team: What are some of the challenges you face with editorial?

Heather King: Well, first of all, I knew I had to pull a team together. For the Stevie Boi show during Paris Fashion Week, two days before we flew out we lost a venue. We scrambled to find another venue because I promised my team that we would be flying out to a show, not a two-model editorial.

I had so much fun with the talented team from Paris that I wanted to make sure they were protected in cases where things fall through. I did it right when I came home and it took me three days. It was a whole process, meeting with an attorney, building an LLC, trademarking, contracts, you name it – but I am so excited for projects in the future knowing that our team of hairstylists and makeup artists are covered under HiDefinition.

Redken Team: WOW. That’s quite the undertaking, especially in a matter of days. How did you find the time to do all that?!

Heather King: I don’t sleep (laughs). The hustle is REAL. Yeah, I don’t sleep much. Especially when I am working on shoots and projects. I work on their timeline – like I’d be up at 3AM to send emails to people in Paris, I am working with someone who is in Bali right now so I’m super aware of their timezone. Also if I don’t hear back, I email back three times before I start looking a little crazy. … I’m persistent!

Redken Team: Well your strategy certainly seems to be working for you! Can you tell me a bit about your social media? Do you have any tips for capturing great content?

Heather King: Honestly, I just post what I think looks cool. Obviously not something that’s not well-lit, not clear or at an awkward angle – but if I like it, chances are my audience is going to like it. I keep the vibe and algorithm in mind, though. If I have a story to tell, then I’m going to share it on Insta stories, and then put a main picture in the feed. For example, I’ll post the before and after on my feed, but the process goes on stories. I also use hashtags and tag everyone involved in the photo, like brands and stylists. People want to see the real you through social media. Just share that you’re doing cool stuff with cool people.

Redken Team: Any last tips to the readers before you catch another flight? 

Heather King: What you do outside the Redken Network can also enrich your life as a Redken Artist. Basically don’t sleep, and have your phone at all times. I’m really grateful to have found my true people, be it the Redken team in NY or the Redken Artists to the people I’ve met along my journey. Remember to make the most of what you have and jump on those opportunities. You never know what domino it might knock over. ■


Follow along Heather King’s journey on Instagram at @hkprofessional.