Pekela Riley, celebrity hairstylist, educator, owner of Salon PK in Jacksonville, FL and Mizani Artist, has been tapped to lend her expertise to the Ulta Beauty Pro Team’s continued mission to support and educate stylists.

The Ulta Beauty Pro Team was established in May 2017 and is a group of artists and educators from some of the industry’s top professional haircare brands.  Drawing from their extensive expertise, the Pro Team works together to bring The Salon at Ulta Beauty’s vision to life by supporting the company’s team of stylists with education and trend development.

Riley will work closely with Nick Stenson, vice president of salon services and trend at Ulta Beauty, and Ammon Carverchief artistic director at Ulta Beauty, in supporting the company’s efforts in trend and stylist development. 

"Ulta Beauty’s Pro Team has an on-going commitment to our salon and stylists to offer them the best training in the industry," says Stenson. "As a renowned expert in the textured hair category, we are thrilled to have Pekela bring her amazing talents to our team to deliver the best education to our stylists."

Riley has a passion for pairing classic style and unique flair, and specializes in techniques for textured hair.  Her celebrity clientele includes Gabrielle Union, Regina King, Michelle Williams and Issa Rae.

 "Pekela is an industry recognized expert and makes a phenomenal addition to the Ulta Beauty Pro Team," Carver adds. "With her extensive and impressive skillset, Pekela’s presence elevates our education platform, specifically in the textured hair category.  We are thrilled to have her help us continue our key mission of elevating the profile of The Salon at Ulta Beauty while elevating our platform of artists supporting artists."

 A graduate of Pivot Point Advanced Academy-Chicago, Riley is a second generation hairdresser who has styled at the Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, Essence Music Festival, and numerous award shows,including multiple BET's "Black Girls Rock" broadcasts. At the 2017 Cosmoprof Beauty Trade Show in Las Vegas, she won the curlBOX “Hairstylist of the Year” award and her salon has been featured in Elle Magazine’s edition of “Top 100 Salons in America.” She is committed to giving back and her dedication to the Children’s Home Society in Jacksonville has encouraged community outreach to children in foster care. Riley is also an advocate for AIDS awareness and fundraising.

Learn more at: www.ulta.com

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.