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Alison Alhamed

Alison Alhamed

Editor in Chief, MODERN SALON

As Editor in Chief, Alison Alhamed shapes the content and voice for MODERN SALON's social media platforms, digital channels and monthly print magazine. Alison collaborates closely with salon professionals, social influencers, brands and industry personalities to connect them with our community of readers and followers. As a beauty editor, public speaker and licensed cosmetologist, Alison was named one of Folio magazine's 13 Under 30 emerging leaders in publishing. She regularly judges industry competitions; presents on how to build a following on social media; collaborates with brands on photoshoots, marketing and advertising campaigns; and is passionate about the professional salon industry.

Alison Alhamed wrote

Patrick Mathes: My First Chair

by Alison Alhamed

Growing up in Carmel, Indiana, Patrick Mathes was interested in Barbie dolls, playing “house” or “nail salon” with girls from class or the neighborhood, rather than playing with his two brothers. “Up until sophomore year, I never really cared about school,” he says. “I threw away freshman year and just goofed off.” It wasn’t until Mathes’ mom insisted he get a job that his outlook on life changed. Mathes searched and searched for a good fit—trying desperately to find a job he actually enjoyed. Finally, when he got a job answering phones for his mother’s stylist at a little salon called Bekah’s, he knew he had found his passion.

Kim Kimble: My First Chair

by Alison Alhamed

The first salon Kimble worked in was as a shampoo girl, rinsing manes at her mother’s Trina’s Beauty Supply and Salon, in midtown Los Angeles. As she grew older, she started cutting and styling at Black Hair and More, and Radiantly Raw Barber and Hair Salon, both in Los Angeles.

Sherri Jessee: My First Chair

by Alison Alhamed

It began in mountainous Bristol, Virginia, where Sherri Jessee grew up. “I was eleven years old when I started cutting my own hair—I really wanted to have Farrah Fawcett’s feathered hair and going to the salon was just something we didn’t do back then,” Jessee says. “So, I cut off an inch at a time, hoping my parents wouldn’t notice, and slowly began cutting in the layers.” Around the same time, after a “traumatizing” trip to the barbershop with her father, Jessee became the personal stylist for her younger sister, Karen (who now works with her as her salon manager).

Michael Shaun Corby: My First Chair

by Alison Alhamed

As a renowned international platform artist, styling and cutting genius and Hollywood insider, Michael Shaun Corby raises the bar on innovation daily at Alterna Professional Haircare, where he is the Global Creative Director. Prior to joining Alterna, Corby has created fabulous hair that has graced TV, chart-topping music videos, and A-list films. Corby trained under top stylists José Eber and Umberto of Beverly Hills, learning the techniques he would later take to the next level and offer to Alterna salons around the world through his state-of-the-art educational programs.

Faatemah Ampey: My First Chair

by Alison Alhamed

Whether she’s behind the scenes at a runway show, in front of the camera on Shear Genius 3 or behind the chair doing freelance editorial hair, Faatemah Ampey has star power. Although she was born in Greenville, Mississppi, Ampey calls Minnesota home. Her parents moved the family to Minnesota at the age of five where, growing up, she always imagined she’d become a doctor or writer. Yet, her mother saw something different in Ampey, even at an early age she expressed an interest in art, writing and self expression.

Beth Minardi: My First Chair

by Alison Alhamed

As a beginner in the industry, no doubt you’ve experienced a time where you felt unsure of yourself, uncertain of your talent and capabilities in the salon—what if I’m not good enough? What if I mess up? What if they leave unhappy? The truth is, every successful stylist has experienced the fear, the uncertainty and the anxiety. Even the most successful stylists had challenges in cosmetology school, felt the anxiety of servicing their first client, and felt the fear when applying for their first salon job. But they persevered through the challenges. As we often hear, ‘Success is a journey, not a destination’—this expression holds true as we talk to some the industry’s finest about their challenges, their successes and their first salon jobs.

Passport to Pakistan

by Alison Alhamed

Across the globe beauty is defined differently by various cultures How beauty is taught in international cosmetology schools is very different as well! We talk to Sana Verho, business development manager for Pivot Point Pakistan, about what it’s like to be a beauty school student in a country bordered by China, India and Afghanistan.

Beauty Changes Lives

by Alison Alhamed

The American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS) is a network of more than 900 schools dedicated to providing excellence in beauty education, and to champion a message of “Beauty Changes Lives.” Discover how beauty changed the lives of Gill-Tech Academy of Hair Design owner Sheryl Bruemmer, school director Sandra Wagner and a young woman from Ukraine, and how their Dream Project is helping to change the lives of others.

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