Alyssah Hall | Photos by Aryana Noroozi
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!When Niekol Garcia was 18 years old, being a hairstylist was not her passion, but she had become pregnant with her first child and was trying to navigate life. The college she wanted to attend wouldn’t allow Garcia to dorm with her child, so she began to look for jobs as she did her friends’ hair in her kitchen to earn an income.
Garcia recalls her mother suggesting to her that she go to cosmetology school so she could start a career and provide for her first born. Garcia was taken aback by the suggestion but agreed she needed stability for her and her child. That’s what began her journey into the hair industry.
Garcia has now been styling hair professionally for over 20 years. She has worked alongside her business partner who goes by the name “Maine Attraction” for 21 years. Together, more than ten years ago, they created Red Carpet Ready Studio located in Rancho Cucamonga, California
“I didn’t realize that in the beginning, this was one of the gifts God gave me. So, I tried to keep leaving it. I left twice to pursue another career,” Garcia said.
Faith is the most important principle in Garcia’s life. She’s learned so many things about her job throughout her journey with faith.
“Also, just learning how to lean on God, because our industry is not consistent. A lot of times, we have good days, and sometimes we go through dry seasons. The perfect example of having faith was [during] COVID, they closed our doors down…” Garcia said.
Navigating diversity in the beauty industry
According to Garcia, the hair industry has grown a lot with regard to stylists being from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and being able to do more than one hair type. When she first started attending beauty school, she recalled her clients feeling uncertain about her capabilities.
Garcia comes from a multiracial background. Her mother is Black and white, and her father is Mexican. In beauty school, she felt prejudiced against because of her name and by clients who assumed she couldn’t style their hair. Black women would come in, see the name Garcia and decline to be serviced by her.
Garcia remembers feeling confused because she is a Black woman that can do Black hair and all hair types as well. She also noted that she had similar reactions from Hispanic women who questioned her ability to style their hair once they saw she was Black.
“I learned to love it because in our industry, we should be able to do all ethnicities [hair], and we shouldn’t be looked at as a certain particular stylist, but it works like that,” Garcia explained. “You see a Black stylist, you assume that they’re a Black hairdresser, and so on,” Garcia said.
“I am a Black woman, and I love that about myself, but when it comes to my business, I like to be able to service everyone. I don’t like people to feel like they can’t come in. It’s about people, not your race,” Garcia continued.
More than a hair stylist
Throughout her journey of learning to love her gift of styling hair, Garcia realized that what she loves most are her clients and serving them. She likes being able to help someone have a better day, and referenced how hair stylists are often called unlicensed therapists.
“When you’re good at what you do, you end up having clients who become family because they’ve come to you for so long, and you grow up with them in life. You go through divorces, you go through miscarriages, you go through child custody battles — the hard stuff,” Garcia said.
While clients do offload good experiences, oftentimes they unload the hurt and the pain they experience. Garcia’s ability to style hair and make people feel better is what she loves.
“Because people feel better when they look better,” Garcia said.
Taylor Jackson, 29, has been a client of Garcia’s for over 15 years. Jackson had her first hair appointment with Garcia when she was in middle school.
Jackson shared that she will never go to another hairstylist because Garcia has become family over the years. Garcia has witnessed Jackson grow up and become a mother, among other milestones in her life.
“Every time that I do sit in this chair, my spirit is full because she always knows exactly what to say and tell[s] me what I need to hear at that time,” Jackson explained. It’s not just me getting a press and a flat iron… you are kind of filling your cup. Every time I sit in this chair, my cup is filled, and it just gives me exactly what I need to carry on until I see her next.”
Prior to Red Carpet Studio, Garcia worked in a barber shop, where she and Maine were the only stylists. Garcia was the only woman in the shop, and eventually felt like they reached a plateau in their business because not many women wanted to come into a barber shop to get their hair done.
“We just ended up having an opportunity. We were blessed to be able to find this place, and we ended up just stepping out on faith,” Garcia said. When they came across the studio, it was coincidence that brought them to it. “It just kind of fell in our lap.”
As an entrepreneur, Garcia believes a good business practice is having a “few things up your sleeve.” For many stylists, there are high seasons and low seasons where income fluctuates, so over the years, she has mastered other skills to make up for the loss of income in low seasons.
Garcia loves being creative and in addition to doing hair, she sells her own eyelash line and hair growth oil. She hopes to incorporate eyebrow artistry and a positive T-shirt line in the future.
For aspiring cosmetologists or stylists, Garcia offered the following tips: For those interested in joining the field of entrepreneurship, learn to be financially responsible and literate.
Garcia recommends finding three things that a person is best at, put them in order and hone in on those skills. “You can do some other things, but focus on what you’re great at. That will take you a lot further than doing a little bit of everything,” Garcia said.
Garcia further advised that one should never become stagnant. “Trends come and go all the time, and as you work over the years, you have to stay with the trends or you will lose money.”
Most importantly, Garcia stressed, “Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself.” She advised setting boundaries with clients and standing by those boundaries. “As an entrepreneur, you’re your own boss. Nobody is going to stand up for you,” she said. “Understand your value as well. Know who you are and your gift.”
This article is part of the 2025 Black Voice News Series, Good Black Jobs: Advancing Meaningful Work and Wealth in the Inland Empire. This reporting initiative is funded through a grant provided by Thrive Inland SoCal Catalyst Fund in partnership with the Inland Empire Community Foundation.